2023 WESPA Championship (WESPAC)

The 2023 WESPA Championship (WESPAC) will take place on July 22 to 26, 2023 at the Westgate Las Vegas Resorts & Casino at 3000 Paradise Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89109.

WESPAC is the second of 2 weeks of top-level Scrabble competition to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Scrabble - the 2023 NASPA Double Down in Las Vegas.

The 2023 WESPA Championship (WESPAC) marks the first time since 2001 that the world championship will be contested in North America. It begins with the Last Chance Qualifying Tournament on Friday July 21 and continues with the invitational Main Event from Saturday July 22 through Wednesday July 26. For those not competing in the invitational, there will be both Collins and NWL events concurrent with WESPAC.

Register Book Hotel General Info See Who's Coming

This webpage is subject to change and will be updated regularly as the plans are finalized.

Eligibility

WESPA Championship (WESPAC)

The WESPA Championship is an invitational event with quotas for WESPA countries and places reserved for past champions. In addition, players who finish in the top 20% at the Last Chance Qualifier tournament on Friday (July 21) will be awarded slots at the championship.

Players competing in WESPAC will be granted complimentary memberships to NASPA for the event.

Country Allocations

Each country is allocated a number of places based on its past performance at World Scrabble Championships. Each country's national association establishes rules for qualifying for those places, typically based on national tournament ratings or performance at qualifying tournaments or flagship events.

Country	# of Players	Qualified Players
Australia	13	Qualifying Process	Adam Kretschmer Anand Bharadwaj Andrew Fisher Bob Jackman Cameron Farlow Jane Taylor John Holgate Karen Richards Naween Fernando Paul Richards Russell Honeybun Trevor Halsal
Bangladesh	0 -> 1
Botswana	3	Jared Omolo
Cameroon	0 -> 1	John Nforba
Canada	10 -> 11	Qualifying Process Allen Pengelly Evan Berofsky Jason Broersma Jason Ubeika Jeremy Hildebrand Josh Castellano Matthew Tunnicliffe Mohammad Sulaiman Noah Slatkoff Roger Cullman Tony Leah
England	14	Qualifying Process Andy Goodwin Bob Violett Donna Stanton Elie Dangoor Femi Awowade Harshan Lamabadusuriya Jack Moran Jared Robinson Jason Carney John Ashmore Lewis Mackay Natalie Zolty Stewart Houten Wayne Kelly
France	2
Gabon	2
Gambia	3
Germany	2	None able to attend
Ghana	3	Charles Haizel Tachie-Menson Christian Isaac Mensah George Nii Ayi Addo-Quaye
Hong Kong	3	Qualifying Process Brian Po Carson Ip - Declined Euclid Hui Thomson Law Long Yin
India	7
Indonesia	3
Ireland	3
Israel	3 -> 0
Kenya	6	Qualifying Process Allan Oyende Gitonga Nderitu Martins Mutahi Michael Gongolo Philip Mutinda Willy Mwangi
Liberia	3	Fomba A.M. Swaray George Alvin Roberts Lester Dgian Morris
Malaysia	7	Qualifying Process
Malta	3 -> 4	David Delicata Maureen McDonald Moira Fenech
Nepal	1
Netherlands	1
New Zealand	0 -> 1	Joanne Craig
Nigeria	13	Anthony Ikolo Bright Idahosa Curtis John Dennis Ikekeregor Eta Oghenekaro Etim Nsikakabasi Nwali Enoch Olatunde Oduwole Olawale Fashina Oluwatimilehin Doko Oshevire Avwenagha Prince Omosefe Temituoyo Mayuku
Northern Ireland	3	Rik Kennedy
Pakistan	5	Ali Rashid Khan Rashid Atique Khan Waseem Khatri
Philippines	3	Odette Carmina Rio
Poland	0 -> 1
Qatar	1
Romania	3	Dan Laurentiu Sandu Mihai Pantis
Scotland	3	Qualifying Process Neil Scott Paul Allan Stu Harkness
Seychelles	0 -> 1
Sierra Leone	3	Emmanuel King Mohamed Kamara Yusuf Koroma
Singapore	9	Qualifying Process
South Africa	3	Steven Gruzd Howard Rayner
Spain	2	None able to attend
Sri Lanka	4
Sweden	1	Qualifying Process Marten Bjorkman
Switzerland	2
Tanzania	0 -> 2
Thailand	8	Norases Vesdapunt
Trinidad and Tobago	3	Leslie Charles Pat John Varouna Dookie
Uganda	3	Chris Ntege Edgar Odongkara Ivan Sentongo
United Arab Emirates	1 -> 2
United States	16 -> 17	Qualifying Process Alec Sjoholm Austin Shin Ben Schoenbrun Chris Lipe Conrad Bassett-Bouchard Dave Wiegand David Whitley Jason Keller Jesse Day Kevin Fraley Matthew O'Connor Rasheed Balogun Samson Okosagah Stefan Rau Tim Weiss Will Anderson Winter
Wales	2
Zambia	3

Bold indicates that the player has registered for WESPAC. Changes from the original quotas are indicated by an arrow between the original and current quota.

