Hey all!

We've created a new 1v1 programming contest format: Lockout. Like in most contests, each round has a set of problems and contestants work to solve them as quickly as they can. In Lockout, however, contestants compete head-to-head and only the first contestant to solve each problem gets the points. Contestants can work on problems in any order, so speed and strategy are crucial to avoid getting sniped! The head-to-head action also makes the contest much more exciting for viewers.

We ran the first edition of Lockout at TCO Finals last month as a double-elimination bracket tournament. All of the finalists who were available competed (and even some of the problem writers) and we got to see a lot of exciting back-and-forth matches! As you can see though, there's still one set left to play. So we'll be streaming Grand Finals of Lockout 0 featuring tourist vs. Um_nik at 9:30 AM PST, right after the end of Good Bye 2019 on Sunday. Tune in at twitch.tv/ttocs45 to see the finals with live commentary from myself and ecnerwala! We'll watch the screens and scoreboard live, talk to tourist and Um_nik to hear their strategies, and even have a special exhibition match afterwards. :)

The finals will feature five problems with the following scoring: 100 — 200 — 300 — 400 — 500. There are 1500 points total, so the first person to get 800 or more points will be the winner. What strategies would you try? Start with A and B, then jump to E if you get them both? Or start with E, and try to win outright with either C or D afterwards? Read all the problems first and then choose a strategy based on what your opponent solves first? Let us know your thoughts!