Word Cup Final: Will Anderson is your champion!
It wasn't without a little bit of drama at the end - but ultimately, Will Anderson held on and finished the job on Wednesday morning. With a final record of 21-10, +1516, Will is your Word Cup 2026 CSW champion.
It came down to a battle between Will and Joshua Castellano in the final two rounds. Will and Josh both recorded big wins in round 29 out of 31 to open this morning's action; this set up a scenario where Will was in first, but Josh was only 1.5 games back. In other words, Josh needed to beat Will twice consecutively. He got the first one, a resounding 511-366 decision, but Will prevailed in the winner-take-all 31st game. With a 513-362 victory, Will clinched his first Word Cup championship.
Huge congrats are due to Will, to Josh for finishing second, and to the rest of the top prizewinners - Rob Robinsky, Ben Schoenbrun, and Olatunde Oduwole.
Here's your final top 10:
1. Will Anderson (21-10, +1516)
2. Joshua Castellano (19.5-11.5, +961)
3. Rob Robinsky (19.5-11.5, +930)
4. Ben Schoenbrun (19-12, +781)
5. Olatunde Oduwole (19-12, +642)
6. Enoch Nwali (18.5-12.5, +1061)
7. Matthew Bernardina (18.5-12.5, +724)
8. Matthew O'Connor (18-13, +763)
9. Adam Logan (18-13, +432)
10. Dennis Ikekeregor (18-13, +-440)
Meanwhile, in Division 2, Osikhena Ojior held off a late charge from Mark Francillon to seal the championship. Osikhena led for much of the tournament, but a Mark comeback on the final day gave him a chance at winning it all. Osikhena won the title by defeating Mark in the final round, 464-298.
Here's how things shook out in the second division:
1. Osikhena Ojior (25-6, +2261)
2. Mark Francillon (24.5-6.5, +2318)
3. Noel Livermore (20-11, +1498)
4. Ayodele Odekunle (19.5-11.5, +1333)
5. Yvonne Lobo (18.5-12.5, +-1)
6. Tobey Roland (18-13, +788)
7. Kaia (18-13, +547)
8. Fidelis Olotu (17-14, +1053)
9. Gary Smart (17-14, +320)
10. Pamina Deutsch (14-17, +284)
Big congratulations to everyone who performed well in both divisions. Big thank-yous to everyone who helped make this tournament possible. We will have much more to say about Word Cup in the days and weeks ahead... but for now, I'll just say, cheers to all.