| VANCLIBURN | Surprise winner of the first Tchaikovsky Piano Competition |
| MISS | Surprise winner of the Oscar for Best Picture of 1989. (7,4,5) |
| DAISY | Surprise winner of the Oscar for Best Picture of 1989. (7,4,5) |
| DRIVING | Surprise winner of the Oscar for Best Picture of 1989. (7,4,5) |
| DALY | Surprise winner of the 1991 PGA Championship |
| ROSCREA | Surprise winners of the 2015 Leinster Schools Rugby Senior Cup. (7) |
| EMANUELAX | Winner of the first Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition |
| HST | Surprise winner of 1948: Abbr. |
| TORTOISE | Surprise winner of fable |
| NYMETS | Surprise winners of '69 |
| ALSOP | Marin who conducted the final round of the quadrennial Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (June, 2025) |
| ERICLU | Winner of this year's Leeds International Piano Competition (4,2) |
| HOISTABANNER | Show one of the colours to surprise winner from academy getting notice (5,1,6) |
| CHATAWAY | Christopher _, winner of the first BBC Sports Personality of the Year (8) |
| ASHE | Winner of the first ATP Player of the Year award |
| YOUNG | The winner of the first series of Pop Idol, Will _ (5) |
| WILL | _ Young, the winner of the first series of Pop Idol (4) |
| LEANNE | Winner of the first series of The Voice UK, _ Mitchell (6) |
| RADU | ___ Lupu, Romanian pianist who won the 1969 Leeds International Piano Competition (4) |
| WARSAW | Polish city home to the International Chapin Piano Competition |