WESPA member associations should contact the Championship Committee with the names of the players who will be representing their association or a link to the qualifying process if the players have not yet been named.

Dropouts and Alternates

Any player already named who drops out before registration at the event site should, if possible, be replaced by a representative from their own country.

A registered player who does not turn up at registration, or drops out during the tournament, will not be replaced unless it makes the numbers odd; in that case, the official standby from the host country will stand in.

Past Champions

Past World / WESPAC champions automatically qualify for the WESPA Championship - independent of any country's quota. Planning to attend are:

Adam Logan (Canada)
David Eldar (Australia)
Joel Wapnick (Canada)
Wellington Jighere (Nigeria)

Bold indicates that the player has registered for WESPAC.

In addition, the WESPA Youth Cup winners from 2021 and 2022 automatically qualify for the WESPA Championship.

Last Chance Qualifier Tournament

The Last Chance Qualifier Tournament will be held on Friday (July 21) - the day before the WESPA Championship begins. It is open to all players not already qualified for WESPAC.

This 8-game tournament will consist of one division. Players will be paired using tsh - with Gibsonization (determined by number of games plus spread - 1000 points per round).

Players who finish in the top 20% at the Last Chance Qualifier tournament will be awarded slots at the championship.

In addition, the highest placing youth player (born after July 15, 2005) will qualify for WESPAC.

Players who had registered for WESPAC but do not qualify via the Last Chance Qualifier will be moved to the Challenge events that will run in parallel with WESPAC.

Players who had registered for the Challenge events but qualify via the Last Chance Qualifier will be moved to WESPAC.

WESPA Challenges

The NASPA Double Down will offer a series of tournaments - the WESPA Challenges - in parallel with WESPAC:

WESPA Hearts Challenge - Friday (July 21) - 8 games
WESPA Diamonds Challenge - Saturday (July 22) to Monday (July 24) - 24 games
WESPA Clubs Challenge - Tuesday (July 25) - 8 games
WESPA Spades Challenge - Wednesday (July 26) - 8 games

Both lexicons - NASPA Word List (NWL) and Collins (CSW) - will be offered.

Players competing in the NWL divisions must be NASPA members.

Players competing in the Collins divisions of the Challenge events will be granted complimentary memberships to NASPA for the event.

Check-In

To play in the first round on Saturday morning, you must check in between 2:00 PM and 5:00 P.M. on Thursday (July 20) or Friday (July 21).

You may ask a friend to check in for you by proxy if you cannot check in in person.

If possible, please specify the name of the proxy when you register.
Otherwise, email us at nsc@scrabbleplayers.org to notify us in advance of proxy arrangements.
If you check in by proxy, but do not show up to play, then neither you nor your proxy will be permitted to check in by proxy at future events.

If you do not check in before the desk closes at 5:00 PM on Friday., you may join the championship in progress as soon as it is convenient for the pairings staff to add you back in; this may not take place before Sunday morning.

No refund will be issued to latecomers.

When you check in, you will be given an announcement sheet. This is to reduce the number of announcements that have to be made on Saturday morning, so that the event can get underway quickly. You are responsible for familiarizing yourself with the announcements and tournament schedule.

Schedule

Date / Time	Event	Entry Fee
Thu July 20 and Fri July 21 - 2:00 to 5:00	WESPAC Check In	N/A
Fri July 21 - 9:00 for AM session / 2:30 for PM session	WESPAC Hearts Warmup - 8 games - NWL & CSW	$75
Fri July 21 - 9:00 for AM session / 2:30 for PM session	WESPAC Last Chance Qualifier - 8 games - CSW Open to those not yet qualified for WESPAC	$100
Sat July 22 to Tue July 25 9:00 for AM sessions / 2:30 for PM sessions	WESPAC Main Event - 32 games - CSW Invitational by qualification 8 games / day	$300
Sat July 22 to Mon July 24 9:00 for AM sessions / 2:30 for PM sessions	WESPAC Diamonds Challenge - 24 games - NWL & CSW 8 games / day	$180
Sat July 22 - 7:00 PM	WESPAC Opening Reception	$25
Mon July 24 - 8:00 PM	WESPA Biennial General Meeting (BGM)
Tue July 25 - 9:00 for AM session / 2:30 for PM session	WESPAC Clubs Challenge - 8 games - NWL & CSW	$60
Wed July 26 - 9:00 for AM session / 2:30 for PM session	WESPAC Spades Challenge - 8 games - NWL & CSW	$60
Wed July 26 - 10:00	WESPAC Finals - Best of 7 playoff for top 2 - CSW	N/A

