2026 AUSTRALIAN MASTERS

Twenty of the top players will play the Australian Masters as a round robin in somewhere. 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
25.08.2025
Games
need 40
Peak (games)
Jul to Oct
Peak (games)
Nov to Feb
Peak (games)
Mar to Jun

David Eldar
2229.0023 2229(23)

Jakob Teitelbaum
2043.007 2043(7)

Andrew Fisher
1941.006 1941(6)

Peter Kougi
1922.000

Cameron Farlow
1903.0024 1903(24)

Edward Okulicz
1895.0018 1895(18)

Josh Watt
1871.0026 1871(26)

Naween Fernando
1868.006 1868(6)

Joanne Craig
1858.0070 1858(70)

Sam Amarasinghe
1848.000

Ryan Sutton
1836.0025 1836(25)

Bob Jackman
1807.0049 1807(49)

Tony Hunt
1806.0039 1806(39)

Esther Perrins
1794.0025 1794(25)

Trevor Halsall
1762.0018 1762(18)

Max Mason
1754.0010 1754(10)

Nick Ivanovski
1744.0018 1744(18)

Adam Kretschmer
1719.000

State Challenge


Contender
Q Stat
25.08.2025
Games
need 40
Peak (games)
Jul to Oct
Peak (games)
Nov to Feb
Peak (games)
Mar to Jun
ACT1
Noel Barrett
1686.0025 1686(25)
ACT2
Ronnie Bennett
1674.0018 1674(18)
ACT3
John Hamilton
1661.0042 1661(42)
ACT4
John Spaan
1590.007 1590(7)
ACT5
Alex Boiko
1407.0025 1407(25)
ACT6
Tony Williams
1399.000
NSW1
Victor Tung
1704.007 1704(7)
NSW2
John Holgate
1697.0033 1697(33)
NSW3
Rod Talbot
1670.0033 1670(33)
NSW4
Garth van Vliet
1549.0014 1549(14)
NSW5
Jeremy Yip
1541.000
NSW6
Jyoti Chandna
1529.0015 1529(15)
QLD1
Karen Richards
1708.0084 1708(84)
QLD2
Carmel Dodd
1664.0062 1664(62)
QLD3
Ryan Anderson
1606.0016 1606(16)
QLD4
Jane Brown
1567.0036 1567(36)
QLD5
Julie Brice
1548.0044 1548(44)
QLD6
Guy Newsham
1528.000
SA1
Daniel Piechnick
1694.0012 1694(12)
SA2
Jane Taylor
1693.0072 1693(72)
SA3
Tony Miller
1642.0012 1642(12)
SA4
Malcolm McAnulty
1547.000
SA5
Michael Vnuk
1460.0012 1460(12)
SA6
Antonios Syrigos
1458.000
TAS1
Stephen Mooney Purse
1702.004 1702(4)
TAS2
Jon Ford-King
1532.0012 1532(12)
TAS3
Dianne Brumby
1526.0044 1526(44)
TAS4
Martin Rose
1470.0012 1470(12)
TAS5
Khen Meerding
1409.004 1409(4)
TAS6
Margaret Webb
1391.004 1391(4)
VIC1
Oscar Ivanovski
1668.0029 1668(29)
VIC2
Alistair Kane
1610.000
VIC3
Geoff Wright
1593.0023 1593(23)
VIC4
Chris Scholten
1508.000
VIC5
Heather Long
1505.000
VIC6
Alan Burn
1500.000