Hi everyone, I mistakenly credited Joel with his first National Championship win coming in 2001, but he actually won in 2002 instead. Apologies for the error and enjoy the rest of the video!
Thank you very much! re: the Scrabble RUclips scene...we have to start somewhere! Other creators like @axcertypo, @mackmeller, and @letsplayscrabble are doing some great things lately as well.
the thing about these videos that turn them from good to great is the little definitions on the side for the more obscure srabble words, it makes your content so much more approachable, thank you for your hard work
FUM(E)D and (E)CHOEY and were glitches in the matrix. It's crazy, when I watch Nigel lose a game, it feels so different than when he wins. Not because I feel like he was powerless to win, but because he just... seems just like one of us when he loses.
I just realized that you yourself must be coming up with the hypothetical plays they could make, as opposed to it being part of the recorded history, no wonder youre a top player yourself! Makes it that much more interesting to watch
Don't give me too much credit - I make use of game analysis software called Quackle to help identify other candidate plays. It's true that explaining what makes one play different or better than another does draw on my own experience and strategic understanding. I often hesitate to make very "concrete" proclamations of one play being better than another, because there's definitely room for stylistic variations and disagreement in Scrabble!
the statistical calcutions of poker, the strategy and tactics of chess, and the knowledge of a high school spelling bee. Scrabble really is the ultimate sport.
Here I am again, watching something I've never ever participated in. Your videos entertain me in the same way that Summon Salt's videos does for Video Game Speedrunning. I've never done a speedrun in my life, nor have I ever played a game of Scrabbe in my life, that doesn't change the fact that I find it immensely entertaining to watch and learn about their respective histories. Good stuff!
You should give them a try, it's very fun. Like replicating the 16 star route in Super Mario 64, even if you don't get a fast time, just to see the game completed in that amount of stars. I for one am a Mario player, but this past week I've been playing Scrabble here and there after getting hooked by these videos, I'm just casually playing against a bot and always manage to win against it on Medium. Currently trying to win on Hard (last difficulty I'm willing to go, otherwise I'll have to start memorizing stuff) and the closest I've gotten was a 49 points difference.
I literally never played Scrabble in my life and dont even know the rules, but for some reason the algorithm blessed me with your channel and I love it! Your storytelling is amazing and the visual editing style helps me understand whats going on. Keep it up ;D
I can't say enough good things about Will's analysis, intelligence, and trajectory in dissecting another champion's mind. Thanks so much, deeply appreciated beyond words
I appreciate these videos a lot, because they show that the strategy in top-level scrabble is really engaging, but nobody I know (let alone myself) has enough skill with the basics of the game to bring that strategy out
Although every sequence is very impressive, the umiaqs-play in round 29 is absolutely mind-boggling! Even had to look it up if it is legal or not, but to play it with such confidence in scrabble...
Great content and analysis, as always! And I appreciate all the little things that make these videos exemplary - Like at 14:06 where you highlight Nigel's tiles to show that he was considering TUMEFY. Thanks for doing this, and keep it up!
Great videos! Just a little request: Sometimes when you narrate "Nigel plays xy", the actual word he plays is hard to see, i have to scan the whole board for it. Can you make it easier visible? Like for some words you put them in green, or orange or put the scoring points under it. Something like that would be great for all of them.
Yes, I had a suspicion that some plays might be difficult to follow for viewers for this reason - I'll be sure to make this change going forward. Thank you!
15:19 computer analysis suggests the cool option of TOUCH, not TOUCHY - a very Nigelesque* setup. But who knows what is correct in that situation. I remember the vivid discussions if ECHOEY was a rare strategic blunder on Nigel's part
@@chochkeys Seems like it would be an appropriate and appealing topic for SIGBOVIK. You should write a paper! It did make a brief Bizarro-world appearance in my old paper "What words ought to exist?"
I'm glad this got included! I remember watching this streamed live, and I still get goosebumps. It was especially crazy how Joel kept getting the 1 vowel that he needed to keep his chances alive in the final game.
Wow, this series never disappoints! I don’t know if it’s a coincidence but both players seemed uncannily crafty this match- Joel cleverly maneuvering his X and Q that first game but Nigel sniffing it out each time was super cool. Side note, I’m disappointed you didn’t mention Penning in the last game on the Jane turn, that would have been really pretty!
Very true - I should've included that option just for how aesthetically pleasing PENNING is. Sometimes I streamline the game analysis to keep the overall length down, but I'm finding that perhaps I shouldn't be too afraid of videos extending closer to 20 minutes, as people still seem to watch and enjoy.
