Dineth Fernando of Australia won the 2026 World Youth Scrabble Championship after a gruelling 24-round main tournament in Nairobi over the weekend.
Three players finished tied at the top of the leaderboard with identical 18–6 records.
Fernando secured the world title on a tiebreaker due to his superior cumulative point spread.
The 2025 defending world champion, Madhav Kamath of India, finished fifth with a 16.5–7.5 record.
Outside the overall podium, Taymur Waseem of Pakistan made tournament history by clinching the Under-10 title, becoming the first player to hold consecutive Under-8 and Under-10 world titles.
Kenya missed out on the podium, but hosting the tournament marked a significant step in the development of Scrabble in the country.
