He won the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship. Here's how he did it.

Part 2 is up right now! Find out who the fastest Pairs and Teams are (and what the prizes are!): • The World Jigsaw Puzzl...
Watch me try all of the puzzles from this competition and race the top puzzlers in the world: • Trying the puzzles fro...
Welcome to the world of competitive jigsaw puzzling! Today I’m recapping the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championships and explaining how exactly a jigsaw puzzle competition works.
Thank you to the World Jigsaw Puzzle Federation for giving me permission to use their livestream footage!
Watch the full 2022 livestreams here:
/ asociaciónespañoladelp...
Learn more about the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championships here:
www.worldjigsawpuzzle.org/
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#puzzle #jigsawpuzzles #puzzlecompetition 🧩🧩🧩🧩🧩

[@KarenPuzzles]

The video where I try all of these puzzles from the individual round is up now! Find out how I stack up against Alejandro, Kristin, and all of the other top puzzlers in the world: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aZ6ko3l9mad-gKc

[@homevids]

I wub pubbelz ^^

[@AznRUs]

Kristin's nonchalant one-handed puzzling strategy is such a mood!

[@yesterdaydream]

It's amazing how her brain must be analyzing, color matching, and rotating the pieces without having to physically move them!

[@pvic6959]

i wonder if she had a rule saying she can only use one had because with two shed be too powerful lol

[@MC-yt1uv]

@@pvic6959 She is the Anakin Skywalker of puzzling. If she is tempted by power she could destroy puzzling not save it.

[@Mac_an_Mheiriceanaigh]

In the interview I think she said that she was actually sick during the competition haha

[@DragonslayerProd]

Caption: "Me sorting my shit out"

[@diablodetajo]

At 18:55 the Spanish comentator jokes that “look she’s started using two hands” right as Kristin ends. It was funny 😆

[@Moji710]

Thank you for sharing that 😂 that is super funny

[@isabel6828]

And when she finishes the commentator says “now she smiles” 😂😂

[@88marome]

🤣

[@alejandroclementeleon8136]

Thank you so much for taking the time to make this amazing video and all the content you create! There is a lot of work done! The detail of showing my mom is so beautiful! 😊 I'm so happy to be part of this puzzle family showing my "crazy" technique to do puzzles in contests :D

[@KarenPuzzles]

You did amazingly! I hope we can meet one day so I can learn all your puzzle techniques!

[@tmmlis002]

Wowie! Congratulations Alejandro, amazing work. It was a pleasure to watch.

[@LunarLugh]

Huge congratulations Alejandro! And thanks for a great video Karen :)

[@saraht903]

Congrats Alejandro! I can't believe how quickly you were putting those puzzles together. It was amazing to watch!

[@JudithARobinson]

Congratulations! That was amazing!

[@bandana_girl6507]

I actually love that locals who haven't extensively trained are able to compete. That's about where I would be, and it's great to see just how far ahead the real competitors are.

[@pvic6959]

omg. so true lol. imagine if spain is just well above average because this is there lololol

[@helenetrstrup4817]

That is true. All of the regular people who participated makes me want to see how well I'd do in comparison to everyone there. I have never tried to do a 500 piece puzzle in less than 90 minutes. In fact, I don't even own a 500 piece puzzle all of mine are 1000 pieces or more.

[@bsidethebox]

I have always loved the "joke" idea of having the Olympics include one random person trying the sport along with all the world tiers, just to show how crazy hard it really is. Keeping the "tiers" together for this competition is really interesting to me, too. Its neat to see how different strategies work for different people in puzzling, as opposed to other individual speed competitions I've watched--foot/bike/etc races generally have an "ideal" line, speedrunning video games often has a single best strategy, etc, but puzzling is much more personalized.

[@catinabox3048]

@@bsidethebox While an interesting concept, there are a few issues with that. First, most people who would volunteer to try a sport alongside Olympians are incredibly athletic to begin with, so you're not really getting a sense of how hard it is for a regular person. And secondly, many Olympic sports are incredibly dangerous for untrained people to try.

