2027 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
  • Subperiods are Jul to Oct 2026, Nov to Feb and Mar to Jun 2027.
  • The Qstat: The qualifying statistic is Q = (P1 + P2 + 2 x P3)/4 , which is a weighted average of peak ratings in the three subperiods.
  • Third peak: You cannot earn the peak in the third subperiod until you have played 40 games rated by ASPA in the qualification period.
  • Penalty: If you do not earn a peak in a subperiod , your peak in that subperiod is equal to the last rating minus 200. This may be applied more than once.
  • Incomplete tournament: If you miss a game for any reason other than an assigned bye, you cannot count a peak attained in that tournament for any qualification purposes. Games played will count towards games quotas. Ratings will be calculated as usual, with byes and forfeits not rated.
  • Games: You must have played at least 40 games in the qualifying period.
  • Tie breaker: If two players have the same Q statistic, the one with the greater number of games in the qualification period is ranked higher.

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
27.08.2026		 Games
need 40		 Peak (games)
Jul to Oct		 Peak (games)
Nov to Feb		 Peak (games)
Mar to Jun

David Eldar 		2104.000 

Andrew Fisher 		2004.006  2004(6)

Ayorinde Saidu 		1988.0026  1988(26)

Edward Okulicz 		1961.000 

Naween Fernando 		1944.006  1944(6)

Cameron Farlow 		1926.0050✓ 1926(50)

Esther Perrins 		1863.0018  1863(18)

Peter Kougi 		1862.000 

Trevor Halsall 		1853.006  1853(6)

Josh Watt 		1832.0026  1832(26)

Joanne Craig 		1826.0026  1826(26)

Dineth Fernando 		1820.0022  1820(22)

Daniel Piechnick 		1810.0012  1810(12)

Victor Tung 		1794.0018  1794(18)

Michael Cameron 		1782.000 

Michael Hornung 		1773.000 

Ryan Sutton 		1759.000 

Adam Kretschmer 		1747.000 

Ronnie Bennett 		1741.0033  1741(33)

State Challenge


Contender		 Q Stat
27.08.2026		 Games
need 40		 Peak (games)
Jul to Oct		 Peak (games)
Nov to Feb		 Peak (games)
Mar to Jun
ACT1
John Hamilton 		1676.0016  1676(16)
ACT2
John Spaan 		1664.0016  1664(16)
ACT3
Ryan Gray 		1583.0025  1583(25)
ACT4
Tim Reddan 		1400.0046✓ 1400(46)
ACT5
Alex Boiko 		1391.000 
ACT6
Tony Williams 		1345.000 
NSW1
John Holgate 		1740.0018  1740(18)
NSW2
Rod Talbot 		1710.0025  1710(25)
NSW3
Bob Jackman 		1676.0034  1676(34)
NSW4
Noel Barrett 		1665.0018  1665(18)
NSW5
Tony Hunt 		1649.0048✓ 1649(48)
NSW6
Rocky Sharma 		1573.0018  1573(18)
QLD1
Ryan Anderson 		1677.0016  1677(16)
QLD2
Carmel Dodd 		1624.0034  1624(34)
QLD3
Paul Richards 		1539.0054✓ 1539(54)
QLD4
Karen Richards 		1524.0039  1524(39)
QLD5
Liz Blanch 		1522.0016  1522(16)
QLD6
Ashwin Page 		1491.0038  1491(38)
SA1
Max Mason 		1683.006  1683(6)
SA2
Malcolm McAnulty 		1603.000 
SA3
Tony Miller 		1568.006  1568(6)
SA4
Jane Taylor 		1537.0032  1537(32)
SA5
Antony Kimber 		1507.0012  1507(12)
SA6
Antonios Syrigos 		1462.000 
TAS1
Stephen Mooney Purse		 1702.008  1702(8)
TAS2
Martin Rose 		1509.000 
TAS3
Jon Ford-King 		1498.008  1498(8)
TAS4
Margaret Webb 		1455.003  1455(3)
TAS5
Khen Meerding 		1416.008  1416(8)
TAS6
Margaret Griggs 		1288.000 
VIC1
Mythili Rudra 		1729.000 
VIC2
Nick Ivanovski 		1714.0010  1714(10)
VIC3
Oscar Ivanovski 		1676.0014  1676(14)
VIC4
Lindsay Van Niekerk 		1602.000 
VIC5
Nat Podesser 		1548.0019  1548(19)
VIC6
Geoff Wright 		1514.0012  1514(12)