Andres Kuusk claimed his seventh Pentamind World Championship title on Monday 25th August after a thrilling battle with Tung Yat Cheng. Both players pushed the boundaries of all-round Mind Sports competition, setting records along the way. Ultimately it was Estonia’s Kuusk who retained his crown with an all-time record Pentamind score of 506.09. Remarkably, it was the first time this decade that a score above 500 had been achieved – an accolade Hong Kong’s Tung also achieved with his score of 502.43.

Both players began the week strongly. Andres took Golds in two abstract events on Monday – the Boku World Championship and International Draughts. Simultaneously, Tung claimed Gold in the premier Carcassonne (2 player) event to get his first 100+ score of the week. Andres claimed further World Championships when he won the Lines of Action tournament on Tuesday and the prestigious Entropy competition on Wednesday. Meanwhile Tung took Gold in 7 Card Stud Poker before the multiplayer specialist won Golds in Stone Age and Terra Mystica. A Silver on Friday in the premier Wingspan event brought Tung into range of Andres at just 10 Pentamind points behind the Estonian, but with several strong events still ahead.

The two went head-to-head in the premier Azul tournament on Sunday morning with Tung winning their direct encounter, and going unbeaten to take his 5th Gold of the week! Andres took a crucial Silver behind Tung, to take him over the 500 threshold. Tung improved his Pentamind score on Sunday evening with a Bronze in the premier 7 Wonders tournament, setting up an intriguing final day…

With Andres unable to improve his Pentamind score in the Chess Rapid tournament, there was an opportunity for Tung to snatch away the Pentamind title with his final event – Castles of Burgundy. Tung had won Castles of Burgundy three times previously, and won his opening two games to set up a final game where the scenario was simple – Tung had to win the final to win the Pentamind. It was to be a bridge too far for the Hong Kong player who ended the final third, behind Michael Alishaw (the 2025 Grand Prix runner up) and Nicolas Wittmann, who had travelled from France to attend his first Mind Sports Olympiad. Nicolas’ Gold in Castles of Burgundy promoted him onto the Pentamind podium as he also took Golds in Kingdomino and Triolet.

Behind the top three were former champions David Pearce and Ankush Khandelwal. The overall standard was higher than ever – all of the top 10 exceeded 460 Pentamind points, an unprecedented level of competition!

See also: Pentamind Standings.

Other Highlights

Spain’s Mario Hernández Concepción won the Junior Pentamind, reclaiming his title from 2023. Mario won full Gold medals in the Continuo World Championship and Hive. Koreans Seoyun Kim and Boryeong Kim were second and third respectively. Mario’s compatriot, Paco Garcia de La Banda, won the Senior Pentamind. The 2010 Pentamind champion saw off Marc Tastet and Dario de Toffoli who joined him on the podium.

There was double delight for Estonia as Madli Mirme won the Women’s Pentamind. This was Madli’s fifth title, but her first since 2022. Madli won Golds in the Hare & Tortoise World Championship, Perudo (Liar’s Dice), and Gomoku. Defending champion Natasha Regan was less than 10 points back in second, with Seoyun Kim in third.

Meta-Event Winners

• Abstract: Andres Kuusk also took the Abstract Games title with a score 25 points stronger than 2024 champion Florian Jamain. Peter Finn was less than one point behind Florian in third.
• Multiplayer: Tung Yat Cheng won the Multiplayer Games category for the third consecutive year. Nicolas Wittmann was less than 10 points behind Tung, and Ankush Khandelwal was third.
• Imperfect Information: Dani Angelats successfully defended his title, with the Catalan finishing 12 points clear of David Pearce. Matt Tucker rounded out the top 3.
• Backgammon: Martyn Hamer’s fourth consecutive Backgammon title was built on three scores surpassing 90 points. The Englishman was challenged by Cristian Ghena-Frisk and Ali Safa who claimed silver and bronze respectively.
• Chess: Peter Finn won the Chess meta-event by less than three points. The Brit won the Chess Rapid event on the final day to put him ahead of Ankush Khandelwal and Etan Ilfeld.
• Poker: Joachim Hambros is the Amateur Poker World Champion. The Austrian won the London Lowball and Pineapple events to dethrone Martyn Hamer by less than four points. Alain Dekker rounded out the podium.

See also: 2025 Medalists.

From left-to-right: Paco Garcia de La Banda, Natasha Regan, Tung Yat Cheng, Madli Mirme, Andres Kuusk, Nicolas Wittmann, Dario de Toffoli, Marc Tastet, Mario Hernández Concepción.

Tung and Andres pose before their Azul game.