I love watching chess recap videos, and I've always wanted something similar for scrabble. These are awesome. I hope this channel finds a big enough audience to get at least one recap video a week.
Even as a native speaker, many of the words that he defines are words I don't know. One exception to that is taiko because of my interest in rhythm games.
Phenomenal vid!! Man, what an unlikely outcome. Both players put absolutely everything they had on the table. It’s fascinating watching these creme of the crop players duel it out, as they often play the best moves available.
Wow! The mix of luck and skill displayed by both players is very impressive, as is your ability to craft an engaging and suspenseful narrative out of the gameplay. Very well done!
Not only the fact that Joel beat Nigel 3 times in a row, more crazy, he was 14-8 early in this tournament where he ended up winning the last 9 games to win the Championship. What a mind-blowing achievement by Joel.
Thanks for heeding to my request! I still have all three games as my YT downloads so that I can watch it offline. Edit, defo need that commentary by Robin Pollock-Daniel gasping at Joel getting STRiNGS.
5:41 your enjoyment of that pun is palpable ;-) Amazing recap as always. For everyone who hasn't, it's worth watching the original broadcast of game 3. ruclips.net/video/0lXZAgZ4Qxo/видео.html
The obscure words presented at top level play make me smarter because I feel compelled to look every single one of them up. I just can't believe these are actual words.
That's absolutely insane. I respect the immense amount of skill it takes to play at this level, and it makes me want to both (A) see someone continue to knock off Nigel, having the same player win constantly is a discouragement for many to try and progress beyond a certain point and (B) see y'all get paid with two more zeroes on that check instead of just $10,000. Winning one world tournament should be enough to set you for life, not just pay for a third of a car.
On point B, I definitely feel you there, but we have to do a better job of increasing the visibility and audience size for our biggest events. I hope my channel can contribute to this effort if it continues to grow. On point A, I feel that too, but I'm also incredibly grateful that Nigel found his way to Scrabble and has achieved an awe-inspiring level of skill.
It's a very good question, but for whatever reason, QUO is not valid in either of the main English language Scrabble dictionaries. Plenty of other Latin-origin words have made it in, so it does feel somewhat arbitrary.
Joel is a consummate gentleman. He doesn't get enough credit for running the Manhattan club. He and his brother, Larry, have provided the mecca of Scrabble for over 20 years. Plus, he put up with my foolishness every time on CGP back in the day.
I fondly remember my time playing at the NYC Club for about a year around 2010...I used to pack dinner so that I could leave work, ride the train to catch the start, and rush back to Grand Central to catch the last train back home.
Love this series. I have found it a tad difficult to locate the words played when they are small and in the late game. Is there a way you could highlight the words played or bold them for that immediate turn?
Yes, I suspected this might be an issue for some viewers, but have been lazy about it at times (play highlighting). I will be sure to fix this going forward! Thank you!
I don't know where else to ask this, but is there any Scrabble dictionary that doesnt use words that are too obscure? Seeing words that are technically valid but both players dont understand isnt fun for my casual play, and im curiois whether theres any dictionary that fits this.
@@wanderer15 ah thank you! I also tried to make a similar one using Peter Norvig's sorted ngram appearance list, but looks like this one is more heavily curated
For casual players scrabble isn't at all like this, cause you pretty much just try to find a decent word for some points each turn, unconcerned with what other tiles exist or what your opponent could do, there's never any thinking of counters But watching these videos, it seems that scrabble is a lot more like chess than I had thought. These videos *feel* just like chess game analysis videos. Makes me want to play but I feel like none of these lines of strategic thinking are available unless you know the dictionary already.
Hi everyone, I mistakenly credited Joel with his first National Championship win coming in 2001, but he actually won in 2002 instead. Apologies for the error and enjoy the rest of the video!
The line about wanting to see Nigel play chess was brilliant, well done.
I love this series. The videos are well edited and have thrilling story telling. This is what the Scrabble RUclips scene needs.
There's a RUclips scrabble scene?
@@lolledopkeif you find it tell me
Thank you very much! re: the Scrabble RUclips scene...we have to start somewhere! Other creators like @axcertypo, @mackmeller, and @letsplayscrabble are doing some great things lately as well.
Never in my life did I think I would hear the terms thrilling story telling and the scrabble RUclips scene in the same comment
Agree! Will is as good at story telling as he is at scrabble.
Drawing all 6 blanks certainly helped Joel!
No question, it's essentially impossible to hang with Nigel unless you get some good stuff to work with.
Nigel used a blank to play sorbitol in game 2
@@kristiankamph4334Drawing 5/6 blanks certainly helped Joel!
That has to be one of the most competitive 3-0s in Scrabble History
"All 3-0 sweeps are equal, but some of them are more equal than others."
