NASPA Tournament of Champions

Congratulations to Austin Shin, winner of the NASPA Tournament of Champions presented by Scrabble® GO.

The NASPA Tournament of Champions presented by Scrabble® GO was held August 24 to 30, 2020, as a virtual online tournament. In this invitational event organized by NASPA, eight players competed in a bracket - Best of 5 quarterfinals followed by a Best of 7 semifinals and final over the course of the week.

Players competed in timed Scrabble GO matches with the NASPA Word List (NWL). Other than the use of void challenge, standard NASPA tournament rules applied.

Scopely, the creators of Scrabble GO, will make a $5,000 donation to each of these organizations on behalf of the participants:

• NASPA Foundation for Youth Literacy - Fosters literacy, mathematics, strategic ability, and fair play among students through the facilitation and organization of word game play.
• Dolly Parton's Imagination Library - Mails over 1 million free books each month to children from birth through age five in the United States, Canada, and other countries.

The $10,000 donation from Scopely will be allocated (with the total split between the 2 charities) as follows:

• 1st place - $4000
• 2nd place - $2000
• Semifinalists - $1000 each
• Quarterfinalists - $500 each

Standings After the Semifinals

Schedule

Matches were streamed on the NASPA YouTube channel on the following schedule:

Day	Time	Format	Matchup
Mon Aug 24	8 pm Eastern / 5 pm Pacific	Best of 5	Quarterfinal: Eric Tran vs Cecilia Le
Tue Aug 25	8 pm Eastern / 5 pm Pacific	Best of 5	Quarterfinal: Jason Keller vs Lisa Odom
Wed Aug 26	8 pm Eastern / 5 pm Pacific	Best of 5	Quarterfinal: Jackson Smylie vs César Del Solar
Thu Aug 27	8 pm Eastern / 5 pm Pacific	Best of 5	Quarterfinal: Austin Shin vs Laurie Cohen
Fri Aug 28	7 pm Eastern / 4 pm Pacific	Best of 7	Semifinal: Cecilia Le vs Jason Keller
Sat Aug 29	1 pm Eastern / 10 am Pacific	Best of 7	Semifinal: Jackson Smylie vs Austin Shin
Sun Aug 30	1 pm Eastern / 10 am Pacific	Best of 7	Final: Cecilia Le vs Austin Shin

Games

You can review previous matches at:

• NASPA YouTube channel - Watch the games unfold on the live stream
• Quackle - Play through the games move by move as recorded in Quackle

Players

Meet the players who competed in the NASPA Tournament of Champions.

Player	Player Profile
Austin Shin	Fun Facts Emigrated from UK to marry a fellow SCRABBLE player, Lindsay Shin Advocate for Tablet SCRABBLE (using Scrabble GO) - Club runs tablet sessions once a month Coaches school SCRABBLE with Lindsay and her parents, Tim and Lila Crotty Scoring Never Stops! Stats 2017 North American and UK champion 5th highest rated player in North America 67.1% winning percentage Average score of 450
Cecilia Le	Fun Facts Works in education to help low-income students to enter and complete college Married to another top-rated SCRABBLE player, John O'Laughlin - their 3-year old is obsessed with SCRABBLE Has traveled to Malaysia, Australia, and England to compete at the World SCRABBLE Championship Stats Top rated female player in North America 31st highest rated player in North America 54.5% winning percentage Average score of 408
César Del Solar	Fun Facts Developer of SCRABBLE study and analysis tools – Aerolith word study site is used by hundreds of SCRABBLE players Married to another top-rated SCRABBLE player - Mina Le Accomplished musician - plays ukulele and guitar in his free time Stats Winner of several major tournaments 26th highest rated player in North America 61.3% winning percentage Average score of 422
Eric Tran	Fun Facts Is engaged to another SCRABBLE player, Betsy Chai Grew up playing all sorts of board games - especially chess - and now is getting into poker 7th highest winning percentage in North American SCRABBLE History Stats Current Canadian national champion 12th highest rated player in North America 70.3% winning percentage Average score of 429
Jackson Smylie	Fun Facts Appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! after winning the North American School SCRABBLE Championship Travels North America with another top-rated player, Josh Sokol - playing SCRABBLE nonstop Planted over 200,000 trees over the past 2 summers Stats 2011 School SCRABBLE champion 3rd highest rated player in North America 66.3% winning percentage Average score of 429
Jason Keller	Fun Facts 9-time Jeopardy! champion in 2011 -won over $215K and was a semifinalist in Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions in 2013 Finished in the top 50 in 4 of the last 5 American Crossword Tournaments Always dresses head-to-toe in his favorite color orange at large SCRABBLE tournaments Stats 6th in 2019 World SCRABBLE Championship 9th highest rated player in North America 59.8% winning percentage Average score of 424
Laurie Cohen	Fun Facts Rabid Yankees fan Highest game score of 725 - including JOBNAMES for 230 US team member at the 2011 World Championship in Warsaw Daughter of a SCRABBLE player, Jo Anne Cohen Stats Highest 2 finishes by a woman at North American championship in past 20 years 50th highest rated player in North America 56.8% winning percentage Average score of 413
Lisa Odom	Fun Facts Highest-rated female player in North America many times over the past 20 years Married to another top-rated SCRABBLE player, Steve Pellinen Has traveled to Australia and England to compete at the World SCRABBLE Championship Stats Top 50 player for the last 20+ years 39th highest rated player in North America 58.4% winning percentage Average score of 408

