The first World Youth Scrabble Championships were held in Wollongong, Australia 2006. Competitors from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, England, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Kuwait, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates and United States have competed in the annual tournament so far. WYSC is open to anyone under the age of 18 on 1 January of the year of each tournament. The tournament used to be held at the start of December but was brought forward to August for 2014. So far, the WYSC tournament has been held in Malaysia six times, Australia twice, Dubai twice, Sri Lanka twice and France, Philippines and the United Kingdom once each.
List of finals Year Winner 1st Runner-up2nd Runner-up Location Entrants2026 Dineth Fernando Samuel Crispin Suyash ManchaliNairobi, Kenya 2182025 Madhav Gopal Kamath Abdulqudus Olawe A Aezham AhmedKualar Lampur, Malaysia 2182024 Affan Salman Suyash Manchali Adheesha DissanayakeKalutara, Sri Lanka 1362023 Hivin Dilmith Adheesha Dissanayake Kavindu MalawaraarachchiTrang province, Thailand 1422022 Ali Salman Madhav Gopal Kamath Hasham Hadi Khanwoogles.io 862021 Syed Imaad Ali Madhav Gopal Kamath Napat Vatjaranurathornwoogles.io 702019 Tarin Pairor Janul De Silva Yash PotnisKuala Lumpur, Malaysia1902018 Syed Imaad Ali Janul De Silva Napat VatjaranurathornDubai, United Arab Emirates1162017 Aabid Ismail Janul De Silva Abdullah AbbasiKuala Lumpur, Malaysia1762016 Sanchit Kapoor Thavalakshman Yoganathan Aabid IsmailLille, France1072015 Nicholas Hong Abdullah Abbasi Jack DurandPerth, Australia1062014 Jack Durand Yong Jian Rong Mariam ArifColombo, Sri Lanka1202013 Moiz Ullah Baig Javeria Baig Nuttapong PholthipDubai, United Arab Emirates1362012 Michael McKenna Cheong Yi Wei William KangBirmingham, United Kingdom602011 Anand Bharadwaj Victor Gwee Michael McKennaJohor Bahru, Malaysia842010 Ker Jen Ho Preedee Khongthanara William KangManila, Philippines822009 Suanne Ong Matt Alastair Michael McKennaJohor Bahru, Malaysia812008 Charnrit Khongthanarat Darren Khoo Beng Way Scott ChungPenang, Malaysia592007 Toh Weibin Sean Chung Chin Shiu Suanne OngJohor Bahru, Malaysia542006 David Eldar Austin Shin Will NedigerWollongong, Australia51
Championships by country CountryTitles533222111
World Youth Scrabble Cup 2025 : Malaysia WYSC 2025 which is the 20th edition of the World Youth Scrabble Champion will be held from 30 September to 1 October 2025 at Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.
World Youth Scrabble Cup 2024 : Sri Lanka The World Youth Scrabble Championship was held from 6 to 8 September 2024 at Citrus Waskaduwa, Kalutara in Sri Lanka. Mr. Ashok Bhandarkar was the tournament director. Affan Salman was gibsonised, i.e. declared the winner of the World Youth Scrabble Cup before the last round.
+ Final Standings of WYSC 2024 Place Player name Country 1 Affan Salman Pakistan 2 Suyash Manchali India 3 Adheesha Dissanayake Sri Lanka 4 Madhav Gopal Kamath India 5 Samuel Crispin England 6 Bilal Asher Pakistan 7 Kritsanaphong Boonke Thailand 8 Ibrahim Mansoor Pakistan 9 Ho Xuan Lei Singapore 10 Aehzam Ahmed Pakistan
Age Group Winners CategoryPlayer (age in bracket) CountryU10Nathan Tan (9)MalaysiaU12Inam Irshad (11)Sri LankaU14 Bilal Asher (12)PakistanU16Suyash Manchali (15)India
Category Winners CategoryPlayerCountryBest Female PlayerAlexis KohMalaysiaBest Novice Samuel Crispin England
WESPA Youth Cup 2023 : Trang, Thailand The WESPA Youth Cup 2023 was held from 1 to 3 December 2023 at Thumrin Thana Hotel in Mueang Trang district, Trang Province in Thailand. 142 players participated representing Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Romania, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Kingdom and the United States.
Hivin Dilmith (Sri Lanka) was crowned the World Youth Scrabble Champion 2023.
