Sam Crispin second at World Youth Championship

Congratulations to Sam Crispin, who finished second at the World Youth Scrabble Championship in Nairobi, beating the eventual champion in the final game but missing out on the title on spread.

Sam finished the 24-game event on 18–6 with a spread of +1367, level on wins with both the champion, Dineth Fernando of Australia (18–6, +1808), and third-placed Suyash Manchali of India (18–6, +1082). With the top three inseparable on wins, the title came down to spread alone.

Remarkably, it was Sam who beat Fernando in the very last game of the tournament, winning 557–393. That 164-point margin closed the gap considerably, but with Fernando holding a lead of well over 700 points going into the round, Sam would have needed to win by around 385 to snatch the title.

It is comfortably Sam’s best result at the championship, improving on the two top-ten finishes from his previous appearances. He also came away with his highest ever WESPA rating of 1961.

The championship was held over three days from 7 to 9 August at the Trademark Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya, with 136 young players from eleven countries taking part. Sam was the sole UK representative in the field.

Congratulations Sam — a superb performance.

Final standings

This article updates Sam Crispin at World Youth Championship.