Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2023-11-06/WikiCup report

After ten months of creating, expanding and reviewing articles, the 2023 edition of the WikiCup, the English Wikipedia's annual editing competition, has concluded.

The new champion of Wikipedia is ... (drum roll) ... myself? I never saw that one coming — especially considering that I was the last person to qualify in Round 3, as well as the last in Round 4 — but yes. I, BeanieFan11, am now the 14th champion in the WikiCup's history; second place honors went to Thebiguglyalien, followed by Epicgenius in third.

Over the course of the competition, editors achieved 60 featured articles, 15 featured lists, six featured pictures, 397 good articles, over 300 Did you know entries, and 120 In the news articles; the competition also led to 545 good article reviews and 298 featured article reviews, so clearly this resulted in great improvement to the encyclopedia!

A brief history

 * See also: The WikiCup 2021.

The WikiCup began humbly in 2007 with 12 competitors, scoring being based primarily on edit counts and unique page edits. The competition adopted its present form in 2009, with points awarded for featured articles, lists and pictures, along with good articles, In the news and Did you know. There were 60 contestants that year and 120 the next, and the contest has taken place annually ever since.

The finalists

 * 1)  BeanieFan11 – Specializing in sports (specifically American football), I achieved a total of 2,586 points in the final round, scoring from one featured article (C. O. Brocato), 21 Did you know items, 61 good articles (the most points achieved in a final in that category since 2010), four In the news items as well as a small amount of bonus points. In previous rounds, I was 35th (Round 1, with 55 points off DYKs), 16th (Round 2, with 161 points from DYKs and ITNs), 16th (Round 3, with 175 points from DYKs and ITNs) and 8th (Round 4, with 673 points from GAs, DYKs and ITNs). I finished as the overall leader in good articles achieved (75).
 * 2)  Thebiguglyalien – Thebiguglyalien placed second with a total of 1,615 points, having earned them from a featured article on Barbara Bush, 11 good articles on various topics including Iron Man, U.S. first ladies and Greek philosophers, several reviews, a pair of DYKs and ITNs, along with a mass of bonus points. In prior rounds, Thebiguglyalien was 7th (Round 1, 455 points from GAs and reviews), 7th (Round 2, 415 points from five categories), 1st (Round 3, 919 points in five categories, including an FA on Frances Cleveland) and 3rd (Round 4, 1,535 points including an FA on Lou Henry Hoover).
 * 3)  Epicgenius – Focusing on New York buildings, Epicgenius took third place with 1,518 points, having done in the final round two featured articles (Lever House, 550 Madison Avenue), several reviews, a good topic of 41 articles, 11 good articles and eight DYKs. Previously, Epicgenius had come in 2nd (Round 1, 789 points in four categories), 3rd (Round 2, 636 points in three categories), 5th (Round 3, 526 points in four categories) and 1st (Round 4, 2,173 points in four categories). He was the only person to have a featured article in every round and finished as the overall leader in DYKs and good topic articles.
 * 4)  MyCatIsAChonk – Fourth place was MyCatIsAChonk, who had 1,012 points in the finals, from two FAs (Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption, Appalachian Spring), several featured lists, many reviews and three DYKs. MyCatIsAChonk had previously placed 22nd (Round 1, 118 points in three categories), 8th (Round 2, 364 points, four categories), 5th (Round 3, 460 points, four categories including an FA) and 4th (Round 4, 1,116 points in seven categories including an FA). MyCatIsAChonk finished as the overall leader in featured lists, featured pictures, and featured article reviews.
 * 5)  BennyOnTheLoose – With 974 points in the finals, BennyOnTheLoose was fifth place. He worked on articles relating to songs and snooker, having two FAs (Terry Griffiths, Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands), FLs, several reviews, five GAs and a DYK. In previous rounds, he was 15th (Round 1, 313 points), 4th (Round 2, 553 points), 7th (Round 3, 423 points) and 5th (1,073 points). He had six featured articles achieved throughout the competition, tied with Epicgenius and Iazyges for second-most.
 * 6)  AirshipJungleman29 – In sixth came AirshipJungleman29, who totaled 673 points in the final round from an FA on Tolui, two reviews and a GA on Hö'elün. Previously, he had come in 23rd (Round 1, 116 points), 10th (Round 2, 334 points), 13th (Round 3, 306 points) and 6th (Round 4, 761 points). He achieved a total of four featured articles in the competition.
 * 7)  Sammi Brie – Mainly working on articles relating to radio and television stations, Sammi Brie took seventh with 520 points, with a featured article on KCPQ, several GA/FAC reviews, five GAs and six DYKs. In previous rounds, Sammi Brie placed 8th (Round 1, 407 points), 6th (Round 2, 459 points), 12th (Round 3, 538 points) and 2nd (Round, 1,575 points). This user achieved two featured articles in the competition and finished as the overall leader in GA reviews with 115.
 * 8)  Unlimitedlead – Although only achieving five points with a FAC review in the final round, Unlimitedlead was active in prior rounds. Working on historical topics, Unlimitedlead was the overall leader in points in Round 1 (1,205 points), was second in Round 2 (847 points), second in Round 3 (862 points) and seventh in Round 4 (676 points). Despite having none in the finals, this user finished as the overall leader in featured articles achieved with seven, additionally being one of only two (Iazyges) to have three in one round.

