New Delhi/ Patna: American crossword solvers dominated the opening round of the Indian Crossword League (IXL) 2026, taking the first two positions, while an Australian contestant finished third.
Erik Agard of Kansas City, United States, topped the Round 1 leaderboard, followed by fellow American solver Matthew Marcus of Portland.
Philip Coote of Canberra, Australia, secured third place, giving international contestants the top three positions in the opening round.
Indian Solvers Among Top Six
Ramakrishnan K Krishnan of Chennai was the highest-ranked Indian participant, finishing fourth.
He was followed by Abhay Phadnis of Mysore in fifth place and Aditi Gupta of Darbhanga in sixth.
International Field
The Round 1 leaderboard featured contestants from several countries, including the United States, Australia, Bahrain, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and India.
The results underline the international participation in IXL 2026 as contestants continue competing for honours in one of India’s prominent crossword competitions