Eligibility

NASPA will select 8 players who represent a diverse array of personalities, backgrounds, and voices according to the following criteria:

• You must be a U.S. or Canadian citizen or permanent resident.
• You must be a NASPA member in good standing.
• You must not have been suspended for more than twelve months for any NASPA Code of Conduct violation.
• Preference will be given to players who meet one or more of the following criteria:
  • NASPA Master or NASPA Grandmaster
  • Winner of one of the following tournaments:
    • North American SCRABBLE Championship - NWL or Collins
    • Canadian National SCRABBLE Championship
    • North American School SCRABBLE Championship
• You must be at least 10 years old.
• You must meet the following requirements for streaming your games:
  • Computer with the latest PC or Mac operating system
  • Good internet speed and/or an Ethernet connection
  • Built-in or USB Webcam
  • Ability to participate in a Zoom call
  • Ability to play Scrabble GO

Registration

By registering for the NASPA Tournament of Champions, you agree to abide by the NASPA Tournament Rules and Code of Conduct, and agree to comply with the NASPA Tournament of Champions Terms and Conditions.

A Minor Release and Consent Form is required for all players under age 18 as of August 24, 2020.

We encourage you to introduce yourself with a short (1 or 2 minutes) video. The video should be authentic - no crazy costumes or stunts - because we may use the video to promote the event. Questions you might answer in the video could include:

• Why would you be a good representative for the game?
• Why have you succeeded at SCRABBLE?
• What does SCRABBLE mean to you today?
• How has SCRABBLE shaped who you are?
• What do you love most about the game?
• What else makes you tick aside from SCRABBLE?
• What was your favorite play?
• How long have you been playing?

To register for the selection process:

• Complete and submit this application
• (Optional) Submit a short (1-to-2 minute) video via email or as an upload in the application
• (If under 18) Return the Minor Release and Consent Form signed by a parent or guardian via email or as an upload in the application

All applications must be received no later than Wednesday, August 12, 2020.

Selection Process

The NASPA Tournament of Champions organizers will select and notify the players no later than Monday, August 17, 2020 according to the criteria listed above. The decision of the organizers is final.

If you are selected, you will need to be available before the event as needed for technical rehearsals and interviews to be used in the promotion and broadcasting of the event.

Commentators and Other Staff

Each match will be streamed live on the NASPA YouTube channel with commentators hosting and analyzing the match.

There may also be a need for staff to help with the clock and other tasks to keep the event running.

The criteria by which commentators and other staff will be selected include:

• You must be a NASPA member in good standing.
• You must not have been suspended for more than twelve months for any NASPA Code of Conduct violation.
• Previous experience as a commentator at SCRABBLE tournaments, such as the NASC or Crescent City Cup, or as a streamer of your own games or other online games is helpful.
• You must be at least 10 years old.
• You must meet the following requirements for streaming your games:
  • Computer with the latest PC or Mac operating system
  • Good internet speed and/or an Ethernet connection
  • Built-in or USB Webcam
  • Microphone and/or headset
  • Ability to participate in online video conferencing

As with the players, we will be looking for a diverse array of personalities, backgrounds, and voices in the staff.

To register for the selection process:

• Complete and submit this application
• (Optional) Submit a short (1-to-2 minute) video via email or as an upload in the application

All applications must be received no later than Wednesday, August 12, 2020.

You can apply to be a commentator or staff member in addition to applying to play in the event.

Organizers

The NASPA Tournament of Champions organizers from NASPA are:

• Will Anderson - Streaming
• Morris Greenberg - Project Management
• Josh Greenway - Social Media
• Christian Kay - Streaming

with the assistance of John Chew and Judy Cole from the Executive Committee.

Questions

Any questions may be directed to the NASPA Tournament of Champions organizers.