Eliminated in Round 4

 * 1)  PCN02WPS – ninth place went to PCN02WPS, who had 525 points in Round 4. He had featured articles in Rounds 2, 3 and 4.
 * 2)   – 374 points in Round 4 including an FA; achieved an FA in Round 3 as well with 400 points total.
 * 3)  LunaEatsTuna – 370 points in Round 4 including an FA; achieved one in Round 2 as well, while having a top performance of 502 points in Round 1; was top GA reviewer in Rounds 1 and 3.
 * 4) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Lee Vilenski – Winner of last year's competition, as well as the one in 2020, and runner-up in 2021 and 2019, Lee Vilenski came in 12th with 276 points in Round 4. His top score came in Round 1 with 365 points including an FA, good enough for 10th in that round. He also was the only participant to score any points from a featured topic, having done so in Round 4.
 * 5)  Kusma – 184 points in Round 4; best score was 435 (including an FA) and a 6th-place finish in Round 3.
 * 6) 🇺🇦 Muboshgu – 149 points, mainly from ITN items, in Round 4; best performance was 196 and a 15th-place finish in Round 3; was the competition's overall leader in ITN items with 46.
 * 7) Iazyges – No points in Round 4, but was 3rd in Round 3 with 560 points, 1st in Round 2 with 1,040 points, and 5th in Round 1 with 532 points; achieved sixth featured articles in the first three rounds, tied for second-best, and was one of two to have three in one round.
 * 8)  Trainsandotherthings – Withdrew in Round 4; best performance was 384 points in Round 1; had two featured articles.

Eliminated in Round 3

 * 1) Sarrail (now Tails Wx) – 164 points from ITN and DYK items in Round 3; one more ITN would have knocked out the eventual WikiCup champion.
 * 2)  Riley1012 – 119 points in Round 3.
 * 3)  Nomader – 81 points in Round 3; best total was 113 in Round 2.
 * 4) 🇮🇩 Juxlos – 72 points in Round 3; 11th in Round 1 with 331 points including an FA.
 * 5)  Tamzin – 70 points in Round 3; best score was 145 in Round 1.
 * 6)  The C of E – The first person to sign up for the competition; 69 points in Round 3 was top score.
 * 7)  SounderBruce – 67 points in Round 3; was 13th in Round 1 with 326 points including an FA.
 * 8)  Steelkamp – 67 points in Round 3; was 13th with 215 points including an FA in Round 2.
 * 9) 🇻🇪 Kingsif – 60 points in Round 3; 104 in Round 2 was top performance.
 * 10) 🇺🇸 Newtothisedit – 45 points in Round 3; best was 129 points in Round 1.
 * 11)  Z1720 – 45 points in Round 3; had 70 points in Round 2.
 * 12)  Guerillero – 40 points in Round 3; 205 points including an FA in Round 2.
 * 13)  Red-tailed hawk – 17 points in Round 3; 89 points in Round 1 was best.
 * 14)  John M Wolfson – Zero points in Round 3; 205 in Round 1 was top performance.
 * 15) 🇺🇸 Ceranthor – Zero points in Round 3; 60 points in Round 2 was top score, being the last qualifier in that round.
 * 16) 🇩🇪 FrB.TG – Withdrew in Round 3; was previously 5th place in Round 2 (525 points including an FA) and 3rd in Round 1 (625 points including an FA).

Eliminated in Round 2

 * 1)  Tayi Arajakate – The last person to sign up for the competition; 55 points in Round 2, 5 in Round 1 to be the final qualifier (along with Casualdejekyll).
 * 2)  theleekycauldron – 52 points in Round 2; scored 65 in Round 1.
 * 3)  Oltrepier – 47 points in Round 2; 52 in Round 1.
 * 4)  Unexpectedlydian – 35 points in Round 2; was 12th with 330 points in Round 1.
 * 5) 🇵🇷 magiciandude – 35 points in Round 2; 105 in Round 1.
 * 6)  Ffranc – 32 points in Round 2; 35 in Round 1.
 * 7)  HickoryOughtShirt?4 – 30 points in Round 2; 21 in Round 1.
 * 8) Vexilloid of the Roman Empire.svg  – 30 points in Round 2; 55 in Round 1.
 * 9)  Bilorv – 25 points in Round 2; 50 in Round 1.
 * 10)  Ktin – 12 points in Round 2; 114 in Round 1.
 * 11) 🇪🇺 Modussiccandi – 10 points in Round 2; same score in Round 1.
 * 12) 🇺🇸 TheJoebro64 – 10 points in Round 2, after having scored 600, including two FAs, for a 4th-place total in Round 1.
 * 13)  ezlev – 5 points in Round 2; 80 in Round 1.
 * 14) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Kosack – No points in Round 2; was 14th place with 316 points, including an FA, in Round 1.
 * 15) 🇳🇿 X750 – No points in Round 2; scored 101 in Round 1.
 * 16)  czar – No points in Round 2; 105 in Round 1.
 * 17)  Dr Salvus (now Wikipediæ philosophia) – Zero points in Round 2; 47 in Round 1.
 * 18) 🇬🇧 Max263 – Zero points in Round 2; 10 in Round 1.
 * 19) 🇷🇼 Amakuru – No points in Round 2; 24 in Round 1.
 * 20) 🇦🇶 Mucube – No points in Round 2; Six points in Round 1.
 * 21)  SL93 – Zero points in Round 2; 93 in Round 1.
 * 22) 🇸🇨 casualdejekyll – Withdrew in Round 2 after having been the last qualifier (with Tayi Arajakate) in Round 1 with five points.

Eliminated in Round 1

 * 34 of the 89 entrants were eliminated in Round 1, after having scored no points; you can find their names here.

Concluding notes
A thank you goes out to all of the participants of the 2023 WikiCup for their hard work, and the benefit it has had on the encyclopedia. Signups for the 2024 competition are open; you can enter here. Note that judge Cwmhiraeth is retiring after this contest. We thank her for her contributions to the WikiCup, and hope that someone else will be willing to lead the competition.