Edith Puzzles the World

So it’s been almost a month since the end of the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship. Edith and her team did great amid a sea of impressive puzzling talent, and had fun doing it.

No further puzzle news for now, but I wanted to share a collection of timestamped links to Edith’s appearances on the livestreams. The cameras were moving very fast so we didn’t get a lot of glimpses of her, but below you can see the finishes that ended up on camera.

Individual Group A – Unfortunately Edith’s finish at 57:16 wasn’t caught on camera. I didn’t find any great views of her in the video for this one.

Individual Semifinal A+B – Edith’s finish at 49:48 was off camera for this one too, but the camera caught her afterward attempting to hold up her completed puzzle.

Pairs Group A – Edith at Nick finished off camera at 40:00 but the camera caught them waving afterward.

Pairs Semifinal A+B – Edith and Nick finished off camera at 39:53, and left to get out of the heat before the camera could get around to them.

Teams Group A – The camera caught NEED for Speed’s first puzzle finish at 41:32, and their transition to the second puzzle received some well-deserved compliments from the commentators. The second puzzle finish at 1:29:04 was also on camera.

Teams Final – NEED for Speed finished their first puzzle at 1:02:58, but the camera didn’t catch that one. They then finished their second off camera as well at 2:00:05, but the camera did catch them waving afterward. While other teams were still working, they also got invited on to talk on the livestream, starting at just after puzzle time 2:12 and running until about 2:22.

Good morning sports fans. At 10AM (4AM Eastern), Edith, Nick, Elizabeth, and Darya make their second appearance as N E E D for Speed to face off with the rest of the world’s top puzzling teams in the Teams Final!

How’s it work?

For the Teams Final, each team will receive the two as yet unreleased 1000 piece puzzles and have one minute to examine them, remove.the plastic seals from the box, and decide what order in which to complete them. They then must complete one puzzle, put it away entirely, and then complete the second puzzle within a 3 hour time limit.

What’s at stake?

Well, they’re already in the final event. There is a cash prize for the top 3 teams and puzzle prizes for the top 10, and that would be incredible but given the competition a bit unlikely. Still, Edith’s team has the goal of “beating their table number” – performing better than they are seeded going into this round. This time that means being one of the top 30 teams.

How to watch

Here’s the Livestream on YouTube, which will also be watchable after the event is over. Edith’s team will be at table 31.

How did Edith do?

Here’s the results page, which will probably take a while to be fully updated and accurate. It may crash as too many people are trying to view it so please be patient. Also remember that rankings will take a while to be finalized as times continue to be entered, and not necessarily in the order they finished.

Who’s her competition?

This is the world final and we have some seriously strong teams to watch. Euro Jigsaw Jacks (EJJ) Squad, the supergroup led by Wiktor and Kathi, is a crowd favorite and definitely have a strong shot. Czech Puzzlequeens is a team that has been coming to, and winning, this competition for years now – they were barely unseated last year but should never be counted out. Aussie All Stars put on a great showing last year as well, and their first round this year was record-breaking. From the USA, Dome Sweet Dome and The Whimsy Pieces are both very strong teams that will be in contention for top 10 finishes. I’ll insert one dark horse pick as well: Peaky Puzzlers from Poland did not have a stellar first round (they came 17th in their heat), but they chose what were arguably the two harder puzzles on offer that round. This team contains Weronika and Anna, who (spoiler alert) won the pairs Final yesterday. They’ll be at a low table number due to their first round performance but I would expect them to be in contention for a top rank.

Good morning from Spain, where Edith’s team is already finished with their first round!

And the news is good. They needed to be in the top 25 times to advance to the finals. Being in the top 10 is just icing on the cake 🎂

Look at the time spread there – 7 more seconds would have cost them two places! Just shows that every puzzling second counts.

So what’s next?

Edith’s team will return for the Teams Final on Sunday morning at 10AM Spain time (4AM Eastern)! No more scheduled puzzling for Edith until then but maybe there will be some team practice, some chances to relax and spectate, and maybe even a chance to do some tourism!

At 9AM (3AM Eastern), Edith teams up with Nick, Elizabeth, and Darya to compete in the first round of Teams competition!

How’s it work?

For the Teams First Round, each team will receive the four 1000 piece puzzles and have one minute to chose which two of these puzzles to complete. They then must complete one puzzle, put it away entirely, and then complete the second puzzle within a 3 hour time limit. The order of the puzzles is up to them.

What’s at stake?

This time NEED for Speed needs to be in the top 25 times of their round to advance to the Teams Finals on Sunday. This is a bit of a steep cutoff, but it looks like there are only 65 or so teams in each first round heat.

How to watch

Here’s the Livestream on YouTube, which will also be watchable after the event is over. Edith’s team will be at table 10.

How did Edith do?

Here’s the results page, which will probably take a while to be fully updated and accurate. It may crash as too many people are trying to view it so please be patient. Also remember that rankings will take a while to be finalized as times continue to be entered, and not necessarily in the order they finished. We’ll know times are final and official when puzzlers who qualified have a flashing “Q” next to them.

Who’s her competition?

Puzzle Q’West from France and Swedish Piece by Piece from Sweden both made it to the finals last year and should put up a good show again. Lynpuslerne from Denmark and Ik Hoor Een Stukje Vallen from the Netherlands have some very strong puzzlers and should do very well. But I can guarantee the cameras will be trained on the Euro Jigsaw Jacks (EJJ) Squad, a supergroup of top European puzzlers Wiktor, Kathi, Chiara, and Hanna. These are regulars on the online European Jigsaw Jam competitions, thus the team name, but they are also definitely four of the fastest puzzlers here this year and one of the top contenders to win the Teams division.