[@pedrosilvamusician]

​@@pvic6959i think it would make sense. Im portuguese and most puzzles i can find here are from spanish shops and Spanish/italian brands

[@Kristin_puzzles]

Great video Karen! Entertaining to watch and hear your thoughts on my technique and it was fun seeing my enthusiastic celebration when I finished^^ It was my first time ever competing so I was really nervous, but it turned out alright ;)

[@mxnjones]

I stan this Norwegian puzzle queen! 🇳🇴

[@KarenPuzzles]

Oh my gosh, this is like a celebrity commenting on one of my videos! You did amazing, and if you’re ever in LA, I’d love to puzzle together!

[@TheLeftyPuzzler]

Hi Kristin, The1HandWonder! It was so cool to see you puzzle! Very well done. You are my Puzzle Hero! 😊

[@diethylmalonate]

thank you for being an inspiration to one-hand puzzlers - I can never figure out what to do with my other hand!

[@giddingsa75]

Congratulations Kristin! You were very fun to watch. So calm and collective.

[@PokhrajRoy.]

Seeing Tammy compete is fun! It’s like someone we know who’s ACTUALLY competing with the world’s best.

[@KarenPuzzles]

I know, I'm so happy I got to feature her on my channel before she left for Spain!

[@bhawanamaharjann]

Dude,, you're everywhere in youtube comment section!! Most videos I watch, I go to the comments and I see you,,, like how???!!!

[@PokhrajRoy.]

@@bhawanamaharjann It’s the Algorithm lol

[@quantum_beeb]

Kristin is hilarious. If she used both hands, she’d be unstoppable.

[@alejandrodarias_puzzlestv]

Perhaps the point is that she uses only one hand. If she used both, she'd probably be slower! By the way, most puzzlers use only one hand to put pieces, during the whole process.

[@57thorns]

I don't think so, two hand would mess up the view for her eyes and brain to do all the processing needed. This is her way to focus, and it works really well.

[@MC-yt1uv]

Uses only one hand, doesn't stand up, does the edges last. Becomes the 2nd fastest puzzler in the world.

[@alejandrodarias_puzzlestv]

@@MC-yt1uv I've always commented that the edges should be done first (in terms of speedpuzzling), only if they are the easiest part of the puzzle.

[@wwaxwork]

I swear she's making it harder to amuse herself.

[@alejandrodarias_puzzlestv]

Hello Karen, thanks a lot for your report. This competition, In which I took place of course, was easily for most of us speedcontest-veterans the hardest speedpuzzling competition ever. I've taken part in 75 speedpuzzling contests of all types, and this one is absolutely incredible, well organised, and as a Spaniard point of view, I recommend you all to come and visit us!! Not only individual competition, but pairs and teams ones! By the way, the double Champion Alejandro Clemente is the best speedpuzzler I've seen in 40 years.

[@Jindychick]

Loved the video and your comment made it even better. Hope you did well:)

[@alejandrodarias_puzzlestv]

@@Jindychick Beat result was in pairs, 9th with Soraya Pérez Carayol, that appears several times in the video and is one of the best. 66th in individual, that was very dissapointing for me (21th in 2019) and a disaster in teams because of the monster 1500-puzzle that brought up our nerves!!

[@diannadarling699]

@@alejandrodarias_puzzlestv That team final was BRUTAL!!

[@jello3456543]

Kristin Thuv is the personification of "Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast."

[@pvic6959]

her indifference is so funny to me! she knows shes good and that shes one of the best there. we love a girl with confidence LOL

[@korenn9381]

@@pvic6959 no she didn't know that. it was the first time she ever competed in a competition, according to the interview afterwards.

[@steffenbendel6031]

And if we would train her to independently use her second hand to do the edge in parallel, she would be invincible.

[@kktybayside]

This was so fascinating that i didnt even realized that 30 minutes had passed haha! Thank you for your fun commentary and all the insightful data. I'm looking for part 2 of this puzzle competition in Spain!

