Altona Algorithms 2024

Inside the spacious Westgate Indoor Sports Complex, tables were lined with precision mats, timing displays, and hundreds of scrambled puzzles. Spectators and competitors packed the floor as competitors from across the region gathered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia for a massive two-day program. Across seven events and nineteen rounds held on March 2 and 3, 2024, the atmosphere remained electric. The marquee events delivered razor-thin margins, none tighter than the climactic showdown on the standard Rubik's Cube that closed out the weekend.

The 3x3 results came down to mere fractions of a second across five solves in the final round. Phoenix Patterson claimed victory at Altona Algorithms 2024 with a winning average of 7.11 seconds, edging out runner-up David Epstein, who logged a 7.15 average. Tommy Kiprillis secured third place with a 7.25 mark, leaving only fourteen hundredths of a second between first and third. Patterson also posted the round best single of 6.57 seconds to take top honors in a massive field of 255 competitors.

Patterson continued that winning form in the 3x3x3 One-Handed event, taking another gold at Altona Algorithms 2024 with an average of 13.09 seconds alongside a best single of 10.58. Zhenwei Su took second place with a 13.49 average, while Tommy Kiprillis secured another podium finish in third place with a 14.00 average among 109 entrants. Patterson's consistency across both three-layered disciplines highlighted the fierce standard of speedcubing on display over the weekend.

New Zealand competitor Alexander Vujcich delivered an exceptional sweep of his own, topping three different disciplines during the competition. In the 2x2x2 Cube final, Vujcich secured first place with an average of 1.56 seconds and a best single of 1.33. Roman Rudakov finished right behind in second with a 1.65 average, while Andy Gong earned third place with a 2.23 average. The fast-turning event saw 214 entrants push the pace through three intense rounds of speed cubing.

Vujcich demonstrated his versatility on the larger and shaped puzzles as well. In the 4x4x4 Cube, he took victory with an average of 27.32 seconds and a single of 23.50, holding off Andy Gong with 28.40 and David Epstein with 29.95. Vujcich then led the Megaminx field of 75 solvers, registering a winning average of 30.50 seconds and a single of 29.89. Darcy Way took second with a 39.15 average, followed by Tam Quan in third with a 43.71 average.

Away from the top of the podium, numerous competitors made significant breakthroughs across their events. Krishiv Varlani produced massive personal bests, cutting his Pyraminx mark by 57.7 percent down to 5.64 seconds from 13.33, while also taking his 2x2x2 Cube time down to 7.69 seconds from 12.08, an improvement of 36.3 percent, alongside a first attempt at 3x3x3 One-Handed in 1:28.75. Israel Root sliced his 2x2x2 Cube best by 53.7 percent to 3.59 seconds compared to a prior 7.75, alongside first attempts in Skewb at 18.38 seconds and 3x3x3 One-Handed at 58.63 seconds. Flynn Ying Marks improved his 4x4x4 Cube mark by 38.2 percent to 1:20.18, down from 2:09.79, and logged initial marks in Megaminx at 3:23.11 and Pyraminx at 6.75 seconds. Matthew De Fanti dropped his 3x3x3 Cube best by 34.1 percent to 14.22 seconds, down from 21.57, and recorded his first marks in Pyraminx at 6.57 seconds and 3x3x3 One-Handed at 38.87 seconds.

Other dedicated solvers embraced packed schedules and took on unfamiliar events for the first time. Khushal Khanchandani tackled seven events, logging first attempts in Pyraminx and Skewb with matching times of 10.12 seconds, plus a 1:17.40 in 3x3x3 One-Handed. Daniel Lu also entered seven events, posting initial attempts in Skewb at 10.88 seconds, Megaminx at 2:21.00, and 3x3x3 One-Handed at 1:04.87. Daniel Filipovski cut his 2x2x2 Cube best by 30.6 percent to 3.43 seconds from 4.94, while recording new attempts in 4x4x4 Cube at 1:35.13 and Skewb at 10.09 seconds. Daniel Hael Bae entered six events, setting inaugural marks in 2x2x2 Cube at 5.20 seconds, 4x4x4 Cube at 1:31.99, and Megaminx at 3:10.89.

The remaining puzzle categories at Altona Algorithms 2024 provided fast-paced action. In Pyraminx, Junqi Feng of China earned top honors with an average of 2.47 seconds and a best single of 1.61. Emmet Hobbs followed closely in second place with a 2.75 average, while Ziqi Ding placed third with a 2.86 average. In Skewb, Eli Panetta captured first place with an average of 2.93 seconds and a single of 2.35, besting Jacob Joshi at 3.15 and Levi Benjamin Matara-Ng at 3.81.

Across the two days of this WCA competition, 263 competitors pushed their solving abilities to the limit. The podium count concluded with 16 top-three finishes for Australia, 3 for New Zealand, and 2 for China. From the tight finish at the top of the 3x3x3 leaderboard to the personal bests earned across every tier of the draw, Altona Algorithms 2024 delivered an exceptional showcase of competitive precision in Melbourne.