List of world championships in mind sports
This page gives a list of world championships in mind sports which usually represent the most prestigious competition for a specific board game, card game or mind sport. World championships can only be held for most games or mind sports with the ratification of an official body. Some Eastern games only have amateur world championships and separate professional competitions as can be seen for Go (list of professional Go tournaments).
All-round game competitions
World championships that consist of competitions across multiple events to find the strongest games all-rounders.
Sport | Competition name | Competing entities |
First held |
Current holder | Last Held | Next | Held every |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Abstract strategy games | Abstract Games World Championship[1] | Individuals | 2008 | ![]() |
2013 | 2014 | One year |
Esports | International e-Sports Federation | Nations | 2009 | ![]() |
2018 | 2019 | One year |
Decamentathlon | Decamentathlon World Championship[2] | Individuals | 1997 | ![]() |
2017 | 2018 | One year |
Mind Sports | The Pentamind[2] | Individuals | 1997 | ![]() |
2017 | 2018 | One year |
Classic/traditional strategy games
Major world championships for classic strategy board games, such as chess or go.
Sport | Competition name | Competing entities |
First held |
Current holder | Last held | Next | Held every |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Backgammon | Backgammon World Championship | Individuals | 1967 | ![]() |
2019 | 2020 | One year |
Chess | World Chess Championship | Individuals | 1886 | ![]() |
2018 | 2020 | Two years |
International draughts | Draughts World Championship | Individuals | 1885 | ![]() |
2018 | 2019 | One year |
English draughts | World Checkers Championship | Individuals | 1847 | ![]() ![]() |
2017 2018 |
2019 2020 |
Two years |
Brazilian draughts and Russian draughts |
World Draughts-64 Championship | Individuals | 1985 1993 |
![]() ![]() |
2018 2019 |
? 2020 |
? One year |
Go | Ing Cup | Individuals | 1988 | ![]() |
2016 | 2020 | Four years |
Renju | Renju World Championship | Individuals | 1989 | ![]() |
2019 | 2021 | Two years |
Gomoku | Gomoku World Championship | Individuals | 1989 | ![]() |
2019 | 2021 | Two years |
Shogi | Meijin (shogi) | Individuals | 1937 | ![]() |
2019 | 2020 | One year |
Xiangqi | World Xiangqi Championship | Individuals | 1990 | ![]() |
2017 | 2019 | Two years |
Card games
World championships in card games.
Sport | Competition name | Competing entities |
First held |
Current holder | Last held | Next | Held every |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Contract bridge | Bermuda Bowl | Teams | 1950 | ![]() |
2019 | 2021 | Two years |
Mahjong | World Mahjong Championship | Individuals
Individuals |
2002
2014 |
![]() |
2017
2017 |
2019
2020 |
Two years
Three years |
Poker | World Series of Poker Main Event | Individuals | 1970 | ![]() |
2019 | 2020 | One year |
Magic: The Gathering | Magic: The Gathering World Championship | Individuals | 1994 | ![]() |
2019 | 2020 | One year |
World Magic Cup[3] | Teams | 1995 | ![]() |
2018 | 2019 | One year | |
Pokémon Trading Card Game | Pokémon World Championships[4] | Individuals | 2004 |
|
2019 | 2020 | One year |
Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game | Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championships[5] | Individuals | 2003 |
|
2019 | 2021 | One year |
Wizard Card Game | Wizard World Championship[6] | Individuals | 2010 | ![]() |
2018 | 2019 | One year |
Esports
Official world championships in both individual and team based esports.
Sport | Competition name | Competing entities |
First held |
Current holder | Next | Frequency |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arena of Valor | Arena of Valor International Championship | Teams | 2017 | ![]() |
2020 | One year |
Arena of Valor World Cup | Nations | 2018 | ![]() |
2021 | One year | |
Call of Duty | Call of Duty Championship | Teams | 2013 | ![]() |
2021 | One year |
Clash Royale | Clash Royale Crown Championship | Individuals | 2017 | ![]() |
TBD | No regular schedule |
Clash Royale League | Teams | 2018 | ![]() |
2020 | One year | |
Counter Strike: Global Offensive | Major Championship | Teams | Fall 2013 | ![]() |
2020 Spring | Biyearly |
Dota 2 | The International | Teams | 2011 | ![]() |
2020 | One year |
EA Sports FIFA | FIFA eWorld Cup | Individuals | 2004 | ![]() |
2020 | One year |
Fortnite: Battle Royale | Fortnite World Cup | Solos | 2019 | ![]() |
2020 | One year |
Duos | ![]() ![]() | |||||
Hearthstone | HearthStone Grandmasters - Global Finals | Individuals | 2019 | ![]() |
2021 | One year |
HearthStone Global Games | Nations | 2017 | ![]() |
2020 | One year | |
Heroes of the Storm | Heroes of the Storm Global Championship | Teams | 2016 | ![]() |
One year | |
League of Legends | League of Legends World Championship | Teams | 2011 | ![]() |
2021 | One year |
Overwatch | Overwatch World Cup | Nations | 2016 | ![]() |
2020 | One year |
Overwatch League | Teams | 2018 | ![]() |
2021 | One year | |
PES | PES League | Individuals | 2010 | ![]() |
2020 | One year |
Teams | 2018 | ![]() | ||||
Pokémon | Pokémon World Championships | Individuals | 2009 |
|
2016 | One year |
PUBG | PUBG Global Invitational - TPP | Teams | 2018 | ![]() |
2019 | One year |
PUBG Global Invitational - FPP | ![]() | |||||
PUBG Mobile Star Challenge | ![]() | |||||
Smite | Smite World Championship | Teams | 2015 | ![]() |
2019 | One year |
StarCraft II | StarCraft II World Championship Series | Individuals | 2012 | ![]() |
discontinued | One year |
Street Fighter | Capcom Cup | Individuals | 2017 | ![]() |
2020 | One year |
World of Warcraft | World of Warcraft Arena World Championship | Teams | 2008 | ![]() |
2020 | One year |
Mental disciplines
Competitions using mental tests.
