‘Lauf’ and ‘minceur’: the words that made a 13-year-old from Melbourne a world Scrabble champion

Dineth Fernando – who moved to Australia with his family in February – says he just needed to ‘find the word and play – that’s all’

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Dineth Fernando’s first language isn’t English and he only arrived in Melbourne six months ago – but already he’s claimed an international Scrabble title with an Australian flag draped around his shoulders.

The 13-year-old won the 2026 world youth Scrabble championships in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi over the weekend, becoming the third Australian representative in the competition’s history to take out the prize.