THE BEST IN THE WORLD
The elite few who've conquered the hexagonal grid and proven that no scramble is unsolvable, no page unmasterable.
CLAYTON STALLINGS
Computer Science student at BYU with a perfect 4.0 GPA, Clayton approaches Hexagonal Stratagem the same way he approaches Kubernetes clusters — by architecting systems so elegant they're impossible to dismantle. A DevOps Engineer by day, he built Jenkins CI/CD pipelines and managed infrastructure for 30+ university websites, but at night he deploys devastating Phantom maneuvers on the hex grid. His time as a Data Science Intern at Mérieux NutriSciences in Qingdao, China — where he fine-tuned LLMs and built RAG frameworks — gave him an almost algorithmic ability to read scrambled boards. Fluent in Mandarin (李安克), he dominated the 2025 Asia-Pacific Invitational and has been unstoppable since. His signature move, the "Stallings Pipeline," chains Phantom teleports through three Rift Hexes in a single turn. Incoming Software Engineering Intern at Pattern® for Summer 2026 — if he's not too busy defending his world title.
CARTER YEATES
Co-Founder and President of the BYU Trivia Club — the very organization hosting the 2026 World Championships — Carter doesn't just play Hexagonal Stratagem; he evangelizes it. A Finance and Management student at BYU, Carter brings the same analytical rigor to the hex grid that earned him a Finance Internship at Freddie Mac and an Operational Strategy Externship at Amazon. His Architect-heavy playstyle is rooted in his obsession with logic puzzles, critical thinking, and strategic case studies — skills he hones daily running the Trivia Club. An Eagle Scout and Goldman Sachs ALPFA Scholar, Carter's discipline is legendary: he once audited 6,000+ inventory items at BYU Dining Services and supervised 10 employees, all while maintaining a tournament win streak of 34 consecutive matches. His signature "Yeates Rotation" — an Architect maneuver that flips the board state in two moves — has become a staple of competitive play. Fluent in Mandarin at a conversational level, he and Clayton regularly strategize in Chinese to confuse opponents at international events.
YUKI NAKAMURA
Nobody reads a scrambled board faster than Yuki. The 22-year-old prodigy from Osaka holds the world record for fastest competitive match — 4 minutes, 37 seconds — achieved at the 2025 Pacific Invitational using an all-Vanguard blitz that left her opponent stunned. She's known for unorthodox openings that exploit rare tile configurations most players overlook. Currently sponsored by three esports organizations and streaming her practice sessions to 200K+ followers.
DIEGO OLIVEIRA
The only player to win a World Championship match using all three victory conditions in a single tournament (Worlds 2024). Diego grew up playing on handmade boards in São Paulo before the international circuit discovered him in 2022. His intuitive understanding of Rift Hex teleportation patterns borders on precognitive — opponents swear he knows where their Pages will land before they do. He's the reigning South American champion and a fan favorite for his charismatic post-match breakdowns.
AMARA WELLINGTON
Amara has the longest unbeaten streak in competitive play: 41 consecutive matches without a loss (2024–2025). A defensive virtuoso from London, she pioneered the "Hex Fortress" strategy — a Fortify-heavy approach combined with precise Architect rotations that creates an impenetrable defensive position. Critics call her style boring; she calls it "mathematically optimal." She holds dual degrees in game theory and architectural design, and she designs custom hex-tile sets in her spare time.
ERIK RASK
Pure aggression, zero apology. The Swedish phenom burst onto the scene at age 19 with a Vanguard-dominated playstyle that dismantles defensive setups in record time. Erik treats every match like a blitz — his average game length is under 8 minutes, half the tournament median. He's also the youngest player ever to qualify for Worlds (2023, age 18). Currently studying cognitive science at Uppsala University, he claims his research into rapid decision-making directly improves his Hex play.