Beginning in 2017 (and backdated to 2011),
NASPA has recognized '''player''' excellence by awarding
the '''titles''' NASPA Expert, NASPA Master, and NASPA Grandmaster.(Until 2021, these were referred to asSCRABBLE Expert, SCRABBLE Master and SCRABBLE Grandmaster.)
An annually updated [{{SERVER}}/ratings/titlists.shtml list]
The player with the highest OPR each tournament year is designated our [[Awards|Player of the Year]].
Now, when deciding who will become a SCRABBLE NASPA Expert (EX), SCRABBLE NASPA Master (SM) or SCRABBLE NASPA Grandmaster (GM) each year,
we look at OPR calculated over rolling periods of 5 consecutive tournament
years, and consider only those players who have played 50 games in each
We list those players according to their 5-year OPR, and see who falls within
which percentile. Those in the top 25% are named SCRABBLE NASPA Experts, those in the top 6% SCRABBLE NASPA Masters, and those in the top 1% SCRABBLENASPA
Grandmasters.