A Wordsmith's Wild West: Scrabble Nationals near a close

The Sheraton Airport Hotel ballroom was quiet except for the occasional clicks created by competitors shaking the bags that held their next Scrabble tiles.

All eyes are focused on the Scrabble board in front of them with the gears turning in the heads of players concocting their game plans.

As the Scrabble National Word Cup, played in Albuquerque, nears its end, competitors from around the world are testing their wit in the hopes of winning the competition and taking home prize money. Top division competitors are fighting to win the $10,000 prize and the next division’s field is playing for $1,250.

People of all demographics, from the youngest player at age 12 to the oldest at 90, gathered inside the hotel Monday as day three of the competition commenced. Though the group may have had its differences, a love of Scrabble united them.

Helen Flores from Madison, Wisconsin, is no stranger to Scrabble competitions. As a woman in her 70s, she has been involved with the Word Game Players’ Organization (WGPO) since 2008 and has attended several tournaments.

“I’ve been to a lot of tournaments, and this one is particularly nice,” she said. “There are some younger players here who are incredibly competitive.”

Flores, like many other Scrabble players, joined the competitive world in search of friends after her husband passed away.

“I needed friends and I wanted to be around people of all demographics,” she said. “Scrabble has enriched my life in so many ways. My world is bigger thanks to it.”

All Scrabble competitors are in it to win it, but Jackson Smylie from Montreal came to New Mexico to defend his title. While some tournaments are more for pleasure, Smylie said this tournament is all business.

“Competition has been tough,” he said. “I’ve been to Albuquerque twice before this tournament, but this time I’m here to defend my championship. You would think since I’m from Canada I would hate it here, but I really love the dry heat here.”

Smylie says that it actually relieves pressure being the defending champ, because people know what to expect of him and he knows he has the ability to perform well.

In between rounds of clever wordplay, Scrabblers would go into the hallway and discuss their best and worst plays, talk about previous tournaments and their personal lives. Some reviewed scoreboards, and others were bidding on a silent auction that sold handmade Scrabble-themed merchandise like bags and blankets.

Though all the competitors were excited about the competition, many of them were excited for end-of-day tournament activities. On Monday, several took a ride up the Sandia Tramway for the first time. Others less than thrilled at the idea of being so high above the ground gathered players and explored the city and grabbed a bite from local restaurants .

On the younger side, Cameron Siegal, 16, from Scarsdale, New York has been in the competitive Scrabble world for a year. For this tournament, he decided to play up a division to test his skills.

“I want to challenge myself, and this makes my ratings boost,” he said.

Siegal said that although his Scrabble friends and his school friends are completely different groups, he enjoys all the conversations with opponents.

“A lot of people play for 20-plus years and give a lot of wisdom,” he said. “You get to hang out with a lot of different age ranges and it’s cool to have that type of exposure.”

With the final championship games Wednesday, any letter can spell victory.