Apollo Bay Cubing 2025

A razor-thin margin of two hundredths of a second decided the 2x2x2 Cube final in Apollo Bay, Victoria, Australia, where Roman Rudakov took top honours with an average of 1.22 seconds ahead of Phoenix Patterson at 1.24 seconds. That breathless finish set the tone for an action-packed weekend of speedcubing across seven events and sixteen rounds at the Apollo Bay Aquatic & Leisure Centre. Held across October 18 and October 19, the gathering drew 43 competitors from Australia and China to test their skills and push personal boundaries.

The 2025 meeting was defined by a large influx of newcomers stepping onto the official stage for the very first time. Several solvers made their WCA competition debut, adding fresh energy to a schedule that balanced classic puzzles with specialised challenges. Across the roster, first-time participants and seasoned contenders stood shoulder to shoulder at the solving stations, demonstrating the steady grassroots growth of speed cubing in the region across every discipline on the programme.

In the flagship 3x3x3 Cube, Patterson secured a commanding victory across three rounds of play. Delivering the weekend best single of 5.61 seconds, Patterson clinched the title with a 6.53 winning average in the final. Rudakov claimed the second spot on the podium at 7.83 seconds, while Junqi Feng took third place with an average of 8.52 seconds. These standout 3x3 results underscored the sharp form of the top tier throughout the competition.

Beyond the traditional 3x3x3 Rubik's Cube, Patterson assembled a formidable weekend by sweeping two additional disciplines. In the 4x4x4 Cube, Patterson logged a winning average of 32.85 seconds to finish ahead of Rudakov at 34.79 and Eli Panetta at 35.04. Patterson added another gold in the 3x3x3 One-Handed event, recording an average of 12.44 seconds in the final to lead Feng at 14.03 and Charlie Handley at 14.97.

Rudakov matched that championship pedigree with a dual-victory weekend, claiming the Skewb title on an average of 2.60 seconds ahead of Panetta at 2.99 and Patterson at 4.09, to go along with the early 2x2x2 Cube triumph. Panetta broke through for a victory in Pyraminx, taking first place with a 2.67 average over Rudakov at 3.36 and Patterson at 3.66. In the 3x3x3 Blindfolded, where athletes rely entirely on memory after inspection, Swami Srinivasan posted a winning single of 41.81 seconds to finish ahead of Emmet Hobbs at 1:47.14 and Rudakov at 2:07.52.

Behind the headline podiums, Apollo Bay Cubing 2025 served as a proving ground for competitors making massive leaps forward in their official times. Jay Ficheroux delivered a remarkable drop in Skewb, setting a personal best single of 2.07 seconds that improved on the prior mark by 65.3 percent, alongside a 2.34 in 2x2x2 Cube that was 55 percent faster and an eighth-place finish in Pyraminx. Barry Cockcroft slashed his 3x3x3 Cube personal best by 48.5 percent down to 59.68 seconds, while Cody Seacroft lowered his own 3x3x3 Cube best to 53.29 seconds, a 38.4 percent cut. Gerrard Hallis had a busy schedule across seven events, highlighted by a fifth-place finish in 3x3x3 Blindfolded and a 38.9 percent improvement in Pyraminx with a 9.62 single.

The weekend also showcased athletes embracing brand new challenges at this cubing competition. Otto Sahlberg tackled six events, achieving a career-best ninth-place finish in Pyraminx, cutting the Pyraminx single by 49.5 percent to 3.75 seconds, and registering a first official Skewb attempt of 4.68 seconds. Kobi Dash Brown completed a first official Pyraminx solve of 10.28 seconds while lowering a 2x2x2 Cube best by 42.9 percent to 12.97 seconds. Chase Lee tackled five events at their first tournament, recording a 12.84 single on 3x3x3 Cube, while Will Bowyer also debuted with three events, including a 13.46 single on 3x3x3 Cube and a fifteenth-place finish in 4x4x4 Cube.

The wide array of achievements at Apollo Bay Cubing 2025 highlighted both elite execution at the top of the standings and meaningful progress throughout the field. With multiple titles shared between seasoned victors and breakthrough milestones logged by tournament newcomers, the gathering concluded on a high note. As solvers look ahead to the next stretch of the competitive calendar, the strong performances across Victoria provide plenty of momentum for the sport.