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
03.08.2025
Games
need 40
Peak (games)
Jul to Oct
Peak (games)
Nov to Feb
Peak (games)
Mar to Jun

David Eldar
2223.0018 2223(18)

Peter Kougi
1922.000

Edward Okulicz
1895.0018 1895(18)

Andrew Fisher
1893.000

Josh Watt
1871.0026 1871(26)

Cameron Farlow
1865.008 1865(8)

Naween Fernando
1861.000

Joanne Craig
1858.0026 1858(26)

Sam Amarasinghe
1848.000

Ryan Sutton
1836.0018 1836(18)

Tony Hunt
1806.0032 1806(32)

Bob Jackman
1802.0026 1802(26)

Esther Perrins
1794.0018 1794(18)

Trevor Halsall
1762.0018 1762(18)

Max Mason
1754.0010 1754(10)

Nick Ivanovski
1743.0013 1743(13)

Adam Kretschmer
1719.000

Victor Tung
1712.000

State Challenge


Contender
Q Stat
03.08.2025
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
1631.0026 1631(26)
ACT4
John Spaan
1590.007 1590(7)
ACT5
Alex Boiko
1407.0025 1407(25)
ACT6
Tony Williams
1399.000
NSW1
Rod Talbot
1670.0026 1670(26)
NSW2
John Holgate
1652.0026 1652(26)
NSW3
Garth van Vliet
1549.0014 1549(14)
NSW4
Jeremy Yip
1541.000
NSW5
Jyoti Chandna
1529.008 1529(8)
NSW6
Rocky Sharma
1503.0026 1503(26)
QLD1
Karen Richards
1708.0040 1708(40)
QLD2
Ryan Anderson
1618.000
QLD3
Carmel Dodd
1614.0018 1614(18)
QLD4
Jane Brown
1567.008 1567(8)
QLD5
Guy Newsham
1528.000
QLD6
Julie Brice
1524.000
SA1
Daniel Piechnick
1694.0012 1694(12)
SA2
Jane Taylor
1693.0028 1693(28)
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
1682.000
TAS2
Jon Ford-King
1523.008 1523(8)
TAS3
Martin Rose
1470.008 1470(8)
TAS4
Khen Meerding
1415.000
TAS5
Margaret Webb
1410.000
TAS6
Ros Wilkinson
1324.008 1324(8)
VIC1
Oscar Ivanovski
1652.0018 1652(18)
VIC2
Alistair Kane
1610.000
VIC3
Geoff Wright
1593.0012 1593(12)
VIC4
Chris Scholten
1508.000
VIC5
Heather Long
1505.000
VIC6
Alan Burn
1500.000