![The French Scrabble World Champion Can't Speak a Word of French](https://img.resized.co/beaut/eyJkYXRhIjoie1widXJsXCI6XCJodHRwczpcXFwvXFxcL3d3dy5iZWF1dC5pZVxcXC9pXFxcL25vSW1hZ2UucG5nP3Y9MlwiLFwid2lkdGhcIjo3MzcsXCJoZWlnaHRcIjpudWxsLFwiZGVmYXVsdFwiOlwiaHR0cHM6XFxcL1xcXC93d3cuYmVhdXQuaWVcXFwvaVxcXC9ub0ltYWdlLnBuZ1wifSIsImhhc2giOiIzMWEzZDU2YWE3MDRjNWMxNTYxMjIyZDYwYzdkMjU5MWZjM2NjMjQ0In0=/noimage.png?v=2)
It's a hard enough to beat your friends in Scrabble, but winning a World Championship is another level completely, especially when it's in a language you don't even speak.
New Zealander Nigel Richards won the French-language Scrabble World Championship on Monday, despite not speaking a word of French. Richards, originally from Christchurch but now based in Malaysia, only started reading the French dictionary eight weeks ago, according to his friend, Liz Fagerlund.
"He doesn't speak French at all, he just learnt the words. He won't know what they mean, wouldn't be able to carry out a conversation in French I wouldn't think."
Fantastique ! #NigelRichards, Néozélandais ne parlant pas français, est champion du monde de Scrabble francophone. pic.twitter.com/zL35G3uf3x
— Dzibz (@dzibz) July 20, 2015
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Although the win came as a surprise to the French contestants, seeing as they couldn't even converse with their opponent, it turns out he has a bit of a knack for the game. Richards had previously picked up five US National titles, an English World Scrabble Championship, and won the King's Cup,a Thailand based competition, for the 11th time only a few weeks back.
Via NZ Herald