Bay Area Speedcubin' 51 Live - SSF 2023

A blistering 7.10 second winning average from Varun Mohanraj in the classic 3x3x3 Cube set the benchmark at the South San Francisco Conference Center. Taking place on September 3, 2023, Bay Area Speedcubin' 51 Live - SSF 2023 brought together 118 competitors to South San Francisco, California, USA, across five events and ten rounds of play. While seasoned competitors traded podium places at the front of the pack, the tournament was defined just as much by the dozens of solvers tackling unfamiliar formats and shattering their own marks under official competition conditions.

Walking up to the competition tables at a sanctioned WCA competition brings an entirely different atmosphere than home practice. Solvers who took the floor in South San Francisco experienced the strict timing procedures, the scrutiny of judges, and the rhythm of five official solves in an open hall. The field featured dozens of entrants expanding their repertoires across multiple puzzles, discovering how their speedcubing preparation held up across long tournament rounds under the lights.

The spotlight on personal progress shone brightly among competitors tackling brand-new events and posting massive drops in time. Jackson Bakun delivered a massive 71.9 percent improvement in Skewb with a personal best of 4.56 seconds, while taking on his first ever attempt at 4x4x4 Cube with a 2:10.87 mark and trimming his 3x3x3 Cube best to 26.25 seconds. Neil Sekerak completed all five events, securing a 41st-place finish in Square-1, a Skewb personal best of 9.42 seconds that improved on his previous mark by 69.6 percent, and an official debut in Megaminx at 3:41.14. Kyle Zamanakos lowered his Skewb best by 57.5 percent to 9.39 seconds, improved his 3x3x3 Cube time by 38.8 percent to 24.23 seconds, and logged a first ever attempt at 4x4x4 Cube at 2:07.31. Vinh Vu also expanded his resume across three events, recording his first official finishes in 4x4x4 Cube at 1:07.33 and Megaminx at 2:41.32 alongside an 11.85-second personal best in the main event.

Other competitors showed similar strides across technical disciplines. Evan Zhou logged his first ever attempt at Square-1 with a 33.18, went on to finish ninth in Skewb, and cut 46.9 percent off his previous Skewb record down to 4.22 seconds. Alex Chang reached 22nd in Square-1 while debuting in both 4x4x4 Cube at 1:20.75 and Square-1 at 27.97, along with an improved 12.45-second 3x3x3 Cube personal best. Kingston Lu completed first-time official runs in both Skewb at 13.97 seconds and 4x4x4 Cube at 2:00.38 while setting a new 3x3x3 Cube personal best of 19.32 seconds. Baron America took on five events, registering an initial Megaminx time of 3:51.78, a 44th-place finish in Square-1, and personal bests of 13.28 seconds in Skewb and 1:13.97 in 4x4x4 Cube.

At the top of the 3x3 results, Mohanraj proved unstoppable through three rounds of the Rubik's Cube, pairing his 7.10 winning average in the final with an earlier 5.56 single and a 6.59 average during the competition. Cameron Miller secured second place with an average of 7.33 seconds, while Benjamin Brown completed the podium in third with an 8.40 average. The depth of talent in the field of 116 solvers was evident as ten different competitors registered sub-nine-second averages throughout the rounds.

The 4x4x4 Cube saw an intense battle across two rounds among 80 competitors. Paul Mahvi earned the title with a winning average of 28.52 seconds and a best single of 27.15 seconds. Mohanraj took the silver medal position with a 28.91 average, while Jusun Choi of Korea locked up the third step of the podium with an average of 34.83 seconds, marking one of two podium finishes for international entrants during the afternoon.

In the twelve-sided Megaminx, Nico Harper emerged victorious from a field of 45 competitors with a 41.21-second average and a single solve of 38.89 seconds. Nolan Yiu followed closely behind with an average of 42.90 seconds to take second place, while Miller earned another podium finish by posting a 48.49 average for third. The Skewb event brought an international victory as Aniket Das of India averaged 4.01 seconds across two rounds of 69 competitors, narrowly edging out Miller at 4.16 seconds and Choi at 4.46 seconds.

The single round of Square-1 rounded out the schedule, where Calvin Nielson captured the title with a 7.63-second average and a single solve of 5.88 seconds over 44 entrants. Miller claimed his third runner-up result of the day with an average of 7.95 seconds, while James Chea earned bronze with a 10.12 average. Across all five disciplines, the United States collected 12 podium spots, Korea took two, and India captured one.

Bay Area Speedcubin' 51 Live - SSF 2023 highlighted how speed cubing events balance premier competition with personal growth. Whether collecting medals in the finals or earning an official time on the board for the very first time, the 118 competitors pushed the boundaries of their solving to close out a memorable single-day cubing competition in South San Francisco.