[@Roy-G-Biv]

Same!!!!

[@oxiphy]

Kristin may not have won the competition but she has won our hearts. She's such a flex and a mood altogether.

[@brianarsuaga5008]

I would love to see some guest visits by Alejandro and Kristin. The sheer contrast between their approaches was hilarious!

[@KarenPuzzles]

Would you ever want to compete in a jigsaw puzzle competition? Let me know if you have any questions you want me to answer in Part 2. Also, I apologize I advance if I pronounced anyone's name wrong or got anyone's pronouns wrong. There were a lot of people from all over the world I wanted to cover!

[@andreapatacchiola1184]

I have a question! Is the competition always in Spain? (Even though Im from italy, which means Spain would probably be the best option)

[@tinabecica878]

Karen, you need to compete next year! You have a really good chance and we would be all cheering for you 😀

[@oh_kale_yeah1199]

I would love to see you compete! Do we have an event like this in the States?

[@alejandrodarias_puzzlestv]

@@andreapatacchiola1184 This competition started in 2019 in Valladolid, because it was masterminded by some strong Spanish puzzle-lovers that had the idea to celebrate a World Jigsaw Puzzle Contest nearly 10 years earlier.

[@fikanera838]

Competitions really stress me, so there's no way I'd enter one for jigsaw puzzles, especially since I do them to help stay calm! I don't like watching them either, because I get upset watching the people who don't do so well, particularly those on whom there is a high expectation. I appreciated you pointing out that some of the slower puzzlers are still achieving an impressive time, or are local people entering for the fun of it.

[@thecompanioncube4211]

When Kristen uses her second hand we will have a fair competition, and god forbid if she stands up while solving we might witness a blackhole formation.

[@MC-yt1uv]

I never thought I would have a favorite competitive puzzler. But, then I saw Kristin Thuv competing at a world-class level with the same intensity that I use when filling out spreadsheets.

[@duckrutt]

There's always the Financial Modeling World Cup channel. Excel as an esport? Yeah why not.

[@sarahferguson0]

🤣

[@rhoward9302]

Kristin has powerful "a bored god does jigsaw puzzles" energy. She is indeed great. Super unique approach too. *Spain*

[@hansel2001]

I think this single video gets its own separate prize for “Best Produced Video on Least Interesting Topic.” To be honest, I’ve never completed a puzzle as an adult, but this narrator made me want to do puzzles….which I think is the highest praise you can give to any KZbin creator. Strangely entertaining! I get the strange feeling that it took 80+ hours to edit this video. What an accomplishment! Kudos to the video creator!

[@Hereford1642]

It is no longer the least interesting topic my friend. Buy jigsaw puzzles, the price is going up.

[@Natalie-hg3gh]

@@Hereford1642 check your secondhand shops!

[@CodeOmega0]

This is like watching the finale episode of an anime about a high school puzzling team going to the world series in Spain. I think you captured the drama and the characters really well for getting this all through a live stream too! With all of the different strategies everyone has, I wonder if two people ever ended with the same piece.

[@thejoyfuldragon887]

Spain. I get the vibe that Kristen is only using 1% of her power, like Dash at the end of the Incredibles haha she's such a badass.

[@fiziwig]

This inspired me to get a new 500 piece puzzle I hadn't seen before and time myself. After a certain number of hours (I won't divulge how many hours because it's just too embarrassing) I realized that I am not ready for competitive puzzling. But the experience does leave me in awe of those puzzlers who finished in under 30 minutes. I have yet to see exactly how many days it will take me to complete my puzzle. :)

[@veektoryk]

Love to see you try the contest puzzles! I think you should also test the Thuv technique (single handed, disinterest).

[@hutchmusician]

That sounds… suggestive…

[@nikolaoskouvatsos9222]

20:21-20:26 in retrospect I do regret that 😂

[@KarenPuzzles]

Hahaha, congratulations on doing so well!

