UKPA Hall of Fame

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detuned
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UKPA Hall of Fame

Post by detuned »

This post is to record notable achievements of UK solvers, and solvers of UKPA competitions.

World Sudoku Championship

Highest Individual Placement:
4th, David McNeill, 2007 (Prague)

Highest Team Placement:
6th, Tom Collyer, Heather Golding, Mark Goodliffe, David McNeill, 2017 (Bangalore)
6th, Tom Collyer, George Danker, David McNeill, 2010 (Philadelphia)

Over 50's Champion:
2022: Mark Goodliffe (Krakow)
2019: David McNeill (Kirchheim)
2017: David McNeill (Bangalore)
2015: David McNeill (Sofia)
2014: David McNeill (London)


World Puzzle Championship

Highest Individual Placement:
10th, James McGowan, 2019 (Kirchheim)
10th, Neil Zussman, 2011 (Eger)

Highest Team Placement:
5th, Adam Bissett, James McGowan, David McNeill, Neil Zussman, 2017 (Bangalore)

Over 50's Champion:
2015: David McNeill (Sofia)


UK Open Sudoku Tournament
Overall Winner (Highest placed UK Solver)

2024: Tom Collyer
2023: David McNeill
2022: [No Competition]
2021: [No Competition]
2020: Vincent Bertrand, BEL (Tom Collyer)
2019: Jan Zverina, CZE (David McNeill)
2018: Jan Zverina, CZE (Mark Goodliffe)
2017: Yannick Meyapin, FRA (David McNeill)
2016: Tom Collyer
2015: Vincent Bertrand, BEL (David McNeill)
2014: Vincent Bertrand, BEL (Tom Collyer)
2013: Tom Collyer
2012: Neil Zussman


UK Open Puzzle Tournament
Overall Winner (Highest placed UK Solver)

2024: Neil Zussman
2023: Neil Zussman
2022: [No Competition]
2021: [No Competition]
2020: Neil Zussman
2019: Michael Mosshammer, AUT (Neil Zussman)
2018: Mehmet Murat Sevin, TUR (Neil Zussman)
2017: Neil Zussman
2016: Neil Zussman
2015: Neil Zussman
2014: Neil Zussman
2013: Neil Zussman
2012: Neil Zussman


UK Sudoku Championship
UK Winner (Highest placed solver)

2023: [No Competition]
2022: Freddie Hand (Kota Morinishi, JAP)
2021: David McNeill (Kota Morinishi, JAP)
2020: David McNeill (Kota Morinishi, JAP)
2019: David McNeill (Tantan Dai, CHN)
2018: Sam Cappleman-Lynes (Jan Mrozowski, POL)
2017: Mark Goodliffe (Takuya Sugimoto, JAP)
2016: Heather Golding (Takuya Sugimoto, JAP)
2015: Heather Golding (Kota Morinishi, JAP)
2014: David McNeill (Seungjae Kwak, KOR)
2013: David McNeill (Kota Morinishi, JAP)
2012: David McNeill (Hideaki Jo, JAP)
2011: Tom Collyer (Hideaki Jo, JAP)
2010: Warren Harvey (Florian Kirch, GER)


UK Puzzle Championship
UK Winner (Highest placed solver)

2023: James McGowan (Ken Endo, JAP)
2022: Freddie Hand (Walker Anderson, USA)
2021: James McGowan (Ken Endo, JAP)
2020: James McGowan (Ken Endo, JAP)
2019: James McGowan (Ken Endo, JAP)
2018: James McGowan (Ken Endo, JAP)
2017: James McGowan (Hideaki Jo, JAP)
2016: Neil Zussman (Hideaki Jo, JAP)
2015: James McGowan (Ken Endo, JAP)
2014: James McGowan
2013: Neil Zussman
2012: James McGowan (Nikola Zivanovic, SRB)
2011: James McGowan (Ulrich Voigt, GER)


WPF Sudoku GP
(Not including 2013 Results)

Best Series Placement:
28th, Sam Cappleman-Lynes, 2021

Best Individual Round:
6th, Freddie Hand, 2022 (R6)


WPF Puzzle GP
(only includes A division results where applicable. Series results are after any on-site play-offs where applicable.)

Series Runner Up:
2015: James McGowan

Series 3rd place:
2021: Freddie Hand
2020: Freddie Hand

Series Finalist:
2018: Neil Zussman (6th Place)

Individual Round Winner:
2022: Freddie Hand (R6)
2021: Freddie Hand (R6)

Individual Round Runner Up:
2023: Freddie Hand (R4, R7)
2022: Freddie Hand (R2, R5)
2021: Freddie Hand (R4, R8)
2020: Freddie Hand (R6, R7, R8)
2016: James McGowan (R1)
2014: Neil Zussman (R2)

Individual Round 3rd place:
2023: Freddie Hand (R2, R6)
2022: Freddie Hand (R7)
2021: Freddie Hand (R1, R5, R7)
2017: James McGowan (R2)


24 Hour Puzzle Championship

Champion:
2016: Neil Zussman

Runner Up:
2017, 2019: Neil Zussman

3rd Place:
2018: Neil Zussman


US Puzzle Championship
Highest Placed UK Solver

2022: Tom Collyer
2021: [No Competition]
2020: [No Competition]
2019: Tom Collyer
2018: Tom Collyer
2017: Adam Bissett
2016: (No UK entries)
2015: (No UK entries)
2014: Adam Bissett
2013: James McGowan
2012: Neil Zussman
2011: David McNeill
2010: Steven Barge
2009: Steven Barge
2008: Steven Barge
2007: Michael Collins and Nick Gardner
2006: Steven Barge
2005: David McNeill
2004: David McNeill
2003: Luke Pebody
2002: Nick Gardner
2001: David McNeill
2000: Lionel Wright


The Times Sudoku Championship
Note - it appears that 2018 was the last incarnation of this championship, and that the Times are no long running the event.