Place Player Country 1st Hivin Dilmith Sri Lanka 2nd Adheesha Dissanayake Sri Lanka 3rd Kavindu Malawaraarachchi Sri Lanka 4th Ali Salman Pakistan 5th Madhav Gopal Kamath India 6th Bilal Asher Pakistan 7th Affan Salman Pakistan 8th Ahmed Salman Pakistan 9th Ahmad Aqmarul Harraz Malaysia 10th Suyash Manchali India
The Youth Scrabble Team of Sri Lanka achieved a remarkable milestone at the World Youth Scrabble Championship 2023, securing 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places among 142 competitors from 17 nations. This historic accomplishment also earned Sri Lanka the Best Team Title for the second consecutive year.
Sixteen-year-old Hivin Dilmith of Mahinda College, Galle, has reached a remarkable pinnacle by being named the World Youth Scrabble Champion at the WYC 2023. Fifteen-year-old Adheesha Dissanayake of Gateway College, Colombo claimed the 1st runner-up position in the championship. Seventeen-year-old Kavindu Malawaraarachchi of Royal College, Colombo, achieved the 2nd runner-up spot, marking the first-ever clean sweep of the top three positions in the tournament's history.
Age Group Winners CategoryChampion 1st Runner-Up2nd Runner-upU8 Paul Mavichak (Thailand)Affan Sohail (Pakistan)Divyashri Sarthavall (United Kingdom)U10Nathan Tan (Malaysia)Samuel Fok (Hong Kong)Raven Wu (Hong Kong)U12Bilal Asher (Pakistan)Samarth Manchali (India)Inam Irshad (Sri Lanka)U14 Madhav Gopal Kamath (India)Ahmed Salman (Pakistan)Ahana Goyal (India)U16Adheesha Dissanayake (Sri Lanka)Affan Salman (Pakistan)Suyash Manchali (India)
Category Winners CategoryPlayerCountryYoungest Player in Top 25Nathan Tan (8 years old / 16th place) MalaysiaBest Novice (1st WYC F2F)Hivin DilmithSri LankaBest Lady PlayerAhana GoyalIndiaHigh Game Imad Irshad (708 pts) Sri LankaHigh WordSehaan Owais TOOLKITS 203 pointsPakistanBest Team*Team Sri Lanka (55 wins, +3915) 1. Hivin Dilmith
2. Adheesha Dissanayake
3. Kavindu Malawaraarachchi Sri Lanka
*based on wins and spreads of top 3 players
WESPA Youth Cup 2022 : Virtual (woogles.io) The WESPA Youth Cup 2022 (formerly known as the World Youth Scrabble Championship) was hosted by Pakistan Scrabble Association through the online woogles.io platform from 15 October 2022 – 30 October 2022
List of Championship Prize winners are as follows: PlacePlayerCountry1stAli SalmanPakistan2ndMadhav Kamath India3rdHasham Hadi KhanPakistan4thRonnie BennettAustralia5thAdheesha DissanayakeSri Lanka6thPramit RaoIndia7thAffan SalmanPakistan8thSandali VithanageSri Lanka9thChaiyottha ManachaisitThailand10thEirfan Razman Malaysia
Age Group Winners CategoryPlayer (age in bracket)CountryU8 ChampionNathan Tan (7)MalaysiaU10 ChampionSamarth Manchali (9)IndiaU12 ChampionJeffrey Lam (11)AustraliaU14 ChampionMadhav Gopal Kamath (12)IndiaU16 ChampionAdheesha Dissanayake (14)Sri Lanka
Category Winners CategoryPlayerCountryBest Female PlayerSandali Vithanage Sri LankaYoungest Player in Top 25Jeffrey Lam (11 years old / 24th place) AustraliaHigh Game and High WordShane Abbas Highest game 721 vs Jake Haidar;
Highest word: AZURINES 212 points PakistanBest Team*Team Sri Lanka (76.5, +5195)
Top 3 Players:
1. Adheesha Dissanayake
2. Sandali Vithanage
3. Hivin DilmithSri Lanka
*based on wins and spreads of top 3 players
There were 85 players from 15 countries that took part in this 2022 edition: ContinentCountryNumber of PlayersOceaniaAustralia6EuropeGermany2United Kingdom2AsiaHong Kong7India10Indonesia3Malaysia11Nepal1Pakistan15Philippines4Singapore2Sri Lanka10Thailand7AfricaNigeria2North AmericaUnited States of America4
WESPA Youth Cup 2021 : Virtual (woogles.io) List of Championship Prize winners are as follows: PlacePlayerCountry1stSyed Imaad AliPakistan2ndMadhav Gopal Kamath India3rdNapat VatjaranurathornThailand4thHasham Hadi KhanPakistan5thSandali VithanageSri Lanka6thNattapat Nak-inThailand7thThomson Law Long YinHong Kong8thSuyash Manchali India9thNoah SlatkoffCanada10thRonnie Bennett Australia
Age Group Winners CategoryPlayer (age in bracket)CountryU10 ChampionJeffrey Lam (9)AustraliaU12 ChampionMadhav Gopal Kamath (11)IndiaU14 ChampionSuyash Manchali (12)IndiaU16 ChampionNoah Slatkoff (15)Canada
Category Winners CategoryPlayerCountryBest Female PlayerSandali Vithanage Sri LankaYoungest Player in Top 20Dresden Lim Zhan Le MalaysiaHigh Game and High WordNapat Vatjaranurathorn Highest game 690 vs Dresden Lim Zhan Le;
Highest word: EXPENDERS 221 points ThailandBest Team*Team Pakistan (76–32, +6734)Spirit of Virtual ScrabbleTeam India *based on wins and spreads of top 3 players
WESPA Youth Cup 2020 : Virtual The 2020 edition of the WESPA was held amidst the backdrop of COVID-19 pandemic, and took the form of Team tournament instead of individual competition.
