Sometimes, a submission history can raise intriguing questions. In this case, the timeline of attempts feels a little unusual.

00:05:33 Wrong answer on pretest 2 [pretests] → 295571776 (Problem B) 00:08:01 Wrong answer on pretest 1 [pretests] → 295574417 (Problem C) 00:09:08 Accepted [main tests] → 295575503 (Problem A) 00:09:54 Wrong answer on pretest 2 [pretests] → 295576288 (Problem B) 00:11:30 Accepted [main tests] → 295578002 (Problem C) 00:16:45 Wrong answer on pretest 2 [pretests] → 295582833 (Problem B) 00:20:27 Wrong answer on pretest 2 [pretests] → 295585707 (Problem B) 00:24:16 Wrong answer on pretest 1 [pretests] → 295588491 (Problem F) 00:26:56 Accepted [main tests] → 295590381 (Problem B) 00:38:47 Accepted [main tests] → 295598220 (Problem F) 00:47:02 Accepted [main tests] → 295602948 (Problem E) 01:10:49 Wrong answer on pretest 1 [pretests] → 295614463 (Problem D) 01:14:29 Wrong answer on pretest 1 [pretests] → 295615990 (Problem D) 01:17:47 Wrong answer on pretest 2 [pretests] → 295617321 (Problem D)

The participant solved challenging problems like C, E, and F quite quickly, with only a few wrong tries. Yet, they struggled with Problem B, a simpler question, needing five submissions before cracking it. On top of that, there was a lot of jumping between problems—failing at B, solving C almost effortlessly, then returning to B with continued difficulty.

That said, congratulations are definitely in order, he finished second overall! A great result, and it’s always interesting to see how different approaches play out in the heat of competition.