Moiz Ullah Baig (born April 1997 in
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
) is a Pakistani
Scrabble
''Scrabble'' is a word game in which two to four players score points by placing tiles, each bearing a single letter, onto a game board divided into a 15×15 grid of squares. The tiles must form words that, in crossword fashion, read left t ...
player who won the
World Youth Scrabble Championship 2013
and the World Junior Scrabble Championship 2018, becoming the first player ever to win both.
He won the Pakistan Scrabble Championship in 2018
and is currently the number 1 player of the country.
In December 2018, with a
WESPA
The World English-Language Scrabble Players' Association (WESPA) is the overarching global body for English-language national Scrabble associations and similar entities.
Formation
WESPA was formed in the course of a players' meeting at the ...
rating of 1921, he climbed up to the 71st place in the world rankings – his career highest.
Moiz was conferred with a gold medal by
Nazaria-i-Pakistan Trust in 2014 for his achievements in
Scrabble
''Scrabble'' is a word game in which two to four players score points by placing tiles, each bearing a single letter, onto a game board divided into a 15×15 grid of squares. The tiles must form words that, in crossword fashion, read left t ...
. He was mentioned alongside
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
Laureate
Malala Yousafzai
Malala Yousafzai ( ur, , , pronunciation: ; born 12 July 1997), is a Pakistani female education activist and the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Awarded when she was 17, she is the world's youngest Nobel Prize laureate, and the second Pak ...
,
Asma Jahangir
Asma Jilani Jahangir ( ur, , ''ʿĀṣimah Jahāṉgīr''; 27 January 1952 – 11 February 2018) was a Pakistani human rights lawyer and social activist who co-founded and chaired the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. Jahangir was known ...
, and several others in the
Newsline Magazine, on being one of the Pakistanis who have made a prominent mark internationally. He is referred to as the ''
'giant of scrabble in Pakistan
''.'' Moiz was appointed as a coach of Pakistan Scrabble Team in 2016.
Moiz currently studies at the
Technische Universität Darmstadt
The Technische Universität Darmstadt (official English name Technical University of Darmstadt, sometimes also referred to as Darmstadt University of Technology), commonly known as TU Darmstadt, is a research university in the city of Darmstadt ...
and has attended
NED University of Engineering and Technology
The NED University of Engineering & Technology is a public university located in the urban area of Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It is one of the oldest and best engineering universities in Pakistan, acknowledged for its best teaching practices a ...
,
DJ Science College
Dayaram Jethamal Sindh Government Science College, ( sd, ) commonly known as DJ Science College, is a public community college that is affiliated with the University of Karachi — it is located near Burns Road in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.
Pr ...
, and Falconhouse Grammar School.
Playing History
Moiz debuted the national circuit in 2012 at age 14 and beat several top-rated players in his first tournament. He joined the international scene in 2013.
2012
Moiz won the All-Pakistan Inter-School Scrabble Championship.
Later in the year, he was selected to represent Pakistan at the
World Youth Scrabble Championship in the UK, but he couldn't get the visa.
2013
Moiz won the
World Youth Scrabble Championship held in Dubai, UAE, becoming the first Pakistani to do so.
2014
Moiz finished 3rd at the Mind Sports International Youth Cup held in London, UK. He was unsuccessful in defending his title at the
World Youth Scrabble Championship in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
2015
Moiz finished runner-up at the Pakistan Scrabble Championship.
2016
Moiz missed the quarter-finals of the
World Scrabble Championship 2016
The MSI World Scrabble Championship 2016 was a Scrabble tournament organised by Mattel and Mindsports International (MSI) to determine the world champion in English Scrabble. It was held from 31 August to 4 September 2016 in Lille, France.
The e ...
in Lille, France, after losing his last match to the former World Champion
Adam Logan
Adam Logan (born 1975 in Kingston, Ontario) is a research mathematician and a top Canadian Scrabble player. He won the World Scrabble Championship in 2005, beating Pakorn Nemitrmansuk of Thailand 3–0 in the final. He is the only player to have ...
by 1 point, finishing 15th. He was the runner-up at the Pakistan Scrabble Championship for the second time in a row.
2017
Moiz finished runner-up at both, the World Junior Scrabble Championship held in Nottingham, UK, and the Princess Youth Scrabble Cup held in Bangkok, Thailand.
2018
Moiz won the World Junior Scrabble Championship held in Torquay, UK,
the Pakistan Scrabble Championship,
and the Pakistan Scrabble Champions Trophy.
He rose to the number 1 spot in national rankings ending Waseem Khatri's decade-long supremacy.
He was selected to represent ‘Team Rest of Asia’ at the Alchemist Cup – World Team Challenge in Penang, Malaysia, where he ended up 16th among the top 50 players of the world.
2019
He was unsuccessful in defending his title at the Pakistan Scrabble Championship.
2022
Moiz won the 10th Continental Scrabble Championship in Berlin, Germany.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baig, Moiz Ullah
1997 births
Living people
Pakistani Scrabble players