Nigel Richards, born in 1967 in New Zealand, is widely regarded as the greatest Scrabble player of all time. Often called the “Tiger Woods of Scrabble,” having dominated the game across multiple languages and formats, setting records that seem almost superhuman.
His journey began modestly in Christchurch, New Zealand, where he started playing at local clubs. Despite reportedly not being strong in English spelling during school, he quickly rose to prominence.
Key Accomplishments in English-Language Scrabble
Richards holds the record for the most World Scrabble Championship titles in the English language, with five wins:
- 2007
- 2011
- 2013
- 2018
- 2019
He also won the World English-Language Scrabble Players’ Association Championship (WESPAC) in 2019.
His other standout English titles include:
- Five-time U.S. National Scrabble Champion (including four consecutive wins from 2010–2013, a record)
- Ten-time UK Open Champion
- 12-time Singapore Open Scrabble Champion
- 15-time King’s Cup winner in Bangkok (the world’s largest Scrabble tournament)
Richards has won nearly 200 tournaments overall, earned significant prize money (including a $25,000 payout in one U.S. nationals victory), and maintained top rankings, often far ahead of competitors.
Feats in Other Languages: Mastery Without Fluency
Richards’ ability to conquer Scrabble in languages he doesn’t speak conversationally, relying on photographic-like memorization of entire dictionaries has been duly noted especially with wins in French and Spanish scrabble.
- French Scrabble: In 2015, after just nine weeks studying the French lexicon (despite not speaking French), he won the French World Scrabble Championship (non-duplicate/classical format). He repeated this in 2018 and secured multiple duplicate-format titles from 2017–2019. In 2025, he added wins in blitz, paire, and duplicate at the event in Trois-Rivières, Canada.
- Spanish Scrabble: In 2024, after about a year of studying the Spanish word list (without speaking the language), he won the Spanish World Scrabble Championship in Granada, Spain—losing only one game out of 24 in the classic format. He also finished second in duplicate and set records with perfect scores. This stunned the Spanish-speaking Scrabble world, with some calling it an “incredible humiliation” for native players.