An update on the field for the Virtual World Cup

Last week began with a rush of excitement. When we first opened the Virtual World Cup for registration on Monday morning, it was thrilling to watch the registrants come flooding in. We had a couple dozen people sign up on just the first day, including some truly elite players, and the momentum was really building. At the end of the day Monday, I took stock of the entrants list and thought: "Wow, this is amazing."

But at some point over the following couple of days - I can't pinpoint exactly when - my outlook shifted a little bit. The initial excitement wore off; I started feeling something a little different. By Wednesday, I was thinking: "Oh, God. Now we actually have to fill this thing."

It's a scary proposition putting together an event like this. You're working with very rigid parameters for how many players can enter, and how many countries they can represent - and you have to fill out the entrants list perfectly, or the format doesn't work nearly as well. Our goal is to get 16 countries, with at least 5 players from each country, and that's a tall order. But hey - we gave ourselves three weeks for a reason. This is going to be a process.

With that in mind, I wanted to update you all on how that process is going. As of this writing (it's late on Sunday evening as I type this), we're looking at 64 total players signed up - not too far from our goal of 80 players plus alternates. Here's a country-by-country breakdown of where the field stands right now, along with some next steps for how we can fill this thing out.

LOCKS (6): United States, Ireland, Singapore, Pakistan, South Africa, Nigeria

These six countries are pretty much guaranteed to qualify for the Virtual World Cup. All of them have at least five players signed up already, and in some cases, those five-player squads are very strong. The U.S. is currently leading the pack, with five top experts sporting an average WESPA rating of 2026; Ireland is second at 1862. Singapore and Nigeria are a little weaker at the moment, but that can change very quickly if a few of their top players trickle in later. I expect that come July 5, all six of these nations will have very strong teams ready to compete.

What you can do: If you're from one of these six countries and you've signed up already, thanks for doing so! If you're not signed up, don't hesitate to put your name down still. If you're one of the top 5 rated players on the list, you can still make your national team, and even if you're not, you still might get to play some matches as an alternate.

VERY LIKELY (6): Australia, Malaysia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, India

These six countries will probably qualify for the Virtual World Cup; they just have a little work to do before their five-player rosters are complete. The first four countries listed each have four players signed up; the next two have three. I have zero doubts that the Australians - the Alchemist Cup defending champions - will have a formidable team lined up once a couple more people fill out the registration form. As for the others, I'll be reaching out to players in those nations and brainstorming ways to recruit a couple more entrants.

What you can do: If you're from one of these six countries and you've signed up already, I'd love a little help, if possible. If you could recruit another player or two to fill out your national team's roster, that'd be fantastic.

Or, if you're not signed up yet: Get on it! Time's a wastin'.

POSSIBLE (2): Sri Lanka, Kenya

The Sri Lankans have three players on the entrants list already, but I'm running out of leads on who might grab those last two spots. Kenya is a pretty deep country, loaded with Scrabble talent, but only one player has signed up for the VWC so far.

What you can do: If you're from Sri Lanka or Kenya, I'd love to chat with you about how we might recruit a few more people. Hit me up sometime.

STILL WORKING ON IT (2)

If all of the above countries field teams, that brings us to 14. For the last two spots, I'm still unsure what we'll end up doing. I've reached out to some connections in other nations that have a vibrant Scrabble scene - Thailand, Hong Kong, Ghana and the Philippines - and we'll see if maybe two of those four can cobble teams together.

If not, we may end up putting together some "Rest of" teams the same way Michael Tang did for Alchemist - Rest of Asia, Rest of Africa, Rest of World, and so on.

If that doesn't work either, a third option is to put together B teams from countries that have a high number of interested players (the U.S. and Nigeria come to mind here).

What you can do: If you've got any creative ideas on how to round out the field with teams besides the top 14 countries above, I'm all ears. Feel free to comment on any of our social media channels, or just get in touch here. I'd love to hear your feedback.

In any event, we're off to a great start after one week of recruiting players. We've still got another two weeks before the games get underway - plenty of time to round out the field. If you're considering playing, now's a great day to take the plunge and sign up!