Topcoder Open Explained

Topcoder Open (TCO)
Frequency:Annually
Country:United States
Years Active:2001–2023
First:November 2–3, 2001
Last:November 17–19, 2022
Activity:Competitive programming, data science, design, software development
Organized:Topcoder

Topcoder Open (TCO) was an annual design, software development, data science and competitive programming championship organized by Topcoder, and hosted in different venues around the United States.[1] [2] [3] In the first two years, 2001 and 2002, the tournament was titled TopCoder Invitational.

In addition to the main championship, from 2001 to 2007, Topcoder organized an annual TopCoder Collegiate Challenge tournament, for college students only.[4] [5] The TopCoder High School competition was held from 2007 to 2010.

From 2015, Topcoder Regional events were held through the year in different countries.[6]

In 2020–2023, in-person Topcoder Open finals were cancelled and replaced by virtual events due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent economic slowdown. The 2023 Topcoder Open was the final edition of the contest.[7]

Competition tracks

Competition tracks included in the Topcoder Open tournament changed through its history. Many of them resemble the types of challenges offered to Topcoder Community through the year, but there is no 1:1 match. Here is the alphabetical list of all competition tracks ever present at TCO:

Algorithm Competition (SRM)

Timeline: 2001 – 2022

Champions: Gennady Korotkevich tourist (2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2014); Petr Mitrichev Petr (2018, 2015, 2013, 2006); Yuhao Du xudyh (2017); Makoto Soejima rng_58 (2016, 2011, 2010); Egor Kulikov Egor (2012); Bin Jin crazyb0y (2009); tomek (2008, 2004, 2003); Jan Kuipers Jan_Kuipers (2007); Eryx (2005); John Dethridge John Dethridge (2002); jonmac (2001).

Details:

This was the only track that was present at all main TCO events and at most of the other Topcoder events. It followed the format of regular 1.5 hours Single Round Matches:[8]

First to Finish (F2F)

Timeline: 2009 – 2014, 2016 – 2022

Champions: Fatih Tas neonray (2022); Thomas Kranitsas thomaskranitsas (2021); Victor Roberto Gomes da Cunha cunhavictor (2020); Dilip Kumar Thapa veshu (2019); Dmitry Kondakov kondakovdmitry (2018); Akinwale Ariwodola akinwale (2017, 2014); vvvpig (2016); Pratap Koritala supercharger (2013); Lan Luo hohosky (2012); Yang Li Yeung (2011); Margaryta Skrypachova Margarita (2010); Ninghai Huang PE (2009).

Details:

This was officially called Mod Dash from 2009 to 2013, and First2Finish from then on. Competitors were provided with a set of small programming tasks, such as bug fixes or enhancements in an existing codebase, and they received scores based on who correctly solved each task first. The exact rules for on-site competition varied from year to year.

Information Architecture

Timeline: 2015 only.

Champions: Silvana Vacchina f0rc0d3r (2015).

Details:

This provided competitors with client requirements for a software product, and they were asked to create a wireframe mockup of the future app or website.

Marathon Match (MM)

Timeline: 2007 – 2022

Champions: Psyho (2022, 2017, 2016, 2014, 2013, 2011, 2008); Catalin-Stefan Tiseanu CatalinT (2021); Hironao Tsutsumida iehn (2020); Gennady Korotkevich tourist (2019, 2018); Tiancheng Lou ACRush (2015); Won-Seok Yoo ainu7 (2012); Yoichi Iwata wata (2010); Andrey Lopatin KOTEHOK (2009); Mateusz Zotkiewicz Mojito1 (2007).

Details:

This was officially called Marathon from 2007 to 2022. It followed the format of regular MM competitions: 1–2 weeks for online competitions or 1 day during on-site competitions. Competitors were provided with the same algorithmic or data science problem, which was judged objectively with a live leaderboard which was visible to everyone. Each competitor could submit multiple times with no penalties, with the goal to submit a code that scores the maximal possible amount of scores on that problem. During the competition, the leaderboard was generated based on submissions testing against a limited number of test cases, and, after the contest, the final results were determined with testing against a larger test dataset.

Quality Assurance Competition (QA)

Timeline: 2019 – 2022

Champions: Nuwan Gunarathne codejam (2022, 2021, 2020); Vladimir Timofejev v.t. (2019)

Details:

The QA competition included structured and unstructured testing, structured test case writing, and automated testing.

