13-Year-Old Non-Native English Speaker Wins World Youth Scrabble Championship Six Months After Arriving in Australia

Dineth Fernando, 13, won the 2026 World Youth Scrabble Championship in Nairobi on August 9, finishing 18–6 over 24 rounds against 130-plus players from 15 countries. His family moved from Sri Lanka to Melbourne in February 2026. Fernando's first language is not English. He is the third Australian representative to claim the youth title.