Launching Midnight Code Cup — a new generation programming contest for the best problem-solvers in the world
At Recraft, we believe that solving hard problems is more than a skill — it’s a long-term mindset. That’s why we’re excited to introduce Midnight Code Cup (MCC): a new-generation programming competition that’s open to anyone who lives and breathes engineering challenges.
Midnight Code Cup brings back the 24-hour coding format, but with a modern twist. Rather than following traditional rigid templates, the competition is guided by engineering challenges that demand impromptu creativity, precision, and deep exploration.. And since complex problems rarely rely on just one tool, participants are free to use whatever helps, from AI coding assistants to textbooks to compute power.
In this article, we’ll take you inside the competition, introduce the world-class minds behind it, and explain why Recraft is investing in a new generation of engineering excellence.
Midnight Code Cup is organised by Recraft and supported by an exceptional jury, including multiple ICPC (International Collegiate Programming Contest) medalists and members of the NEERC (Northern Eurasia Finals) programming committee. Our team has decades of combined experience in running national and international contests on a large scale.
We’re also proud to stand alongside our fellow sponsors in making this event possible: JetBrains, Jane Street, Neon, Pinely, and Amazon. Together, we’re building a space where the best minds can solve problems that matter.
The MCC jury includes:
…and many others
In April, MCC launched with an open online qualification round: 4 hours and 3 problems to solve the following:
Over 300 teams from 68 countries joined the challenge, applying everything from theoretical CS to real-world toolkits. Solutions were automatically run through checker programs prepared by the jury and hosted at Codeforces, one of the worlds’ largest competitive programming platforms.
The top 30 teams earned a spot in the on-site final, which takes place in Belgrade, Serbia on June 7–8.
"Thanks for reviving the craziest and the most fun programming competition format!"
"Thank you for the great contest! I had so much fun as this was my first time participating in a heuristic-style contest, and I will be looking forward for more for sure!"
"I enjoyed contest but for us 4 hours were not enough. The format of output-only problems is very interesting, I wish having more contests like this"
"I hope to see even crazier problems in the finals!"
Great engineers are more than strong coders — they’re bold thinkers, explorers, and tough problem solvers. We're proud of our own Recraft engineers who helped create the MCC problem sets and serve on the jury.
Midnight Code Cup is one way we're celebrating the culture of problem solving while creating a space for others to join us. This ethos reflects how we think, how we build, and how we grow talent at Recraft.
Midnight Code Cup is just the start. If you’d like to join future editions, as a participant, partner, or collaborator, reach out to us at coding-cup@recraft.ai.
And stay tuned. We’ll be sharing final results, standout problems, and behind-the-scenes moments soon on Recraft’s X (Twitter) and Instagram.
Let the best minds win.
