Eric Reinhardt may not know much about doo-wop, but he does know just about everything else.
He took first place at the Third Annual North Florida Crossword Tournament, held at the Savannah Grande in downtown Gainesville, by making only one mistake.
When asked to identify a doo-wop syllable, a reference to a genre of 50s music, he wrote a "c" where the "s" should have been in "sha".
He finished his puzzle in a local record-breaking 22 minutes.
About 70 people from around the U.S. participated in the tournament Saturday morning.
"We're surrounded by the smartest people in Gainesville," said Jeannette Peters, 49, who competed in the tournament.
Reinhardt, a 72-year-old Jacksonville resident, won a trip to New York for the National Crossword Championship.
"I just see little boxes that need letters put in them," said Reinhardt, a retired computer programmer.
During the final round, the top three contestants filled out large-scale puzzles in front of an audience.
About 75 people watched the puzzlers, some of them scratching out their own answers on extra copies.
Merl Reagel, a crossword celebrity featured in the documentary "Wordplay," provided play-by-play analysis as the puzzles were being completed.
The contestants could only vaguely hear him through earplugs and muffling headphones.
"I wouldn't wish that puzzle on my worst crossword enemy," Reagel said. "Actually, make that my second worst crossword enemy."
Reagel also created a puzzle for the competition, which featured his distinct style of themed, corny clues.
Reagel writes about one puzzle per week for the New York Times.
"It was typical Merl," Reinhardt said.
The puzzles theme was "types of rooms," with clues leading to answers such as 'back room' and 'mushroom.'
Many first-time crossword contest observers were surprised at how fun it was to watch and play along with the puzzlers.
"I'm not going to lie," said Kristen Wilkie, 21, who volunteered at the competition. "It's a lot more exciting than I thought it would be."