Software Design

Timeline: 2004–2014

Champions: Meng Wang albertwang (2014, 2013); Michael Paweska argolite (2012, 2010); WuJian Ye BLE (2011); Olexiy Sadovnikov saarixx (2009); Tim Roberts Pops (2008, 2006); Sergey Kalinchenko kyky (2007); Nikolay Archak nicka81 (2005); Adrian Carcu adic (2004).

Details:

This was officially called Component Design from 2004 to 2009, and Design from 2010 to 2014. Competitors were asked to take client requirements for a software component or product as input and produce development documentation or technical specifications. Solutions were evaluated by a panel of judges according to objective scorecards.

Software Development

Timeline: 2004 – 2022

Champions: xxcxy (2022); Jiang Liwu jiangliwu (2021, 2019); Dr. Sergey Pogodin birdofpreyru (2020, 2017); Ngoc Pham ngoctay (2018); Łukasz Sentkiewicz Sky_ (2016, 2015, 2014); Zhijie Liu morehappiness (2013); Yang Li Yeung (2012, 2010); Franklin Guevarra j3_guile (2011); GuanZhuo Jin Standlove (2009Architecture, 2004); Pablo Wolfus pulky (2009Assembly); Yanbo Wu assistant (2009Component Development); Piotr Paweska AleaActaEst (2009Specification); Romano Silva romanoTC (2008); Feng He hefeng (2007); Sindunata Sudarmagi sindu (2006); Qi Liu visualage (2005).

Details:

This was officially called Component Development from 2004 to 2009, and Development from 2010 to 2022. The actual rules differed from year to year, but, typically, competitors were presented with technical specifications for development of a software component, application, or tool, or they were presented with more open, hackathon-style requirements, which they must implement in the best possible way in 4 hours. Submitted solutions were evaluated by a panel of judges according to objective scorecards.

UI Design

Timeline: 2007 – 2022

Champions: Teeraporn Sriponpak iamtong (2022, 2021, 2020, 2018, 2012); L. O. I. (2019); Panji Kharisma kharm (2017); Junius Albertho abedavera (2016, 2015, 2013, 2011); Faridah Amalia Mandaga fairy_ley (2014); Tri Joko Rubiyanto djackmania (2010); Dale Napier djnapier (2009); Nino Rey Ronda oninkxronda (2008); Yiming Liao yiming (2007).

Details:

The event was officially called Studio from 2007 to 2014, and UI Design from 2015 onwards. Competitors, provided with client requirements, were asked to create the best user interface design for a software product.

UI Prototype

Timeline: 2015–2018

Champions: Mouly Gunarathne moulyg (2018, 2017, 2016); Dileepa Balasuriya dileepa (2015).

Details:

Competitors were provided with design specifications for a website or web-application, and they were required to create a working prototype of the frontend within approximately 4 hours. The resulting submissions were judged against objective scorecards.

List of Topcoder Open events

These are the main Topcoder Open events where champions were determined.

