The World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship is an annual event organized by the World Jigsaw Puzzle Federation, supported by multiple national associations such as the United States Jigsaw Puzzle Association and Australian Jigsaw Puzzle Association. The World Championship was started in 2019, and all editions have been held in Valladolid, Spain. The Championship include three events: team, pairs and individual.
The 2019 championships were the first time a world ranking is available for jigsaw puzzle competitors.
History In 2019 the World Jigsaw Puzzle Federation was founded and in the same year, the first World Jigsaw Championship was held in Valladolid, Spain. Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic the event was cancelled in 2020 and 2021, and it resumed in 2022.
The 2026 event was also held in Valladolid, from 16 to 20 September.
Events Three events are contested in the championships. In all events, placement is determined by the fastest completion within the time limit. For competitors who have not finished the assigned puzzle(s) within the time limit, the remaining pieces are counted to determine position.
Team event: Teams of four complete multiple puzzles (1,000, 1,500 or 2,000 pieces) in the time limit. Pairs event: Two competitors complete a single puzzle (500 or 1,000 pieces) within a time limit. Individual event: Each individual participant completes a 500-piece puzzle within a time limit.
In the first World Jigsaw Puzzle Championships, only one final round was held in each event. In 2022 the semifinals were introduced in all events. For 2023, due to the increase in the number of participants, another round has also been introduced prior to the semifinals of the individual event. For 2024, also a first round has been introduced prior to the semifinals of the pairs event.
As of 2025 5 sub-categories of awards have been added; Individual Junior18 (players under 18 years old), Individual Senior A (players from 45 to 60 years old), Individual Senior B (players aged 60+) Individual Debutant and Pairs debutant (Both debutants categories are for players who have not competed in that category at a previous WJPC).
Championships Year City Venue Events Nations Participants2019 Valladolid Cúpula del Milenio3395312022 Valladolid Cúpula del Milenio3444702023 Valladolid Cúpula del Milenio3549052024 Valladolid Cúpula del Milenio37417772025 ValladolidCúpula del Milenio36511542026 ValladolidValladolid Fair3671319
All-time medal table Updated after 2026 World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship
Note: Some medals was taken by pairs/teams competing as mixed without national flag.
All-time Top 10 Rank Athlete Gold Silver Bronze Total 1 Tereza Koptíková 4 2 3 9 2 Alejandro Clemente León 4 0 2 6 3 Markéta Freislerová 3 2 3 8 4 Kateřina Klinková (Novotná) 2 4 1 7 5 Weronika Huptas 2 1 0 3 6 Jana Ondroušková (Hanzelková) 1 4 0 5 7 Chiara Dellantonio 1 3 0 4 8 Katharina Reiner 1 2 1 4 9 Maja Von Borstel 1 2 0 3 Kristin Thuv 1 2 0 3
Participants by event Year Nº ind. Nº pair Nº teams201919919686202224017677202357234015920241102721300202511547312972026812500236
Results – individuals Year Gold Silver Bronze2026 Maartje van der Meer Maja Von Borstel Nina Schicks2025 Weronika Huptas Wiktor Kacprzak Katharina Reiner2024 Kristin Thuv Weronika Huptas Krystian Niedziela2023 Alejandro Clemente León Kristin Thuv Markéta Freislerová2022 Alejandro Clemente León Kristin Thuv Tereza Koptíková2019 Jana Hanzelková Mariusz Ślizewski Katerina Novotna
Championships records Event Participant Time Round Individual (500 pieces) Wiktor Kacprzak 00:22:02 First round 2025 Pairs (500 pieces) Rachael ChambersEmma Quirke 00:18:10 First round 2026 Pairs (1,000 pieces) Maja Von BorstelFranziska Treber 00:43:40 Final 2026 Team(1,000 + 1,000 pieces) Czech PuzzlequeensJana OndrouškováKateřina KlinkováTereza KoptíkováMarkéta Freislerová 01:01:02 First round 2025 Team(1,000 + 1,500 pieces) Non StopAna GilAna Isabel JimenoAlejandro ClementeDavid Caballero 02:54:13 Final 2022 Team(4 puzzles) Siberian TeamIrina BatalovaValentina BaburchenkovaNatalia KomarovaGalina MedvedevaMarina Radchenko 04:11:17 Final 2019
See also European Jigsaw Puzzle Championships
References
External links