@@dentonyoung4314 what
@@andrewdinns1746 It's an Animal Farm reference.
the thing about these videos that turn them from good to great is the little definitions on the side for the more obscure srabble words, it makes your content so much more approachable, thank you for your hard work
Please show them just a little longer though
FUM(E)D and (E)CHOEY and were glitches in the matrix. It's crazy, when I watch Nigel lose a game, it feels so different than when he wins. Not because I feel like he was powerless to win, but because he just... seems just like one of us when he loses.
12:10 "Lefties and queers was an option" sounds like me planning my friday nights
More like handles and beer
a gem of a comment
Thank you for your service
ouch, bro is down bad
hell yeah brother
I just realized that you yourself must be coming up with the hypothetical plays they could make, as opposed to it being part of the recorded history, no wonder youre a top player yourself! Makes it that much more interesting to watch
Don't give me too much credit - I make use of game analysis software called Quackle to help identify other candidate plays. It's true that explaining what makes one play different or better than another does draw on my own experience and strategic understanding. I often hesitate to make very "concrete" proclamations of one play being better than another, because there's definitely room for stylistic variations and disagreement in Scrabble!
the statistical calcutions of poker, the strategy and tactics of chess, and the knowledge of a high school spelling bee. Scrabble really is the ultimate sport.
Here I am again, watching something I've never ever participated in.
Your videos entertain me in the same way that Summon Salt's videos does for Video Game Speedrunning. I've never done a speedrun in my life, nor have I ever played a game of Scrabbe in my life, that doesn't change the fact that I find it immensely entertaining to watch and learn about their respective histories.
Good stuff!
this makes me smile- I've also been watching a ton of speedruns and these scrabble videos
I'm also addicted to the speedrunning histories of games I've never even played :)
Summoning Salt is a huge influence for me so this feels great to read. Thank you very much.
You should give them a try, it's very fun. Like replicating the 16 star route in Super Mario 64, even if you don't get a fast time, just to see the game completed in that amount of stars.
I for one am a Mario player, but this past week I've been playing Scrabble here and there after getting hooked by these videos, I'm just casually playing against a bot and always manage to win against it on Medium. Currently trying to win on Hard (last difficulty I'm willing to go, otherwise I'll have to start memorizing stuff) and the closest I've gotten was a 49 points difference.
Instead of 'vowelitis' can we call it 'irritable vowel syndrome'?
Lolol thanks for the chuckle!
That’s why he’s nicknamed “GI Joel”. His troublesome gi tract.
As long as when someone plays a word like 'aioli', it's called a good vowel movement.
I love these niche historical moments. I rarely play scrabble, but I like learning about it. Thanks for the dedication
Thanks for giving my content a try!
I literally never played Scrabble in my life and dont even know the rules, but for some reason the algorithm blessed me with your channel and I love it! Your storytelling is amazing and the visual editing style helps me understand whats going on.
Keep it up ;D
I really appreciate you giving my videos a chance and thank you for the kind words.
I can't say enough good things about Will's analysis, intelligence, and trajectory in dissecting another champion's mind. Thanks so much, deeply appreciated beyond words
You're too kind, thank you
I appreciate these videos a lot, because they show that the strategy in top-level scrabble is really engaging, but nobody I know (let alone myself) has enough skill with the basics of the game to bring that strategy out
Imagine being so badass that people get a t-shirt made if they beat you
Although every sequence is very impressive, the umiaqs-play in round 29 is absolutely mind-boggling! Even had to look it up if it is legal or not, but to play it with such confidence in scrabble...
Great content and analysis, as always! And I appreciate all the little things that make these videos exemplary - Like at 14:06 where you highlight Nigel's tiles to show that he was considering TUMEFY. Thanks for doing this, and keep it up!
Great videos! Just a little request: Sometimes when you narrate "Nigel plays xy", the actual word he plays is hard to see, i have to scan the whole board for it. Can you make it easier visible? Like for some words you put them in green, or orange or put the scoring points under it. Something like that would be great for all of them.
Yes, I had a suspicion that some plays might be difficult to follow for viewers for this reason - I'll be sure to make this change going forward. Thank you!
I remember watching this live with the commentators going crazy after seeing STRiNGS. Awesome games.
15:19 computer analysis suggests the cool option of TOUCH, not TOUCHY - a very Nigelesque* setup. But who knows what is correct in that situation. I remember the vivid discussions if ECHOEY was a rare strategic blunder on Nigel's part
Man, TOUCH is amazing. No E's left for TOUCHE, setting up the Y...looks like exactly his kind of play!
