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- Jocelyn Lor
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- Balasingam Vanitha
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- Yeo Kien Hung
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- Asirvatham Ganesh
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- Nigel Richards
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- Sue Ann Ong
Mattel Inc. and Mattel (SEA) are delighted to announce that the 2009 World SCRABBLE® Championships will be held at the Zon Regency Hotel, Johor Bahru from November 26 – 29.
Representing Malaysia would be last year’s First Runner-Up and one of the favourites to win the title, Ganesh Asirvatham, who is also the World’s Top ranked player. Malaysia will also be sending the youngest finalist to the Championships, 14-year old school boy, William Kang from Malaysia who will be competing for the first time with the current holder New Zealander Nigel Richards, touted as the Championship’s favourite as he is great shape, having just won the 33-game Baguio Centennial Word Builder’s Tournament in the Philippines with a whopping seven games to spare.
There will be a strong team of seven from Malaysia to the Championships this year with 17-year old Ong Suanne who came in 12th at the last Championships in 2005, Michael Tang, Kian Hung Yeo, and Vannitha Balasingam, with Jocelyn Lor as the reserve player, along with Ganesh and William.
The World SCRABBLE® Championship has taken place every second year since 1991. This year the event is sponsored by Mattel Inc and as usual has attracted entrants from across the globe, vying for the Championship title and a total of USD30,500 in prize money.
A set number of places is owed to each country participating and it is the decision of individual countries’ national associations to determine which of their players will stand for them. This system is typically carried out by national ratings system or qualifier tournaments or some combination of the two. The national team performing well according to specific criteria will earn further permanent places for that country.
Families the world over love this classic word game that comes in over 30 languages, celebrities not spared. Confirmed SCRABBLE® fans include the President of the United States, Barack Obama, the famous Nigella Lawson, Mel Gibson, Kylie Minogue, Robbie Williams, Christina Aguilera, Chris Martin (lead singer with band Coldplay) and even Madonna and Guy Ritchie, along with Richard Branson and The Queen.
SCRABBLE® is the flagship brand of Mattel Games, it is a product that is recognized and respected all around the world. SCRABBLE® was first launched in the USA by a small family business in 1948 and took America by storm in the early 1950’s. It has continued to grow in popularity throughout the world ever since.