The list of Topcoder Open events, and their winners[9]
DateEventVenueCompetition Tracks,[10] and Their Champions[11]
Nov 15–18, 2022TCO22 (online)[12] OnlineDev (xxcxy), Dg (Teeraporn Sriponpak iamtong), F2F (Fatih Tas neonray), MM (Psyho), QA (Nuwan Gunarathne codejam), SRM (Gennady Korotkevich tourist)
Nov 13–20, 2021 TCO21 (online)[13] OnlineDev (Jiang Liwu jiangliwu), Dg (Teeraporn Sriponpak iamtong), F2F ( Thomas Kranitsas thomaskranitsas), MM (Catalin-Stefan Tiseanu CatalinT), QA (Nuwan Gunarathne codejam), SRM (Gennady Korotkevich tourist)
Nov 13–22, 2020TCO20[14] (online[15])Online, at hopin.to platform.Dev (Sergey Pogodin birdofpreyru), Dg (Teeraporn Sriponpak iamtong), F2F (Victor Roberto Gomes da Cunha cunhavictor), MM (Hironao Tsutsumida iehn), QA (Nuwan Gunarathne codejam), SRM (Gennady Korotkevich tourist)
Nov 13–16, 2019TCO19[16] (Houston, TX, USA)InterContinental Houston – Medical CenterDev (Jiang Liwu jiangliwu), Dg (L. O. I.), F2F ( Dilip Kumar Thapa veshu), MM (Gennady Korotkevich tourist), QA (Vladimir Timofejev v.t.), SRM (Gennady Korotkevich tourist)
Nov 13–16, 2018TCO18 (Dallas, TX, USA)[17] [18] [19] [20] Southfork RanchDev (Ngoc Pham ngoctay), Dg (Teeraporn Sriponpak iamtong), F2F (Dmitry Kondakov kondakovdmitry), MM (Gennady Korotkevich tourist), Pr (Mouly Gunarathne moulyg), SRM ( Petr Mitrichev Petr)
Oct 21–24, 2017TCO17 (Buffalo, NY, USA)[21] [22] [23] [24] Buffalo Niagara Medical CampusDev (Sergey Pogodin birdofpreyru), Dg (Panji Kharisma kharm), F2F (Akinwale Ariwodola akinwale), MM (Psyho), Pr (Mouly Gunarathne moulyg), SRM (Yuhao Du xudyh)
Nov 18–21, 2016TCO16 (Washington DC, USA)[25] Booz Allen Hamilton Innovation CenterDev (Łukasz Sentkiewicz Sky_), Dg (Junius Albertho abedavera), F2F (vvvpig), MM (Psyho), Pr (Mouly Gunarathne moulyg), SRM (Makoto Soejima rng_58)
Nov 8–10, 2015TCO15 (Indianapolis, IN, USA)Omni Severin HotelDev (Łukasz Sentkiewicz Sky_), IA (Silvana Vacchina f0rc0d3r), MM (TianCheng Lou ACRush), SRM (Petr Mitrichev Petr)
Sep 21–22, 2015TCO15 – Yogyakarta (Indonesia)[26] [27] Eastparc HotelDg (Junius Albertho abedavera), Pr (Dileepa Balasuriya dileepa)
Nov 16–19, 2014TCO14 – San Francisco (CA, USA)[28] [29] [30] [31] Pier 48Dev (Łukasz Sentkiewicz Sky_), Dg (Faridah Amalia Mandaga fairy_ley), F2F (Akinwale Ariwodola akinwale), MM (Psyho), SDg (Meng Wang albertwang), SRM (Gennady Korotkevich tourist)
