The World Diplomacy Championship is a tournament held during the annual World Diplomacy Convention (WorldDipCon or WDC). The tournament is the most prestigious in the Diplomacy World, with the tournament winner awarded the title of World Champion (also called the WDC Champion).
The convention and its championship tournament was created in 1988. Initially held biennially, it became a yearly event beginning with the 1994 Birmingham event. The COVID-19 pandemic forced cancellation of the 2020 and 2021 events.
The event is hosted in a specific different region of the world each year. The US and Europe each host the tournament in turn, with a location in Australia or the Far East scheduled by agreement every so often. Two (or more) years in advance, events that are located in the region for which a year is reserved may submit bids to host WorldDipCon. The winning bidder is determined by popular vote among those attending the Business Meeting held during the advance convention.
| Year | Country | City | Host Event | Players | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | UK | Birmingham | Manorcon | 188 | GBR Phil Day |
| 1990 | USA | Chapell Hill (NC) | DixieCon | 103 | USA Jason Bergman |
| 1992 | Australia | Canberra | Australian Ch. | 78 | AUS Steve Gould |
| 1994 | UK | Birmingham | Manorcon | 133 | FRA Pascal Montagna |
| 1995 | France | Paris | - | 95 | FRA Bruno Giraudon |
| 1996 | USA | Columbus (OH) | Origins | 88 | USA Pitt Crandlemire |
| 1997 | Sweden | Goteborg | Gothcon | 114 | FRA Cyrille Sevin |
| 1998 | USA | Chapell Hill (NC) | DixieCon | 77 | USA Chris Martin |
| 1999 | Belgium | Namur | Diplonam | 109 | SWE Christian Dreyer |
| 2000 | USA | Baltimore (MD) | - | 141 | GBR Simon Bouton |
| 2001 | France | Paris | - | 119 | FRA Cyrille Sevin (2) |
| 2002 | Australia | Canberra (ACT) | Australian Ch | 57 | AUS Rob Stephenson |
| 2003 | USA | Denver (CO) | Regatta | 128 | FRA Vincent Carry |
| 2004 | UK | Birmingham | Manorcon | 113 | FRA Yann Clouet |
| 2005 | USA | Washington (DC) | Tempest | 83 | NGE Frank Johansen |
| 2006 | Germany | Berlin | Berlicon | 120 | FRA Nicolas Sahuguet |
| 2007 | Canada | Vancouver (BC) | Cascadia | 70 | USA Doug Moore |
| 2008 | Austria | Lockenhaus | Felix Austria | 63 | GER Julian Ziesing |
| 2009 | USA | Columbus (OH) | Origins | 53 | AUS Andrew Goff |
| 2010 | Netherlands | Den Haag | - | 75 | FRA Gwen Maggi |
| 2011 | Australia | Sydney | - | 34 | AUS Andrew Goff (2) |
| 2012 | USA | Chicago (IL) | Weasel Moot | 80 | USA Michael Binder |
| 2013 | France | Paris | - | 75 | FRA Cyrille Sevin (3) |
| 2014 | USA | Chapel Hill (NC) | Dixiecon | 87 | USA Thomas Haver |
| 2015 | Italy | Milan | Milancon | 43 | GBR Toby Harris |
| 2016 | USA | Chicago (IL) | Weasel Moot | 93 | CAN Chris Brand |
| 2017 | United Kingdom | Oxford | Oxcon | 84 | USA Doug Moore |
| 2018 | USA | Washington (DC) | Tempest | 94 | AUS Andrew Goff (3) |
| 2019 | France | Marseille | - | 38 | FRA Gwen Maggi (2) |
| 2020 | Cancelled | ||||
| 2021 | Cancelled | ||||
| 2022 | USA | Killington (VT) | Carnage | 53 | GBR Dan Lester |
| 2023 | Thailand | Bangkok | Asia Pacific Ch. | 25 | AUS Jamal Blakkarly |
| 2024 | Italy | Milan | 63+ | FRA Nicolas Sahuguet (2) | |
| 2025 | USA | San Francisco (CA) | Whipping | ||
| 2026 | GRE | Athens | |||
Some controversy has arisen concerning the finality of votes taken on bids presented during events held more than two years in advance, since other eligible events may have intended to submit competing bids for consideration during the subsequent year's convention. Accordingly, the list above does not record the location of the 2027 event, although at Milan in 2024 a bid was presented and a vote was taken that would schedule the 2027 WDC to be held in Las Vegas (NV), USA.