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The World Quizzing Championships is an individual quiz contest organised by the International Quizzing Association (the umbrella organisation of various quizzing activities from more than 25 countries around the world). The competition has been staged annually since 2003(23 years ago)(2003) (since 2004 in more than one country simultaneously) with an increasing number of contestants from an increasing number of nations. Since 2006, the competition has been staged on the first Saturday of every June.
Contestants answer questions from eight broad categories and can earn up to 30 points in each, for a potential score of 240. Prior to 2022, they were allowed to drop their lowest-scoring category, leaving a maximum of 210. Under these rules, Pat Gibson and Jesse Honey jointly hold the high score record with 186 points, achieving that mark in 2011 and 2012 respectively. Since the rules were changed to count all eight categories, Daoud Jackson holds the record with 187 points, achieved in 2025.
Format
The World Quizzing Championships are in the form of a written test taken by individuals that is administered at various locations around the world. All contestants receive the same questions, typically translated into their first language, at approximately the same time. The test consists of 240 questions, with 30 in each of eight broad genres, and is distributed as two packs of four papers each. Contestants have 60 minutes to complete each pack.
Once time expires, the papers are marked and contestants score one point for each correct answer. From 2003 to 2021, each contestant's lowest-scoring genre was dropped and their scores from the other seven were added to determine the final standings. Starting with the 2022 competition, all eight genres are included.
The genres and general content areas are a combination of academic and popular culture topics including:
Genre
Subjects
Culture
Architecture, Fine art, Museums, Mythology, Philosophy, Religion, World cultures
Entertainment
Ballet, Classical music, Film Music, Jazz & World Music, Opera, Pop music, Radio, Television
History
Civilizations, Current Affairs, Exploration, Famous People, History
Lifestyle
Costume, Design, Fashion, Food & Drink, Handicrafts, Health & Fitness, Human Body, New Age beliefs, Products & Brands, Tourism
Media
Comic strips, Comic books, Graphic novels, Film, Language, Literature
Sciences
Exact sciences (Chemistry, Physics, etc.), Fauna, Flora, Social sciences
Sport & Games
Games, Sports, Hobbies & Pastimes, Records & achievements (in context of genre)
World
Cities, Human Geography, Physical Geography, Inventions, Space, Technology, Transport
Some questions may appear to fit within more than one genre.
List of WQC winners
By number of wins
The table below shows the medalists from each year, along with the years that a player won the championship.
A fledgling event was first staged by Quizzing.co.uk in 2003 at Villa Park football stadium, Birmingham, England. This saw 50 quizzers representing a handful of nations compete in a written test of quiz knowledge. The inaugural event was won by Olav Bjortomt. The event has full official status but only took place in one country and is sometimes erroneously omitted in statistics.
2004
In 2004, following the foundation of the International Quizzing Association (IQA), the event was held simultaneously in five countries: the United Kingdom (joined by quizzers from elsewhere, including Ireland), Belgium (joined by quizzers from the Netherlands), Estonia, India, and Malaysia. Over 300 quizzers took part. The UK leg was staged at Manchester United's Old Trafford football stadium. The 2004 winner was Kevin Ashman.
The 2005 championship on July 2, saw further significant growth with the event benefiting from the sponsorship of MSN Search. Countries joining the original five competing nations included Australia, Finland, Indonesia, Norway and Singapore. Quizzers sat eight papers of 30 questions each, covering: 'Culture', 'Entertainment', 'History', 'Lifestyle', 'Media', 'Sciences', 'Sport and Games', and 'World', with the lowest score from the eight genres being dropped – although these did come into play to settle tie-break situations. The eight genres were won outright or shared by quizzers from seven countries (Belgium, England, Estonia, Finland, India, Ireland, and Norway).
Efforts to encourage the participation of women in the contest (competitive quizzing has hitherto been something of a male-dominated pastime) were rewarded in 2005 with a win for Trine Aalborg of Norway in the 'Lifestyle' category and a sixth place overall for Dorjana Širola of Croatia (who also finished 3rd among those competitors who had gathered at Silverstone motor racing circuit for the UK leg of the competition). In India, another woman, Debashree Mitra of Bangalore took 3rd place overall.
On June 3, 2006, the World Quizzing Championships were held at more than 15 locations. First time organisers were Lithuania, Germany, Switzerland, Liberia and Sri Lanka. People of a multitude of nationalities took part, including representatives from the United States, Australia, Russia, Singapore, Hungary, and France. The title was, for the 3rd year running, won by Kevin Ashman.
On June 2, 2007, the World Quizzing Championships was held at locations including the Netherlands, the US and Hungary for the first time. Pat Gibson took the crown from three-time winner Kevin Ashman.
Dorjana Širola of Croatia was the highest placed woman in 12th position. Paul Paquet from Canada placed highest in the New York City leg, the first time the WQC was held in North America.
2008
The 2008 World Quizzing Championships were held on June 7, 2008 at more than 30 locations, including for the first time Australia, the Philippines, Canada, China, Bangladesh, and Latvia. Mark Bytheway took the world title in a close race with Belgium's Ronny Swiggers and Finland's Tero Kalliolevo.
The 2009 World Quizzing Championships were held on June 6, 2009 at more than 45 locations, including 10 venues in the US, 9 in India and 4 in Russia. Kevin Ashman regained his title and became the first ever to win 4 World Quizzing Championships. Second again was Ronny Swiggers from Belgium. Third was last year's champion Mark Bytheway. Jeopardy! legend Jerome Vered, whose all-time single-day winnings record lasted 10 or 12 years (depending on whether adjustment for the doubling of the clue values is used), placed eighth.
Dorjana Širola of Croatia was the highest placed woman in 22nd position with 135 points.
2010
The 2010 World Quizzing Championships were held on June 5, 2010 at almost seventy locations, adding Armenia, Bulgaria, Morocco, and the Republic of Ireland for the first time. Over 1200 people participated. Five nations were represented among the competitors placed in the top 10 overall. The overall winner was Pat Gibson.
Dorjana Širola of Croatia was the highest placed woman in 17th position with 140 points.
2011
The 2011 World Quizzing Championships took place on Saturday, June 4 with the planned addition of venues in Denmark, Gibraltar and Madagascar. Reigning champion Pat Gibson achieved the highest score in England with 186 and retained his title. Four times champion Kevin Ashman made 176. Tero Kalliolevo achieved the highest score in Finland with 176. Ronny Swiggers achieved the highest score in Belgium with 168. Steve Perry achieved the highest score in USA with 164. Mark Grant achieved the highest score in Wales with 163. Thomas Kolåsæter achieved the highest score in Norway with 158.
The 2012 event was held on June 2, 2012, with over 1,700 participants competing at 88 locations in 35 countries. Defending champion Pat Gibson was beaten into second place by Jesse Honey with a score of 186. For the first time ever, someone scored full marks in one genre with Ishaan Chugh, a quizzer from India, scoring 30/30 in the Media section.
