The Most Heartbreaking Game in Scrabble History

Welcome to Episode 24 of Scrabble History, a series where I break down some of the most incredible plays, epic rivalries, and amazing moments in Scrabble's rich competitive history.
I focus on the most brilliant plays and epic victories in Scrabble history on this channel, but for every incredible comeback, there's someone on the other side dealing with a potentially crushing defeat. There's one game in Scrabble that stands out in my mind as the most heartbreaking game I can remember. But it's also one of the most inspiring games I've ever witnessed.
Sometime soon, I plan to resume streaming on my Twitch channel:
/ wanderer15
I also have a weekly show on the official Scrabble Twitch channel (Tuesdays 3-5 PM ET):
/ scrabble
Play Scrabble at playscrabble.com!

[@viviblue7277]

The sportsmanship feels like the real story here. It’s incredibly difficult to act that humble in defeat and mean it. That is something to strive for.

[@infrences]

It depends on how you lose. Sometimes your opponent’s play is so amazing that you just have to sit there in astonishment ngl

[@domino14]

James is one of the most naturally gifted Scrabble players ever. He wasn’t really a hardcore studier; PAGURID came out of nowhere. He missed a handful of bingos through the tournament, but still did great. I’d released the first version of Aerolith shortly before this tournament. When watching a bunch of people competing on 9s, James was invariably beating all of them - this included people who have actually studied 9s.

[@estancia84]

James cheats

[@дигл_лайв]

At first the setup was obvious for Jerry to lose, but then it became super improbable for him to lose, and then you made it so obvious that James is going to devastatingly lose even though he did everything right, for it to all come back on itself in the end. I was, quite frankly, bamboozled, and it was amazing :D

[@wanderer15]

Then I've done my job!

[@VladickHelms]

Absolutely heartbreaking. Jerry was so close, yet he lost. I met him once at a tournament, and he was so kind and so supportive to a player much weaker than him. That interaction will always be one of the best experiences of my (albeit limited) scrabble career.

[@pandurendradjaja8994]

That conclusion-"it inspires me to be more like both of these players"-is such a great sentiment! Excellent storytelling as always, what a game!

[@janekotoole8751]

I love that your videos aren't just celebrations of the quality of play, but the quality of the people, such a nice change from the hyper-aggressive coverage we get of so many competitive endeavors, and something we could use more of.

[@grzegorzbrzeczyszczykiewic563]

To compete is to recognize the other as your peer. Without respect, a battle becomes a brawl.

[@tsukiiiiiii]

Honestly I admire Jerry's mindset here. He admits that he himself makes mistakes and instead of beating himself over it he simply embrace it.

[@joelleet554]

I'm sure you've heard this one a million times, but in both the game of Scrabble and in telling the stories behind the moments that make the game and its players compelling, you really have a way with words.

[@wbeaurowe]

May we all be like Jerry in our losses. What a stand up dude.

[@henryt9281]

F that. I would have flipped the table, trashed the room, smashed the cameras, and ripped up the winner's check unless they gave me another chance at that turn.

[@qqw743]

10:35 "Me, devastated after my toughest loss," seems like a topic for a compelling, if heartbreaking video.

[@Ramboost007]

I think this was from the 2023 World Championship, and he's done a video about it

[@axcertypo]

@@Ramboost007 this is correct. Also, don't worry, I comforted Will right after he left the view of the camera.

[@craiglarimer1173]

Was this when Will had a pretty big lead in games then everything went south for him?

[@wanderer15]

It's from this video! kzbin.info/www/bejne/iYXJe5-kdsmpgLssi=VRla1SVJK2tRGDx2

[@phyphor]

I don't play Scrabble, myself, but I find your stories, of people either doing great things or just being great people, inspiring regardless. Thanks for making them!

[@joeedley3936]

one thing to add: at that time RESINIER was NOT acceptable, otherwise I'm sure Jerry would have played it in the middle game. another great video! glad to see my best man get positive recognition for it!