2018: Mark Goodliffe
2017: Tom Collyer
2016: George Danker
2015: Tom Collyer
2014: Mark Goodliffe
2013: Stephen Gerrard
2012: Rishi Puri
2011: George Danker
2010: George Danker
2009: Tom Collyer
2008: Nina Pell
2007: Tom Collyer
2006: Rachel Roth-Huber
2005: Nina Pell


Mind Sports Olympiad
(Gold Medals)

Sudoku and Killer Sudoku
2023: David Collison
2022: Tom Collyer
2019: Tom Collyer
2018: Neil Zussman

KenKen and Other Puzzles
2019: Roderick Grafton
2018: Neil Zussman

KenKen and Sudoku
2017: Tom Collyer
2016: Neil Zussman
2015: Neil Zussman
2014: Mark Goodliffe
2013: Mark Goodliffe
2012: David Collison
2011: Roderick Grafton


To do: WPF Puzzle GP (non competitive?), any other suggestions???
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dickoon
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Re: UKPA Hall of Fame

Post by dickoon »

Good list; very good list!

Pleased to see the acknowledgement of David McNeill's world class WSC performance in 2007. By a similar token, I would argue that it's worth celebrating strong qualification performances in the pre-UKPA days. I put together the data about three years ago - while it's a little out-of-date now, it's not beyond repair. The chart of "who has represented the UK at the WPC most times?" - and the counterpart chart for the WSC, which I have not tabulated - is another one that I'd give strong consideration to tracking in the HoF.
detuned
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Re: UKPA Hall of Fame

Post by detuned »

Yeah, I remember that post, that was some good digging!

By qualifying, do you mean the USPC? I can certainly add it, although as you say it's significance to the UK has dwindled in recent years.

Tracking team members is a much harder task. It's also a potentially very long list to maintain in future years - perhaps the thing to do is to recognise a subset of certain milestones instead?
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detuned
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Re: UKPA Hall of Fame

Post by detuned »

Chris - do you have any details about the 1996 WPC team? Tim Peeter's site which you link to is down, and whilst there's an older geocities version there doesn't seem to be any info on 1996.

Are you (or anyone else?) aware of UK participation at the championships preceding this? My usual source of the WPF newsletters are not helpful here, the first one was published in 1996.
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dickoon
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Re: UKPA Hall of Fame

Post by dickoon »

I may be able to dig a little data out when I'm back off shift and on my main PC at these other end of the country. Nick Deller may remember more, but I believe the team was made up of four staff members from a puzzle magazine who may have been the UK WPC member at the time.
dickoon
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Re: UKPA Hall of Fame

Post by dickoon »

Someone wrote in 2004 on the matter:

"Strangely enough, your referencing Tim's site has led to the first time I've ever seen the full horror of the UK's first participation in WPC... all four team members finished in the bottom six, which may well be the Most Hopeless WPC Team Evah!

Having said that, it's entirely possible that Meriel Lewis = Mel Lewis, the managing director of Puzzler Media ((...)) Certainly Nick Savage = ((a previous editor of Tough Puzzles magazine))."
nickdeller
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Re: UKPA Hall of Fame

Post by nickdeller »

I don't think I have any way to find out much about that 1996 team that hasn't already been deduced in this thread, but by elimination from the ExitGames blog data it looks like Stuart Madison and Chris Yates must have been the other two team members. I'm pretty confident that there was no other UK representation until the 2000 championships.
dickoon
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Re: UKPA Hall of Fame

Post by dickoon »

A .pdf document saved by archive.org has a full chart of results from 1992 to 2010, including the full details of the UK '96 performances. It shouldn't be impossible to bring this chart up to date and I rather hope that someone, somewhere (ideally at the WPF itself) is doing so.
detuned
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Re: UKPA Hall of Fame

Post by detuned »

That is an amazing document!

Alan - maybe this could be an extension of the database you are putting together? I'm not sure what the technical skills are like at the WPF - but definitely also one for our Esteemed Mr Director, if Prasanna is reading?
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PuzzleScot
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Re: UKPA Hall of Fame

Post by PuzzleScot »

Yeah, Great find Chris! Everything after that is fairly well documented, so shouldn't be hard for someone (paging Prasanna!) to update and maintain

As Tom knows, I have a database of UK WPC/WSC performances. There are some errors/omissions, but this is the interface I built to the data for now: http://www.ukpuzzles.org/international_ ... php?view=9
UllaE
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Re: UKPA Hall of Fame

Post by UllaE »

dickoon wrote: Mon 19 Jun, 2017 8:50 pm A .pdf document saved by archive.org has a full chart of results from 1992 to 2010, including the full details of the UK '96 performances. It shouldn't be impossible to bring this chart up to date and I rather hope that someone, somewhere (ideally at the WPF itself) is doing so.
Very nice! I'm interested in Finnish details :-) Can you find similar document for Sudoku competitions?
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Re: UKPA Hall of Fame

Post by PuzzleScot »

UllaE wrote: Sun 03 Jun, 2018 12:10 pmCan you find similar document for Sudoku competitions?
I think the full results of all WSC championships (along with all WPCs since 2010) are in the WPF newsletters on the WPF site.
gareth
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Re: UKPA Hall of Fame

Post by gareth »

Updated with 2024 results so far. (This post added purely to update the last-posting date on the forum)
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