2020 Championship Winners: PlaceCountry1stThailand2ndPakistan3rdSri Lanka4thIndia
Player of the Tournament
Player of the Tournament was awarded to Thailand's Napat Vatjaranurathorn for displaying wonderful playing skills throughout the tournament.
Full closing ceremony was broadcast live on World English-Language Scrabble Players Association (WESPA) Facebook
WESPA Youth Cup 2019 : Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tournament report can be found here.
List of all prize winners can be found here. PlacePlayerCountry1stTarin PairorThailand2ndJanul De SilvaSri Lanka3rdYash PotnisIndia4thJoshua Law Bing HanSingapore5thSyed Imaad AliPakistan6thVignesh PirapaharanSri Lanka7thLiao YiSingapore8thBrian PoHong Kong9thJarrett Tan Yan KeatSingapore10thEirfan RazmanMalaysia
Thailand's Tarin Pairor won the 2019 Wespa Youth Cup, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 29 November to 1 December of that year. (Completing a meteoric rise through youth Scrabble by the 15-year old, who finished 74th as a rookie in 2017 and 7th in Dubai in 2018.) Defending champion Syed Imaad Ali of Pakistan finished 5th while Janul De Silva of Sri Lanka ended in second place for the third consecutive year.
Thailand took home the award for the best national team, i.e. the team with the highest cumulative score among its top three players: Pairor and teammates Napat Vatjaranurathorn (who finished 12th overall) and Thanyanat Niratsungnoen (31st). This is the first year since 2008 that the WESPA Youth champion was Thai. The game of Scrabble is a popular competitive activity for schoolchildren in Thailand (where it is known as 'Crossword') and the country produced several premier adult players over the previous two decades.
WESPA Youth Cup 2018 : Dubai Tournament report can be found here.
List of all prize winners can be found here. PlacePlayerCountry1stSyed Imaad AliPakistan2ndJanul de SilvaSri Lanka3rdNapat VatjaranurathornThailand4thAabid IsmailSri Lanka5thSohaib SanaullahPakistan6thBrian PoHong Kong7thTarin PairorThailand8thVraj JainIndia9thThomson Law Long YinHong Kong10thRadinka DissanayakeSri Lanka
In the 2018 youth cup, held in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Syed Imaad Ali of Pakistan overcame Sri Lanka's Janul Del Silva to take the championship. Ali, Sohaib Sanaullah and Ali Rashid Khan earned Pakistan the award for the best national team in the tournament. Del Silva's second-place finish marked the second year in a row he had taken silver in this world championship. His Sri Lankan teammate Aabid Ismail, champion in 2017 and third in 2016, finished 4th in Dubai.
WESPA Youth Cup 2017 : Subang Jaya, Malaysia The 2017 edition was renamed as "WESPA Youth Cup". Originally scheduled to be held in Johor Baru, it was later moved to Subang Jaya. Aabid Ismail from Sri Lanka was crowned the World Youth Scrabble Champion 2017. PlacePlayerCountry1stAabid IsmailSri Lanka2ndJanul de SilvaSri Lanka3rdAbdullah AbbasiPakistan4thHasham Hadi KhanPakistan5thSohaib SanaulahPakistan6thNititorn LaimekThailand7thDaniyal SanaullahPakistan8thVignesh PirapaharanSri Lanka9thNapat VatjaranurathoThailand10thPansub DirekwatanaThailand