[@nikolaoskouvatsos9222]

@@KarenPuzzles thank you!

[@IQzminus2]

After the video with Tammy I actually watched quite a bit of the competition in the live stream, but not live and jumping/skipping loads. And I have to say this commentary and edit is amazing, really great job! I thought it was interesting and fun to see how a puzzling competition worked and see all the different approaches in the live streams, but this video really made it fun and enjoyable and taught me even more of the competitions. And it’s cool to get the perspective from a more experienced puzzler on the tactics and the puzzles in the competition. You pointed out so many interesting things, that I totally missed!

[@radrachael]

Ohh interesting. Would be great to see you at a puzzle championship one day Karen 😊

[@KarenPuzzles]

I'm definitely planning on it!

[@radrachael]

I saw in your part 2 video you mentioned you will be doing puzzle competitions soon! Good luck Karen 🧩💗😀

[@xilebat]

Wow. Just wow. Karen , you continue to top yourself. This is broadcast quality. It felt like I was watching a television show. I can’t imagine the hours you must have spent on this, but I did note to myself that “Hey, Karen hasn’t posted in a while…”. Now I know why. And congratulations to Tammy. You did the US proud. Spain.

[@ArtJourneyUK]

Totally agree. This was a TV show. So well done 🥰

[@feuilletoniste]

Yes - if Karen could pass on our congratulations to Tammy for her great result, that would be excellent! I don’t imagine that the general media will be particularly excited about the World Puzzling Championships, but I hope she knows that her friends on Karen’s channel were all rooting for her, and proud of her accomplishments!

[@sofivear]

It's fascinating to see all their different puzzling strategies together! Especially Kristin and Alejandro's, that was hilarious.

[@sambeawesome]

Oh man, just using one hand! She looked so chill, too chill, I'd be stressing out so hard x'D Thanks for this video, was great to hear your coverage of the event :)

[@Jane.s3]

I love how Kristen does the puzzles she is so calm❤

[@shellyzadorozny6962]

So nice see the mix of skills there .A big shout out to those who are not as fast at some ,they doing something they love and challenging themselves at sametime.

[@5alpha23]

The time difference of Alejandro gets even crazier if you consider that he's more than 20% faster than the second place! This is just insane. Image that difference in a car race, where it's more like 0.1%.

[@Am_Brew]

This was super entertaining. I love how the top 2 puzzlers have completely different styles.

[@chizzicle]

Alejandro's speed is just out of this world But I did also very much enjoy Kristin's style a bit of nordic pride from neighboring country. Second place ain't bad at all

[@Hereford1642]

She is marvellously intriguing. Casual and yet second in the sprint. If they had a marathon event. Then what? Alejandro would tire I think. Kirstin has an interesting mind to be so different in her approach and so extremely calm on finishing.

[@Samy.10VE]

I never knew this existed, this was so interesting yet fun to watch and honestly makes me want to start a new puzzle but man the top people were insane and so satisfying to watch!

[@danacarlson6425]

Ooh definitely time yourself completing the same puzzles! I would have thought the flower columns puzzle to be the easiest too. Now I want to try it for myself! Spain!

[@DasGanon]

Actually to make it more representative you should have someone else set up the puzzle in a bag and everything so you don't know which one you're timing yourself against

[@coryhaggard5704]

This video is hilarious in the most incredible, awesome, wonderful way possible. Not sure why, but this just showed up in my recommended. My first thought was there is no way I am spending 30 minutes watching a video on World Jigsaw Puzzle Championships, but I could not quit! I was mesmerized and had to watch every last second. Great work! I appreciate your thorough attention to detail and your commentary is magnificent. Great job. Much thanks and kudos!

[@coryhaggard5704]

P.S. Puzzles are something our family always did together over the holidays (even Dad). A tradition I passed on with my kids. We even set up the ping pong table and had a couple of contests between 3 of us using 300, 500, and 750 piece puzzles. Good times!

