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Australian Masters and State Challenge 2023
Twenty of the top players hope to play the Australian Masters as a round robin somewhere, sometime in September 2023.
At the same time, teams of three players from each of seven states or territories
would play the State Team Challenge as head-to-head matches.
The lexicon is that which is used in the majority of states (probably Collins Scrabble Words 2019).
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.
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, 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.
The three peaks Q statistic
The primary criterion for ranking candidates is the Q statistic calculated like this:
-
Subperiods are Jun to Sep 2022, Oct to Jan and Feb to May 2023.
-
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. There is no requirement about how often this may be applied.
-
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.
Here are the indicative selected teams as at 26.09.2022 plus 3 reserves from each state.
A tick ✓ shows that the games quota has been met.
| Australian Masters 2023 |
|---|
|
Contender |
Q Stat
26.09.2022 |
Games |
Peak (games)
Jun to Sep |
Peak (games)
Oct to Jan |
Peak (games)
Feb to May |
| 1 | David Eldar (VIC) |
2099.00 | 35 |
2099 (35) | | |
| 2 | Chris May (NSW) |
2044.00 | 0 |
| | |
| 3 | Anand Bharadwaj (VIC) |
1982.00 | 16 |
1982 (16) | | |
| 4 | Cameron Farlow (QLD) |
1975.00 | 43✓ |
1975 (43) | | |
| 5 | Andrew Fisher (VIC) |
1971.00 | 28 |
1971 (28) | | |
| 6 | Naween Fernando (VIC) |
1949.00 | 49✓ |
1949 (49) | | |
| 7 | Edward Okulicz (VIC) |
1930.00 | 53✓ |
1930 (53) | | |
| 8 | Peter Kougi (VIC) |
1903.00 | 19 |
1903 (19) | | |
| 9 | Esther Perrins (NSW) |
1888.00 | 18 |
1888 (18) | | |
| 10 | Daniel Piechnick (SA) |
1824.00 | 34 |
1824 (34) | | |
| 11 | Rod Talbot (NSW) |
1806.00 | 65✓ |
1806 (65) | | |
| 12 | Trevor Halsall (VIC) |
1803.00 | 40✓ |
1803 (40) | | |
| 13 | David Vanzyl (WA) |
1789.00 | 14 |
1789 (14) | | |
| 14 | Joanne Craig (NSW) |
1783.00 | 60✓ |
1783 (60) | | |
| 15 | Ryan Sutton (NSW) |
1781.00 | 0 |
| | |
| 16 | John Holgate (NSW) |
1780.00 | 47✓ |
1780 (47) | | |
| 17 | Bob Jackman (NSW) |
1776.00 | 54✓ |
1776 (54) | | |
| 18 | Russell Honeybun (WA) |
1745.00 | 25 |
1745 (25) | | |
| 19 | Tony Hunt (NSW) |
1727.00 | 61✓ |
1727 (61) | | |
| 20 | Tim Mason (WA) |
1726.00 | 18 |
1726 (18) | | |
Recently processed:
11.09.2022 SA Sept (SA)
17.09.2022 Almost Free (ACT)
18.09.2022 Glenys Lawrie Memorial (WA) New peak for Sally Martin
18.09.2022 MASTERS and STATE CHALLENGE (VIC) New peak for Rod Talbot, Peter Kougi, Nat Podesser, Jane Taylor, Sally Martin, Rocky Sharma, Paul Richards, Dianne Davis, Dianne Brumby, Tony Williams
18.09.2022 Townsville Sept (QLD)
24.09.2022 Ross September (TAS)
25.09.2022 Sunday Arvo Scrabble (VIC) New peak for David Eldar, Edward Okulicz