2026 AUSTRALIAN MASTERS

Twenty of the top players will play the Australian Masters as a round robin in . At the same time, teams of three players from each of seven states or territories play the State Team Challenge as head-to-head matches.

Rule variation

Masters section has 5 point penalty for each word challenged but correct.

The contenders

The table below shows the teams according to qualification criteria set by the Council of the Australian Scrabble Players Association. A player must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident. Temporary visa holders are not eligible.
IMPORTANT: Selection processes will now give priority to Australian players who have told CASPA that they will attend or might attend. Send an email to barry.harridge@gmail.com with the subject line including AMSC25, and an indication of YES, NO or MAYBE. Any Australian ASPA member may ask to be considered, not just the ones listed as contenders.

Australian Masters

The selection comprises the best twenty active players (those players who have played at least one game during the qualification period) ranked by Q statistic.

State Team Challenge

Each state team will comprise three eligible players who have not already been selected for the Masters event and are the next best three from their state, ranked by Q statistic.
If insufficient eligible players are available … If insufficient eligible players are available, the state will not be permitted to participate in the State Team Challenge for that year unless a maximum of one stand-in can be fielded before the tournament from any state (generally, but not necessarily, that state in which the tournament takes place). That stand-in must also meet the above criteria.
An eligible stand-in may also be fielded in the event of illness or other unforeseen circumstance during the tournament.

Selection by ratings

The primary criterion for ranking candidates is the Q statistic
Details

Players may appeal to CASPA for a special dispensation in exceptional circumstances. In the event of any unforeseen issue the decision of CASPA is final.




Australian Masters


Contender		 Q Stat
01.03.2026		 Games
need 40		 Peak (games)
Jul to Oct		 Peak (games)
Nov to Feb		 Peak (games)
Mar to Jun

David Eldar 		2163.0066 2229(49)2097(17)

Andrew Fisher 		2013.0057 2008(32)2018(25)

Cameron Farlow 		1943.00107 1930(66)1956(41)

Edward Okulicz 		1940.50127 1911(68)1970(59)

Jakob Teitelbaum 		1921.50*19 2043(19)1800(0)

Naween Fernando 		1919.0056 1931(39)1907(17)

Peter Kougi 		1911.5014 1923(7)1900(7)

Ayorinde Saidu 		1904.0047 1919(32)1889(15)

Esther Perrins 		1833.00103 1806(68)1860(35)

Ryan Sutton 		1806.50100 1836(68)1777(32)

Trevor Halsall 		1804.0090 1794(68)1810(15)1806(7)

Joanne Craig 		1802.50145 1858(89)1747(56)

Bob Jackman 		1802.00169 1807(110)1797(59)

Josh Watt 		1771.00*26 1871(26)1671(0)

Rod Talbot 		1765.50176 1746(95)1785(81)

Max Mason 		1751.5046 1754(34)1749(12)

Tony Hunt 		1741.00170 1806(92)1676(78)

Adam Kretschmer 		1740.5017 1748(6)1733(11)

Nick Ivanovski 		1738.0044 1761(26)1715(18)

State Challenge


Residency:
At this stage Katie Rowe represents WA (6 games as VIC and 32 games as WA).
At this stage Ryan Gray represents QLD (60 games as QLD and 8 games as ACT).
At this stage Keri Heart represents NSW (18 games as QLD and 110 games as NSW).

Contender		 Q Stat
01.03.2026		 Games
need 40		 Peak (games)
Jul to Oct		 Peak (games)
Nov to Feb		 Peak (games)
Mar to Jun
ACT1
John Spaan 		1732.0075 1709(34)1755(41)
ACT2
Ronnie Bennett 		1727.0082 1759(57)1695(25)
ACT3
Noel Barrett 		1727.0076 1725(52)1729(24)
ACT4
John Hamilton 		1667.50105 1661(81)1674(24)
ACT5
Tim Reddan 		1400.5081 1390(41)1411(40)
ACT6
Lexia Smallwood 		1381.0096 1388(26)1374(70)
NSW1
Victor Tung 		1732.0043 1704(19)1760(24)
NSW2
John Holgate 		1696.50145 1697(69)1696(76)
NSW3
Dianne Brumby 		1564.5082 1573(68)1556(14)
NSW4
Garth van Vliet 		1561.00119 1608(68)1514(51)
NSW5
Graeme Lock Lee 		1543.0051 1495(26)1591(25)
NSW6
Jyoti Chandna 		1531.00108 1529(27)1533(81)
QLD1
Carmel Dodd 		1691.50186 1673(112)1710(74)
QLD2
Karen Richards 		1672.50225 1708(134)1637(91)
QLD3
Paul Richards 		1552.50212 1536(119)1569(93)
QLD4
Jane Brown 		1525.5052 1567(44)1484(8)
QLD5
Ryan Anderson 		1506.00*16 1606(16)1406(0)
QLD6
Julie Brice 		1487.00*62 1587(62)1387(0)
SA1
Daniel Piechnick 		1734.5047 1712(24)1757(23)
SA2
Tony Miller 		1651.5031 1646(24)1657(7)
SA3
Jane Taylor 		1625.00142 1693(126)1557(16)
SA4
Antony Kimber 		1477.5063 1497(40)1458(23)
SA5
Michael Vnuk 		1424.0047 1460(29)1388(18)
SA6
Oliver Jenner-O'Shea		 1422.50*5 1326(0)1519(5)
TAS1
Stephen Mooney Purse		 1701.5027 1703(18)1700(9)
TAS2
Jon Ford-King 		1581.0071 1545(44)1617(27)
TAS3
Martin Rose 		1480.5045 1470(26)1491(19)
TAS4
Khen Meerding 		1415.5026 1409(4)1422(22)
TAS5
Margaret Webb 		1393.0012 1391(4)1395(8)
TAS6
Margaret Griggs 		1308.5079 1319(58)1298(21)
VIC1
Oscar Ivanovski 		1711.50128 1728(61)1754(60)1682(7)
VIC2
Michael Hornung 		1689.50*4 1582(0)1797(4)
VIC3
Geoff Wright 		1607.7590 1593(43)1618(40)1610(7)
VIC4
Nat Podesser 		1531.7590 1524(69)1539(14)1532(7)
VIC5
Ray Alford 		1475.7521 1478(7)1467(7)1479(7)
VIC6
Carol Johnsen 		1456.00104 1425(73)1477(24)1461(7)