[@dikephobia]

the side-notes do mention that I am sure?

[@JohnDoe-ti2np]

@@dikephobia Yes, at 3:10

[@WordsWithFrentz]

Jerry is my most frequently played opponent in tournament play-somehow, I have a winning record against him (albeit barely). When people asked him about this game afterwards, he would say (with his typical dry humor, and playing off the definition of the fateful word): “It’s a good thing I’m going deaf, because otherwise I’d never hear the end of it.”

[@kubahassa8867]

I myself had a similar history, not quite as dramatic as this, but a big lesson for the future Last round of a tournament in Poland came down to "if I win, I take the tournament" (I haven't won anything in 4 years at that point, not even a top 3 finish). During the game, the board was extremely clunky and closed, despite me drawing both blanks. On the pre-endgame, both me and my opponent (massively experienced 2-time national champ and 6-time medalist) spent a total of 18 minutes on our turns, despite us normally averaging about 30 seconds per turn. I had a few winning moves, but eventually settled with "LĘBORKA" (inhabitant of city Lębork) knowing that similarly sounding MALBORKA (inhabitant of Malbork) is good. LĘBORKA, however, was a phony, causing me to lose and slip down to 5th place, barely winning anything. Internally I was devastated after that. What's even worse, about a year later Polish Language Council decided that they will change the ortography, with all city inhabitants now written in capital letters, taking them off the vocabulary. Change will take effect in 2026, so I wouldn't event think about LĘBORKA if changes had already been made xD. Luckily, 4 months later, I somehow fluked 3rd place in the nationals as a 41 seed before the torunament with many games coming down to the wire, so I guess it was a kind of a lesson after all

[@yriiiiiii]

Incredible how something as simple as a game of scrabble can be so moving. Because its not just the game, but the story and the people behind the game. The fact that it is so moving is also a great testament to your amazing storytelling, which i believe is one of the main reasons you have gotten me, among so many people interested in the world of professional scrabble. Keep being great Will!

[@wanderer15]

I really appreciate this, thank you.

[@kylemcmullan2831]

What a class act by Jerry. It's always great to see veterans setting a good tone for a scene. From what is sounds like, James also would have been the same way if Jerry had found the bingo to close it out. Just good players with good attitudes all around.

[@wanderer15]

Absolutely. No doubts in my mind that James would have been equally classy

[@vari1535]

Incredible storytelling! The way you created tension, set up surprise, and reflected on it made this so engaging to watch--and a similar story goes for all your videos!

[@Harrs2]

Thank you for the story Will. Both these players have SO MUCH HEART that I'm tearing up. Congrats to both of them for their placings.

[@SamRosin1]

Beautiful video that did this story justice, and wonderful comments by Jerry. I had remembered HOISE as an error compared to HEROIC from Quackle analysis at the time, interestingly. I didn't know there is a macondo 3(!!)-in-the-bag pre-endgame solver in development. (Though, as another commenter pointed out, James may be able to infer much more than a T, i.e., a rack very close to a bingo and/or a rack without the X. Maybe the Quackle sims from 2007 assumed opprack of ACILOT or something.)

[@domino14]

Yep 3-in-the bag solver works, and since it’s open source anyone can try it out. I am still fixing some bugs around it that crop up sometimes. So I can’t be 100% confident in its results among non-bag-emptying plays. With that said we did manually try a bunch of these and it seemed to have calculated correctly. Once it’s all working perfectly I’ll make a little more fanfare about it.

[@SamRosin1]

@@domino14amazing! I'll check it out

[@SamRosin1]

@@domino14amazing!! Can't wait to try it.

[@2140Mark]

I left the game over thirty years ago, but am privileged to say that I knew Jerry and played against him several times back in the day. Always a gentlemen in every respect and am not at all surprised at this bit of history. Credit to him, and to James.

[@hridaysamtani5797]

What an amazing story! Props to Jerry for being so gracious. Inspires mere mortals like us to keep pushing ourselves in the quest for excellence. Thanks for sharing, Will!

