Adelaide Autumn 2023

A total of 142 competitors gathered at Brighton Secondary School on May 21, 2023, setting the stage for a day of high-stakes speedcubing in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. Across eight rounds spanning four official disciplines, the tournament developed into an intense geographic contest. Local Australian speed cubing talent went head-to-head with visiting international contenders from Vietnam, Spain, Sri Lanka, and New Zealand, making Adelaide Autumn 2023 an exhilarating showcase of precision solving across every puzzle tier.

The premier 3x3x3 Cube contest stood at the center of the regional battle, with 139 competitors driving through three demanding stages of competition. Australia found its champion in Seth Ferry, who claimed victory with an 8.31 winning average and delivered the fastest single time of the event at 7.50 seconds. The 3x3 results proved tightly contested at the very top, as Tu Pham from Vietnam applied continuous pressure to take second place with an 8.39 average. Fellow countryman Trung Tran locked down third place with a 9.68 mark.

Seth Ferry extended his dominance beyond the standard Rubik's Cube, mounting a sweeping campaign across all remaining categories. In the 3x3x3 One-Handed event, Ferry delivered a winning average of 14.08 alongside a top single of 12.73 across two rounds of play. Tu Pham once again challenged for the top spot, earning second place with a 15.42 average for Vietnam, while Australia's Adrian Oon completed the podium in third place with an average of 17.53.

The two-handed short puzzle brought another showcase of raw turning speed in the 2x2x2 Cube. Out of 124 competitors, Ferry secured the top spot on the podium with a 2.59 average, having posted a 1.87 single. Fellow Australian competitors Gerard McGinley and Jonah Blakeley followed close behind, taking second and third place with averages of 2.71 and 3.36 respectively. In the heavy big-cube category, Ferry finalized his clean sweep by winning the single round of the 5x5x5 Cube in 1:13.53, holding off Australia's Brock Hamann at 1:19.39 and Spain's Ting Sheng Bao Yang at 1:19.49.

Beyond the top steps of the podium, Adelaide Autumn 2023 produced substantial personal milestones for competitors pushing deep into their personal development. Joshua Hannam delivered a 60.4 percent improvement in the 2x2x2 Cube with a 5.29 personal best, lowered his 3x3x3 Cube best to 21.60 by 32.8 percent, and completed his first ever attempt at 3x3x3 One-Handed with a 49.59. Nadine Osmond dropped her 2x2x2 Cube mark by 60.2 percent to 7.61. Ethan Baillie cut his 3x3x3 One-Handed time by 51.3 percent to 31.93 while logging first attempts in 2x2x2 Cube at 7.49 and 3x3x3 Cube at 21.54. Marc Jehezekel Viernes of New Zealand improved his 2x2x2 Cube mark by 51 percent down to 5.92, alongside first attempts in one-handed solving at 1:12.79 and 3x3x3 Cube at 35.48.

The momentum continued as Zachariah Schuant tackled four events, slicing his 3x3x3 One-Handed personal best by 53 percent down to 27.29, taking a 28th-place finish in 5x5x5 Cube with an initial attempt of 2:33.22, and hitting a 15.18 personal best in the 3x3x3 Cube. Byron Gronning achieved a personal best of 2.42 in the 2x2x2 Cube, an improvement of 49.9 percent, while posting a 5th-place finish in one-handed solving and a 1:40.15 mark in 5x5x5 Cube. Nathanial Taylor dropped his 2x2x2 Cube time by 48.6 percent to 6.84 and his 3x3x3 Cube best to 23.42. Jeremy Arulampalam took on four events, trimming 46.1 percent off his 2x2x2 Cube time to 2.34, 35.6 percent off his one-handed time to 40.56, and 8 percent off his 5x5x5 Cube mark to 2:57.04.

The broader statistical landscape of the WCA competition reflected deep regional pride across the leaderboard. Australia captured eight podium spots across the four disciplines, while Vietnam claimed three and Spain secured one. The 2x2x2 Cube event saw a wide array of official personal and national milestones registered by solvers including Lucas Chung with a 1.65 single and 3.07 average, Andrew Sherman with a 2.37 single and 4.05 average, Ting Sheng Bao Yang with a 2.19 single, Tu Pham with a 2.28 single, and Sri Lanka's Tehan Perera logging a 4.81 single and 5.67 average.

As the final solves concluded in Adelaide, the single-day cubing competition stood out for its fierce international battles and Seth Ferry's unmatched four-event sweep. With memorable performances across every discipline, the event highlighted the vibrant regional rivalries that continue to define modern competitive speedcubing.