Adelaide Summer 2025

Felix Williams delivered one of the weekend's most astonishing feats by solving 36 out of 41 puzzles in 56 minutes and 38 seconds during the 3x3x3 Multi-Blind event. That marathon of spatial memory set the tone for a weekend defined by remarkable versatility across every discipline. Adelaide Summer 2025 took over Prince Alfred College from January 10 to January 12, bringing together 98 competitors across 17 distinct events and 27 intense rounds of speedcubing. The action covered everything from standard twisty puzzles to non-traditional shapes and extended memory challenges.

Held in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, the three-day cubing competition served as a comprehensive showcase of modern puzzle disciplines. While speed cubing purists often focus on the standard 3x3x3 Cube, the massive programme proved that success in 2025 requires diverse skill sets across vastly different mechanisms. Competitors moved seamlessly from handheld sprints on the 2x2x2 Cube and Pyraminx to large-layer strategy on the 6x6x6 Cube and 7x7x7 Cube, testing every facet of manual speed and mental endurance under official tournament conditions.

Chris Mills of New Zealand put together an extraordinary multi-category performance, sweeping five separate events. In the standard 3x3x3 Cube, Mills topped a field of 93 competitors through three rounds, posting a winning average of 7.07 seconds alongside the weekend's best single of 6.20 seconds to lead the 3x3 results. He added victories in the 2x2x2 Cube with a 1.98 average, the 4x4x4 Cube with a 27.34 mark, the 3x3x3 One-Handed with a 12.18 average, and the 5x5x5 Cube with a 56.11 average, demonstrating mastery across multiple layer configurations.

Australia's Jonathan Charlesworth mounted an equally formidable campaign across non-standard and big-cube formats, securing six titles across the schedule. Charlesworth captured the 6x6x6 Cube with a winning average of 1:54.05 and the 7x7x7 Cube with an average of 3:04.40, outpacing Jaxon Foster in both finals. He also proved his adaptability across alternative geometry and optimization events, taking top honors in Megaminx at 42.61 seconds, Square-1 at 10.99 seconds, Skewb at 3.30 seconds, and 3x3x3 Fewest Moves with an efficient mean of 31.33 moves.

Beyond the familiar shape of the Rubik's Cube, specialists thrived in the shorter side events and mechanical novelties. Alex Butera claimed the Clock crown with a 3.80 average, punctuated by a rapid 2.32 single. Emmet Hobbs secured victory in the Pyraminx division, prevailing over 77 entrants with a sharp 2.41 average and a 2.10 single. Blindfolded solving saw Daniel Wang control the larger cubes, winning the 4x4x4 Blindfolded event with a 2:34.70 single and the 5x5x5 Blindfolded with an average of 6:17.06, while Felix Williams claimed the 3x3x3 Blindfolded title in 26.32 seconds.

The deeper story of the weekend lay in the personal milestones earned across the 17-discipline schedule. Kai Yon-Tilbrook entered six events and chopped 50.9 percent off his previous benchmark with a 2.67 single in the 2x2x2 Cube, while logging his first official attempt at 4x4x4 Cube in 1:26.95 and Skewb in 10.31 seconds. Felix Fok showed massive progress on the classic cube, trimming 46.1 percent from his previous mark down to 30.33 seconds and lowering his Pyraminx best to 8.14 seconds, alongside a first attempt at 3x3x3 One-Handed in 1:09.75. Thomas Andrew Lymburn improved his 2x2x2 Cube mark by 42.8 percent to 3.46 seconds and his 4x4x4 Cube time by 22.6 percent to 47.84 seconds, while testing his skills on the 5x5x5 Cube for the first time with a 3:01.24 single. Koa Brougham accelerated his Pyraminx single by 42.2 percent down to 9.95 seconds and took on 9 events, registering maiden attempts on Megaminx in 3:09.00 and 6x6x6 Cube in 7:27.52.

That willingness to embrace fresh formats defined many journeys through the brackets. Ezekiel Adcock entered 12 events, achieving a 13th-place finish in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves and recording his first official attempts at Megaminx in 3:27.39, Square-1 in 1:29.19, and the 7x7x7 Cube in 15:11.00. Wilson Ha placed 9th in Square-1 with a first-time mark of 17.84 seconds, adding maiden marks of 23.78 in 3x3x3 One-Handed and 6.34 in 2x2x2 Cube across 8 events. Samuel Chambers took on 10 events, finishing 22nd in Square-1 while logging first attempts in Skewb at 13.91, 4x4x4 Cube at 2:03.17, and 5x5x5 Cube at 3:26.66. Jake McCormack rounded out a 9-event campaign with an 18th-place result in 6x6x6 Cube with a first-attempt time of 5:43.80, while also attempting Megaminx in 3:07.10 and 5x5x5 Cube in 3:10.85.

Across three days of intense rotation, the WCA competition produced 48 podium placements for Australia, nine for New Zealand, and three for China. Adelaide Summer 2025 demonstrated the immense range required in modern cubing, celebrating athletes who push the physical limits of turning speed alongside those who tackle the complex algorithms of blindfolded and big-cube formats.