The World Scrabble Championship 2017 was originally slated to take place at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center in Qatar, as part of the 4th Mindsports World Championship (comprising chess, go, e-sports, and Scrabble events) organised by the Mindsports Academy (MSA).
[1][2] However, due to the 2017 Qatar diplomatic crisis, the championship was relocated to Nottingham Trent University in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, and held from 22 to 27 August[3] under the auspices of Mindsports International (the parent organisation of MSA) and sponsored by Mattel, the Qatar Tourism Authority, SamTimer, and the World Mind Sport Federation.
[4] MSA also hosted a Junior World Scrabble Championship for players under 21 at the same venue from 19 to 21 August.
2016 champion Brett Smitheram finished in fourteenth place, thus failing in his title defence.
[11] Notable plays by Eldar included CARRELS for 74 points, ASINICOS (idiots; 64), and OBVS (slang for obvious; 10).