Nov 10–14, 2013TCO13 (Washington DC, USA)[32] [33] Capital Hilton HotelDev (Zhijie Liu morehappiness), Dg (Junius Albertho abedavera), F2F (Pratap Koritala supercharger), MM (Psyho), SDg (Meng Wang albertwang), SRM (Petr Mitrichev Petr)
Sep 30 – October 4, 2012TCO12 (Orlando, FL, USA)[34] [35] Caribe Royale HotelDev (Yang Li Yeung), Dg (Teeraporn Sriponpak iamtong), F2F (Kan Luo hohosky), MM (Won-Seok Yoo ainu7), SDg (Michael Paweska argolite), SRM (Egor Egor)
Sep 25–28, 2011TCO11 (Hollywood, FL, USA)[36] Westin Diplomat Resort & SpaDev (Franklin Guevarra j3_guile), Dg (Junius Albertho abedavera), F2F (Yang Lee Yeung), MM (Psyho), SDg (WuJian Ye BLE), SRM (Makoto Soejima rng_58)
Oct 11–14, 2010TCO10 (Las Vegas, NV, USA)[37] The MirageDev (Yang Li Yeung), Dg (Tri Joko Rubiyanto djackmania), F2F (Margaryta Skrypachova Margarita), MM (Yoichi Iwata wata), SDg (Michael Paweska argolite), SRM (Makoto Soejima rng_58)
Jun 1–4, 2009TCO09 (Las Vegas, NV, USA)[38] The MirageDev[39] (Architecutre: GuanZhuo Jin Standlove; Assembly: Pablo Wolfus pulky; Component Development: Yanbo Wu assistant; Specification: Piotr Paweska AleaActaEst), Dg (Dale Napier djnapier), F2F (Ninghai Huang PE), MM (Andrey Lopatin KOTEHOK), SDg (Olexiy Sadovnikov saarixx), SRM (Bin Jin crazyb0y)
May 11–15, 2008TCO08 (Las Vegas, NV, USA)[40] [41] The MirageDev (Romano Silva romanoTC), Dg (Nino Rey Ronda oninkxronda), MM (Psyho), SDg (Tim Roberts Pops), SRM (tomek)
Jun 26–29, 2007TCO07 (Las Vegas, NV, USA)[42] [43] The MirageDev (Feng He hefeng), Dg (Yiming Liao yiming), MM (Mateusz Zotkiewicz Mojito1), SDg (Sergey Kalinchenko kyky), SRM (Jan Kuipers Jan_Kuipers)
May 3–5, 2006TCO06 (Las Vegas, NV, USA)[44] [45] [46] [47] Aladdin Resort and CasinoDev (Sindunata Sudarmagi sindu), SDg (Tim Roberts Pops), SRM (Petr Mitrichev Petr)
Oct 12–14, 2005TCO05 (Santa Clara, CA, USA)[48] [49] Santa Clara MarriotDev (Qi Liu visualage), SDg (Nikolay Archak nicka81), SRM (Eryx)
Nov 11–12, 2004TCO04 (Santa Clara, CA, USA)[50] [51] Santa Clara MarriotDev (GuanZhuo Jin Standlove), SDg (Adrian Carcu adic), SRM (tomek)
Dec 4–5, 2003TCO03 (Uncasville, CT, USA)[52] [53] Mohegan Sun CasinoSRM (tomek)
Nov 22–23, 2002TCI02 (Uncasville, CT, USA)[54] [55] [56] Mohegan Sun CasinoSRM (John Dethridge John Dethridge)
Nov 2–3, 2001TCI01 (Mashantucket, CT, USA)[57] [58] Foxwoods Resort CasinoSRM (jonmac)