What a finish!
Do you think we will ever see Scrabble at SIGBOVIK?
@@chochkeys Seems like it would be an appropriate and appealing topic for SIGBOVIK. You should write a paper! It did make a brief Bizarro-world appearance in my old paper "What words ought to exist?"
I love the editing, it makes it really clear what's going on and definitions for the more obscure words are much appreciated!
I'm glad this got included! I remember watching this streamed live, and I still get goosebumps. It was especially crazy how Joel kept getting the 1 vowel that he needed to keep his chances alive in the final game.
Wow, this series never disappoints! I don’t know if it’s a coincidence but both players seemed uncannily crafty this match- Joel cleverly maneuvering his X and Q that first game but Nigel sniffing it out each time was super cool. Side note, I’m disappointed you didn’t mention Penning in the last game on the Jane turn, that would have been really pretty!
Very true - I should've included that option just for how aesthetically pleasing PENNING is. Sometimes I streamline the game analysis to keep the overall length down, but I'm finding that perhaps I shouldn't be too afraid of videos extending closer to 20 minutes, as people still seem to watch and enjoy.
I love watching chess recap videos, and I've always wanted something similar for scrabble. These are awesome. I hope this channel finds a big enough audience to get at least one recap video a week.
It's my plan to release one long-form video per week every week going forward, with a few Shorts mixed in as my schedule allows.
This the best Scrabble history yet
Thanks for adding some of the word definitions in the video! It helps a lot, especially because English is not my first language.
Even as a native speaker, many of the words that he defines are words I don't know. One exception to that is taiko because of my interest in rhythm games.
These scrabble breakdowns are so unexpectedly brilliant
The fact that I've only played scrabble maybe 3 times in my life but these videos are instant watches when they are in my recommendations
Legendary. Can only imagine what this would have been like to watch live. Great presentation and commentary as usual :)
These well edited and commentated videos are making this latest Scrabble hyperfix very rewarding. Thank you for the content ✨️
8:32 More like Monodies nutz
Phenomenal vid!! Man, what an unlikely outcome. Both players put absolutely everything they had on the table. It’s fascinating watching these creme of the crop players duel it out, as they often play the best moves available.
Thank you! I really get excited by high-level Scrabble play like this, so I'm glad that you feel similarly.
Amazing narration and visuals Will. These videos are a joy to watch with how immersive you present them.
Thank you, I appreciate it!
Always excited for scrabble history episode
I love these types of videos!, hope you do more like it. (ps will you continue the “better learn a letter” series?)
At some point, I expect to do more letter videos for sure!
Wow! The mix of luck and skill displayed by both players is very impressive, as is your ability to craft an engaging and suspenseful narrative out of the gameplay. Very well done!
Thank you so much!
Nice to see another Richard’s vid! Ty 😊
“Scoring ‘only ten points,’ requires a huge amount of confidence.”
that’s basically my average word score. I must be very confident
STRINGS was unbelievable
Best series on youtube!
Not only the fact that Joel beat Nigel 3 times in a row, more crazy, he was 14-8 early in this tournament where he ended up winning the last 9 games to win the Championship. What a mind-blowing achievement by Joel.
I remember GI Joel from some scrabble documentary I watched years ago. Amazing player.
A legend of the game for sure
Fantastic storytelling and video. Thank you for the exceptional content!
I remember watching this final game on RUclips. It got viral with 4 million views on RUclips if I recall ☺️
Thanks for heeding to my request! I still have all three games as my YT downloads so that I can watch it offline.
Edit, defo need that commentary by Robin Pollock-Daniel gasping at Joel getting STRiNGS.
5:41 your enjoyment of that pun is palpable ;-)
Amazing recap as always.
For everyone who hasn't, it's worth watching the original broadcast of game 3. ruclips.net/video/0lXZAgZ4Qxo/видео.html
You make me feel very interested in Scrabble even I’ve never played it before, keep going!
10:27 Ok now they're just insulting each other
Exciting and educational!
The obscure words presented at top level play make me smarter because I feel compelled to look every single one of them up. I just can't believe these are actual words.
Bro I love your series please keep it up
Binging these videos is awesome!
I don’t know how I landed here but I love it. Didn’t know anything about scrabble, but now I’m a fan lol
i remember watching the documentary Word Wars when i was a kid and seeing G.I. Joel there! crazy to see him in this video ~20 years later
He's a legend!
Great vid again!
What an epic comeback, how exciting scrabble can be
I don’t even play scrabble, but I have been watching your videos for the past few days
These videos are awesome. Keep it up.