[@cassandralyris4918]

I personally can't imagine turning my brain calming activity into a competition, but I hope they had a good time. It was pretty exciting.

[@Hereford1642]

Kirstin kept it sane. Alejandro will burn out by the time he is 40. And what is left to him then? marbles, tiddly winks, cup stacking - all gone competitive. I await the pro league sponsored by some big company. I am not sure if I am joking or not.

[@icturner23]

If you'd done a livestream reaction to the whole thing I'd have watched it. I find it very relaxing to just have your videos on in the background whilst I'm doing others things (though of course when they're normal-length ones like this I watch them properly the first time).

[@KarenPuzzles]

I was in the livestream chats trying to follow as much of the commentary as I could. Hopefully next year they'll have English commentary so more people will watch!

[@pvic6959]

@@KarenPuzzles hi, just dropping in to say thank you for your videos. youre my favorite karen

[@johnsmith2875]

I watched some of the championship and Kristin stuck out for me, her leaning one handed puzzle strategy is such a stark contrast to everyone else being frantic

[@robertmiller4139]

I have no idea how this video showed up on my feed…but I’m so glad it did. I love your enthusiasm and thoroughness and am now a subscriber. I would love to see you try those competition puzzles and see how you do. Great video 👍👍

[@KittyxKult]

Alejandro just straight up demolishes these puzzles. It’s like he ruffles his hair and the pieces are like “we’ll just put ourselves together.” 🥰

[@stoobertb]

If you want to guarantee you finish under time, hide all 500 pieces. If they are giving you a time penalty of 10 seconds per missing piece, 500 missing pieces equates to 83 minutes 20 seconds - well inside the 90 minute mark :D

[@Choam666]

Nice piece of arithmetic. I didn't even think of figuring that out (as much as I like finding holes in rule sets). Great work.

[@MurseMorris]

Haha i did the math on that too 😅

[@rubbish8522]

Only hide 499 pieces, be 10 seconds faster! That one piece is obviously correctly placed.

[@jeannietrapnell1000]

I tried to watch it, but since the commentary was mostly in Spanish I finally gave up. So thanks so much for covering it! I always enjoy your analysis of puzzles and your analysis of these competitors was excellent and such fun to hear! Look forward to Part 2. Spain!

[@Hereford1642]

If it was on youtube, you can set it to auto generate subtitles. It is pretty good on a good day and amusing on a bad one.

[@kabelinmel1]

Thank you for taking time to point out the privilege in competing!

[@weronika01212]

I hope Brigitta sees this, I'm also Hungarian so I have to say I'm so proud of her, for finishing at 7th in the final!

[@missamo80]

The hero we needed. Thank you for watching all 22 hours for us!

[@kiwikandii]

Wow! I have to say this is one of the most inspiring puzzle videos I have ever seen! I have a disability and am a one- handed puzzler! The attention given to the person that finished second and did her whole puzzle one-handed is amazing! Thank you! Oh and I have always wanted to visit "Spain" so I will be adding this to my bucket list. Again thank you for this!

[@oh_kale_yeah1199]

Thank you for sharing this! I had no idea an event like this even existed. My love and knowledge of puzzles has grown so much since finding your channel. Always excited to see a new video from you.

[@levmargolies1190]

The whole time I was thinking "I should get those puzzles and time myself" so I was really excited when you said you were getting them!

[@KarenPuzzles]

The links are in the description if you want to get them too!

[@louisejackett1431]

Fantastic video! You've captured this event so well. I was lucky enough to participate (prelim A was my first round - super fun puzzle) and my Australian friends and I had such an amazing experience. Seeing and meeting these superb puzzlers IRL was absolutely incredible - plus they are all such LOVELY (and humble) people. I look forward to seeing you do the same puzzles! (And watching part 2 covering the teams final 😱)

[@icturner23]

I loved this video so much. I say that on so many of your videos but I love how much variety you have for such a specific topic. I especially loved all the graphs and getting to know the different characters a bit. It's so crazy that the best and second best were so different in their style, and I especially can't believe how quick Kristin was compared to how slow it looked she was.

