The finals of the 2009 World Scrabble Championship are set. Reigning world champion Nigel Richards of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, will face Pakorn Nemitrmansuk of Bangkok, Thailand, in the best-of-five final round. Both players finished the three-day, 24-round preliminaries with identical 18-6 records. With a spread of +1854, Richards is ranked first. Nemitrmansuk's spread is +1388.
Rounding out the top five finishers were Dave Wiegand of Portland, Oregon; Marut Siriwangso of Samutprakarn, Thailand; and Komol Panyasophonlert of Bangkok, Thailand. Other countries represented in the top 10 of the 2009 World Scrabble Championship include Australia, Canada, England, and Scotland.
Wellington Jighere of Benin, Edo, Nigeria, who led at the end of the first day, finished in 11th place (15-9). Nemitrmansuk led at the end of day two. Richards went 7-1 on day three to earn his spot in the finals.
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