The Mindsports Academy and Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) today announced that the fourth Mindsports World Championships will be hosted in Doha, Qatar in August of this year. Players can now register on www.msawc2017.com for any of the four headline events: Scrabble, Chess, Go and e-Sports.
Scheduled to run between the 19th and 27th of August, the Championships will be held at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center (DECC), the state-of-the-art multi-purpose venue located in one of the capital city’s liveliest districts. The nine-day tournament is expected to attract 1,500 mindsports enthusiasts from over 40 different countries. They will be vying for their mindsport championship title, which will come with their share of a record $200,000 prize.
The tournament, sponsored by Mattel and Mindsports Academy, will be co-hosted by Qatar Tourism Authority and overseen by experienced tournament directors including Amy Byrne (Scrabble), Hal Bond (Chess) and Michael Fodera (Go). Confirmed participants include current world Scrabble champion, Brett Smitheram who will be defending the title he won last year at the World Championships in Lille.
Dave Brannan, CEO of Mindsports Academy said: “We’re really excited to be organising the MSA World Championships once again, and this year’s event in Qatar promises to be the biggest and most diverse yet.” He added, “Mindsports is one of the fastest growing communities in the world and with so many activities taking place, there is something for enthusiasts of all ages and abilities to get involved in and become part of the global mindsports community.”
Saif AlKuwari, Director of PR & Communication at QTA, said, “Qatar hosts close to 80 sporting events and world-class competitions across a multitude of sporting disciplines annually. The addition of mindsports to our growing sports events portfolio this year offers a great boost to our efforts to develop the country’s sports tourism sub-sector. We are very excited to have the world’s most accomplished and committed mindsports players battle it out for the title of the best in their sports, while enjoying uniquely Qatari experiences and a taste of true hospitality.”
Scrabble events will include the World Scrabble Championships and the Junior World Championships, and there will also be multi-language tournaments taking place every day to allow competitors from non-English speaking countries to take part.
For chess players and enthusiasts, the Championships will feature tournaments in the Bug House, Blitz and Rapid versions of the game. In addition, Go will be a congress event, which will involve a number of smaller tournaments throughout the week as well as workshops, hosted by professional players designed to help players improve their game.
The Marriott Marquis City Center Doha Hotel has been confirmed as Official Championships Partner Hotel.
Full tournament details, a list of all the events and schedules and accommodation information are available at www.msawc2017.com
To stay up to date with all the news, happenings and events in the mindsports community visit www.mindsportsacademy.com
