Montrealer wins North America's top Scrabble prize
Montrealer Michael Fagen took home top prize in North America's biggest Scrabble competition last week, despite being an underdog.
"Amazing and, at the same time, unbelievable!" exclaims Fagen holding the trophy he earned at The Scrabble Players Championship, an event held in Baltimore after a two-year hiatus.
"They have seeds like they do in tennis. I was seeded 28th out of 42 players, so I wasn't expected to come even close to winning!" he said. Somebody in the bottom half of the seeding has never taken home the top spot - until now.
Fagen joined the Montreal Scrabble Club in 2009 and has been perfecting his skills ever since.
It's a multi-layered game, he said.
"You also want to be able to see the players, look at the board, look where the high-scoring place could be, find the words in your rack, rearrange the letters, find places over the board, find where I can score a lot of points."
Plus, there's preventing your opponent from scoring, as Fagen did with Orry Swift to win the championship. That strategy earned him the trophy and a $10,000 U.S. prize.
His club is so proud. Montreal Scrabble Club founder Bernard Gotlieb has played against Fagen many, many times.
"He's just brilliant. It's like playing against a computer. He's so methodical and calculated!" he said.
"I think you have to be good at math. In this game, it's not just a word game," explained club co-director Sary Karanofsky. "It's a math-oriented game. Spatial awareness is important. And he's good at all of it!"
Curious? The Montreal Scrabble Club meets at the Cote-Saint-Luc Aquatic Club building at 5794 Parkhaven Ave. every Wednesday evening and welcomes new members.
"It's definitely social, and I think that's an important aspect of the game," said Karanofsky.
The game has so many variables at play.
Fagen said his winning formula is "three parts skill, two parts luck and one part attitude."
Despite wearing a mask during his trip to Baltimore and while playing all his games, Fagen caught COVID-19 along the way, so any Scrabble celebrations will have to wait for now.
But he's already planning his next moves.
"I think my goals for next year will be to try and redefend my title, do it again and get better as a player, keep studying more words, keep reviewing words!" he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Police investigating shooting outside of Drake's Bridle Path mansion: source
Toronto police are investigating a shooting that took place outside of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion early Tuesday morning, a source tells CP24.
There's actually no such thing as vegetables. Here's why you should eat them anyway
The rumours are true: Vegetables aren't real — that is, in botany, anyway. While the term fruit is recognized botanically as anything that contains a seed or seeds, vegetable is actually a broad umbrella term.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
The Met Gala was in full bloom with Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Mindy Kaling among the standout stars
The Met Gala and its fashionista A-listers on Monday included Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya and a parade of others in a swirl of flora and fauna looks on a green-tinged carpet lined by live foliage.
3 Indian nationals accused of murdering Hardeep Singh Nijjar facing court in B.C.
Three Indian nationals accused of murdering Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar are due to face court Tuesday over the killing that triggered a major diplomatic rift with India.
Israeli forces seize Rafah border crossing in Gaza, putting ceasefire talks on knife's edge
Israeli tanks seized control of Gaza's vital Rafah border crossing on Tuesday as Israel brushed off urgent warnings from close allies and moved into the southern city even as cease-fire negotiations with Hamas remained on a knife's edge.
Canadian cadets rock mullets and place second at U.S. military competition
Sporting mullets, Canadian Armed Forces officer cadets placed second in an annual military skills competition in the U.S.
Highlights from the 2024 Met Gala exhibit: Sleeping Beauty would wake up for these gowns
Sure, she was a royal princess and all. But there’s no way Sleeping Beauty — either before or after her nap — ever had quite the fabulous wardrobe that’s been assembled at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Noelia Voigt resigns as Miss USA, citing her mental health
Noelia Voigt, who was crowned Miss USA in November 2023, has announced she is resigning from her role, saying the decision is in the best interest of her mental health.