The doctor with two national titles in the same year, now aiming for World title
Dr. Harshan Lamabadusuriya
When Dr. Harshan Lamabadusuriya laid down the word ‘bacterize’ on the scrabble board in London last weekend, he knew it was special. Not only did it bring him 118 points, but it also marked the moment a long, quiet journey reached its destination.
“It was one of those moments of inspiration,” he told the Sunday Times. “I was trailing by, and then suddenly I saw it.”
That decisive move crowned him the winner of the United Kingdom National Scrabble Championship 2025, a title he first won 22 years ago. And just two months earlier, he had lifted the Sri Lanka National Championship trophy in his first appearance on home soil since leaving the island nearly three decades ago. Two national titles in two countries, in what he calls his ‘breakthrough year’.
“To win in both my countries–my home and my adopted home–in the same year feels surreal,” he said.
For Dr Harshan, scrabble has never been a pastime; it is a discipline, a meditation. His days begin at dawn with a five-kilometre walk, word lists playing on his phone as the world wakes up around him.
“When I was younger, I used to cram before tournaments,” he admitted. “Now I do a little every day.”
In 2025 alone, Dr. Harshan has won the UK Open, Grand Slam, Easter Matchplay, MGI Classic, and now both the UK and Sri Lankan Nationals. “It took nine years of steady study to get here,” he said.
His story begins in the early 1990s at Royal College, where a teacher introduced scrabble to a group of curious students.
“At my previous school, I didn’t do too well–I read books all day instead of studying,” he said, looking back.
“My parents were so worried that my mother convinced my father to buy a coconut estate in Chilaw, in case I failed and needed a job as a planter,” he recalled, with a chuckle.
The game that began as a hobby soon transformed into a passion. He entered competitive scrabble at the age of 14, first at Sri Lanka Nationals and then the Asia Pacific Championship. And when the family migrated to the UK during his A/Ls, the boy who once struggled with grades found his stride.
“In Sri Lanka, I was average. But in England, I suddenly flourished. I did five Advanced Levels, all ‘A’s, and then went to Cambridge and Oxford for medicine. And through it all, scrabble was always there.”
To Dr. Harshan, scrabble mirrors life. “You don’t control what tiles you draw,” he said.
“Like in life, you don’t choose what you’re dealt. But you can choose how you play it. Good players are lemonade makers–when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.”
He credits the game with shaping him both as a person and as a doctor. “Scrabble and medicine both need calmness and clarity,” he explained. “If you let emotions take over, you make mistakes.”
At home, his greatest support comes from his wife and young son. “My wife was the one who convinced me to play again after I stopped for five years,” he said.
“She follows my games live online. And my son takes my trophies to school to show his friends.”
As he prepares to represent Sri Lanka at the World Scrabble Championship in Ghana later this month, Dr Harshan reflects “Scrabble has given me so much discipline, focus, lifelong friendships. I hope more Sri Lankan youngsters continue after school and university. It’s such a beautiful game.”
“Be disciplined. Be calm. Keep learning. Don’t compare yourself to others. Just try to be better than you were yesterday,” was his advice to the aspiring youngsters.