Aleksandr Druz
Aleksander Abramovich Drouz (, 10 May 1955, Leningrad, USSR) is a prominent veteran contestant of the Russian TV gameshow "What? Where? When?", first of the currently five "Magisters of the Game"; Vice-President of the International Association of Clubs "What? Where? When?", director of the Saint-Petersburg branch of the "What? Where? When?" Biography. Aleksander was educated at a prestigious Leningrad school specializing in mathematics and physics, now known as the Saint Petersburg Lyceum 239. In 1975, he finished the Leningrad College of Industrial Education, and in 1980 graduated from Leningrad Institute of Engineers of Railway Transportation, now named  St. Petersburg State Transport University (see also ...#Graduates), specializing in the field of "electronic computing machines" (EVM). Aleksander Drouz is a certified systems engineer. What? Where? When? He first appeared as a contestant on "What? Where? When?" in 1981 and his active participation in the gameshow has been uninterrupted since then. He holds a record for the longest uninterrupted participation in the TV version of "What? Where? When?". He also holds a current record on the number of the conducted TV games (100) and victories (59). He was awarded a "Crystal Owl" as the best player of the intellectual club  (1990, 1992, 1995, 2000, 2006, 2012). In 1995, he was named the first "Magister of the Game" in the show's history. Since then, four other prominent veterans of the game also became bearers of the title, namely Maxim Potashev, Viktor Sidnev, Andrey Kozlov and Elizaveta Ovdeenko. As of 2014, Alexander Drouz is the 3 times WWW World Cup Champion. He was captain of the "What? Where? When?" team «Transsfera» (sporting version of the game), which he led to victory at the 1st World cup (2002). The team also won the "Mayor of Saint Petersburg" Cup in sporting "What? Where ? When?" nine times in a row. Brain Ring. Aleksander Drouz was champion of the TV show "Brain Ring" (a gameshow closely related in principle as well as personnel to "What? Where? When?") in 1990, 1991, 1994, 2010. Svoya igra (russian version of Jeopardy!). He twice became a champion in intellectual Russian TV gameshow "Svoya igra" (1995, 2003). He won 22 victories in a row (1995–2003). In the history of the TV game, he scored the maximum number of points in one game – 120,001. During the game, the score on the scoreboard exceeded 100,000 even before the end of the 3rd  round, and the host of the program Petr Kuleshov had to glue a piece of paper with on it with a marker number "+100000", and the score on the scoreboard began to be kept from scratch, since the creators of the program did not expect that someone would be able to collect a six-figure sum. He broke his own record set by him earlier – 80 074. The record has been held from 2003 to the present. Television. Author and anchorman of intellectual gameshows and other programs on various Russian TV channels. Other projects. On 5 April 2008, Aleksandr Drouz  became one of the Russian torchbearers of the 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay, along with numerous members of government, famous athletes, film stars and artists. In 2015, he participated in the McHappy Day charity event designed to raise money for the treatment of sick children. In 2016, he worked as a taxi driver in the St. Petersburg company "Taxovichkoff" as part of a charity event, all the funds raised from which were transferred to the AdVita charity fund that helps cancer patients. In 2017, he starred in a commercial in support of a sober lifestyle. In 2018, he took part  in the project of the Warm House charity fund, which helps families in crisis situations. Family. Drouz is married and has two daughters: the elder and the younger Marina Druz. Both daughters have followed in their father's footsteps and participated in the "What? Where? When?" program. Inna especially was both very active and successful in the game.