Trip Payne

With his first victory in 1993, at age 24, Payne became the youngest champion ever in the tournament's history, a record he held until 2005.A member of the National Puzzlers' League since 1986, he served as vice president from 1991 to 1992 and hosted the group's annual convention in Atlanta in 1998.He also appeared briefly on a number of other television shows, including an episode of Nightline about the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament.Mathematically, Plotkin would have finished first had both contestants competed at the live tournament in New York City.Magazines that have run specially commissioned puzzles from Payne include Golf Magazine, Manhattan File, American Times, Out, and many more; corporate clients have included IBM, NPR, Amtrak, MetLife, Dodge, Fox TV, Hanna-Barbera, Fruit of the Loom, and Kleenex.
American Crossword Puzzle TournamentRock Hill, South CarolinaSpartanburgSpartanburg High SchoolEmory UniversityAtlantaGames World of PuzzlesCreators SyndicateWho Wants to Be a MillionaireNew York Times crossword puzzleNational Puzzlers' LeagueWordplayNightlineLollapuzzoolaMillion Dollar PasswordwordokuTV GuideThe New York TimesThe New York SunThe Wall Street JournalSterling PublishingScrabbleYahoo!New York NewsdayAtlanta Journal-ConstitutionNew YorkerUnited Feature SyndicateSimon & SchusterRandom HouseGolf MagazineAmtrakMetLifeFox TVHanna-BarberaFruit of the LoomKleenexBerkley BooksSpartanburg Herald-JournalSun-SentinelEmory Magazinearchive.org