French World Scrabble Championships


The French World Scrabble Championships is an annual Scrabble tournament that takes place in a different French-speaking country every year. Created in 1972 by Hippolyte Wouters, it was the first of the three World Scrabble Championships to be created, with the English version being created in 1991 and the Spanish version being created in 1997.
Unlike the English and Spanish versions, the French World Championships are made up of various tournaments, somewhat like the World Series of Poker. The "Main Event" is the Elite tournament which has existed since 1972, and was first won by the tournament's creator Hippolyte Wouters.

List of tournaments

World Championships

Some other tournaments are organised during the week which do not crown a World Champion but do have a winner:
The French World Scrabble Championships started off as a small tournament in Cannes with just 7 players, and at the time, was not considered to be a World Championship. The tournament moved each year and more and more players which led to other tournaments being created at the same venue. The Elite tournament was at first dominated by Belgian players, with 5 of the first 7 championships being won by Belgian players. After three French winners in 1979, 80 and 81 the tournament was taken over by Michel Duguet of France who won the tournament 5 times in 7 years, while finishing second twice in that period. Duguet also set various championship records by dropping just 12 points in 5 games, which is 99.71%. After winning the Elite World Championship for a 5th time he retired from Scrabble and took up contract bridge and became one of the best players in the world, competing in both the French national championships and the European team championships.
After Duguet's retirement the French domination of the championships continued, with in total 12 championships in a row being won by France. Indeed, France also took second place every year during that ran, apart from in 1990 when Christian Pierre of Belgium finished second. In 1991 it was Christian Pierre who won Belgium's first title since 1978 and continued to win the title a total of 5 times in 8 years, matching what Duguet did in the 1980s. In 2002 and 2003 Jean Pierre Hellebaut became the first Swiss winner of the tournament. In fact he was born in Belgium and had previously finished second in the Belgian national championship in 1991 but after moving to Switzerland, won the World Championship 2 years in a row, a feat only accomplished before that by Duguet and Pierre. Antonin Michel has since dominated the Elite World Championships, having won the tournament twice in 2005 and 2007 and having finished second in 2001 and 2006.
The pairs event has been mainly dominated by France; Michel Duguet holds the record with five titles while Antonin Michel and Franck Maniquant are just behind with 4 titles. Two African players have won the title - Ndongo Samba Sylla and Mactar Sylla of Senegal - these two are in fact brothers.
The blitz is a relatively recent event, added in 2001 and 5 of the 8 championships have been won by Antonin Michel. The four other winners and Florian Lévy and Franck Maniquant of France, and Ndongo Samba Sylla and Mactar Sylla of Senegal.
The match play tournament known as le Championnat du monde de Scrabble classique was brought in in 2006 and has been systematically dominated by African players, showing that the traditional form of Scrabble is more popular in Africa than the duplicate one. In 2008 in Dakar, 7 of the top 10 players were African, the three exceptions being Pascal Astresses, Antonin Michel and Hervé Bohbot all from France. More recently, the 2015 event saw Africans claim six of the top 10 places, and in 2016 the top three players and seven of the top 10 were Africans.

List of winners of the ''Elite'' (duplicate individual) tournament

YearHost CityWinnerNationalityRunner-upNationality
1972 CannesHippolyte WoutersSarah Wolfowitz
1973 LiègeAgnès LempereurDominique Darmstaedter
1974 MonacoMarc SelisDominique Darmstaedter
1975 EsteponaMichel CharlemagneMarc Selis
1976 DjerbaMarc SelisMichel Charlemagne
1977 Aix-les-BainsJean-Marc BellotMichel Pialat
1978 BrusselsYvon DuvalClaude Del
1979 VichyBenjamin HannunaVincent Labbé
1980 LiègeVincent LabbéRobert Laïk
1981 MontreuxJacques-Henri MuraccioleMarc Esquerré
1982 HammametMichel DuguetBenjamin Hannuna
1983 GrenobleMichel DuguetFrank Pluven
1984 MontrealBenjamin HannunaMichel Duguet
1985 BrusselsMichel DuguetClaude Del
1986 LausannePhilippe BellostaMichel Duguet
1987 MetzMichel DuguetPhilippe Lorenzo
1988 QuebecMichel DuguetJean-Louis Pallavicini
1989 NamurPaul LevartMarc Treiber
1990 DakarMarc TreiberChristian Pierre
1991 FleurierChristian PierrePaul Levart
1992 HullChristian PierreEmmanuel Rivalan
1993 Saint-MaloEmmanuel RivalanFranck Maniquant
1994 LibramontChristian PierreEddy Clauwaert
1995 OvronnazJean-François LachaudFranck Maniquant
1996 Aix-les-BainsChristian PierreNicolas Grellet
1997 Saint-HyacintheAurélien KermarrecEmmanuel Rivalan
1998 BrusselsChristian PierreFranck Maniquant
1999 BulleEmmanuel RivalanJean-François Lachaud
2000 ParisFlorian LévyGérard Boccon
2001 La RochelleFranck ManiquantAntonin Michel and Emmanuel Rivalan
2002 MontrealJean Pierre HellebautThierry Chincholle
2003 LiègeJean Pierre HellebautChristian Pierre
2004 MarrakechGermain BoulianneFranck Maniquant
2005 NeuchâtelAntonin MichelJean Pierre Hellebaut
2006 ToursPascal FritschAntonin Michel
2007 QuebecAntonin MichelChristian Pierre
2008 DakarÉric VenninAurélien Delaruelle
2009 MonsHugo DelafontaineChristian Pierre
2010 MontpellierAntonin MichelDidier Roques
2011 MontreuxFrancis DesjardinsAntonin Michel
2012 MontaubanDavid BovetÉtienne Budry
2013 RimouskiAntonin MichelDavid Bovet
2014 Aix-les-BainsHugo DelafontaineFrancis Desjardins
2015 Louvain-la-NeuveDavid BovetNigel Richards
2016 AgadirHugo DelafontaineArnaud Mulonda Democratic Republic of the Congo
2017 MartignyNigel RichardsThierry Chincholle
2018 TremblantNigel RichardsArnaud Mulonda Democratic Republic of the Congo
2019 La RochelleNigel RichardsN'Dongo Samba Sylla Senegal

List of winners of the ''Classique'' (matchplay) tournament