2023 Scrabble Word Cup playing letters in Albany
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -The 2023 Scrabble Word Cup is bringing players together from all over to spell their very best. Put on by LetsPlayScrabble, a group of players who organize tournaments in the U.S. and Canada, with a grand total of $60,000 in prizes.
This year, the Mariott Hotel in Albany acts as the starting square on the board for over 250 players from June 30 to July 4. “People play Scrabble all day long in the ballroom and then we do social events like karaoke and trivia. We give people a great weekend," said Director of Word Cup 2023, Josh Greenway.
Players of all ages play 31 games, stretching their word-spelling muscles. For Player, Mack Meller, he started sweeping the board against family at a young age. Now in almost his 100th tournament, Meller says there is a lot to the game when it comes to spelling the best words.
“It’s a very sort of specialized kind of math you use in Scrabble. It’s very probabilistic, a lot of combinatorics. Beyond just having to add up your plays, you have to think about what you are giving back to your opponent," described Meller.
In a practice game on stream, Meller scored 465 to 432 points against Influencer, Joshua Sokol. For players like Sokol, Scrabble has become a fulltime job thanks to the community supporting player-made content.
“I started streaming during the pandemic in 2020. I really loved it so I just kept going. I try to teach Scrabble to people, get better and improve with my viewers,” explained Sokol.
The tournament has partnered with Discover Albany to give all the players a great experience in the Capital Region. With tourists coming from as far as Ireland and Nigeria to test their luck, the city hopes to show off the best of the area.
“We crafted a plan of where these players could eat and where they could gather socially. They always want to take a look at the city that they visit, what’s special about Albany," stated Director of Sales at Discover Albany, Jay Cloutier.