This schedule for the 2023 WESPA Championship may be modified to add new events or possibly to change room locations. Also, until about a month before the event, it should be considered an early draft, with only the times for registration and the main event to be set in stone. Once the event begins, please check the schedule for changes at the beginning of each day.

Thursday, July 20, 2023

2:00 P.M.–5:00 P.M.: Registration (Foyer)
4:30 P.M.–5:30 P.M.: Staff meeting (Ballroom E)
10:00 A.M.–11:30 P.M.: After hours room open (Ballroom G)

Friday, July 21, 2023

2:00 P.M.–5:00 P.M.: Registration (Foyer)
8:30 A.M.–8:45 A.M.: Set up for play (Ballrooms ABC)
8:50 A.M.–9:00 A.M.: Announcements (Ballrooms ABC)
9:00 A.M.–1:15 P.M.: WESPAC Hearts Warmup Rounds 1–4 (Ballrooms ABC)
9:00 A.M.–1:15 P.M.: WESPAC Last-Chance Qualifier Rounds 1–4 (Ballrooms ABC)
2:30 P.M.–6:45 P.M.: WESPAC Hearts Warmup Rounds 5–8 (Ballrooms ABC)
2:30 P.M.–6:45 P.M.: WESPAC Last-Chance Qualifier Rounds 5–8 (Ballrooms ABC)
7:00 P.M.–7:15 P.M.: Prize Ceremonies (Ballrooms ABC)
10:00 A.M.–11:30 P.M.: After hours room open (Ballroom G)

Saturday, July 22, 2023

8:30 A.M.–8:45 A.M.: Set up for play (Ballrooms ABC)
8:50 A.M.–8:55 A.M.: Team Group Photos (Ballrooms ABC)
8:50 A.M.–9:00 A.M.: Announcements (Ballrooms ABC)
9:00 A.M.–1:15 P.M.: WESPAC Main Event Rounds 1–4 (Ballrooms ABC)
9:00 A.M.–1:15 P.M.: WESPAC Diamonds Challenge Rounds 1–4 (Ballrooms ABC)
2:30 P.M.–6:45 P.M.: WESPAC Main Event Rounds 5–8 (Ballrooms ABC)
2:30 P.M.–6:45 P.M.: WESPAC Diamonds Challenge Rounds 5–8 (Ballrooms ABC)
7:00 P.M.–10:00 P.M.: Reception (Ballroom E)
10:00 A.M.–11:30 P.M.: After hours room open (Ballroom G)

Sunday, July 23, 2023

8:30 A.M.–8:45 A.M.: Set up for play (Ballrooms ABC)
8:50 A.M.–8:55 A.M.: Team Group Photos (Ballrooms ABC)
8:50 A.M.–9:00 A.M.: Announcements (Ballrooms ABC)
9:00 A.M.–1:15 P.M.: WESPAC Main Event Rounds 9–12 (Ballrooms ABC)
9:00 A.M.–1:15 P.M.: WESPAC Diamonds Challenge Rounds 9–12 (Ballrooms ABC)
2:30 P.M.–6:45 P.M.: WESPAC Main Event Rounds 13–16 (Ballrooms ABC)
2:30 P.M.–6:45 P.M.: WESPAC Diamonds Challenge Rounds 13–16 (Ballrooms ABC)
10:00 A.M.–11:30 P.M.: After hours room open (Ballroom G)

Monday, July 24, 2023

8:30 A.M.–8:45 A.M.: Set up for play (Ballrooms ABC)
8:50 A.M.–8:55 A.M.: Team Group Photos (Ballrooms ABC)
8:50 A.M.–9:00 A.M.: Announcements (Ballrooms ABC)
9:00 A.M.–1:15 P.M.: WESPAC Main Event Rounds 17–20 (Ballrooms ABC)
9:00 A.M.–1:15 P.M.: WESPAC Diamonds Challenge Rounds 17–20 (Ballrooms ABC)
2:30 P.M.–6:45 P.M.: WESPAC Main Event Rounds 21–24 (Ballrooms ABC)
2:30 P.M.–6:45 P.M.: WESPAC Diamonds Challenge Rounds 21–24 (Ballrooms ABC)
7:00 P.M.–7:15 P.M.: WESPAC Diamonds Challenge Prize Ceremony (Ballrooms ABC)
8:00 P.M.–11:00 P.M.: WESPA Biennial General Meeting (Ballroom F)
10:00 A.M.–11:30 P.M.: After hours room open (Ballroom G)

