WESPAC 2025 Preview

It's time to preview the 2025 WESPAC!

First things first: as a reminder, I will not be attending the World Championship this year, for reasons detailed in this post: https://www.patreon.com/posts/road-to-ghana-137170278

However, I'm still so excited to follow along and contribute from afar - I'll be doing daily recaps after each day's streaming action over at LetsPlayScrabble, akin to GothamChess covering the games from the World Chess Championship.

It's long been a dream of mine that a fan of Scrabble content on YouTube could watch a big event like this and already recognize most or all of the top competitors. So I'll be listing out my top 10 players to watch, along with links to any YouTube videos I've done on them.

Nigel Richards (New Zealand)

World Ranking: #1
Rating: 2206
Video links:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLm9WVrRb2Lz1BDyJux1O67kmuAlWJ0IqR

The one player who needs no introduction and the clear favorite in any event he attends, Nigel Richards immediately legitimizes WESPAC 2025 as a true World Championship level event. He has shown absolutely zero sign of slowing down in 2025, playing to his usual stunningly high level of play in an insane 5 different lexicons across 3 languages. Anyone coveting the title of 2025 World Champion will need to go through him first.

Hubert Wee (Singapore)

World Ranking: #3
Rating: 2137
Video links:
https://youtu.be/nIXFrVWgfs8 (cool game with Nigel)
https://youtu.be/_fNI5J5lMDM (finals vs Panupol)

As Nigel's most frequent opponent over the course of his career, Hubert and Nigel have played in 107 games tracked by WESPA. Hubert's record in those games: 51 wins, 55 losses, and one tie. Going toe to toe with Nigel is difficult enough in a short sample size, but doing so in an 100+ game sample is truly remarkable. It's been over two years since Hubert finished lower than 2nd place in any event, which bodes well for him in his attempt to make the finals.

Adam Logan (Canada)

World Ranking: #12
Rating: 2046
Video links:
https://youtu.be/bM33gKNIHvs (cool game vs. me)

The 2005 World Champion and many-time U.S. and Canadian champion will be trying to become only the 3rd player ever to win multiple world titles. Few players can match Adam's attention to detail and precision. When needed, he can also play at an extremely rapid pace, putting his opponents under extreme pressure. He's unquestionably one of the favorites in this event and one of my favorite players to watch.

Harshan Lamabadusuriya (UK)

World Ranking: #14
Rating: 2044
Video links:
https://youtu.be/kC7oFGGD984 ("The Year of Harshan")
https://youtu.be/roEiwhavbLQ (crazy game vs Wellington)
https://youtu.be/IaqwHNhrpko (ADZ endgame vs Nigel)
https://youtu.be/47ynBJFz0MI (2023 Worlds Finals vs David Eldar)

The multi-time World Championship runner-up has won absolutely everything he's played this year - literally. With wins at the UK Open, Grand Slam, Easter Matchplay, MGI Classic, and UK Nationals this year, as well as a win at the Sri Lankan Nationals in a visit back to his childhood home, Harshan is clearly in the best form of his career. Given his prior accomplishments, that's saying a lot - he's now poised to capture the one title that has eluded him.

Toh Weibin (Singapore)

World Ranking: #16
Rating: 2039
Video links:
https://youtu.be/tnF0Lf7kT7A (850 point game)

Don't look now, but the former World Youth Champion has been steadily increasing his world ranking with solid results all year. When he's in form, Weibin is an extremely dangerous player. His 850-point game against Rik Kennedy is good evidence of that, but even better evidence is his 20-20 lifetime record against Nigel Richards. Nobody should be surprised if Weibin works his way towards the top of the standings.

Akshay Bhandarkar (UAE)

World Ranking: #19
Rating: 2032
Video links: none yet

This isn't the first WESPAC in recent memory to be held in Africa. In 2017, the event was held in Kenya. The champion that year? Akshay, who emerged victorious in a field that included former champions Nigel, Adam, and Wellington Jighere. He remains an elite player, with excellent word knowledge and tactical ability. He's done it once already, and he could certainly do it again.

Waseem Khatri (Pakistan)

World Ranking: #29
Rating: 2006
Video links: https://youtu.be/-8Rt4eq6KEk (battle with Bilal Asher)

A legend in his native Pakistan, with 12 national championships after his most recent win this year, Waseem's results on the world stage have been solid as well, with a finals appearance at the North American Championship in 2024. He's very close to his all-time peak rating, perhaps from matching wits with the incredibly talented crop of youth players in Pakistan. He'll take that momentum into WESPAC 2025.

Adheesha Dissanayake (Sri Lanka)

World Ranking: #41
Rating: 1985
Video links: https://youtu.be/hRw1lhUqCRw (2024 WYSC finals)

On the heels of one of the finest Youth Scrabble careers in history, Adheesha has seamlessly transitioned into all-ages play at just 16 years of age. Earlier this year, he finished 2nd at the prestigious KSSA Indian Open, narrowly losing by a one-game margin to Hubert Wee after leading for most of the event. While this will surely be the most challenging event of his young career to date, Adheesha's ranking and rating likely undersell his true talent level.

Abdulmumin Jimoh (Nigeria)

World Ranking: #44
Rating: 1982
Video links: none yet

As the top rated/ranked player from the Nigerian contingent at WESPAC 2025, Abdulmumin will be poised to make a statement in international play. With several big wins in Nigerian major events already this year, he's in strong form and will surely be very well prepared for his first ever World Championship event.

Oluwatimilehin Doko (Nigeria)

World Ranking: #59
Rating: 1961
Video links:
https://youtu.be/p0i1MgZFAyI (deep dive into Nigerian scrabble)
https://youtu.be/n1C3DX-XEkY (MGI finals vs Nsikak Etim)

A couple years back, I was the streaming producer and commentator for a match Timi played with a veteran expert. I'd never heard of him before, but I remember my shock as he consistently exhibited a level of play on par with any grandmaster despite his young age. He went on to reach a top 10 worldwide ranking after his African Scrabble Championship victory in 2024, and while he had some tougher results in 2025, he is back on the rise again. I love his chances to surprise the world in his first ever WESPAC event just as he surprised me.

HONORABLE MENTIONS
Kevin McMahon (Ireland), World #27: With consistently good results, including a 3rd place finish at the World Championship in 2018 and coming one game away from beating Harshan at the MGI International Classics this past year, Kevin is likely to be in the mix.

Sammy Okosagah (USA), World #64: The former Nigerian legend will compete for team USA this year, but he'll likely be highly motivated to put forth his very best in this event.

Phil Robertshaw (UK), World #66: The two-time UK champion took home victory in the one UK event Harshan did not win so far this year (the British Matchplay Championship).

Charles Tachie (Ghana), World #150: The top rated player from the host nation had a very solid 8th place finish at the Worlds in 2023. Will he benefit from "home field advantage?"

Well, there you have it - there are still tons more exciting players to watch, including top US players Chris Lipe (#39), Jason Keller (#67) and Rasheed Balogun (#83), UK GM and YouTuber David Webb (#128), Irish expert Rik Kennedy (#74), and lightning-fast Nigerian Tega Okiemute (#79).

Anybody else I missed that you think might make some noise at the top of the standings? Let me know in the comments! And make sure to tune into the streams over at https://www.youtube.com/@letsplayscrabbledotcom - it'll be Scrabble History in real time!