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Paolo Pasco

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Paolo Pasco
Pasco in 2025
Born (2000-05-10) May 10, 2000 (age 26)[1]
EducationHarvard University (BA)
Occupations
  • Crossword constructor
  • puzzle editor
  • game show contestant
Known for

Paolo Pasco (born May 10, 2000) is an American crossword puzzle constructor. He is a two-time American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (ACPT) champion, seven-game Jeopardy! champion, and Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions winner. He is the games editor for TED Conferences.

Early life and education

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Pasco grew up in San Diego.[2] He is of Filipino descent.[2] He grew up solving volumes of sudoku and Dell crosswords and began solving The New York Times crossword in eighth grade.[3] He also began constructing puzzles in middle school.[3] He attended Santa Fe Christian Schools in Solana Beach, California, where he was co-president of the math club and part of the improv comedy team, graduating in 2018.[4] He graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts in computer science in 2022.[3] During college, he wrote for the Hasty Pudding Theatricals and The Harvard Lampoon.[3]

Crossword constructing and editing

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Pasco had his first New York Times crossword published in July 2015, becoming one of the youngest constructors in Times history at 15 years old.[5] He has since published more than 25 puzzles in the Times.[6] He became known for his youthful voice as a constructor, often introducing new language and answers to the grid,[2] and his sense of humor.[7] He has also constructed crosswords for other publications, such as The Atlantic, AVCX (formerly the American Values Club), BuzzFeed,[2] Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today.[3] He launched his own crossword blog, Grids These Days, in 2017.[4]

Pasco began an internship at Andrews McMeel Universal in the summer of 2020, helping edit and construct crosswords for the syndicated Universal crossword and USA Today.[3] Later in college, he became an assistant crossword editor at The Atlantic,[3] collaborating with editor Caleb Madison.[8] He has also been an assistant editor at AVCX for many years.[3] In May 2024, he became LinkedIn's inaugural games editor.[9] In August 2025, he became the games editor for TED Conferences.[10]

Crossword solving

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Pasco began speed-solving crosswords in high school and won the Lollapuzzoola Local Division at age 16 in 2016.[8] Improving his ability by doing "a sick number of reps",[11] he has said that enough practice helps solvers start to intuit answers: "There's a lot to be said about vibing".[12] He made his American Crossword Puzzle Tournament (ACPT) debut in 2021, placing fourth in the tournament's only virtual edition during the COVID-19 pandemic.[13] He attended the tournament at the Stamford Marriott for the first time in 2022, winning the B Division and placing sixth overall.[14]

In 2023, Pasco finished as ACPT runner-up to nine-time champion Dan Feyer, losing the final by one second after hesitating over his final square.[12] He won his first national crossword title in 2024, defeating David Plotkin and Will Nediger in the final.[12] He defended his title over Nediger and Feyer in 2025, completing the final puzzle in less than four minutes.[15] Gothamist called Pasco a "legend in the world of crossword puzzles".[13]

Jeopardy!

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Pasco began studying trivia to improve his geography knowledge after his runner-up finish at ACPT in 2023.[16] In September 2025, he appeared on the television quiz show Jeopardy! and won seven games, for a total of US$195,717 in prize money.[17] With his performance, he earned a berth in the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions (TOC) in February 2026, where he swept the finals to win the US$250,000 grand prize.[18] The victory gave him a berth in that year's Jeopardy! Masters,[19] where he placed fourth, behind Andrew He, Victoria Groce, and Yogesh Raut, and received US$100,000.[20]

References

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  1. ↑ "Teenage Constructors". XWord Info. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Babür, Oset (February 11, 2019). "Paolo Pasco and the Art of Making Crosswords". Harvard Magazine. Retrieved August 27, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Goisman, Matt (March 23, 2023). "Alumni profile: Paolo Pasco, A.B. '22". Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
  4. 1 2 "Two Santa Fe Christian students named a National Merit Scholarship Finalist". The San Diego Union-Tribune. March 20, 2018. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
  5. ↑ "New York Times, Friday, July 17, 2015". XWord Info. July 17, 2015. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Paolo Pasco author page". XWord Info. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
  7. ↑ Raphel, Adrienne (April 13, 2024). "How Gen Z Made the Crossword Their Own". The New York Times. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
  8. 1 2 Madison, Caleb (April 21, 2024). "The Good Word". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on October 9, 2025. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
  9. ↑ Somasundaram, Lakshman (May 1, 2024). "Pinpoint, Queens, and Crossclimb… game on!". LinkedIn. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
  10. ↑ Sims, Brittany (August 28, 2026). "Ken Jennings Says 'Jeopardy!'s Paolo Pasco Is 'Always Asking Him Questions'". TV Insider. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
  11. ↑ Haghighi, Ariana (May 8, 2024). "Across and down with a word wrangler: In conversation with Paolo Pasco". Honi Soit. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
  12. 1 2 3 Vu, Hoang-Kim (April 22, 2024). "The World's Fastest Crossword Solvers Can't Tell You How To Do This". Defector. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
  13. 1 2 Del Valle, Verónica (April 18, 2026). "Why Paolo Pasco, a Brooklyn crossword champion, thinks the puzzles are blowing up". Gothamist. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
  14. ↑ Beneveniste, Alexis (April 8, 2022). "The American Crossword Puzzle Tournament Was a Family Reunion". The New York Times. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
  15. ↑ "47th ACPT". American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. April 6, 2025. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
  16. ↑ Goisman, Matt (October 8, 2025). "SEAS alum crosses over into "Jeopardy!" champion". Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Jeopardy! Champ Paolo Pasco Streak Ends After Seven Wins". Jeopardy!. September 19, 2025. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
  18. ↑ "Paolo Pasco is the 2026 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions Winner". Jeopardy!. February 5, 2026. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
  19. ↑ Johnson, Lottie Elizabeth (February 4, 2026). "This 'Jeopardy!' player just crushed the Tournament of Champions". Deseret News. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
  20. ↑ "2026 Jeopardy! Masters". Jeopardy!. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
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