2023 Scrabble Players Championship (SPC)

The 2023 Scrabble Players Championship (SPC) will take place on July 15 to 19, 2023 at the Westgate Las Vegas Resorts & Casino at 3000 Paradise Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89109. The SPC is the first of 2 weeks of top-level Scrabble competition to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Scrabble - the 2023 NASPA Double Down in Las Vegas.

Register Book Hotel See Who's Coming

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

Registration

Eligibility

To play in the SPC, you must (1) be a NASPA member, and (2) have played in an officially sanctioned Scrabble tournament to earn an official tournament rating.

If you live in the United States or Canada, that rating should be a NASPA rating; if you live elsewhere, it may be a WESPA rating or other comparable national rating.

Qualification Rating

Placement into respective divisions is determined by your Qualification Rating (QR).

Your QR consists of the highest rating attained at the end of any NASPA NASPA Word List (NWL) or Collins (CSW) rated tournament (or segment of a split-rated tournament) that finished during the period from July 22, 2022 to June 30, 2023 (the 2022 SPC Early Bird to the close of registration).

If you have a rating, but do not play during this period, your QR is the higher of your unchanged current NWL or CSW rating.

For players who have ratings in both lexica, the higher peak or current rating will be used. For example, a player whose computed QR is 1810 in CSW and 1600 in NWL will use 1810 as her QR for division placement in either CSW or NWL.

NWL Divisions

Four NWL divisions will be offered, divided by QR.

Playups are allowed within 100 points to the Championship Division (Division 1). Unlimited playups are allowed in the other divisions.

• If your QR is 1800 or higher, or if you do not have a NASPA rating, you must play in Division 1.
• If your QR is in the range 1700–1799, you can play in Division 1 or 2.
• If your QR is in the range 1450–1699, you must play in Division 2.
• If your QR is in the range 1150–1449, you can play in Division 2 or 3.
• If your QR is below 1150, you can play in Division 2, 3, or 4.

Collins Divisions

There will be 2 Collins divisions, divided by QR.

• If your QR is 1500 or higher, you must play in Division 1.
• If it is 1499 or below, you can play in Division 1 or 2.

Players who only have a WESPA rating will be permitted to play in Division 1 or 2 if that rating is 1399 or below.

If there are fewer than 20 players registered in either division as of June 15, 2023, the divisions will be automatically combined into a single division. Players wishing to switch to NWL after divisions are combined will be allowed to do so at no charge.

The Collins division will be run using NASPA rules, except that the Collins lexicon will be used and the challenge penalty will be 5 points per word. The Collins division will rated by both NASPA and WESPA.

Schedule

Date / Time	Event	Entry Fee
Fri July 14 - 10:00 to 6:00	SPC Check In	N/A
Fri July 14 - 12:00	SPC Early Bird - 4 games - NWL & CSW	$20 maximum
Sat July 15 to Wed July 19 9:00 for AM sessions / 3:00 for PM sessions	SPC Main Event - 31 games - NWL & CSW Sat to Tues - 7 games / day -- Wed - 3 games Best of 5 Playoff for top 2 in Div 1 Wed	$250
Thu July 20 - 9:30	SPC Late Bird - 4 games - NWL & CSW	$20 maximum

Main Event Format

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

The winners of the top divisions in both NWL and CSW lexicons shall be determined as follows:

• After Round 28, the top two players (as determined by record and spread) will enter a best of five playoff to determine champion and runner-up.

• Finals Round 1 and 2 will take place while all other player complete Rounds 29 through 31 to determine their final standing.

• Finals Round 3 (and Rounds 4-5 if needed) will be streamed at the conclusion of the Prize Ceremony for non-finalists.

SPC Satellite Events

A complimentary 2023 SPC registration will be awarded to one player for every 50 players participating in an SPC Satellite Event.

An SPC Satellite Event must have at least 14 rounds over multiple days and at least 50 players across all divisions in the specific event.

Full details about the program can be found here.