[@qqw743]

Would love to see origin story vids. How do players get into competitive Scrabble? How did you? What's the life like?

[@mini2199]

Its something very gracious that both of them could simply see themselves smiling and joyous of ending up second place

[@TheGenghisKha]

I like watching this channel because it seems like players have a lot of personality even in their play styles. It's cool to share the stories of these players

[@feyetho9524]

I'm so terrible at Scrabble and only play it with children (and often still lose), and yet I have watched almost every video Will has released for the past 6 months. I can't explain myself.

[@wanderer15]

I appreciate it!

[@Oler-yx7xj]

The losing gracefully thing is one of my favourite things in Go, losing a group with grace is it's whole art

[@MrTheboffin]

I think the counter point to that 92% chance being brillant is that if his opponent had made the setup, he already had what was needed to win or believed he was likely to get it.

[@domino14]

There were three unseen E’s for ALOETIC, and given his very low clock I believe he was going for that mainly.

[@furkanyilmaz0]

bro your storytelling is mindblowingly good, watching this video just felt like watching a movie. honestly brilliant work!

[@wanderer15]

thank you very much!

[@deguvnor598]

Beautiful sad story (for Jerry) and happy ending (for James). I like your winning pose and defeat stroll pictures. That's the mountain and valley moments. I was in the hall in Vegas and may have passed by you after that painful loss not knowing what you just went through. Scrabble is life. It has its stories, good and bad. Will, you are a great story storyteller. Even if I didn't play Scrabble, I'd still be subscribed to your channel

[@kwekker]

These videos have no right to be this entertaining

[@thegodofpez]

WHOA!!!! This is the game I mentioned in a recent comment!!! Not sure if it’s a coincidence but either way so glad you covered it! You’re the man, Sir Anderson. 🤟

[@wanderer15]

It was already on my to-do list, and I'm sure your comment made me bump it to the front of the line!

[@niconewtime5589]

What a lesson this is on staying gracious in defeat and just on perspective on life in general

[@baIec]

Damn this one was moving man... Such a great life lesson, dont have anything to add to what Jerry said, those were beautiful words

[@TheEssentialHughJazz]

Hi Will! I wanted to commend you on keeping the topics of your videos dynamic and interesting. I appreciate you going that much further to make each one engaging. That's why I watch them all :)

[@wanderer15]

Thank you, I really appreciate it!

[@Qaqaq]

As soon as I saw this video's title, I correctly guessed what the game had to be.

[@IgnorantSeeker]

This is why Scrabble world is so much better than chess world. People are capable of inspiring the best quality in each other, but these environments are not built everywhere. We should strive for this in every sphere.

[@LisaPerry-xp6mn]

Amazing story and so beautifully told

[@OMN1N]

Love the video Will! Just wanted to say that the gate on your mic is a bit strong making it cut in and out between words, making it sound a bit harsh.

[@LRXC1]

I love these videos so much, wow I’d be devastated at that ending

[@GooglySushi]

One of your best videos! Great storytelling.

[@MrWill830]

Your videos are really good. I'm not that much of a scrabble nerd but I love them, keep it up, wishing your channel to grow :)

[@wanderer15]

Thank you very much

[@MrWill830]

@@wanderer15 you're welcome !

[@RJVEK]

Super story- well told- what a gracious man!

[@craiglarimer1173]

Loved this video! Heartbreaking but also uplifting. Keep them coming please.

[@dentonyoung4314]

Two Scrabble greats, one of them makes a very human error and gets second.. I love the example of sportsmanship displayed.

[@Michael-st6zq]

Loved this episode! Another great story well told:)

[@josephmallick2654]

I could have spared him some of that heartbreak had I not allowed his THYREOUS* the game before!

[@wanderer15]

Dave Wiegand also blew an endgame to James in R30!

[@garys5175]

Great stuff Will, thank you.

