Amman Mental Breakdown II 2025

Zakarya Otair delivered an extraordinary masterclass in front of his home crowd, capturing five separate event titles and setting a Jordan national record average of 25.23 seconds in 3x3x3 Blindfolded. The single-day tournament took place on November 28, 2025, at The Idea Chamber in Amman, Jordan. Drawing a dedicated field of 15 competitors across eight demanding events, the contest tested memorisation, endurance, and dexterity. Otair set the tone immediately by pairing his record-breaking blindfold average with a blazing 19.83 single, asserting absolute control across the most mentally taxing disciplines on the schedule.

The gathering marked the staging of Amman Mental Breakdown II 2025, a WCA competition specifically tailored toward specialist events and blindfolded formats. Organised within the vibrant regional speedcubing community, the meeting provided a platform for both high-stakes record chases and technical puzzle showcases. Over eight rounds of continuous play, local Jordanian talents seized all 24 available podium spots, turning the venue into a celebration of domestic solving skill. While traditional Rubik's Cube solvers often focus on standard speed, this event pushed the boundaries of memory and one-handed control throughout an intensive day.

Otair was unstoppable across the entire blindfolded category, converting every start into a podium-topping finish. In 4x4x4 Blindfolded, he secured victory with a successful single of 8:49.11 as fellow podium finishers Omar Hijazi and Ahmad Al-Masalmeh recorded DNFs. In 5x5x5 Blindfolded, Otair stood alone as the sole entrant, recording an 8:09.30 single to take gold. He completed the memory sweep in 3x3x3 Multi-Blind, successfully resolving 5 out of 9 cubes in 23:45. Saleh Janem, Ahmad Al-Masalmeh, Abdallah Almaharmeh, and Abdelrahman Yaghi shared the runner-up tier with DNFs.

Beyond the blindfolded events, Otair showed his versatility by topping the Clock standings with a 5.77 winning average and a 5.03 single, leading Abdallah Almaharmeh who took second in 7.73 and Saleh Janem in third with 11.84. In the 3x3x3 Blindfolded event, Abdelrahman Yaghi earned the silver medal behind Otair with a successful single of 2:54.55, while Saleh Janem secured the bronze medal with a time of 4:06.21. Otair also challenged for top honours in sighted big cubes, finishing second in the 5x5x5 Cube final with a 1:12.70 average.

The sighted events delivered high drama of their own, led by Kamel Hammouri in the 5x5x5 Cube final. Hammouri took gold with a 1:08.45 average, anchored by the day's only sub-minute solve at 59.65 seconds, finishing ahead of Otair and bronze medallist Abdallah Almaharmeh who clocked 1:32.88 across nine competitors. In 3x3x3 One-Handed, Othman Saleh prevailed over a 14-person field with a winning average of 15.80 and a best single of 13.92, denying Hammouri a second title as the latter took second in 17.15, while Almaharmeh collected another bronze in 18.29.

Behind the top podium positions, several dedicated competitors achieved significant personal milestones that the final standings do not fully capture. David Samuel Surls took on four events, achieving his best finish of fourth place in Skewb while cutting his Skewb personal best by 54.8 percent down to 5.07 seconds from 11.21. Surls also registered his first official attempts in Clock, posting an 11.35, and in 3x3x3 One-Handed with a time of 40.20. Ammar Yaser Awad tackled five events, earning a best finish of fifth in 3x3x3 Blindfolded while sharpening his Skewb personal best to 9.57 seconds, an improvement of 6.9 percent over his previous mark of 10.28.

Fuad Ali took on three events during the competition, securing a best finish of seventh place in the 5x5x5 Cube against strong opposition. Khalid Yazeed entered 3x3x3 One-Handed, claiming a sixth-place finish in a competitive field of 14 solvers. Yaman Banikhalid participated across four events, matching the fifth-place position in 3x3x3 Blindfolded while establishing a new 3x3x3 One-Handed personal best of 45.35 seconds. Hala Al Ansari concentrated her efforts entirely on the one-handed challenge, finishing fourth overall with a sharp performance in that single bracket.

The Skewb contest provided rapid-fire action among 11 competitors, won decisively by Albaraa Moqbel. Moqbel put together an event-winning average of 4.31 seconds, highlighted by a tournament-best single of 3.33 seconds. Abdallah Almaharmeh picked up another silver medal with a 5.24 average, while One-Handed champion Othman Saleh stepped onto the podium again in third place with an average of 5.74. The round showcased clean execution and agile turning, serving as a dynamic counterpoint to the extended concentration demanded by the complex blindfolded rounds.

The conclusion of Amman Mental Breakdown II 2025 capped a memorable day of speed cubing in the Jordanian capital, highlighted by Otair's five victories and national record standard. While regular 3x3 results often dominate headlines, the focus on specialist disciplines highlighted the deep technical versatility present in the region. With local competitors sweeping every podium step and setting fresh benchmarks across eight diverse categories, the competition in Amman established an inspiring baseline for the community as the 2025 season progresses into the year ahead.