Some 122 student teams battled for the title of World Champions in Programming at the ACM-ICPC 2014 tournament that wrapped up in Ekaterinburg, Russia, on June 25, 2014. The ITMO team was among the top ten teams and brought home bronze. The first place went to St. Petersburg State University. 

The championship is an important evnet in the global programming community. In 2013, St. Petersburg and ITMO University hosted the final for the first time. That year, our student team earned its fifth consecutive medal and the title of absolute champions in programming. This year the final also took place in Russia at the Urals Federal University. 

During the final, teams had to solve 12 programming tasks in five hours. According to the rules, the team that solved the most, won. The teams from St. Petersburg State University and Moscow State University solved seven tasks each, winning the first and the second place. The third place went to Beijing University, with its students solving six tasks. The ITMO team solved five and got the ninth place, qualifying for bronze. 

"Participation in the championship's final takes tremendous preparation," said Fedor Zarev, the 2008 champion. "The ninth place at such a massive competition is a major success."

Zarev is at the helm of the summer programming school that kicked off at ITMO on June 16, 2014. During the school, champions from previous years coached 11 teams from the US, Brazi, Australia, Peru and other countries in preparation for the ACM-ICPC 2014 final. As a result, three teams that participated in the summer school and consequently won the competition showed serious improvement, compared to their previous, results and even passed MIT. The New South Whales team, that also took part in the school, also became the champions of the South Pacific region.

First ACM-ICPC was held in the US in 1977. Russian students took place in it for the first time in 1993. The ITMO team was the first Russian team to make it into the final. In 2013, ITMO became the only five-time ACM-ICPC champion in the world.