Being the wordsmith that I am, I am partial to a game of Scrabble or two every now and again – although I don’t play Words of Friends as everybody cheats.
That’s why I am utterly over the moon at the fantastic news that has been announced today.
Board game behemoth Mattel has today announced that the Scrabble World Championship 2018 is only going to be taking place at the English bloody Riviera!!
The occasion starts out with the junior championships from Saturday 20th October to Monday 22nd, where young brainboxes from around the world will be pitting their wits against each other for the biggest nerd’s prize of them all.
Once the whippersnappers are done, the adult title starts on Tuesday 23rd October until Sunday 28th.
There is more information to be released, but at the moment, we know that the junior championship is for entrants up to 21. The adult championship is open to all ages, although it doesn’t state if that means only people older than 21.
Entry fees will mirror 2017, although that’s all it says.
I’m hoping that it will allow me to enter as it would be the story of all stories – home town lad becomes Scrabble World Champion so watch this space.
Hooligan Fears
Although this is clearly fantastic news, the police are already planning on bringing in some extra help for that week. The scrabble crowd are known for fisticuffs, and MI5 are already attempting to ban a few well known Scrabble hooligans from entering the country – although they know one or two will always get through.
I asked Torquay’s temporary chief inspector for her advice to locals who are a little worried about the possibilities of scrabble fans causing trouble down here. This is what she said.
“Although 95% of Scrabble fans are peaceful, passionate supporters, you do get the odd one or two who give the rest a bad name.”
“The tournament is months away but I can assure the public that we are bringing in extra help to make sure that no lives are at risk. We’ve already applied for on the spot arrest powers for anyone caught singing violence inciting songs such as “triple letter bed wetter”, “double word shit bird” and “You couldn’t spell a word if you had 7 blanks.”
“The best way to make sure you are safe is to just stay in for that week or maybe book a trip away.”
I also spoke to Kevbo Newcombe, reformed Scrabble hooligan, who explained why fans of the board game have such a bad reputation.
Kev Newcombe Interview – thanks to Daily Brit for letting us host it on their channel.
“Most of us go there to watch the Scrabble and get a bit tipsy, but sometimes the games can last a while. Next thing you know we’ve had 15/16 pints and when you get a load of blokes in that situation, you’re going to get trouble. Most of the boys I know are good lads, but we see Scrabble as a way to get away from our family lives for a weekend and crack a few heads. Nothing wrong with that.”
Luckily, Kevbo isn’t allowed within 100 miles of any Scrabble tournament, so he won’t be able to crack any heads down here.
We will keep you posted on any updates if and when we get them.
More information here – https://www.mindsportsacademy.com/Scrabble/Content/4179?title=world-scrabble-championships-2018