Sport | Competition name | Competing entities |
First held |
Current holder | Next | Held every |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Memory | World Memory Championships[7] | Individuals | 1991 | ![]() |
2021 | One year |
Mental calculation | Mental Calculation World Cup | Individuals | 2004 | ![]() |
2020 | Two years |
MSO Mental Calculation World Championship | Individuals | 1998 | ![]() |
2021 | One year | |
Junior Mental Calculation World Championship | Individuals (age restricted) | 2013 |
|
2017 | One year | |
Memory and Calculation | Memoriad | Individuals | 2008 | (15 winners) | 2020 | Four years |
Modern abstract strategy games
Competitions in abstract strategy games.
Sport | Competition name | Competing entities |
First held |
Current holder | Next | Held every |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arimaa | Arimaa World Championship[8] | Individuals | 2004 | ![]() |
2020 | One year |
Bōku | Bōku World Championship[9] | Individuals | 2000 | ![]() |
2017 | One year |
Entropy/Hyle | Entropy World Championship[9] | Individuals | 1997 | ![]() |
2019 | One year |
GIPF | Project Gipf World Championship | Individuals | 2008 | ![]() |
(2008) | |
Kamisado | Kamisado World Championship[9] | Individuals | 2011 | ![]() |
2017 | One Year |
Lines of Action | LoA World Championship[9] | Individuals | 1997 | ![]() |
2017 | One year |
Morabaraba | Morabaraba World Championship | Individuals | 1997 | ![]() |
(2008) | |
Othello/Reversi | World Othello Championship[9] | Individuals | 1977 | ![]() |
2018 | One year |
Stratego | Stratego World Championship[9] | Individuals | 1997 | ![]() |
2020 | One year |
Twixt | TwixT World Championship[9] | Individuals | 1997 | ![]() |
2017 | One Year |
Multiplayer board games
Sport | Competition name | Competing entities |
First held |
Current holder | Next | Held every |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Diplomacy | World Diplomacy Convention[10] | Individuals | 1988 | ![]() |
2020 | One year (since 1994) |
Hare and Tortoise | Hare and Tortoise World Championships[11] | Individuals | 1997 | ![]() |
2017 | One year |
Monopoly | Monopoly World Championships[12] | Individuals | 1973 | ![]() |
TBD | No regular schedule |
Settlers of Catan | Catan World Championships[13] | Individuals | 2002 | ![]() |
2020 | Two years |
4 games | German Board Game Championship[14] | Teams (4 players) | 1984 | ![]() |
2018 | One year |
4 games | EuropeMasters - European Championships Boardgames[15] | Teams (4 players) | 1988 | ![]() |
2018 | One year |
Professional services competitions
World championships for professionals and students in professional services industries and disciplines.
Sport | Competition name | Competing entities |
First held |
Current holder | Next | Held every |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Big Data Analytics | TEXATA: Big Data Analytics World Championships[16] | Individuals | 2014 | ![]() |
2018 | One year |
Financial Modeling | ModelOff: Financial Modeling World Championships[17] | Individuals | 2012 | ![]() |
2016 | One year |
Loyalty Marketing and Gamification | LoyaltyGames: Loyalty and Gamification World Championships[18] | Individuals | 2014 | ![]() |
2016 | Two years |
Speaking competitions
World championships in speaking.