[@alchemyqueen2764]

I have always been so curious about how these work!! Thank you for breaking it down for us! 💖

[@shaunhartline4951]

Great work with the editing of this video. You did a wonderful job of pointing out the top puzzlers and of showing the differences in progress across the competition. Good luck with the teams videos.

[@remiren9832]

Seeing Tammy in Spain was so cool! Thanks for the awesome video Karen! I just came across your channel a week ago and I’ve been binge watching your videos. You’ve got a happy new subscriber ❤️🌟🐞🌻

[@kate-wm7vr]

I never knew I was going to live a life where I cared about the competitors of a speed puzzling competition, but here I am. Great work on putting it all together in a really enjoyable and informative fashion, Karen!

[@lilianes.machado9256]

Loved to watch these highlights of the competition. Your explanation about details was sooooo nice. Thank you for your time doing this video. 😘

[@ClocksInMyPlace]

This was much more interesting than I expected and so fun to watch (largely thanks to your commentary and editing)! 😊 I always enjoy your videos .

[@alcarpenter979]

That was great! I never thought my one hand, nonchalant puzzling method would work in a speed competition but Kristin owned that style! Spain

[@dot10k]

I stumbled across this video and was transfixed. Your fantastic, enthusiastic presentation style totally drew me in. I can’t wait to watch more. Such an easy decision to subscribe 👍🏻

[@ctyoung16]

This is one of my new favorite videos! I've really discovered a new love for puzzling because of this channel. Maybe I'll take a vacation to Spain in a few years that just happens to coincide with the competition

[@Iggystar71]

Bless you!! I was overwhelmed and didn’t know where to start.

[@KarenPuzzles]

I know, same! It was sooo much work condensing it down, especially without understanding any of the commentary 😅

[@Iggystar71]

@@KarenPuzzles I was going to go back, watch, and try to figure it out without understanding a word of Spanish, but you’re such an awesome person! Like you said, now I don’t have to! Also, “Spain”. I just finished and I loved every second of it.

[@christinemuller532]

I am very excited to see you doing these puzzles! Feel it will give us a better idea of how insane some of those times are!

[@andrewpowers7034]

Karen is so upbeat and sweet and the entire event is so old fashioned wholesome this puts a big smile on my face 😊

[@anselimnida]

this was so enjoyable to watch! thank you for all the work you put in to bring us a condensed version of this event. loved the graphics too! can't wait for part 2!!!

[@gryrabild]

Kristin is so cool, love the technique and the calm demeanor.

[@delaneykeller1389]

I love how much I enjoyed this. You are a joy of a human being.

[@karolinalaos8941]

OMG! thank you so much Karen! That was amazing watching all happy faces. Kristin and Alejandro also my favorites. Congrats guys!!!

[@VHatsy]

Thank you! I loved this so much. I watched the championship live but I think your edit made it even more enjoyable. Can't wait for part 2 and to watch you try out those puzzles yourself.

[@keehuonglai626]

Thank you Karen for the summary and the commentary. I watched the live stream for just a few minutes, but your enthusiasm and commentary made this video so much more interesting and engaging. Yay. Wish the organizer will sponsor you a trip to Spain for the next edition of the competition.

[@deerhaunter]

Sounds like an epic vlog series next year! "I competed in the speed puzzle world championships and met the puzzle queen!"

[@Soraya_P.C.]

Thanks for the video, it's very good. We are waiting for you next year in Spain. Soraya Pérez Carayol

[@KarenPuzzles]

Thank you for watching! I definitely want to go next year!

[@mateuszpatua3016]

can't wait for the 2nd part!! :o I really enjoyed your coverage

[@julesheart4784]

Thank you for this amazing summary of this competition!! Can’t wait for part 2, you make such an engaging commentary 😍 (I’m so curious about how the team competition is!)

