KUALA LUMPUR: Nicholas Yap Sing Tat took eight minutes and 50 seconds to become this year?s New Straits Times Sudoku Challenge main winner.

At the finals at Berjaya Times Square here on Saturday, the 24-year-old student won the grand prize of RM10,000 in the Open category. This was his second try after finishing runner-up last year. The RM8,000 second prize went to Tan Ee Laine, 16, who clocked in at 16 minutes and 29 seconds.

There were also the above 18 and above 50 categories, the parent-and-teen team and the walk-in participation.

For the above 18 category, Muhammad Salehuddin Baharom, 25, won the first prize, bagging RM5,000. For the above 50 category, the RM5,000 first prize winner was Abdul Khalid Daud, 63, while Kandiah Sivasundram, 43, and his daughter Nevasheni won the parent-and-teen team. Sixteen-year-old Barbara Chong Kar Yiang won RM2,000 in the walk-in category.

Note from Sudoku Event Management: The above was published in NST Online on 23rd July 2007.