Cryptic Singh Indian Crossword League

Quick Bites

The competition was fierce, the clues were cryptic, and after four electrifying online rounds—“N”, “I”, “C”, and “E”—the curtain has lifted on the National Inter-College Crossword Expedition (NICE) 2025 leaderboard.

National Champions

AIR-1: Adya Singh, Patna (Awaiting College Admission)
AIR-2: Bhargav Vinayak , Ludhiana(Awaiting College Admission)
AIR-3: Harsh Raj, IIT Kharagpur

Zonal Champions

East Zone: Ayush Warsh, GEC Vaishali
West Zone: Samruddhi Salgaonkar, Goa Dental College, Goa
North Zone: Aditya Sharma, ACA
South Zone: Ashish CT, IIT Madras
North-East Zone: Mridul, IIT Guwahati

ACAD National Winners
- AIR-1: Shraddha Shree (St. Michael's High School, Patna)
- AIR-2: Dhairya Pandey (Don Bosco Academy, Patna)
- AIR-3: Saptak Gupta (DPS, Patna)
ACAD Plus National Winners
- AIR-1: Samruddhi Salgaonkar (Goa Dental College, Goa)
- AIR-2: Shyam Krishna Shenoy (Virginia Tech, USA)
- AIR-3: Aryan Singh ( IIT Kanpur)
ACAD Senior National Winners
- AIR-1: Dhirendra Tripathi (Ahmedabad)
- AIR-2: N Rengaswamy (Chennai)
- AIR-3: Kolluru Koteswar Rao (Hyderabad)
ACAD Global International Winners
- Rank-1: Harish Kamath (Bangalore, India)
- Rank-2: Ramakrishnan Krishnan ( Chennai, India)
- Rank-3: Samit Kallianpur (Secunderabad, India)

World Cryptic Crossword Championship (WCCC) 2025 is poised to be a pioneering global event celebrating the art of cryptic crosswords. Top solvers from around the globe will compete and showcase their prowess in cracking clues set by the masters of the game.
Day-1 World Cryptic Crossword Championship 2025 (Individual Championship)

Date: 28 June 2025
Time: 6:30 PM–7:30 PM (IST)
Mode of Contest: Online
Website: www.crypticsingh.com

Eligibility: Open to all crossword enthusiasts (no prior qualification)

Registration:
- No Separate registration required. All those who are registered for ACAD Global are eligible to participate.
- ACAD Global Registration: https://acadglobal.crypticsingh.com/Registration.aspx
- Note: The same credentials would be used for ACAD Global and for the online WCCC.
Format:
Two cryptic crosswords: one at 6:30 PM IST, the other at 7:00 PM IST
Each grid must be completed within 30 minutes
Ranking Criteria: Accuracy + Speed (Leaderboard rankings determine winners)

🏆 Prizes:
🥇 1st Place: $1000
🥈 2nd Place: $500
🥉 3rd Place: $250

Day-2: World Cryptic Crossword Championship 2025 (Individual Championship)

Date: 29 June 2025,
Time: 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM (Local time)
Venue: 8 South Audley Street, London, W1K 1HF

Eligibility:
- Invited Participants: Top solvers from eight countries are invited by the organisers.
- Challenger Participants: Any crossword enthusiast with a valid ID can join at the London venue provided they have registered via ACAD Global registration.
Format
- All participants- Invited and Challengers will face the written prelims.
- Two cryptic crosswords must be solved within 60 minutes. All submissions will be ranked based on accuracy and speed.
- Based on scores, top four will advance to the On-stage round.
- One participant per country will qualify for the on-stage round.
Prizes:

🥇 1st Place: $1500
🥈 2nd Place: $1000
🥉 3rd Place: $500