Edith and Nick raced through their pairs Semifinals puzzle in just under 40 minutes!

… unfortunately in this fierce competition, that was a few minutes short of making the top 50 to advance. The last qualifying pair from their round finished at 37:01.

Edith and Nick are done puzzling as a pair at this competition, but they’re not done puzzling! Their first round of Teams competition is tomorrow morning at 9AM Spain Time (3AM Eastern).

At 6:30 PM (12:30 PM Eastern), Edith and Nick tackle their second puzzle of the day with hopes of a crack at the Pairs Final.

How’s it work?

For the Pairs Semifinals, each pair will receive the same as yet unreleased 500 piece puzzle to finish within a 60 minute time limit.

What’s at stake?

This time Edith and Nick need to be in the top 50 times of their round to advance to the Pairs Finals on Saturday. There are only 100 total slots available for the pairs Final because it will be a 1000 piece puzzle, requiring each pair to have their own table.

How to watch

Here’s the Livestream on YouTube, which will also be watchable after the event is over. Edith and Nick should be at 66 or 67.

How did Edith do?

Here’s the results page, which will probably take a while to be fully updated and accurate. It may crash as too many people are trying to view it so please be patient. Also remember that rankings will take a while to be finalized as times continue to be entered, and not necessarily in the order they finished. We’ll know times are final and official when puzzlers who qualified have a flashing “Q” next to them.

Who’s her competition?

Kathi from Germany and Chiara from Italy, who were the #2 pair at Worlds last year, did not disappoint for their first round puzzle. We saw strong showings from Australia, Spain, and the Netherlands in round 1 as well. From the USA, Kyle and Hannah came in 4th in their first round so we’re expecting big things!

Edith and Nick put up a very respectable 40:00 for their first round pair puzzle!

Rankings aren’t final yet but we feel confident they’ll be in the Semifinals this evening. That’s coming up at 6:30 PM local time (12:30 Eastern).

It’s time to switch gears as Edith and Nick begin their journey as a pair at 9AM Spain time (3AM Eastern).

How’s it work?

In the Pairs category, there are four heats in the first round. Each pair will receive two puzzles to choose from to complete within the 75 minute time limit.

What’s at stake?

This round Edith and Nick need to be in the top 85 times of their round to advance to the Pairs Semifinals, which will occur this evening!

How to watch

Here’s the Livestream on YouTube, which will also be watchable after the event is over. Edith and Nick are sitting at table 126.

How did Edith do?

Here’s the results page, which will probably take a while to be fully updated and accurate. It may crash as too many people are trying to view it so please be patient. Also remember that rankings will take a while to be finalized as times continue to be entered, and not necessarily in the order they finished. We’ll know times are final and official when puzzlers who qualified have a flashing “Q” next to them.

Who’s her competition?

Some of the contenders to win it all are here in this first group. The conversation has to start with Kathi from Germany and Chiara from Italy, who were the #2 pair at Worlds last year. Justyna and Krystian from Poland will likely put on a good show. There are a couple of strong Australian pairs in this round as well. From the USA, Kyle and Hannah are pairing up in this round. I’m sure we’re going to see some impressive finishes!

Edith absolutely crushed her semifinal puzzle today, puzzling a totally new unreleased puzzle against some of the best in the world. And she finished in just under 50 minutes – one of her best times ever for her first attempt at a 500 piece puzzle!

Unfortunately in this field of very skilled puzzlers, Edith’s time of 49:48 was not in the top 60 to advance to the Individual Final.

The last person to qualify from Edith’s Semifinal round had a time of 47:36. To give you an idea of how close together these puzzle finishes were, that means that 15 more people finished in just under a minute after that to put Edith in 75th place!

We knew going into this event that qualifying for Finals would be a close call. Edith had a lot of fun even puzzling in the heat of the dome, and she posted a fantastic time today! She’s excited to puzzle in the pairs competition with her partner Nick tomorrow, and then teams on Friday. Even though this is the end of her Individual journey for Worlds this year, there’s lots more puzzling to come!

Edith is back again at 4PM Spain time (10AM US Eastern) for her Individual Semifinal!

How’s it work?

The top 85 competitors from rounds A and B will be duking it out for a chance to advance to the Finals on Saturday. This time every puzzler will be receiving the same totally new, unreleased puzzle to finish as fast as they can, with only 75 minutes of time available. But remember, this is now a condensed field of very skilled puzzlers who moved on from the first round!

How to watch

Here’s the Livestream on YouTube, which will also be watchable after the event is over.

How did Edith do?

Here’s the results page, which will probably take a while to be fully updated and accurate. It may crash as too many people are trying to view it so please be patient. Also remember that rankings will take a while to be finalized as times continue to be entered, and not necessarily in the order they finished. We’ll know times are final and official when puzzlers who qualified have a flashing “Q” next to them.

What’s at stake?

This time Edith needs to be in the top 60 times in her group to move on to the individual Finals on Saturday.

Who’s her competition?

We’ve seen some great performances from puzzlers in rounds A and B. Wiktor from Poland is certainly a strong contender to win the entire competition, so many eyes will be on him. Jana from Czech Republic and Chiara from Italy should still give a good showing. Hannah Doyle was a close second at US nationals in April. And of course there are lots of other names here capable of posting great times. Keep in mind that unreleased puzzles may yield some different results from the first round (for example, I don’t think Wiktor will manage a 22 minute finish like he did yesterday 😲).