Puzzle Scans
Contestant number:Standings
By Ranking | Alphabetical | B to E | C to E | D and E | E | Rookies | Juniors | Fifties | Sixties | Seventies | Seniors | West | Connecticut | New England | NYC | Long Island | Upstate NY | New Jersey | Mid-Atlantic | South | Midwest | Foreign For Techies
Because of a scoring error in the preliminary rounds, which was not discovered until too late, the results of the "B" division playoff were nullified. The top three finishers after seven rounds: 1) Matthew Gritzmacher 2) Arnold Reich 3) Adam Doctoroff
Congratulations!
- Dan Feyer
- Joon Pahk
- David Plotkin
- Stella Zawistowski
- Glen Ryan
- Erik Agard
- Katie Hamill
- Al Sanders
- Brian McCarthy
- Andy Kravis
C division
- Lily Geller
- Brian Kulman
- Claire Rimkus
Puzzle Scans
Contestant number:Standings
By Ranking | Alphabetical | B to E | C to E | D and E | E | Rookies | Juniors | Fifties | Sixties | Seventies | Seniors | West | Connecticut | New England | NYC | Long Island | Upstate NY | New Jersey | Mid-Atlantic | South | Midwest | Foreign For TechiesCapsule History
Year 42 • 2019 • 741 contestants
A record attendance, with more than 200 rookies. The prize money was increased to over $10,000. On Friday night Mike Shenk presented "Hear Here," a crossword solved by teams, with deceptively worded clues that Mike delivered orally. This was followed by a "Pick Your Poison" contest with six types of variety word puzzles. On Saturday night Mike received the MEmoRiaL award for lifetime achievement in crossword construction. The ceremony included talks by Will Shortz and Amy Goldstein and a film by Patrick Creadon and Christine O'Malley. Matt Ginsberg reported on Dr. Fill's performance on Puzzles #1-#6. Josiah Madigan conducted a custom version of the popular online game HQ Trivia. In the "A" division playoffs on Sunday, Dan Feyer won for a record eighth time.
Will Shortz
Capsule history of all previous years.
Official Videos from the Tournament
A Finals
C Finals
Alex Trebek Tribute
Mike Shenk — tribute video by Patrick Creadon and Christine O'Malley
Pictures from the Tournament
- Don Christensen: Don's Picks | CRU Dinner | Friday Night | Saturday morning | Saturday solving | Sunday
- Lukas Cox, Photographer
, Yale Class of 2019: Portraits
Social Media
Wordplay - the crossword column of the New York Times - written by Deb Amlen
Facebook: American Crossword Puzzle Tournament Attendees
Blogs
- Ken Stern — Reflection on the 2019 Tournament
YouTube
Official tournament videos will be posted here. Please send us links to your own youtube videos to post.
- ACPT Videos: Shout Out to Alex Trebek
- Matt Ginsberg: Saturday Night Dr.Fill presentation
- Ben Zimmer:
Email the webmaster if you want a link to your blog, images, videos, etc. included
In the News
- The Word Magician - A seven-time American crossword champion opens up about his passion for wordplay Wufei Yu, NY City Lens [May 15, 2019]
- Crossword Champ Feyer ’99 Brett Tomlinson, Princeton Alumni Weekly [Mar 26, 2019]
- Stamford hosts American Crossword Puzzle Tournament Stamford Advocate, [Mar 25, 2019]
- Stamford serves as crossroad for crossword puzzle lovers News12 Connecticut, [Mar 22, 2019]
- Jeopardy champ Erik Agard to compete for second crossword title in Stamford Barry Lytton, Stamford Advocate [Mar 22, 2019]
- Hoops, hockey, crossword events add to 'March Madness' tourism spending Joe Cooper, HartfordBusiness.com [Mar 22, 2019]
- Inside Events: The American Crossword Puzzle Tournament Mary Helen Sprecher, Sports Destination Management [Feb 20, 2019]
Solving Perfection
The following 106 contestants solved all 7 puzzles with no mistakes.