Tuesday, July 25, 2023

8:30 A.M.–8:45 A.M.: Set up for play (Ballrooms ABC)
8:50 A.M.–8:55 A.M.: Team Group Photos (Ballrooms ABC)
8:50 A.M.–9:00 A.M.: Announcements (Ballrooms ABC)
9:00 A.M.–1:15 P.M.: WESPAC Main Event Rounds 25–28 (Ballrooms ABC)
9:00 A.M.–1:15 P.M.: WESPAC Clubs Challenge Rounds 1–4 (Ballrooms ABC)
2:30 P.M.–6:45 P.M.: WESPAC Main Event Rounds 29–32 (Ballrooms ABC)
2:30 P.M.–6:45 P.M.: WESPAC Clubs Challenge Rounds 5–8 (Ballrooms ABC)
7:00 P.M.–7:30 P.M.: WESPAC Main Event (non-finalist) and Clubs Challenge Prize Ceremonies (Ballrooms ABC)
10:00 A.M.–11:30 P.M.: After hours room open (Ballroom G)

Wednesday, July 26, 2023

8:30 A.M.–8:45 A.M.: Set up for play (Ballrooms ABC)
8:50 A.M.–9:00 A.M.: Announcements (Ballrooms ABC)
9:00 A.M.–1:15 P.M.: WESPAC Spades Challenge Rounds 1–4 (Ballrooms ABC)
10:00 A.M.–1:15 P.M.: WESPAC Finals Rounds 1–3 (Ballrooms ABC)
10:00 A.M.–6:00 P.M.: WESPAC Finals Viewing (Ballrooms FG)
2:15 P.M.–6:30 P.M.: WESPAC Finals Rounds 4–7 if needed (Ballrooms ABC)
Immediately following (may interrupt ongoing Spades Challenge): WESPAC Prize Ceremony (Ballrooms FG)
2:30 P.M.–6:45 P.M.: WESPAC Spades Challenge Rounds 5–8 (Ballrooms ABC)
7:00 P.M.–7:15 P.M.: WESPAC Spades Challenge Prize Ceremony (Ballrooms ABC)

Thursday, July 27, 2023

10:00 A.M.–3:00 P.M.: Teardown

WESPAC Format

Players will be paired using tsh, with Gibsonization (determined by number of games plus spread - 1000 points per round) in one open Collins division.

Players will be seeded by current WESPA rating. If a player does not have a WESPA rating, NASPA or other comparable national rating will be used to determine seeding.

After Round 32, the top two players (as determined by record and spread) will enter a best of seven playoff to determine champion and runner-up.

The remaining players will be given the option to play in the WESPA Spades Challenge, which will be occurring in parallel with the playoffs, at no additional charge on Wednesday (July 26).

WESPA rules will be used for WESPAC.

WESPAC Prize Pool

Prize money will depend on the number of players competing in the Championship.

If there are 100 entrants, we expect that the prize pool will be at least $24,000 USD - of which at least $10,000 will be awarded to the 1st place finisher.

WESPA Challenges Format

The WESPA Challenge events will offer competition in both Collins (CSW) and NASPA Word List (NWL):

CSW players will be seeded by current WESPA rating. If a player does not have a WESPA rating, NASPA or other comparable national rating will be used to determine seeding.
NWL players will be seeded by current NASPA rating. If a player does not have a NASPA rating, WESPA or other comparable national rating will be used to determine seeding.

Hearts Challenge (Friday, July 21)

There will be one open division for each lexicon.

Chew pairings will be in effect (with no fixed initial schedule), with Gibsonization (determined by number of game plus spread - 1000 points per round).

Diamonds Challenge (Saturday, July 22, through Monday, July 24)

There will be 2 divisions with unlimited playups for each lexicon:

Division 1 - If your rating is 1500 or higher, you must play in Division 1.
Division 2 - If your rating is below 1500, you can play in Division 1 or 2

If there are fewer than 20 players registered in either division for a lexicon, the divisions will be combined into a single division.

Players will be paired using tsh, with Gibsonization (determined by number of games plus spread - 1000 points per round).

Clubs and Spades Challenges