[@AllemandInstable]

like the storytelling, the morale, and the main protagonist

[@bowlofwhiskey]

What if you reviewed viewers’ games for a livestream somehow

[@Manigo1743]

Is it just assumed that players at this level know all 7 letter bingos, and are able to find them 100% of the time?

[@AlexDings]

The top players have likely _looked at_ every 7 letter bingo at least once, and will find _most of them_ most of the time, but it's incredibly difficult getting to 100%. In fact there's only one player who has a literal 100% success rate. Regular viewers of this channel will know who I'm talking about 😀 The miss shown in the video is unusual because the words consists of pretty common letters. It's like missing a 25 yards field goal, or a two foot putt in golf or something. It shouldn't happen to a top player, but once in a blue moon it just will

[@BeyondMediocreMandarin]

Ouch, that's brutal!

[@Cherokeechuck9]

It would be awesome to see you play the team scrabble with another GM

[@xchomphk.9788]

new to scrabble, just wondering what method in your opinion is the best for studying and how long would it take to learn most common 7 and 8 letter bingos

[@vincentskater]

OH MY GOD THE PLOT TWIST LETS GOOO HAHAHAHA

[@davidtydeman1434]

Both players are excellent

[@yellowdicesam]

the new profile picture confused me for a second lmao

[@jakko_]

4:33 Funny how both of these plays include the number two as the hooked word!

[@EltWilder]

Words are hard.

[@socksygen]

heartbreaking hamburgers, batman!

[@Forensource]

I might see Jerry today.

[@SasmithaXD]

Will chillin in New pp

[@我鍾意周梓盈]

lez is not legal now?

[@mattcanik]

it's been removed from most lexicons, yes

[@tumultuous]

Let’s see some Scrabble Together gameplay on your Twitch channel 😂

[@AOOA926]

Why did you change your profile picture?

[@wanderer15]

mostly because when anybody links to my channel, that image is absurdly low-resolution on both YT and Twitch. Sorry if you liked the old one :)

[@AOOA926]

@@wanderer15 I did but this one is much better

[@Austin101123]

4:22 what about 7 letter bingoes with 4th letter c making croque?

[@justin_tang]

Well spotted, but CROQUE actually isn't in the word list -- not even for Collins!

[@Austin101123]

@@justin_tang ahh interesting, I thought it would be a common enough food to be valid since I've heard of it before. Valid words always weird to me. No queso, cunt, queef, rewatch, ruleset, empath, dumpster, overmorrow, fatass, dumbass, asshat, fucktard, many more I'm sure.

[@AOOA926]

Yo!!! New pfp

[@tranonehalf]

I believe James still the reigning Players Champion* 😊

[@wanderer15]

Hahaha, true!

[@miscman84]

5:13 wrong array-based nerd game icon

[@irakyl]

Will, you truly are the Lebron James of basketball

[@dynimo1]

It would be nice to know how the game ended...

[@wanderer15]

I showed the final board, but yes, there were two more moves I skipped over to speed the video along - James played (R)EX for 26, and Jerry played his G with G(OY) for 7 for a final of James 423, Jerry 367.

[@dynimo1]

@@wanderer15 Cool thanks!

[@I_like_smashburgers]

nice pfp

[@moz2589]

Play a game using the shrek scrabble board

[@wanderer15]

I seriously may do this

[@pererarohini6892]

40k coming soon

[@un.editor.mas001]

Hi❤

[@yriiiiiii]

Greetings 👋

[@KrazyKyle-ij9vb]

Hi! :D

[@Harriet1822]

Generosity is beautiful.

[@Outthere115]

Like for unregistered hypercam 2

[@wanderer15]

I considered editing that out, but it amused me so I left it

[@Zebris0]

[@WavviJay]

How is Lez a valid word when its abreaviating lesbian.. this is the problem i have with scrabble. English should be deleted.

[@axcertypo]

found the video of Jerry running up to get his prize! watch?v=W7g5gXB-e8I&t=90

[@vendredi5]

Thanks for finding this, Josh! I had never seen it before.

[@axcertypo]

@@vendredi5 well, I wish I could have lived it :)