Stewart Holden
Encyclopedia
Stewart Holden is a competitive Scrabble
player from the United Kingdom
. Holden is originally from Oxford
but has resided in Belfast
, Northern Ireland
since 2008. He represented England at the World Scrabble Championship 2003
, where he finished in 62 place, and represented Northern Ireland at the World Scrabble Championship 2011
where he finished in 28th place and achieved the highest game score of the tournament (694pts).
He is consistently ranked inside the top 50 competitive Scrabble players in the world and was the runner-up in the 2007 National Scrabble Championship
. Holden is an active committee member of the Association of British Scrabble Players
and in October 2005 established his own business, Tilefish, selling Scrabble equipment and resources; the enterprise was sold to a fellow ABSP committee member Amy Byrne in July 2008.
Holden compiles the weekly Scrabble puzzle for The Guardian
newspaper.
In 2004, Holden was the overall winner of Series 51 of the long-running British
television
game show
Countdown
. Holden won eight games to become an octochamp, including a score of 137 in his last preliminary match which was, at the time, the third highest score in the history of the programme. His eight-game score of 870 was also the third highest score since the introduction of the 15-round format in 2001.
Holden returned for the series finals as the number one seed, beating Steve Graston in the series final with a scoreline of 104-81. He was invited back for the twelfth Champion of Champions series but declined due to the conflicting dictionaries used in Countdown and competitive Scrabble affecting his performance in the latter game. Since 2008 Holden has also contributed the content for a daily desktop calendar of Countdown puzzles.
Scrabble
Scrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15-by-15 grid. The words are formed across and down in crossword fashion and must appear in a standard dictionary. Official reference works provide a list...
player from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Holden is originally from Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
but has resided in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
since 2008. He represented England at the World Scrabble Championship 2003
World Scrabble Championship 2003
The World Scrabble Championship 2003 was held in the , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The winner was Panupol Sujjayakorn of Thailand.The format was notably different from previous WSCs. The tournament began with the Australian Draw system, with each player playing sixteen games over two days. On the third...
, where he finished in 62 place, and represented Northern Ireland at the World Scrabble Championship 2011
World Scrabble Championship 2011
The World Scrabble Championship 2011 was held in the Hilton Hotel, Warsaw, Poland, from 12 October to 16 October 2011. The format was a 34-round preliminary tournament and a best-of-five final. The top two players after the preliminary tournament, Nigel Richards and Andrew Fisher, played a...
where he finished in 28th place and achieved the highest game score of the tournament (694pts).
He is consistently ranked inside the top 50 competitive Scrabble players in the world and was the runner-up in the 2007 National Scrabble Championship
National Scrabble Championship (UK)
The UK National Scrabble Championships is held annually. It is organised by Mattel UK, the copyright owners of Scrabble in the UK, and rated by the Association of British Scrabble Players.-History:...
. Holden is an active committee member of the Association of British Scrabble Players
Association of British Scrabble Players
The Association of British Scrabble Players oversees competitive Scrabble in the UK. It was formed in 1987 by agreement with J W Spear & Sons, the game's trademark owner, who were subsequently bought out by Mattel in 1993...
and in October 2005 established his own business, Tilefish, selling Scrabble equipment and resources; the enterprise was sold to a fellow ABSP committee member Amy Byrne in July 2008.
Holden compiles the weekly Scrabble puzzle for The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
newspaper.
In 2004, Holden was the overall winner of Series 51 of the long-running British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
Countdown
Countdown (game show)
Countdown is a British game show involving word and number puzzles. It is produced by ITV Studios and broadcast on Channel 4. It is presented by Jeff Stelling, assisted by Rachel Riley, with regular lexicographer Susie Dent. It was the first programme to be aired on Channel 4, and over sixty-five...
. Holden won eight games to become an octochamp, including a score of 137 in his last preliminary match which was, at the time, the third highest score in the history of the programme. His eight-game score of 870 was also the third highest score since the introduction of the 15-round format in 2001.
Holden returned for the series finals as the number one seed, beating Steve Graston in the series final with a scoreline of 104-81. He was invited back for the twelfth Champion of Champions series but declined due to the conflicting dictionaries used in Countdown and competitive Scrabble affecting his performance in the latter game. Since 2008 Holden has also contributed the content for a daily desktop calendar of Countdown puzzles.