Sport | Competition name | Competing entities |
First held |
Current holder | Next | Held every |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Auctioneering | World Livestock Auctioneer Championship | Individuals | 1963 | ![]() |
2019 | One year |
Debating | World Universities Debating Championship[19] | Pairs | 1979 | ![]() |
2019 | One year |
World Schools Debating Championships | Nations | 1988 | ![]() |
2019 | One year | |
Debating (Spanish) | World Universities Debating Championship in Spanish Campeonato Mundial Universitario de Debate en Español[19] |
Pairs | 2011 | ![]() |
2018 | One year |
Debating (Portuguese) | World Debating Championship in Portuguese Campeonato Mundial de Debate em Língua Portuguesa[19] |
Pairs | 2018 | ![]() ![]() |
TBD | One year |
Tile games
World championships held in tile-based games include:
Sport | Competition name | Competing entities |
First held |
Current holder | Next | Held every |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Carcassonne | Carcassone World Championship[20] | Individuals | 2006 | ![]() |
2019 | One year |
Juniors | 2017 | ![]() | ||||
Continuo | Continuo World Championship[9] | Individuals | 1997 | ![]() |
2017 | One year |
Dominoes | World Championship Domino Tournament[21] | Individuals | 1976 | ![]() |
2020 | One year |
Domino World Championship[22] | Individuals | 1995 | ![]() |
2012 | One year | |
Hexago | Hexago World Championship[9] | Individuals | 2007 | ![]() |
(2007) | |
Saboteur | Saboteur World Championship[23] | Individuals | ![]() |
2020 | One year | |
Tantrix | Tantrix World Championship (online)[24] | Individuals | 1998 | ![]() |
2015 | One year |
Tantrix World Open (real tiles)[25] | Individuals | 2009 | ![]() |
2015[26] | One year (irregular) |
Word games
World championships in word games.
Sport | Competition name | Competing entities |
First held |
Current holder | Next | Held every |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Scrabble (English) | World Scrabble Championship[27] | Individuals | 1991 | ![]() |
2020 | Two years; one year since 2013 |
Scrabble (Spanish) | Spanish World Scrabble Championship[28] | Individuals | 1997 | ![]() |
2018 | One year |
Scrabble (French) | French World Scrabble Championship Duplicate[29] | Individuals | 1972 | ![]() |
2018 | One year |
French World Scrabble Championship Classic[29] | Individuals | 2006 | ![]() |
2018 | One year |
Information technology
World championships in competitive programming.
Sport | Competition name | Competing entities |
First held |
Current holder | Next | Held every |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Competitive programming | Topcoder Open | Individuals | 2001 | ![]() |
2020 | once a year |
Corewars | ICWS | Individuals/teams | 2016 | ? | ? | yearly |
See also
- World championship
- List of world championships
- List of world cups and world championships for juniors and youth
- World cup competition
References
- Abstract Games page at MSO, http://www.boardability.com/game.php?id=abstract_games Archived 2012-03-25 at the Wayback Machine, 15 February 2011
- Mind Sports Olympiad Supplements, The Times, July–August 1997.
- "2018 World Magic Cup - Deux fois c'est bien". Retrieved 20 January 2019.
- "Meet the 2019 Pokémon World Champions!". Retrieved 8 January 2020.
- https://www.konami.com/yugioh/worldchampionship/2019/en/
- "Wizard World Champion 2018". Retrieved 20 Jan 2019.
- Omonira-Oyekanmi, Rebecca; Moyer, Justin (2010-09-13). "For this champion, life is (mostly) a memory game". The Washington Post.
- Arimaa World Championship results pages, http://arimaa.com/arimaa/wc/, 31 Dec 2014
- Mind Sports Olympiad results pages, http://www.boardability.com/results.php, 15 February 2011
- Peery, Larry. "A History of World DipCon". Diplomatic Corps.
- "2015 Results". Retrieved 10 May 2016.
- "Italy Defeats Defending Champion". www.businesswire.com.
- "CATAN World Championship 2018 in Cologne: The new world champion comes from Mexico". Retrieved 10 May 2016.
- "German Board Game Championship for teams / www.DMMiB.de".
- "EuropeMasters - Open European Championships Boardgames".
- TEXATA website, http://www.texata.com//
- ModelOff website, http://www.modeloff.com//
- LoyaltyGames website, http://www.theloyaltygames.com//
- World Debating website, http://www.debating.ie//
- Moder, Peter Janshoff / Thomas. "Carcassonne - World Championship 2018 - Finals". www.spielezentrum.de. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
- by Rotary Club:"World Championship Domino Tournament page".
- by Fédération Internationale de Domino (FIDO): "Fédération Internationale de Domino (FIDO): World Championship page".
- Möder, Felix (1 December 2018). "The Saboteur Award Ceremony". Amigo Spiele. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
- Tantrix official results (online) 2013 http://tournaments.tantrix.co.uk/auto/index.php?page=showph2&comp=WTC&do=final&year=2013
- Tantrix official results 2013 http://www.tantrix.com/tournaments/index.php?page=home&comp=WTO&year=2013
- Announcement of 5th WTO (World Tantrix Open) Archived 2014-01-26 at the Wayback Machine
- Official Scrabble World Championship site, http://www.wscgames.com/
- FISE Scrabble site, http://fisescrabble.org/torneos/mundiales/
- FISF Scrabble site, http://www.fisf.net