David Eldar Becomes 2017 World Scrabble Champion

Aussie poker pro David Eldar has just become latest World Scrabble champion, after beating Harshan Lamabadusurilya 3-0 in the final of the World Scrabble Championship in Nottingham, UK. The final match was a best out of five affair, and having clinched the victory, the 27 year-old word meister, stated:
“This means a lot to me. I went into the third game with a huge mental advantage having won both previous games, so I knew I just had to keep focused and if the tiles went in my favour I could clinch it.”
David Eldar, who has been a Scrabble fan for more than 14 years, became the World Youth Scrabble Champion back in 2006, and at present is ranked the world’s number two player. The Australian also moved to the UK seven years ago, and now lives in London where he earns a living in real estate.
In addition, Eldar is a talented online cash poker player who has won $1,673,824 competing at high-stakes games under the screen name Deldar182 on PokerStars. Furthermore, Eldar had amassed $1,622,588 in winnings at Full Tilt Poker under the screen name POKERBLUFFS before the site was shut.
David Eldar is a much less seen participant in live poker tournaments, although he still has $224,855 in winnings from just three tournament cashes in 2009, including finishing 5th at the €25,500 European High Roller Championship in Monte Carlo for €138,000 ($181,450).
At the Mind Sports International World Championships, which took place at the end of August, Eldar competed against players hailing from more than 26 countries. Playing Sri Lankan-born Lamabadusurilya in the final, Eldar subsequently managed to see off his final opponent after using the word “carrels”, meaning a cubicle desk, to notch up 74 points to claim the prestigious title.
Eldar subsequently collected £7,000 for his world champion victory, while the runner-up walked away with a £3,000 prize. Amongst the other words the final produced was “asinicos” for 64 points, meaning an idiot or a fool, and the word “obvs” for 10 points, which is a slang word meaning obvious.