[@aartadventure]

Everyone: Scrambling like they are competing in the 100m olympic dash Kristin: Casual one handed puzzling while watching Netflix and yawning in a onesie

[@giddingsa75]

I would love to see you do all the qualifying puzzles from SPAIN and see how you compare. I would try myself, but I know I wouldn't come close. I watched the live streams and was just amazed by all the different styles people had. Kristin was by far my favorite as well, so calm and collected. Alejandro was way too chaotic... I don't know how he can get pieces together when his hands are so frantic. I was just in awe of his talent.

[@sweetea3272]

Thank you so much!!! I tried to watch the live streams but I was more lost than last year's Easter egg! You covered this beautifully. I greatly appreciate it!

[@davidlevesque5974]

Your passion is so nice in all those videos, and your channel in general. Just wholesomeness and fun. Hopefully next time you get to do a vlog from the competition, in Spain!

[@johnnypatterson77]

They should put like a 100 cats in the room just for the extra challenge.

[@atlantic_love]

lmao!!!!!!! we have three cats, and I can sadly relate.

[@thomaschezzy3308]

I loved this video, first video i had ever seen by you. I have since subbed and watched quite a few other ones and your passion for puzzles is very infectious. I cant wait for the follow up video about the duos and teams competition

[@petrescuework-difficultcas6581]

This is so fun! Thanks for covering it. Looking forward to the next episodes

[@truffletaylorsversion]

Wow, before this I never knew that puzzle competitions existed! Thank you for showing me this cool community! I also feel very slow now compared to these amazing people! 🙃

[@miriam4235]

I love your observations and comments. So much I would never have noticed as a very relaxed and casual puzzler. And I would love to see you attempt to do the puzzles yourself. 😁 (Spain)

[@sauceploxx4565]

So glad this showed up on my feed randomly. I had no idea until today this event existed and your video was truly entertaining.

[@stephencech3696]

This is amazing! All the different strategies, their emotions while doing them, and obviously all the joy. Thank you very very much for this video, I don't think I'd have ever imagined that people played like what we see

[@kellahanna-wayne4191]

I wonder if Kristin has a photographic memory or something, so she takes one piece out of the box at a time so she can look at it and remember it. And then she just reaches for the exact piece she needs every time. So impressive to watch!

[@KarenPuzzles]

Part 2 is up right now! Find out who the fastest Pairs and Teams are (and what the prizes are!): kzbin.info/www/bejne/nZfWoHufjquBZ7c

[@shireensasani6224]

Wow, I honestly had no idea how enjoyable I would find it to watch highlights from a speed puzzling competition. Thanks so much for breaking it all down for us and adding some really insightful commentary to everything that happened in SPAIN. Gracias!

[@Lyntintin1]

I would love to go to Spain to watch all of the people puzzle! It would stress me out to compete, I tend to take a long time to finish a puzzle and I would be hyper aware of the ppl around me. It was SO much fun to see Tammy compete! I'm glad she finished in the top 20. Good for her! Thank you so much for putting this together. I canNOT imagine the amount of time, energy and brain power it took to accomplish this. Looking forward to part 2.

[@toswingonastar]

I’m a bit of a data science nerd and I love to see all the visualizations Karen comes up with. I thought the one comparing the rankings between qualifying and finals was so fun. I would be interested to see the pie charts comparing how long each puzzle took as histograms-I find pie charts really hard to interpret. Anyways, love this aspect of your videos!!

[@PtylerBeats]

I’m most impressed with Kristin. She literally makes it look so easy. She must have some crazy spacial awareness/memory to just look at a pile of of pieces and know which one will fit. Because she doesn’t often grab the wrong piece. She just reaches into the pile, grabs the exact piece she needs, and moves on. If she moved as quickly as Alejandro, she’d be unstoppable

[@michaelakopplin2577]

Thank you so much for your effort!!! I would never have the time to watch it all but your way I found really interesting!

[@groreistad5234]

This was surprisingly fun to watch, really entertaining and exciting. Thanks for covering this competition.