Thank you!
love these vids so much
I don't know how you make Scrabble hype
These videos are so amazing! A wonderful mental break from my organic chem homework. :)
Yikes, orgo is hard! You need a simpler interest to balance everything out!
I've got three hours of sleep before my alarm goes off but instead I'm watching a breakdown of a scrabble match.
Appreciate you stopping by, though I hope you got some sleep!
Both of these players have some pretty big umiaqs.
imagine being so good at something that the other best players in the world proudly wear shirts that say "I beat _____" on them
That's absolutely insane. I respect the immense amount of skill it takes to play at this level, and it makes me want to both (A) see someone continue to knock off Nigel, having the same player win constantly is a discouragement for many to try and progress beyond a certain point and (B) see y'all get paid with two more zeroes on that check instead of just $10,000. Winning one world tournament should be enough to set you for life, not just pay for a third of a car.
On point B, I definitely feel you there, but we have to do a better job of increasing the visibility and audience size for our biggest events. I hope my channel can contribute to this effort if it continues to grow. On point A, I feel that too, but I'm also incredibly grateful that Nigel found his way to Scrabble and has achieved an awe-inspiring level of skill.
Great video! Can you make a video about the highest scoring scrabble game (but instead of one players, it's two)?
Great series will!
i don't even know how to play scrabble but i always find these types of video's interesting
Loving these videos. Could you possibly highlight/outline the most recently played word to make them easier to find?
Yes, I had a suspicion that this might be an issue for some viewers and I will definitely be fixing this going forward. Thank you very much!
Just curious, at 10:30 why is Quo not a good move. Or is it just not a valid word in this dictionary?
Quo as in: Quid pro Quo, or Status Quo.
It's a very good question, but for whatever reason, QUO is not valid in either of the main English language Scrabble dictionaries. Plenty of other Latin-origin words have made it in, so it does feel somewhat arbitrary.
Seems a lot like bad luck with the tiles drawn from Nigels side.
This was absolutely fascinating.
Great video will
drawing almost no vowels for the entire round and still winning is crazy
For some reason "migawd" as a word gave me a good chuckle
All 3 games has someone draw the Q at the beginning, crazy
I have no idea what’s happening but I’m on the edge of my seat
I don’t play Scrabble, but goddamn these videos are good.
Thank you very much!
Excellent watch 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
If you upload these types of videos more frequently, you can easily break 100K subs.
I comment and like every one for the algorithm lol. They're so good
Half of the top 10 starts with J. Also, there's another Nigel?
That chess joke was crazy
12:10 "Lefties and queers" just sounds like my normal friendship group
You can watch the games from start to finish here - ruclips.net/p/PLhvDB0pE-3pvPJAwmdVmYml56B30vYfHX - Games 8 to 10 in the list
I choose to interpret the opening moves of game 3 as the players insulting each other
Joel is a consummate gentleman. He doesn't get enough credit for running the Manhattan club. He and his brother, Larry, have provided the mecca of Scrabble for over 20 years.
Plus, he put up with my foolishness every time on CGP back in the day.
I fondly remember my time playing at the NYC Club for about a year around 2010...I used to pack dinner so that I could leave work, ride the train to catch the start, and rush back to Grand Central to catch the last train back home.
8:31 I spotted Dominoes as a bingo
Love this series. I have found it a tad difficult to locate the words played when they are small and in the late game. Is there a way you could highlight the words played or bold them for that immediate turn?
Yes, I suspected this might be an issue for some viewers, but have been lazy about it at times (play highlighting). I will be sure to fix this going forward! Thank you!
It would help if you also marked new words on the board in blue or something for a bit after its played
Great video post more
Absolute cinema
2:45 migawd feels like my god looool
Keep making videos, I'll watch!
Joel was really hanging by strings there
I don't know where else to ask this, but is there any Scrabble dictionary that doesnt use words that are too obscure? Seeing words that are technically valid but both players dont understand isnt fun for my casual play, and im curiois whether theres any dictionary that fits this.
Woogles.io offers something called Common English Lexicon (CEL) which could be what you're looking for.
@@wanderer15 ah thank you! I also tried to make a similar one using Peter Norvig's sorted ngram appearance list, but looks like this one is more heavily curated
For casual players scrabble isn't at all like this, cause you pretty much just try to find a decent word for some points each turn, unconcerned with what other tiles exist or what your opponent could do, there's never any thinking of counters
But watching these videos, it seems that scrabble is a lot more like chess than I had thought. These videos *feel* just like chess game analysis videos. Makes me want to play but I feel like none of these lines of strategic thinking are available unless you know the dictionary already.
@17:45 Wasn't GI's first national victory in 2002, not 2001?
Oops, it sure was. Darn!