World Scrabble Championship 2001 Explained

The World Scrabble Championship 2001 was the sixth World Scrabble Championship. The winner was Brian Cappelletto of the United States.[1]

The event took place at The Venetian on the Las Vegas Strip, USA. The eighty-eight players played eight games on each of the first three days, in a Swiss tournament. As usual, the top two players then competed in a best-of-five final to decide who would become world champion.

Results

After the Swiss tournament, the top two players were Brian Cappelletto representing the United States, with 18 wins and winning spread of +921, and Joel Wapnick, defending champion from 1999, with 17 wins and winning spread +1006. These two players thus contested the final.

In the first game of the final, Wapnick played first. Both players began by changing tiles, then exchanged straightforward bingos (ANALYSE and IRATELY respectively). Further highlights included Wapnick's WHEEP and BAJU and Cappelletto's INDUSIA. In the final move, trailing 482-464 and with only the O remaining on his rack, Cappelletto needed to score 16 points to force a draw. Unfortunately for him, there was no such move available and, while he played the best available move (ZO for 13), Wapnick took the game 482-479.

The second game was less high-scoring, with only two bonuses; Wapnick's DRESSING and CONDOLER. Despite this, Cappelletto won the game 410-372 to level the match at 1-1.

In the third game, Wapnick began the game with a bonus (LOURINg for 64), but Cappelletto won a claustrophobic game 400-352, and lead the match 2-1. Notably, he finished with just six seconds left, and his opponent had only four seconds remaining.

The fourth game proved decisive, as Cappelletto again won by a comfortable margin, 444 to 338.

By three games to one, Brian Cappelletto was declared World Scrabble Champion 2001.

Complete Results

PositionNameCountryWin–lossSpreadPrize (USD)
1Cappelletto, BrianUnited States18-6+92125,000
2Wapnick, JoelWorld Champion17-7+100610,000
3Kramer, JimUnited States17-7+5975,000
4Polatnick, SteveUnited States16½-7½+5333,000
5Fisher, AndrewEngland16-8+10432,000
6Lipton, BobUnited States16-8+7351,000
7Smitheram, BrettEngland16-8+656800
8Okosagah, SammyNigeria16-8align="right"-64600
9Wiegand, DavidUnited States15½-8½+1085400
10Logan, AdamCanada15-9+801300
11Fernando, Naween TharangaSri Lanka15-9+772250
12Sinton, PeterNew Zealand15-9+674250
13Gongolo, MichaelKenya15-9+528250
14Geary, JimUnited States15-9+364250
15Mallick, JoeyUnited States15-9+314250
16Nemitrmansuk, PakornThailand15-9align="right"-271150
17Sim, TonySingapore14-10+717150
18Awowade, FemiEngland14-10+628150
19Warner, HowardNew Zealand14-10+379150
20Edley, JoeUnited States14-10+371150
21Simmons, AllanEngland14-10+272
22Perry, AndrewEngland14-10+243
23Okulicz, EdwardAustralia14-10+228
24Credo, RonaldPhilippines14-10align="right"-118
25Luebkemann, JohnUnited States13½-10½+630
26Felt, RobertUnited States13-11+1022
27Davis, AndrewEngland13-11+631
28Chinnaiyah, SureshSri Lanka13-11+545
29Klaphajone, JakkritThailand13-11+355
30Manase, Joshua OtienoKenya13-11+344
31Mead, JeremiahUnited States13-11+268
32Sykes, ChristopherCanada13-11+259
33Grant, JeffNew Zealand13-11+113
34Williams, GarethWales13-11+87
35Quao, Michael ArthurGhana13-11+62
36Asirvatham, GaneshMalaysia13-11align="right"-7
37Elbourne, PeterMalta13-11align="right"-557
38Hirai, KeiichiroJapan12-12+676
39Boys, DavidCanada12-12+465
40Holgate, JohnAustralia12-12+414
41Simpson, EvanEngland12-12+231
42Daniel, Robin PollockCanada12-12+194
43Hersom, RandyUnited States12-12+167
44Kaufman, ZevCanada12-12+135
45Hoekstra, RonCanada12-12+122
46Graham, MattUnited States12-12+3
47Gruzd, StevenSouth Africa12-12align="right"-54
48Eichler, MaorIsrael12-12align="right"-201
49Khoshnaw, KarlKurdistan-Iraq12-12align="right"-279
50Talbot, RodneyAustralia12-12align="right"-297
51Sherman, JoelUnited States12-12align="right"-349
52Hovelmeier, Trevor MarkSouth Africa12-12align="right"-654
53Boyd, KendallNew Zealand11-13+244
54Apindi, IsaacTanzania11-13+216
55Filio, RolandPhilippines11-13+177
56Lamabadusuriya, HarshanSri Lanka11-13+136
57Cherry, JamesCanada11-13+62
58Tang, MichaelMalaysia11-13align="right"-16
59Chunkath, Mohan VergheseIndia11-13align="right"-158
60Acton, DavidEngland11-13align="right"-196
61Cheah, Siu HeanSingapore11-13align="right"-380
62Poku, KwameGhana11-13align="right"-435
63De Souza, Margarida AnaTrinidad and Tobago11-13align="right"-600
64Assesa, DixonKenya10½-13½align="right"-70
65Ranasuriya, Mario ShalendraBahrain10½-13½align="right"-753
66Clottey, AaronGhana10½-13½align="right"-776
67Litunya, PatrickKenya10-14+131
68Webb, DavidEngland10-14+125
69Cleary, Paul StephenAustralia10-14align="right"-81
70Arreola, PepitoSaudi Arabia10-14align="right"-262
71Khan, Rashid AteeqPakistan10-14align="right"-378
72Tanee, Samuel FomumCameroon10-14align="right"-757
73Kalumba, Paul YandishaZambia9½-14½align="right"-496
74Delicata, DavidMalta9½-14½align="right"-974
75Grayson, JohnWales9-15+134
76Sutthasin, TaewanThailand9-15align="right"-296
77Abordo, ChrisBahrain9-15align="right"-377
78Sinclair, AlanScotland9-15align="right"-412
79Hemachandra, SanathOman9-15align="right"-809
80Cree, ChrisUnited States9-15align="right"-1118
81Chakravarthy, RanganathanIndia8½-15½align="right"-82
82Singh, LewisGuyana8-16align="right"-834
83Prabhu, Cecil FernandesGulf Champion8-16align="right"-1124
84Sandu, Dan LaurentiuRomania8-16align="right"-1759
85Miranda, MarioPhilippines7½-16½align="right"-872
86Costello, CatherineIreland7-17align="right"-691
87Cotejo, DannyQatar5-19align="right"-1287
88Wright, James CharlesGibraltar4-20align="right"-1971

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2001 World SCRABBLE® Championship. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20010215024910/http://www.scrabble-assoc.com/tourneys/2001/wsc/ . 2001-02-15 .