[@Somebody-mk2nt]

I know this is not like a sport but I do really like how inclusive the composition is. For example they don’t separate by gender or race, everyone is just thrown together equally! 💜😊

[@alejandrodarias_puzzlestv]

It will be a sport sooner or later, like chess.

[@88marome]

Everything can be a sport.

[@alejandrodarias_puzzlestv]

@@lazyhomebody1356 Chess is a recognised sport. I don't know if Scrabble is a sport.

[@connor1586]

I get why the country rule exists (to up the number of countries in the final so it isn't all just the 2/3 most subscribed countries) but it leads to some weird cases. Cyprus got someone in the individual final this year who came last in their classification heat with only 143 pieces placed, while someone who actually completed the puzzle (a Spainard) didn't qualify. Also the graphics you use to compare the top 20 do them a bit dirty as it makes 19/20th look slow while they are still very fast (Well below the 90 minute limit)! Maybe a comparison to the average time for the round would work a bit better?

[@alixnorman7389]

To be fair, I interviewed the Cyprus puzzler (I'm a journalist) after watching the competition, and he admitted himself that the rule felt unfair. He is a really delightful, honest chap who just loves puzzles and meeting fellow puzzlers. The first thing he wanted to emphasise in our interview was how many people were so much better than he, and yet he was automatically awarded a seat in the final because he was the sole puzzler from Cyprus. A really decent chap.

[@gordmeeberg4584]

I actually like the country rule, as for those that travelled a long ways to be at the competition, it gives them more chances to compete. I read somewhere that one of the two puzzlers from Uganda is color blind, but came because he just loves jigsaw puzzles so much.

[@gordmeeberg4584]

@@lazyhomebody1356 Sure - you would have enough information ahead of time to know if you would place in the top 50 or not - but many come just to experience the event anyway. Even with the country rule, there were no puzzlers eliminated from the final that would have had a top 50 time. As a result, I like leaving it in so that the final is a more multi-national affair while still ensuring that all the top competitors qualify.

[@Niko-et4yz]

Thanks for putting this together. The work you put in and the subject is very admiring 😊

[@bkackman]

That was fun to watch. Thank you for abridging the event and providing commentary. Better than a trip to Spain!

[@siveea]

Karen, you definitely have to come to Spain next year! This competition is soooo fun. It was my first time and for sure will repeat the experience. Some people had sponsors to cover part of the travel expenses. Maybe this could be a way for puzzlers worldwide join in and make this event even bigger and better. Alejandro Clemente, eres un crack! Verte en acción en directo fue increíble.

[@feuilletoniste]

I really appreciate your pointing out the degree of privilege involved in being able to invest the time and money in competitive puzzling, let alone going to Spain to compete internationally! I would think that an important element in building up skill and speed would be continually having new puzzles to practice on, which in itself would be a substantial outlay of money (and time) for a lot of people. But it’s still exciting to admire the skill of the champions - I’d love to know more about Alejandro’s puzzling background for him to be able to achieve such a dramatic win, and the pleasure of coming a solid second was enough to get a smile out of even stoic Kristina!

[@watcherofwatchers]

Oh, geebus.

[@Hereford1642]

Jigsaw puzzles are the number 1 unsold item in charity shops - at least in Britain. There are dozens of them in every shop which you can buy for pennies. They would likely give you some if you asked. But, fair play, getting to Spain is not so cheap. Maybe they could video link eh?

[@glorypaxson]

The privilege part was the only thing of the video I hated. I can't travel there but I'm not going to even mentioned privilege in a contest like this. Pfft

[@PeteS_1994]

I’m pretty sure most people in the developed world can afford and do have the time to do puzzles but they prefer to do other activities.

[@milamm]

Ohhhh! I loved this video. It was so fun to watch (specially because I can actually understand the commentary, being from Spain and everything). Maybe I'll go as an spectator next year? Can't wait to see the rest of the series

[@milan50able]

Hey Karen, Thank you so much for this look into the world of puzzling mania. It was such fun to watch and your commentary was very entertaining.