Matt Arient, Laura Bauer, Stephen Benoit, Julie Bernhardt, Matthew Besse, David Bleich, Derek Bowman, Katja Brinck, Patty Buethe, Basil Buterbaugh, Kevan Choset, Judy Cole, Kathie Conarck, Brian Cross, Ken Crowell, Tom Daily, Todd Dashoff, Jon Delfin, Adam Doctoroff, Sam Donaldson, Carmen Dreyer, David Eckert, Dan Feyer, Stephen Fineman, Brian Fodera, Lily Geller, Michael Gilch, Jack Gill, Sam Goldfarb, Amy Goldstein, Mary Beth Gonski, Peter Gordon, Mark Gottlieb, Katie Hamill, David Heinick, Bruce Kahn, Richard Kalustian, Jay Kania, Stephen Kawalek, Jason Keller, Jon Kremsky, Hannah Krug, Brian Kulman, Jesse Lansner, Karen Lazar, Ilana Lifshitz, Brian Lipinski, Robert Mackey, James Mangold, John McArter, Phoebe McBee, Brian McCarthy, Michael Megargee, Erin Milligan-Milburn, David Moulton, Daniel Okrent, Jonathan Olsen, Jan O'Sullivan, Joon Pahk, Doug Peterson, Susan Petito, Greg Pliska, David Plotkin, Christine Quinones, Ric Quinones, Arnold Reich, John Reid, Craig Rimby, Claire Rimkus, Ellen Ripstein, Robert Rosenfeld, Meredith Rosoff, Dawn Ross, Nancy Ross, Jason Rotman, Glen Ryan, Eileen Saks, Matt Sandler, Brian Sattinger, Hollie Schmidt, Marla Schnall, Wren Schultz, Rocky Schwarz, Michael Sell, Miriam Sicherman, Janet Siefert Goss, Thomas Silverstein, Anita Spielman, Colin Stanton, Bruce Sutphin, Tom Tabanao, Liz Thaler, Bill Thompson, Alex Thurman, Tom Tippett, Jennifer Turney, Karen von Haam, Kevin Wald, Robin Waldstein, Lawrence Wasser, Katie Weir, Patricia Whaley, Bill Wilkins, Janice Wilson, Laurel Wilson, Stella Zawistowski.
Constructors
Learn more about this year's Puzzlemakers.
Officials — 2019
Director | Will Shortz |
Coordinator | Michael Smith |
Webmaster | Nancy Parsons |
Scoring Programmer | Matt Ginsberg |
Database Preparer | Joe Cabrera |
Online Tournament Manager | Peter Ritmeester |
Photographer | Don Christensen |
Nametags | Mike Shenk |
Scoring
Scoring is based on accuracy and speed. Score as follows:
- 10 points for every correct word you entered across and down
- A bonus of 25 points for each full minute you finished ahead of the suggested solution time — BUT reduced by 25 points for each missing or incorrect letter (but not beyond the point the bonus returns to zero)
- A bonus of 150 points for each completely correct solution
For the purpose of scoring, a "word" consists of any series of letters written between black squares in the grid, or between a black square and the border of the grid, whether it is a single word, a phrase, or otherwise.
Complete rules will be explained prior to competition.
Who Competes?
Contestants simultaneously compete in all events for which they are eligible:
Division A | Everyone |
Division B | Contestants who have not won a Division A or Division B prize during their last seven tournaments |
Division C | Contestants who have not finished in the top 20% during their last three tournaments |
Division D | Contestants who have not finished in the top 40% during their last three tournaments |
Division E | Contestants who have not finished in the top 65% during their last three tournaments |
Age Divisions | Solvers 25 years and under (Juniors), 50-59 years (Fifties), 60-69 years (Sixties), 70-79 (Seventies) and 80+ (Seniors) |
Regional Divisions | Solvers in each of 11 geographical regions: Connecticut, Other New England, New York City, Long Island, Westchester/Upstate New York, New Jersey, Other Mid-Atlantic, South, Midwest, West, Canada/Foreign [map] |
Rookies | Contestants competing for their first time. Rookies are not eligible for "D" or "E" prizes. |
Prizes - most prize money has increased in 2019!
Division A | 1st Prize | $5,000 |
2nd | $2,000 | |
3rd | $1,000 | |
4th-10th (each) | Trophy | |
Division B | 1st Prize | $500 |
2nd | $250 | |
3rd | $150 | |
Division C | 1st Prize | $100 |
2nd | $75 | |
3rd | $50 | |
Each of Divisions D and E; Juniors, Fifties, Sixties, Seventies, Seniors | 1st-3rd Prizes | Trophy |
11 Regional Winners (each) [map] | 1st & 2nd Prizes | Trophy |
Rookies | 1st Prize | $500 |
2nd | $250 | |
3rd | $100 | |
4th & 5th | Trophy |
Plus Every prizewinner receives a New York Times crossword collection from St. Martin's Press.