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SCRABBLE - The Last Word Newsletter

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2 0 1 3 N S C D I V I S I O N 1 W I N N E R"It's hard to argue against him being the greatest <strong>SCRABBLE</strong> player of all time at this point," Paynesaid. "Seeing somebody like that at the height of what he's doing, that's amazing. It's like watchingMichael Jordan or somebody like that at the height of his career. It's amazing."That said, was I rooting for Kenji [Matsumoto]? Was I rooting for Komol? Yes, I was."Payne's not alone. <strong>The</strong>re are plenty of players itching for the chance to dethrone Richards. <strong>The</strong>good news is that the challenge of taking him down isn't likely to get any harder than it already is --Richards has basically reached <strong>SCRABBLE</strong> perfection, having maxed out his potential. <strong>The</strong>re areno words left to learn, no strategy left to master.<strong>The</strong> only thing left is for everyone else to catch up."I feel like the level of play must be rising somewhat to meet him," said Will Anderson, who finishedthird behind Richards this year. "That's the way it is in most games, right? Somebody's really good,and then he encourages people to do better."Hopefully that's happening. Certainly I feel like it challenges me to play better, knowing there'ssomeone out there who's just so good. It's a little disheartening, but in a way it feels good, becauseit shows you that <strong>SCRABBLE</strong> is a skill game. <strong>The</strong> best player is winning."He's been winning for a decade now, more or less. Richards has now played our Nationals ninetimes, and he's been near the top in every single one of them: second, third, seventh, first, second,first, first, first and first. We've never seen a run of dominance quite like this. We might never again."Maybe it's a setup play," joked Rafi Stern, who's finished eighth the last two years. "It's his setup fortaking over the world."At this point, it's hard to doubt him. 21

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