As Chris Micallef went through yet another of his favourite Pringles, little did he imagine that it would win him the adventure of a lifetime. In fact, on Sunday 30 April, Chris left for a nine-day trip to New Zealand, courtesy of Pringles and V.J. Salomone Marketing.

It all started when Chris saw a massive Pringles display in a local supermarket, which enticed him to buy three limited edition Pringles cans. Each can had a code that gave him access to the Pringles Kong Trivia Challenge on the internet.

Although the challenge was taken up by 2,645 participants from all over Europe, it was the 30-year-old Maltese teacher who came first, amassing a whopping 4,830 points. He won 10 points for each correct answer to the Kong trivia, until, by the deadline at the end of January, he had won the grand prize.

On his first day in the competition Chris had just 30 points, while others had already gathered over 800. However, his determination to win the prize propelled him to first place by the end of December. Equally resolved to win the prize were two contestants – one from the Czech Republic and the other from Croatia – who briefly overtook him on points. A fierce rivalry then ensued until the end of the competition.

Undaunted, Chris bought Lm93 worth of Pringles in two batches, and spent the last two days of the competition writing down codes and answering questions. On 30 January he had regained first place; the following day, the last day of the competition, he had slid down to third. But, by determination, he managed to collect the 4,830 points that won him the prize. The second place winner had 4,160 points and the third place 3,890.

Chris was ecstatic to hear that he had won a week’s visit to the famous Weta Digital Studios in Wellington, New Zealand.