May’s relationship with Scrabble began when she was a kindergartener with family game nights, but it really began to blossom when she first represented her school at a tournament when she was 15 years old. To May, Scrabble is more than just a game – it’s an excuse to travel, a wonderful way to make new friends from all over the world.. 

May has been a Scrabble coach for 8 years and as an active member of the Scrabble community in Malaysia, she hosts mini tournaments and workshops around her hometown of Malacca. 

When she’s not playing or coaching Scrabble, you might find her enjoying badminton or playing board games. 

Fun Facts

• Once, May made a niner. She played an 8-letter word on two Triple Word Score squares, NONUPLING the score (that means the play was worth nine times the total tile value). 

• Her best played word was ZENITHS.

Hassan can’t help but think of his mother when he thinks about Scrabble. She introduced the game to him when he was a young boy, encouraging him to use it as a way to improve his English. He got his first taste of tournament Scrabble during his A-Levels, helping his roommate’s uncle organise a tournament under the Pandan Indah Scrabble Club. Today, he works to promote Scrabble among working adults looking for a bit of intellectual fun as well as university students who used to be active players in primary and secondary school looking for an opportunity to continue in their passion. 

To Hassan, one of the best characteristics of Scrabble is the element of chance – the drawing of the tiles – which means everyone has a chance to win! With the help of a solid vocabulary and the magic of the tile fairy, even the GOAT can be beaten! 

Fun Facts

• Hassan won the Division B category at the 2017 Nationals in his first attempt, drawing with Ganesh Asirvatham (the World No. 1 at the time). He even managed a niner with the word BEELINES during that game. 

• His highest scoring plays have been: SUBOXIDE (248 points), DEFROZEN (239 points), DAMOZELS (237 points), and SIDEWALK (220 points)

• Hassan collects mini-sheet stamps, football sticker albums, and helps his son collect Hot Wheels!

Andrew stumbled into Scrabble by chance when he was 14 years old. He couldn’t have predicted that his attempts to help his classmates prepare for a Scrabble tournament would become a lifelong love affair with the game. Andrew’s favourite aspect of Scrabble is the strategy - it’s so fun to find creative solutions and placements for your tiles.

Andrew has been a long time contributor to the local scene, organising tournaments, running workshops, and bringing people together for casual Scrabble sessions. He believes that Scrabble is for everyone!

When he’s not Scrabbling away, you might find Andrew at his day job in Security Product Sales or running his YouTube Channel.

Fun Facts

• Andrew has been playing Scrabble for 18 years.

• He won $5,000USD at the Open Causeway Event organised by Michael Tang.

• He bingoed with the word SUBTENANT through two disconnected letters (T and N) to steal a win at the 2018 ASTAR Scrabble Challenge International. 

William has been a Scrabble player for most of his life having started playing competitively when he was only 7 years old. He’s intrigued by the intellectual challenge of the game, enjoying it more the harder and more difficult it gets. One of his proudest moments is winning his second national title in 2023 on stream after a particularly tough string of matches.

William has served as the ratings officer of the Malaysian Scrabble Association for over two years, using his skills as a software engineer to contribute code for bug fixes and additional features to MSA’s website: scrabble.org.my.

Fun Facts

• William’s best play was OESTR(ON)ES, a nine-letter nine-timer

• When he’s not playing Scrabble, you might find William playing chess or video games, poring over historical non-fiction, or taking a long walk.

Justin was introduced to the game of Scrabble when he was a child but only got his first taste of competitive Scrabble in college. As a fan of word games in general, he finds that competitive Scrabble offers exciting opportunities to practice strategy, different play styles, and exercise his mind.

Justin believes that Scrabble is a game for everyone – all it takes is a little practice. He regularly assists the Malaysian Scrabble Association with tournaments. 

Fun Facts

• His proudest Scrabble moments include the three occasions he successfully defeated a Scrabble master in a rated match

• Justin is a movie buff and enjoys video games.