Closing the book on Word Cup 2026
It's a little bit hard to believe that this past Word Cup, which we just wrapped up in Williamsburg, Virginia last week, was already the fourth one that our CoCo team has co-directed alongside our friends from WGPO. It feels like just yesterday that we were running our first one. Time flies, I suppose.
Looking back, though, and with the benefit of a few days to rest and recharge and reflect on everything, I think I can safely say this was the smoothest one yet.
From my perspective in the director's chair, anyway, it seemed like everything in both CSW divisions went according to plan. People registered, they showed up, and they played all 31 of their games without a hitch. A grand total of 651 pairings went up, 651 results trickled in, and eventually we crowned our champions. The director (me) directed, the players played, the streamers streamed, and a worldwide audience seemed to enjoy the show from afar. All went well.
Of course, none of this would be possible without a whole bunch of wonderful people making a whole bunch of contributions across the board. It always takes a village to make a tournament like this a successful one.
So today, let's indulge in what's become something of an annual tradition in this space - let's acknowledge everyone who helped make Word Cup what it was. We've got a lot of people to congratulate; we've got a lot of people to thank. So let's dive right into it.
CONGRATULATIONS!
...first off, obviously, to our grand champion, Will Anderson. Will put together a remarkable performance throughout the week; he led the event nearly from wire to wire, and he finished with a dazzling record of 21-10, +1516. Will is not only an excellent player, more than deserving of a Word Cup title, but he's also a tremendous ambassador for the game. It's always a good day when the good guys win.
...to Josh Castellano, who was in contention for the title until the very end, coming up short against Will in the final game. Ultimately, his excellent performance of 19.5-11.5, +961 earned him a second-place finish. Zoom out, and it's been quite the run for Josh this summer - second at the star-studded Causeway Challenge, then first at SPC in Cedar Rapids, and now this. Pretty impressive stuff.
...to the rest of our money finishers in Division 1. Rob Robinsky won 19.5 games of his own, finishing just a few spread points behind Josh in third place. Ben Schoenbrun took home fourth place (and the WESPA Grandmaster title!). Olatunde Oduwole finished fifth, and Matthew O'Connor earned the class prize for entering the tournament seeded 15th and finishing eighth. Well done, gentlemen.
...to Osikhena Ojior, who won Division 2 in impressive fashion, going 25-6 to take home the title in his very first Word Cup. Osikhena is a well-respected player in his native Nigeria, and now he's got an American championship to add to his resume as well. Against any field, in any country, 25-6 is an awe-inspiring performance.
...to Mark Francillon, who put up an incredible fight in the race against Osikhena, ultimately finishing second with 24.5 wins. Mark was still in contention until the final game; Osikhena sealed the deal with a head-to-head win over Mark in round 31. This is Mark's second consecutive runner-up finish at Word Cup; he came close to winning it all last year in St. Louis, too.
...to the rest of the Division 2 leaderboard - Noel Livermore who took home third place, Ayotunde Odekunle fourth, and Tobey Roland who won the class prize (seeded #12, finished #6). Cheers to all!
...to everyone who competed at Word Cup, up and down the standings, in both divisions. No matter where you finished in the end, you survived a grueling 31 games of competition against a tough field. That's commendable. Well done.
THANK YOU!
...to everyone on the CoCo team who helped behind the scenes to ensure this event ran smoothly. Becky Dyer managed the entrants list, handling a constant deluge of registrations and dropouts and tentatives and just-kidding-not-tentatives and whatnot. Carson Ip handled the finances - including all the entry fees in, all the prizes out, and more. Wayne Dyer built and maintained all the Word Cup pages on the CoCo website. Martin DeMello gave us all the tools we needed to deliver pairings and standings in real time (and dutifully handled several of my panicked late-night emails about various pairings crises that broke out during the tournament). Our executive director Jennifer and all of our board members offered guidance on every aspect of the planning and execution for this event. This event was a total team effort. Everyone crushed it.
...to the Word Cup directing team - Laurie Cohen, Bennett Jacobstein, Josh Greenway. All four of us collaborated beautifully throughout the event, and I'm tremendously grateful. Without these guys' teamwork, we wouldn't have been able to deliver the smooth, seamless player experience that you all have come to expect from Word Cup.
...to our world-class stream team, who once again did an incredible job broadcasting Word Cup to a global audience. Christian Kay, Andrew Kay - you guys killed it as always.
...to everyone who played any role in this year's Word Cup, no matter how big or how small. Whether you played, directed, volunteered in any capacity, or just cheered along from home with the live coverage, thanks for doing your part. It takes everyone out there in the Scrabble community to make these big championship events successful. So, truly, sincerely: Thanks, everyone. Thanks to you all, another memorable Word Cup is in the books.