Austinite Kevin Leeds used to play Junior Scrabble with his mom, and real Scrabble with his grandmom and various aunts. His grandmom used to get impatient waiting for him to play but when he did finally make his move, Kevin tells us, “she would erupt in a shower of amazement, and … tell me my score was really, really good.” With that early encouragement, he has been playing in NASPA tournaments since 2003 and plays regularly with the Austin Scrabble Club.
Scrabble isn’t Kevin’s only game — he’s a world champion Worfu player. He’s also an Indiana native, so Fort Wayne has been “like coming home” for him. He hopes all players who traveled a distance to get here purchased carbon offsets to help address climate change, and he encourages you to read this NY Times article about the subject.