Hello everyone,

We wanted to share a little recap of our amazing experience as the Aussie team at the 2025 World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship in Valladolid! 🇦🇺🧩

This year, we had around 40 Aussies competing in the individual rounds—more than half of them were first-timers at Worlds! Out of those, 24 qualified for the semifinals, and nine made it all the way to the final. In the pairs competition, 22 Aussie pairs took part, 14 reached the semifinals, and seven qualified for the final. In the team event, we had 10 teams, and six made it through to the final.

A special shoutout goes to our Aussie All Stars, who came an incredible fourth in the team event, missing the podium by less than a minute! What an amazing result! 👏

Even though the weather didn’t help much (we were right in the middle of a heatwave in Valladolid—and yes, there was even a summer storm which caused a leaky roof!), we believe the whole Aussie team had an absolute blast before, during, and after the competition.

As in previous years, a big part of the Aussie crew also stepped up as volunteers—helping with timekeeping, clearing the dome between rounds, managing the entrances, and more. And it wasn’t just the competitors! A few of our amazing family members who came along to support us also joined the volunteer squad and helped out like total pros. No matter what was needed, the Aussies (and their families!) were there to lend a hand.

More importantly, we had such a great time connecting with each other and with puzzlers from all around the world. We even have a few new honorary Aussies like Alejandro (two-time World Champion!) and his family, who received an Aussie polo shirt with his name on it. Hopefully, that gives him the push he needs to come visit us Down Under soon! 🤞🇦🇺

Even though we were super busy throughout the week in Valladolid, we know that many people were cheering us on from back home in Australia. Thank you so much for your support—it really means a lot to us!

We hope to see everyone—those who joined us in Spain and those who followed from afar—at the next Australian Nationals event at MSAC at the end of November.

Thanks again for everything, and congratulations to all for such a great showing at Worlds!

With puzzle pride,
Cristina and Samuel

See the Worlds 2025 photo gallery here.