We had a feeling this one would be epic, so for the first time in Code Championship history, we recorded the 2025 National Tournament.

https://youtu.be/M-TEcZGspRI

The 2025 National Tournament brought out the best of the best. We're talking about Absolute legends:

• Elias K: Winner of the 2024 National Tournament
• Mason D: Winner of the 2022 National Tournament, Top 4 finisher in 2023, and runner-up in the 2024 National Tournament
• Ezoza Z: Top 4 finisher in the 2023 and 2024 National Tournament
• Aaron W: Winner of the three consecutive tournaments leading up to the National Tournament

And the nine other top-scoring competitors from the 2025 season.

Benjamin G-S, Aaron W, Logan D, Ezoza Z each won four of their pool play games coming out on top of their pools, but facing stiff competition, none of the competitors were undefeated.

Elias K and Zamiriddin Z brought lock down defense and consistent scoring. Several players went for guaranteed 2 points and then one point.

After competing in years of Code Championship, Ezoza Z was up against Elias K in the final match of the 2025 season. Elias K was looking to repeat his 2024 win and become the first player to ever win two National Tournament titles. Elias K's tracking defense had managed to stop opponents from scoring big point values (like eight and nine point runs). Ezoza went for the two in her first offensive attack. Elias went for the one in his first offensive attack. If Ezoza went for the one and the game ended in a tie, Elias would win the match with a lower block count. Instead, she went for the three. Just nearly dodging a tag, Ezoza managed to dodge Elias's incredible defense earning her the 2025 National Tournament title.

An incredible end to an incredible season.

The Fall 2026 Tournament Series is the next chance to earn your spot on this list and in the National Tournament.

The competitors in the 2024 National Tournament were surprised to find a new challenge (Candle Lighter) had been created for the tournament. Without any prior experience with the challenge, all players started on even footing.

The final four competitors vying for the title were two rookies (Neysa N and Elias K) and two veterans (Ezoza Z and Mason D).

Mason D had won eight regular-season tournaments, the highest in the history of Code Championship. Mason had made it to the Top 4 in 2023, and was looking to and was looking to add a second National Tournament win to his list. His competition, Ezoza Z, had also made it to the Top 4 in 2023, and she had hopes of winning her first. Both competitors scored four points, so it came down to a tie-breaker. Mason had tested the bots in advance and knew there would be a tie, so he removed every block he could, including all of his defensive code. Ezoza only used nine blocks, but with only nine blocks, Mason won the tie-breaker.

The two rookies had both played in the 2024 Spring Tournament Series gaining experience. Then they each earned their place in the National Tournament during the 2024 Fall Tournament Series. Neysa had successfully score 14 points in her prior bracket match ups, but Elias's strong defense was able to hold prevent Neysa from scoring. Elias scored 4 points and advanced to the final to play against Mason.

With seconds between the semi-final match and the final, Mason switched his bot to a more complex bot. Once again, Mason found himself in a tie, but this time Elias had fewer blocks, and took the victory!

The Fall 2026 Tournament Series is the next chance to earn your spot on this list and in the National Tournament.

A year full of returning veterans rising to the top, some having played for years to finally qualify for their first national championship, 2023 was dominated by familiar names hoping to capture their first national championship title. One did.

Like in 2022, there were only two ways to make it into the tournament:

• Tournament Winner (TW) - win a regular season tournament
• Points Qualifier (PQ) - score the most points throughout the regular season . (Learn more about scoring)

Only a small percentage made it to the National Tournament, so we have included them here as a recognition of their hard work. With the exception of the top two finishers, players are sorted by their points scored during the 2023 regular season.

Coming in to 2023, Mason D was looking to defend his title from 2022. Jeffrey E faced Mason in the semi-finals and with 16 seconds left, the game was tied. Jeffrey's bot switched into heavy use of the "Mines" in Space Duel and ended up advancing to the final match.

Jeffrey faced Mason in the semi-finals and with 16 seconds left, the game was tied. Jeffrey's bot switched into heavy use of the "Mines" in Space Duel and ended up advancing to the final match and used the same strategy to win against Arlo who had played Ezoza in the other semi-final matchup.

Ezoza, Mason, Jeffrey, and Arlo are all returned in spring 2024. The Spring 2024 Tournament Series is the next chance to earn your spot on this list and in the National Tournament.

With several veterans in their final year of eligibility, the competition for the top spot was tougher than ever. Like in 2021, there were only two ways to make it into the tournament:

• Tournament Winner (TW) - win a regular season tournament
• Points Qualifier (PQ) - score the most points throughout the regular season. (Learn more about scoring)

Only a small percentage made it to the National Tournament, so we have included them here as a recognition of their hard work. With the exception of the top two finishers, players are sorted by their points scored during the 2022 regular season.

Coming in to 2022, Nico was looking to defend his title from 2021. Mason had lost to Nico in the first round of the 2021 National Tournament. This high-stakes rematch ended in a tie. In Code Championship, efficient code is highly valued, and Mason won the tie-breaker having fewer blocks than Nico. Nico and Mason are both returned for the 2023 season.

The Spring 2024 Tournament Series is the next chance to earn your spot on this list and in the National Tournament.

With more competitors than ever before, the stakes were raised in the 2021 season. There were only two ways to make it into the tournament:

• Tournament Winner (TW) - win a regular season tournament
• Points Qualifier (PQ) - score the most points throughout the regular season. (Learn more about scoring)

With more competitors than ever before, only a small percentage made it to the National Tournament, so we have included them here as a recognition of their hard work. With the exception of the top two finishers, players are sorted by their points scored during the 2021 regular season.

Nico L and Sebby B squared off in the final match of 2021 after earning their places in the National Tournament as regular season tournament winners and winning multiple pool and bracket play games. Nico clinched this year's title with a never-before-seen "two bot" strategy. This set the stage for a new level of play for the coders in our 2022 Spring Tournament Series.

The Spring 2024 Tournament Series is the next chance to earn your spot on this list and in the National Tournament.

If you've been a part of Code Championship for long, you know these three names. 2020 was the first season where competitors needed to win a regular season tournament to earn a place in the National Tournament - qualifying through points wasn't an option in 2020, so Aaron, Sebby, and Josh all won at least one tournament during the regular season. These three Code Championship veterans fought for the title.

Aaron and Sebby had both shown impressive week-over-week performances - both won multiple tournaments during the regular season. Sebby made the final match for his second time, setting up an incredible final matchup between two of the all-time greatest Code Championship coders. Aaron managed to win the final match and earned his place as the 2020 National Tournament winner.

In 2019, the National Tournament was split into two categories: one for 12 and under and one for 15 and under. Sebby B won both. Not only is Sebby one of the top coders of all time - with unmatched finishes in the Top 2 every year - his incredibly welcoming personality set the precedent for all future National Tournament winners.