2026 AUSTRALIAN MASTERS

Twenty of the top players will play the Australian Masters as a round robin in Belconnen (Canberra Labor Club). 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.
Accommodation on-site is available at the Mercure for $140 per night.

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

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
10.06.2026		 Games
need 40		 Peak (games)
Jul to Oct		 Peak (games)
Nov to Feb		 Peak (games)
Mar to Jun
MAYBE
David Eldar 		2131.0090✓ 2229(49)2097(17)2099(24)
YES
Andrew Fisher 		2015.5088✓ 2008(32)2018(25)2018(31)

Edward Okulicz 		1967.25143✓ 1911(68)1970(59)1994(16)
MAYBE
Cameron Farlow 		1947.00155✓ 1930(66)1956(41)1951(48)
YES
Naween Fernando 		1933.5087✓ 1931(39)1907(17)1948(31)
YES
Esther Perrins 		1856.50127✓ 1806(68)1860(35)1880(24)
YES
Joanne Craig 		1815.75201✓ 1858(89)1747(56)1829(56)
MAYBE
Trevor Halsall 		1815.50114✓ 1794(68)1810(15)1829(31)
YES
Bob Jackman 		1778.50225✓ 1807(110)1797(59)1755(56)
YES
Ryan Sutton 		1762.25132✓ 1836(68)1777(32)1718(32)
MAYBE
Adam Kretschmer 		1748.2587✓ 1748(6)1733(11)1756(70)
YES
Rod Talbot 		1739.75224✓ 1746(95)1785(81)1714(48)
YES
John Spaan 		1739.50115✓ 1709(34)1755(41)1747(40)
YES
Victor Tung 		1738.5067✓ 1704(19)1760(24)1745(24)
YES
John Holgate 		1736.25185✓ 1697(69)1696(76)1776(40)
YES
Noel Barrett 		1709.00108✓ 1725(52)1729(24)1691(32)
MAYBE
Tony Hunt 		1702.00222✓ 1806(92)1676(78)1663(52)
MAYBE
Stephen Mooney Purse		 1697.2535  1703(18)1700(9)1693(8)
YES
Carmel Dodd 		1674.75258✓ 1673(112)1710(74)1658(72)

State Challenge


Contender		 Q Stat
10.06.2026		 Games
need 40		 Peak (games)
Jul to Oct		 Peak (games)
Nov to Feb		 Peak (games)
Mar to Jun
ACT1 MAYBE
John Hamilton 		1667.50108✓ 1661(81)1674(24)
ACT2 YES
Ryan Gray 		1503.5076✓ 1405(24)1523(44)1543(8)
ACT3 YES
Tim Reddan 		1402.7597✓ 1390(41)1411(40)1405(16)
ACT4 YES
Lexia Smallwood 		1301.00148✓ 1388(26)1374(70)1221(52)
ACT5
Caroline Scowcroft 		1299.50184✓ 1306(86)1314(41)1289(57)
ACT6
Owen Randall 		1209.2586✓ 1229(23)1274(32)1167(31)
NSW1
Graeme Lock Lee 		1572.5083✓ 1495(26)1591(25)1602(32)
NSW2 YES
Dianne Brumby 		1569.75138✓ 1573(68)1556(14)1575(56)
NSW3 YES
Jyoti Chandna 		1538.50132✓ 1529(27)1533(81)1546(24)
NSW4 YES
Garth van Vliet 		1509.00156✓ 1608(68)1514(51)1457(37)
NSW5
Greg Pinchbeck 		1488.00256✓ 1453(120)1485(80)1507(56)
NSW6
Steven Savona 		1417.75139✓ 1460(57)1435(50)1388(32)
QLD1 YES
Karen Richards 		1657.75323✓ 1708(134)1637(91)1643(98)
QLD2 YES
Paul Richards 		1567.75280✓ 1536(119)1569(93)1583(68)
QLD3 YES
Liz Blanch 		1509.7580✓ 1448(24)1465(32)1563(24)
QLD4 YES
Jane Brown 		1507.2568✓ 1567(44)1484(8)1489(16)
QLD5
Ryan Anderson 		1506.00*16  1606(16)1406(0)
QLD6
Arnold Appelhof 		1416.00217✓ 1423(91)1381(63)1430(63)
SA1 YES
Jane Taylor 		1612.50216✓ 1693(126)1557(16)1600(74)
SA2
Angie Pearse 		1321.00140✓ 1334(47)1240(12)1355(81)
SA3
Francoise Finlayson 		1320.75164✓ 1322(78)1275(17)1343(69)
SA4
Tracey Kneebone 		1303.75142✓ 1303(45)1358(23)1277(74)
SA5
Rowena Vnuk 		1298.0082✓ 1309(29)1323(18)1280(35)
SA6
Ian Tsoi Yin 		1275.00*27  1137(0)1313(6)1325(21)
TAS1 MAYBE
Jon Ford-King 		1578.00110✓ 1545(44)1617(27)1575(39)
TAS2 YES
Martin Rose 		1482.7553✓ 1470(26)1491(19)1485(8)
TAS3
Khen Meerding 		1425.2534  1409(4)1422(22)1435(8)
TAS4
Margaret Webb 		1400.0020  1391(4)1395(8)1407(8)
TAS5
Margaret Griggs 		1302.25126✓ 1319(58)1298(21)1296(47)
TAS6
Ros Wilkinson 		1283.5070✓ 1337(26)1251(29)1273(15)
VIC1
Geoff Wright 		1607.75118✓ 1593(43)1618(40)1610(35)
VIC2 YES
Nat Podesser 		1531.7597✓ 1524(69)1539(14)1532(14)
VIC3
Ray Alford 		1475.7528  1478(7)1467(7)1479(14)
VIC4
Chris Scholten 		1468.50*15  1517(7)1317(0)1520(8)
VIC5
Dianne Davis 		1465.5098✓ 1427(11)1469(33)1483(54)
VIC6 YES
Carol Johnsen 		1462.00111✓ 1425(73)1477(24)1473(14)
Not going: Peter Kougi, Josh Watt, Max Mason, Nick Ivanovski, Daniel Piechnick, Ronnie Bennett, Michael Hornung, Oscar Ivanovski, Tony Miller, Sally Martin, Anne Zion, Julie Brice, Antony Kimber, Michael Vnuk
Residency:
At this stage Katie Rowe (1209.00) should represent WA (6 games as VIC and 86 games as WA).
At this stage Keri Heart (1310.75) should represent NSW (18 games as QLD and 157 games as NSW).
At this stage Ryan Gray (1503.50) should represent ACT (60 games as QLD and 16 games as ACT).