The fourth Mindsports World Championships, which include scrabble, chess, go and e-sports, will be held in Doha from August 19 to 27 at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre.
The nine-day tournament, sponsored by Mattel Inc – the global game manufacturing company - and Mindsports Academy, and co-hosted by Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA), is expected to attract 1,500 enthusiasts from more than 40 countries.
In a statement, QTA noted that participants will be vying for their Mindsport Championship title, which will come with their share of a record $200,000 prize.
Experienced tournament directors, including Amy Byrne (Scrabble), Hal Bond (Chess) and Michael Fodera (Go), will oversee the tournament. Confirmed participants include current world scrabble champion, Brett Smitheram, who will be defending the title he won last year at the World Championships in Lille.
“This year’s event in Qatar promises to be the biggest and most diverse yet,” Mindsports Academy CEO Dave Brannan said.
“The Mindsports community is one of the fastest-growing in the world and with so many activities taking place, there is something for enthusiasts of all ages and abilities to get involved in and become part of the global mindsports community,” he added.
QTA’s public relations and communication director Saif al-Kuwari noted that Qatar hosts close to 80 sporting events and world-class competitions across a multitude of sporting disciplines annually.
“The addition of mindsports to our growing sports events portfolio this year offers a great boost to our efforts to develop the country’s sports tourism sub-sector,” he said.
“We are very excited to welcome the world’s most accomplished and committed mindsports players as they battle for the title of the best in their sport, while enjoying uniquely Qatari experiences and a taste of true hospitality,” al-Kuwari added.
Scrabble events will include the World Scrabble Championships and the Junior World Championships, and multi-language tournaments will take place every day to allow competitors from non-English speaking countries to take part.
For chess players and enthusiasts, the Championships will feature tournaments in the Bug House, Blitz and Rapid versions of the game.
In addition, Go will be a congress event, which will involve a number of smaller tournaments throughout the week as well as workshops, hosted by professional players designed to help players improve their game.
The Marriott Marquis City Center Doha Hotel has been confirmed as the Official Championships Partner Hotel.
Full tournament details, a list of all the events and schedules and accommodation information are available at www.msawc2017.com. Players can now register on the website for any of the four headline events.
