In a nearly silent ballroom, surrounded by cameras and leaderboards on jumbotrons, underdog Nigel Peltier of Portland placed his final tile, spelling the word “ kolo ” to win the North American Scrabble Championship .

The competitive Scrabbler topped more than 300 other players who traveled to Hanover, Maryland, last week from all over the U.S. and Canada to compete in the classic wordsmithing board game.

Peltier, 35, earned a $10,000 prize, dethroning the reigning champ, 25-year-old Mack Meller of Kentucky, in the best-of-five finals round, according to the North American Scrabble Players Association , the organization in charge of the annual event.

Nigel Peltier, left, poses with Mack Meller, the reigning champ who took second place this year after falling to Peltier in the

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