Singapore Mini 2023

The competition hall at the Chui Huay Lim Club buzzed with rapid clicks, scrambling timers, and intense focus as competitors gathered for a high-stakes day of speedcubing. Solvers stood over their stations, carefully inspecting puzzle orientations before unleashing rapid fingertricks across multiple rounds. In sprint events and tight formats, the margin for error remains virtually nonexistent, where a single misaligned face or hesitated turn carries an unforgiving penalty on the final standings. Every split second gained on the table demanded absolute technical precision from the very first start.

Held in Singapore, Singapore on September 9, 2023, Singapore Mini 2023 brought together 228 competitors across 10 rounds of competition. The compact schedule featured three distinct puzzles: the standard 3x3x3 Cube, the lightning-fast 2x2x2 Cube, and the triangular Pyraminx. With a focused lineup, athletes faced dense qualification cuts and rapid-fire heats that tested both consistency and peak turn speed. Participants from across the region traveled to test their mettle in this intense, single-day WCA competition.

China's Yiheng Wang delivered an astonishing performance across the entire schedule, capturing first place in every event on the docket. In the headlining 3x3x3 Cube, which featured a field of 224 competitors across four full rounds, Wang secured victory with a winning average of 4.81 seconds, backed by a best single of 4.60 seconds. Ng Yong Teng of Singapore took the second spot on the podium with an average of 6.76 seconds, while Xuanyi Geng of China earned third place with a 6.86-second average in the final round.

The 3x3 results demonstrated the blistering standard at the top of the leaderboard, but Wang was far from finished. Moving to the 2x2x2 Cube, a discipline where sub-two-second averages leave zero room for hesitation, Wang led a field of 159 competitors through three rounds. He took first place with a winning average of 1.29 seconds and a tournament-best single of 0.82 seconds. During the earlier rounds of 2x2x2 Cube, Wang also posted a single solve of 0.95 seconds and an average of 1.21 seconds.

The 2x2x2 Cube podium saw international diversity, as Firstian Fushada of Indonesia finished in second place with an average of 2.37 seconds after recording marks of 1.49 single and 1.79 average. Ng Jia Quan of Malaysia captured third place with an average of 2.40 seconds, having delivered a 1.08 single and 1.66 average earlier in the event. Local contenders also put up fast numbers, including Daryl Tan Hong An with a 1.37 single and 1.97 average, and Isaac Lai Yin Chung with a 1.70 single and 2.27 average.

The Pyraminx event closed out the triple crown for Wang, who outpaced 118 competitors across three rounds. Wang claimed the title with a winning average of 2.62 seconds and a single solve of 2.17 seconds. Singapore's Tristan Chua Yong earned second place with an average of 3.54 seconds, while Malaysia's Ng Jia Quan picked up another podium finish by taking third place with an average of 3.65 seconds. In total across the competition, China secured four podium positions, Singapore earned two, Malaysia took two, and Indonesia claimed one.

Beyond the podium battles, the tournament floor highlighted immense personal progress from dedicated participants. Lin Kai Zhe Kaydenn took on three events, logging a first ever attempt at Pyraminx with a mark of 14.05 seconds while taking 51.2 percent off their previous best in 2x2x2 Cube to hit 3.72 seconds, alongside a 3x3x3 Cube best of 19.57 seconds. Nicholas Joshua Yap Zheng You made massive gains, cutting 74.2 percent to record a 3.09 in 2x2x2 Cube, dropping their 3x3x3 Cube best to 22.70 seconds, and improving to 9.03 seconds in Pyraminx. Christopher Khoo lowered their Pyraminx mark by 63.6 percent to 3.42 seconds and took 42.6 percent off their 3x3x3 Cube time to reach 10.43 seconds, while Hagen Guo Wenhang improved by 66 percent to post 1.44 seconds in 2x2x2 Cube.

Fresh milestones continued across every bracket of the cubing competition. Ariz Aidan bin Tasha registered a first ever attempt at 2x2x2 Cube of 5.57 seconds and cut 54.6 percent from their 3x3x3 Cube mark to finish in 18.13 seconds. Teo Ming Yang made a first ever attempt at 2x2x2 Cube with 3.26 seconds and recorded a 35.2 percent improvement in Pyraminx with 5.62 seconds. Riley Low advanced across three disciplines, improving their Pyraminx best by 54.8 percent to 5.17 seconds, while Li Yuda registered a first ever attempt at 2x2x2 Cube of 7.36 seconds alongside a 33.1 percent improvement in the classic Rubik's Cube to post 19.20 seconds.

The smooth execution of ten intense rounds in a single day underscored the vibrant community enthusiasm for speed cubing in the region. Singapore Mini 2023 wrapped up with exceptional marks across the three puzzle formats, setting an elevated benchmark as competitors look ahead toward upcoming challenges on the regional calendar.