Topcoder Open victories by countries represented by champions

Topcoder Open Victories by Countries Represented by Champions[59]
CountryTotalCompetition Tracks
DevDgF2FIAMMPrQASDgSRM
Argentina11
Australia211
Belarus725
Brasil211
Canada312
China221114132
Greece11
India211
Indonesia817
Japan523
Latvia11
Nepal11
Netherlands11
Nigeria22
Philippines211
Poland15384
Romania211
Russia81115
South Korea11
Spain321
Sri Lanka743
Thailand55
Turkey11
Ukraine211
Vietnam11
USA431

Notes and References

  1. News: Rock star coders. Brandel. Mary. January 22, 2008. Computerworld. April 29, 2018.
  2. News: Jiazhi Wu: Programming's Crack Competitor. Lai. Eric. July 9, 2007. Computerworld. April 29, 2018.
  3. News: Programming as a sport. Grover. Sahil. December 2, 2017. Medium. April 30, 2017.
  4. News: TopCoders Vie For College Crown. Meloan. Steve. April 2003. Oracle Technology Network. April 30, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180430120057/http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/topcoder-141267.html?printOnly=1. 30 April 2018.
  5. News: College coders vie for cash in enterprise-sponsored contest. Kanaracus. Chris. October 1, 2007. Computerworld. April 30, 2018.
  6. News: TopCoder Open 2016. September 5, 2016. ITMO Tech. April 30, 2018.
  7. Web site: February 24, 2023 . FAQ - TOPCODER COMMUNITY TOWN HALL WITH DOUG HANSON, TOPCODER CEO . February 25, 2023 . Topcoder.
  8. Web site: SRM Overview. Sial. Rashid. April 25, 2017. Topcoder Help Center. April 23, 2018.
  9. Web site: The list of main Topcoder Open events. Topcoder. April 19, 2018.
  10. The following abbreviations are used in the table "The list of Topcoder Open and Regional events": Dev = Software Development (Code); Dg = UI Design (also called as Studio Design); DS = Data Science; F2F = First to Finish (also called Mod Dash); IA = Information Architecture (Wireframes); MM = Marathon Match; Pr = UI Prototype; QA = Quality Assurance Competition; SDg = Software Design (also called Component Design, and just Design); SRM = Algorithm.
  11. Topcoder member nicknames are given in italic
  12. Web site: 2022 Topcoder Open.
  13. Web site: 2021 Topcoder Open .
  14. Web site: 2020 Topcoder Open.
  15. Originally planned to be held in Seattle, WA, USA; held online due to COVID-19 pandemic.
  16. Web site: 2019 Topcoder Open. 2019 Topcoder Open. September 8, 2018.
  17. Web site: Topcoder Open 2018.
  18. Web site: TCO at the Ranch. Topcoder Open 2018. July 9, 2018.
  19. News: Gennadiy Korotkevich Wins 2018 Topcoder Open Marathon. November 19, 2018. ITMO.News. November 23, 2018.
  20. Web site: Crowdsourcing, Data Science Top Talks at the 2018 Topcoder Open. Ford. Jessie. December 13, 2018. DevOps.com. December 13, 2018.
  21. Web site: Topcoder Open 2017.
  22. News: Impact of 2017 Topcoder Open on Our Community. December 7, 2017. Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus Blog. April 14, 2018.
  23. News: Medical Campus brings best in the world to Buffalo for coding event. Lehman. Jeol. October 6, 2017. Upstart NY. April 14, 2018.
  24. News: BPS Student James Shippens Takes 1st Place In Topcoder Open. Shippens. Eve. October 26, 2017. BPTO – Buffalo Parent-Teacher Organization. April 14, 2018.
  25. Web site: Topcoder Open 2016.
  26. Web site: Topcoder Open 2015. April 16, 2018.
  27. In 2015, on-site finals for UI Design and UI Prototype competitions were held at TCO15 Yogyakarta event; and other on-site finals: Competitive Programming (SMR), Information Architecture, Marathon Match, Software Development were held at TCO15 Indianapolis event.
  28. News: August 27, 2015. Poland has the world's best programmers – and here's proof. Medium. April 30, 2018.
  29. News: Weinberger. Matt. November 18, 2014. Microsoft: "Nobody loves developers more than us". Computerworld. April 30, 2018.
  30. Web site: Topcoder Open 2014. April 16, 2018.
  31. News: Appirio and Industry Leaders Host 2014 Topcoder Open to Celebrate How Developers Are Changing the World. October 29, 2014. CISION PR Newswire. April 23, 2018.
  32. Web site: Topcoder Open 2013. April 18, 2018.
  33. News: Leaders in Change and Innovation to Keynote TopCoder Open Innovation Summit. October 15, 2013. Market Wire. April 23, 2018.
  34. Web site: 2012 TopCoder Open. April 22, 2018.
  35. News: Polish vice champions of TopCoder Open. October 19, 2012. Science in Poland. April 29, 2018.
  36. Web site: 2011 TopCoder Open. April 22, 2018.
  37. Web site: 2010 TopCoder Open. April 22, 2018.
  38. Web site: 2009 TopCoder Open. April 22, 2018.
  39. Software development competition that year was online-only, and it was divided into Architecture, Assembly, Component Design, Component Development, and Specification sub-tracks.
  40. News: June 3, 2008. Two Filipinos win in 2008 International Software Component Design Competition. Philippine Information Agency. April 30, 2018.
  41. Web site: 2008 TopCoder Open. April 22, 2018.
  42. Web site: 2007 TopCoder Open Sponsored by AOL. April 22, 2018.
  43. Officially titled 2007 TopCoder Open Sponsored by AOL
  44. News: Havenstein. Heather. May 9, 2006. Programming contest garners enterprise interest. Computerworld. April 29, 2018.
  45. News: Krazit. Tom. May 3, 2006. Coding for fame, and dollars. CNet. April 30, 2018.
  46. Web site: 2006 TopCoder Open Sponsored by AMD. April 22, 2018.
  47. Officially titled 2005 TopCoder Open Sponsored by AMD
  48. Web site: 2005 TopCoder Open Sponsored by Sun Microsystems. April 22, 2018.
  49. Officially titled 2005 TopCoder Open Sponsored by Sun Microsystems
  50. Web site: TopCoder Open 2004. April 22, 2018.
  51. Officially titled 2004 TopCoder Open Sponsored by Microsoft
  52. Web site: Topcoder Open 2003. Topcoder. April 22, 2018.
  53. Officially titled 2003 TopCoder Open Sponsored by Intel
  54. Web site: The Land Down Under comes out On Top!. Biondi. Mary Beth. November 23, 2002. Topcoder. April 19, 2018.
  55. News: Consilvio. Jean. December 9, 2002. And the Winner Is.... Computerworld. April 29, 2018.
  56. Officially titled 2002 TopCoder Invitational
  57. Web site: 2001 TopCoder Invitational Recap. Topcoder. April 19, 2018.
  58. Officially titled 2001 TopCoder Invitational
  59. Updated up to TCO22, inclusive