2026 AUSTRALIAN MASTERS

Twenty of the top players will play the Australian Masters as a round robin in . 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.

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
11.04.2026		 Games
need 40		 Peak (games)
Jul to Oct		 Peak (games)
Nov to Feb		 Peak (games)
Mar to Jun

David Eldar 		2131.0090 2229(49)2097(17)2099(24)

Andrew Fisher 		2015.0081 2008(32)2018(25)2017(24)

Cameron Farlow 		1947.00139 1930(66)1956(41)1951(32)

Edward Okulicz 		1940.50127 1911(68)1970(59)

Jakob Teitelbaum 		1921.50*19 2043(19)1800(0)

Naween Fernando 		1914.0080 1931(39)1907(17)1909(24)

Peter Kougi 		1911.5014 1923(7)1900(7)

Ayorinde Saidu 		1894.0071 1919(32)1889(15)1884(24)

Esther Perrins 		1856.50127 1806(68)1860(35)1880(24)

Josh Watt 		1831.50*71 1871(26)1671(0)1892(45)

Joanne Craig 		1815.75185 1858(89)1747(56)1829(40)

Trevor Halsall 		1815.50114 1794(68)1810(15)1829(31)

Bob Jackman 		1778.50209 1807(110)1797(59)1755(40)

Max Mason 		1749.7586 1754(34)1749(12)1748(40)

Ryan Sutton 		1742.75124 1836(68)1777(32)1679(24)

Nick Ivanovski 		1741.0074 1761(26)1715(18)1744(30)

Rod Talbot 		1739.75208 1746(95)1785(81)1714(32)
YES
John Spaan 		1739.50107 1709(34)1755(41)1747(32)
YES
Victor Tung 		1738.5067 1704(19)1760(24)1745(24)

State Challenge


Contender		 Q Stat
11.04.2026		 Games
need 40		 Peak (games)
Jul to Oct		 Peak (games)
Nov to Feb		 Peak (games)
Mar to Jun
ACT1
Ronnie Bennett 		1735.00106 1759(57)1695(25)1743(24)
ACT2
Noel Barrett 		1709.00108 1725(52)1729(24)1691(32)
ACT3
John Hamilton 		1667.50106 1661(81)1674(24)
ACT4
Tim Reddan 		1402.7589 1390(41)1411(40)1405(8)
ACT5
Alex Boiko 		1377.7562 1407(33)1322(5)1391(24)
ACT6
Lexia Smallwood 		1301.00136 1388(26)1374(70)1221(40)
NSW1
John Holgate 		1733.25169 1697(69)1696(76)1770(24)
NSW2
Tony Hunt 		1702.00206 1806(92)1676(78)1663(36)
NSW3
Graeme Lock Lee 		1572.5083 1495(26)1591(25)1602(32)
NSW4
Dianne Brumby 		1569.75122 1573(68)1556(14)1575(40)
NSW5
Jyoti Chandna 		1538.00116 1529(27)1533(81)1545(8)
NSW6
Garth van Vliet 		1509.00156 1608(68)1514(51)1457(37)
QLD1
Carmel Dodd 		1674.75242 1673(112)1710(74)1658(56)
QLD2
Karen Richards 		1609.75302 1708(134)1637(91)1547(77)
QLD3
Paul Richards 		1554.25260 1536(119)1569(93)1556(48)
QLD4
Jane Brown 		1507.2560 1567(44)1484(8)1489(8)
QLD5
Ryan Anderson 		1506.00*16 1606(16)1406(0)
QLD6
Liz Blanch 		1489.2564 1448(24)1465(32)1522(8)
SA1
Daniel Piechnick 		1726.7563 1712(24)1757(23)1719(16)
SA2
Adam Kretschmer 		1707.2561 1748(6)1733(11)1674(44)
SA3
Tony Miller 		1649.7547 1646(24)1657(7)1648(16)
SA4
Jane Taylor 		1585.00198 1693(126)1557(16)1545(56)
SA5
Antony Kimber 		1439.7583 1497(40)1458(23)1402(20)
SA6
Oliver Jenner-O'Shea		 1422.50*5 1326(0)1519(5)
TAS1
Stephen Mooney Purse		 1701.5027 1703(18)1700(9)
TAS2
Jon Ford-King 		1578.00102 1545(44)1617(27)1575(31)
TAS3
Martin Rose 		1480.5045 1470(26)1491(19)
TAS4
Khen Meerding 		1415.5026 1409(4)1422(22)
TAS5
Margaret Webb 		1393.0012 1391(4)1395(8)
TAS6
Margaret Griggs 		1302.25126 1319(58)1298(21)1296(47)
VIC1
Michael Hornung 		1732.75*8 1582(0)1797(4)1776(4)
VIC2
Oscar Ivanovski 		1719.00163 1728(61)1754(60)1697(42)
VIC3
Geoff Wright 		1607.75106 1593(43)1618(40)1610(23)
VIC4
Nat Podesser 		1531.7590 1524(69)1539(14)1532(7)
VIC5
Ray Alford 		1475.7528 1478(7)1467(7)1479(14)
VIC6
Chris Scholten 		1468.50*15 1517(7)1317(0)1520(8)

Residency:
At this stage Katie Rowe represents WA (6 games as VIC and 63 games as WA).
At this stage Keri Heart represents NSW (18 games as QLD and 149 games as NSW).
At this stage Ryan Gray represents QLD (60 games as QLD and 8 games as ACT).