A 13-year-old Melbourne student who moved to Australia from Sri Lanka just six months ago has been crowned the 2026 World Youth Scrabble Champion in Nairobi.

Dineth Fernando defeated more than 130 competitors from 15 countries during the three-day championship, becoming only the fourth Australian representative to win the prestigious youth title.

English is Dineth’s second language, but he says his intensive preparation helped him overcome the challenge.

“It took a lot of stress and effort to navigate through the days,” Dineth told The Guardian.

“But I just needed to concentrate on the game, nothing else.”

Dineth began playing Scrabble at the age of eight after joining a school club in Sri Lanka. He later competed in national championships and worked with a private coach.

After his family moved to Melbourne in February, he continued competing, winning the Australian Youth Scrabble Championship before travelling to Kenya for the world title.

His father, Prasanna Fernando, said the victory still felt unreal.

“I sometimes still can’t believe he actually won it because the level of competition was extremely high.”

Dineth reportedly spends more than three hours a day studying Scrabble words and is already looking towards next year’s championship.

His goal is to become the first youth champion to successfully defend the world title.

Support our Journalism

No-nonsense journalism. No paywalls. Whether you’re in Australia, the UK, Canada, the USA, or India, you can support The Australia Today by taking a paid subscription via Patreon or donating via PayPal — and help keep honest, fearless journalism alive.