Josh Sokol (Scrabble player)

Joshua Sokol-Rubenstein (born March 24, 1994) is a Canadian competitive Scrabble player and influencer. He won the 2023 Scrabble Players Championship.

Joshua Sokol
Born
Joshua Sokol-Rubenstein

(1994-03-24) March 24, 1994 (age 30)
Montreal, Canada
Other namesaxcertypo
Occupations
Years active2013–present

Career

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Sokol, who is Jewish, has said Scrabble was his parents' "favourite board game" and began memorizing obscure words for the game as a child.[1][2] He joined the Montreal Scrabble Club at age 10 and soon began seriously competing.[1] He has played at the Scrabble Players Championship (formerly North American Scrabble Championship) since 2013.[3] He excelled at the Scrabble Players Championship in Las Vegas in 2023, with a 23–5 record going into the finals (four games ahead of anyone else), where he then won 3–2.[3] He was the second Montrealer in a row to win the tournament after Michael Fagen the previous year.[2]

Sokol has described himself as a "Scrabble influencer".[3][4] He started livestreaming on Twitch in 2020 and has uploaded hundreds of YouTube videos under the username axcertypo.[1][5] He has also commentated for Scrabble tournament livestreams.[6][7]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Caruso-Moro, Luca (July 20, 2023). "Montreal Scrabble champion picks up $10,000 prize at Las Vegas tournament". Montreal: CTV News. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "A Jewish guy from Montreal just won North America's biggest Scrabble tournament". Canadian Jewish News (podcast). July 19, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Schwartz, Susan (July 26, 2023). "Montreal 'Scrabble influencer' axcertypo wins North American championship". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  4. ^ Fatsis, Stefan (November 15, 2023). "Horsefeatherses!". Slate. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  5. ^ Krolikowski, Anthony (July 1, 2023). "2023 Scrabble Word Cup playing letters in Albany". WTEN. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  6. ^ Fatsis, Stefan (March 22, 2022). "Magic in the Tiles". Slate. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  7. ^ Fatsis, Steven (August 9, 2023). "This Year's World Scrabble Champion Blew Everyone Away With a Three-Letter Word". Slate. Retrieved November 15, 2023.