The World Sudoku Championship (WSC) is an annual international puzzle competition organised by a national member of the World Puzzle Federation. The first event was held in Lucca, Italy, in 2006. National teams are determined by local affiliates of the World Puzzle Federation. The competition typically consists of 100 or more puzzles solved by all competitors over multiple timed rounds, including classic sudoku, variations and other puzzle types, normally followed by a playoff for the top qualifiers to determine a champion. Examples of rounds include the Relay round, where an answer from one puzzle contributes digits to the start of the next sudoku, and the "World Record" round, in which solvers competed to set a Guinness World Record for fastest sudoku solution.
Of the 16 championships held so far, Kota Morinishi of Japan (2014, 2015, 2017, 2018) has been the most successful winner with four individual titles, over Thomas Snyder of United States (2007, 2008 and 2011) and Jan Mrozowski of Poland (2009, 2010 and 2012) who have each won three.
From 2007 there has also been a team competition. Japan is the most successful team, having won the title six times (in 2007, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2018, and 2023); Czech Republic (2008, 2016, 2022), and China (2013, 2017, 2019) have each won the title three times.
Starting from 2011, the event has been held alongside the World Puzzle Championship series, which is also organised by the World Puzzle Federation.
Participants
Currently, 30 countries are official members of the World Puzzle Federation. Individuals may also take part if their country is not already represented by a national team.[1]
The 2025 World Sudoku and Puzzle Championships is planned to take place in Eger, Hungary.[2]
