ESPN to Air Scrabble Competition

A $100,000 Scrabble competition was filmed recently and is scheduled to air on the cable sports network ESPN sometime this fall, according to a newspaper report.

A column in The Ledger of Lakeland, Florida, said, "ESPN was in Providence, R.I., recently, taping the National Scrabble Association's All-Stars 2003 competition for airing this fall. Twenty-five players competed for $100,000 in prize money."

Stefan Fatsis, author of Word Freak and a regular contributor to The Wall Street Journal and NPR, is set to commentate.

According to the National Scrabble Association, the three-day tournament included 18 preliminary rounds held on August 16 to 18, 2003, followed by a best-of-five final in the late morning on August 18.

The tournament's winner walked away with $50,000.

If you want to know more about the tournament, a report from a Providence television station is available. But be warned -- this report also reveals the winner, so you'll know ahead of time if you watch the ESPN coverage.

Fatsis' book Word Freak, about the world of competitive Scrabble, has been optioned to become a feature film.