“Many will enter...only one will emerge as world champion,” the company solemnly intoned in a note on the event page. “In the Hacker Cup, programmers from around the world will be judged on accuracy and speed as they race to solve algorithmic problems to advance through up to five rounds of programming challenges. This is your chance to compete against the world’s best programmers for awesome prizes and the title of World Champion.”
Started in 2011, the Hacker Cup will offer a $10,000 top prize, up from $5,000 last year. It will be conducted in a series of five online rounds taking place between January 25 and February 16, which will whittle the field down to a top 25. Contestants will solve specific problems set before them, judged on their speed as well as their solutions.
Then, the finalists will reach a hacking crescendo of sorts in a final onsite round at the Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., on March 22–23.
The point of all of this? To uncover innovation, the company said. “Hacking is core to how we build at Facebook,” the company said. “Whether we’re building a prototype for a major product like Timeline at a Hackathon, creating a smarter search algorithm or tearing down walls at our new headquarters, we’re always hacking to find better ways to solve problems.”
It’s also a way for Facebook to tap the top programming talent in the world. By making it a democratic process, it opens the field for sheer talent to win out. Qualifying requirements to participate are minimal: they include being a Facebook member who’s over 18, who can provide a real name, address and other personal information. Anonymous members need not apply, apparently.
Last year, 8,000 people from around the world competed before Russian Roman Andreev won. Andreev solved his chosen problem in 64 minutes. Second place, and a prize of $2000, went to Tomek Czajka of the US, who took 65 minutes. Third place and $1,000 went to Tiancheng Lou from China, who took 104 minutes.
Those who registered in the previous two years are automatically registered again this year, Facebook said.