Summer is always a fun time for crossword fans who enjoy a good tournament.

Westwords wrapped up a few weeks ago, as did the first World Cryptic Crossword Championship in London. Boswords is less than a week away, Lollapuzzoola is coming up in August, and the 7th Bryant Park Crossword Tournament not long after in September!

And while discussing the Scripps National Spelling Bee with a friend recently, they asked me, as a puzzle guy, if I thought that crosswords could ever become a spectator sport like that.

While crossword tournaments aren’t currently televised, I happily informed him that crosswords are pretty much already a spectator sport.

Every year, people at the ACPT not only enjoy watching the live-solved final puzzle, but they get commentary from Greg Pliska and Ophira Eisenberg!

Tournament finals are often live-solved in front of their fellow competitors, adding some drama and showmanship to these wonderful puzzly events.

We’re even getting behind-the-scenes videos on the tournaments now, like this one for Westwords:

But in terms of crosswords as a spectator sport, the World Cryptic Crossword Championship took things a step further.

The final round of the tournament wasn’t a live-solved puzzle, it was a single cryptic-style clue. No crossing letters or grid for context. Just the clue, and the competitor only had ten seconds to solve it before the next competitor took their shot.

I’ve never had to solve a puzzle in front of an audience like all the tournament finalists, but I can imagine it’s nerve-wracking. But giving someone a cryptic-style clue with NO context letters and ten seconds to solve it in front of an audience?

Good lord, thank you for the new anxiety nightmare fuel, WCCC.

That being said, it was an entertaining watch, and another step forward for crosswords as a spectator sport:

What do you think, fellow puzzler? Will we be seeing the ACPT or another puzzle tournament on an ESPN sister channel soon? Or perhaps as an Olympic event?

Let us know in the comments section below! We’d love to hear from you.