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| Hidden Scrabble tiles spell end for would-be champion | Hidden Scrabble tiles spell end for would-be champion |
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| One of the top young Scrabble players in the US has been kicked out of his national championship in Florida after he was caught hiding blank letter tiles. | One of the top young Scrabble players in the US has been kicked out of his national championship in Florida after he was caught hiding blank letter tiles. |
| John Williams, executive director of the US National Scrabble Association, said a male player was ejected in round 24 of the 28-round event. | John Williams, executive director of the US National Scrabble Association, said a male player was ejected in round 24 of the 28-round event. |
| The cheating was spotted by a player at a nearby table, who noticed the ejected player conceal a pair of blank tiles, which can be used as wild card letters, by dropping them on the floor. When confronted by the tournament director, he admitted it, organisers said. | The cheating was spotted by a player at a nearby table, who noticed the ejected player conceal a pair of blank tiles, which can be used as wild card letters, by dropping them on the floor. When confronted by the tournament director, he admitted it, organisers said. |
| Williams, who has served as executive director for 25 years and co-authored a book on the popular board game in 1993, said this was the first incident of cheating at a national tournament. | Williams, who has served as executive director for 25 years and co-authored a book on the popular board game in 1993, said this was the first incident of cheating at a national tournament. |
| "It does happen no matter what. People will try to do this," he said. "It's the first time it's happened in a venue this big though. It's unfortunate. The Scrabble world is abuzz. The internet is abuzz." | "It does happen no matter what. People will try to do this," he said. "It's the first time it's happened in a venue this big though. It's unfortunate. The Scrabble world is abuzz. The internet is abuzz." |
| Williams would not identify the player by name or age because he is a minor. There are four divisions and he was competing in Division Three. Williams said Division Three was equal to "any great living-room player out there." | Williams would not identify the player by name or age because he is a minor. There are four divisions and he was competing in Division Three. Williams said Division Three was equal to "any great living-room player out there." |
| In Scrabble matches, players accumulate points during one-on-one matches by pulling random letter tiles from a bag of 100 and trying to create words. | In Scrabble matches, players accumulate points during one-on-one matches by pulling random letter tiles from a bag of 100 and trying to create words. |
| The ejected player had concluded a previous game and never reinserted the blank tiles into his bag in an attempt to use them at his discretion in the next game, organisers said. | The ejected player had concluded a previous game and never reinserted the blank tiles into his bag in an attempt to use them at his discretion in the next game, organisers said. |
| Williams said there was usually "good self-policing in the Scrabble world" as players try to protect the integrity of statistics on the competitive circuit. | Williams said there was usually "good self-policing in the Scrabble world" as players try to protect the integrity of statistics on the competitive circuit. |
| The winner of the 350-player tournament receives a top prize of $10,000 (£6,400). | The winner of the 350-player tournament receives a top prize of $10,000 (£6,400). |
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