American School of Bahrain 2023

Ten competitors lined up for the 5x5x5 Cube, where physical endurance and complex piece tracking were tested to the limit across five intensive solves. When the final times were recorded, Lebanon's Issam Imad El Halabi captured the title with a winning average of 1:22.48, anchored by a best single of 1:13.30. He narrowly held off Daniel Adel Alhayki of Bahrain, whose 1:22.55 average missed the top step by a mere seven hundredths of a second. Egypt's Yousef El Fayoumy secured third place with an average of 1:31.21 in an opening discipline that set a competitive tone for the day.

Held on May 6, 2023, the American School of Bahrain 2023 brought 58 competitors together in North Riffa, Bahrain. Staged over 11 rounds across eight disciplines, the cubing competition showcased a wide array of puzzles ranging from classic mechanical formats to complex big cubes and specialized events. Speedcubing enthusiasts filled the venue at the American School of Bahrain to test their skill and preparation against regional peers throughout a packed single-day schedule.

The 4x4x4 Cube also required deep stamina and consistency across multiple layers, and Daniel Adel Alhayki delivered a dominant performance to claim victory. Alhayki posted an average of 42.71 along with the single fastest solve of the event at 34.25 seconds. Fellow Bahraini solver Hasan Aqeel Nesaif took the runner-up position with a 46.88 average, while Kuwait's Ahmad Alolaimi rounded out the podium with a 46.95 average to cap a thrilling contest among the top big-cube specialists.

The classic 3x3x3 Rubik's Cube brought out the largest field of the weekend, with all 58 participants entering across three full rounds of competition. The final round produced an exceptionally tight finish, as Ahmad Alolaimi took the top spot with a winning average of 9.59. Hasan Aqeel Nesaif finished just one hundredth of a second behind to claim second place at 9.60, while 5x5x5 champion Issam Imad El Halabi earned third place with a 9.83 average. The final 3x3 results demonstrated remarkable consistency at sub-ten-second speeds.

Ahmad Alolaimi added two more victories across the day to finish with a triple gold haul. In the 2x2x2 Cube, he topped a field of 44 competitors across two rounds, recording a winning average of 3.31 and a best single of 2.81, ahead of Alhayki's 3.42 and Nesaif's 4.40. Alolaimi also proved his versatility in 3x3x3 One-Handed, claiming first place among 23 competitors with an average of 17.85 and a single of 16.10, leading Alhayki at 19.90 and Jordan's Baha Alshwaiki at 23.32.

Away from the top steps, several competitors delivered massive personal breakthroughs across multiple disciplines. Ali Fawaz Khunji entered seven events and cut his 3x3x3 One-Handed personal best by 61.1 percent down to 34.94, improved his 3x3x3 Cube time by 23.2 percent to 15.13, made his first ever attempt at 4x4x4 Cube with a 1:54.64, and earned a fifth-place finish in Skewb. Niila Kauppi took on seven events, achieving a Pyraminx personal best of 7.65 that was 42.7 percent faster than previous marks, while also making first attempts in 4x4x4 Cube with 1:16.72 and One-Handed with 38.17 to finish seventh in 4x4x4 Cube. Sai Akhilesh Arvapalli tackled six events, achieving a 20.6 percent improvement in 4x4x4 Cube at 1:41.11, setting a 12.60 personal best in 3x3x3 Cube, and attempting One-Handed for the first time with a 52.22 mark. Bayan Alalawi also contested six events, setting personal bests in 3x3x3 Cube at 16.64 and logging first-ever attempts in both 4x4x4 Cube at 1:57.67 and One-Handed at 1:51.83.

Progress was equally visible among newer speed cubing competitors exploring diverse formats. Rayan Ali Al Hamad entered eight events, achieving a 28.3 percent improvement in One-Handed at 45.35, a 20.6 percent drop in Pyraminx to 8.13, a personal best 2:38.21 in 5x5x5 Cube, and a fifth-place finish in Blindfolded. Bhanodaya Sai Yeluri logged a first-ever attempt in 2x2x2 Cube with an 8.79 and cut his 3x3x3 Cube best by 45.1 percent to 27.36. Minjun Kim entered a first WCA competition, taking on five events, finishing 10th in 2x2x2 Cube with a 4.01 initial attempt, and recording first attempts in Pyraminx at 11.62 and One-Handed at 53.45. Mohamed Alsaei also debuted at this tournament, entering five events and logging first official attempts across 3x3x3 Cube at 23.96, One-Handed at 1:19.91, and 4x4x4 Cube at 2:12.32 alongside an eighth-place finish in Pyraminx.

Daniel Adel Alhayki concluded a standout meet by securing two additional titles in shorter puzzles. In Pyraminx, Alhayki won with a 5.11 average, finishing ahead of Estonia's Elissa Fihani at 8.02 and Kuwait's Ahmad Alolaimi at 8.27. Alhayki then captured first place in Skewb with a 6.56 average, besting Poland's Igor Wojciech Wawrzynski at 10.71 and Alolaimi at 12.82. In total, host-nation solvers from Bahrain earned nine podium positions across the tournament schedule.

The 3x3x3 Blindfolded event concluded the schedule, requiring complete memorisation before executing solves without sight. Issam Imad El Halabi secured his second gold medal of the competition with a winning average of 1:27.48 and a best single of 1:12.21, topping Igor Wojciech Wawrzynski at 1:23.76 and Kuwait's Mohammad Almoumen at 2:37.95. The strong performances throughout American School of Bahrain 2023 capped a vibrant weekend of precision solving in North Riffa as competitors prepare for their next season on the regional stage.