Be Placid in Lake Placid 2024

Ten competitors gathered in Lake Placid, New York, USA on November 16, 2024, creating an intimate yet fiercely competitive stage across eight rounds of elite speedcubing. Held inside the High Peaks Resort, Be Placid in Lake Placid 2024 brought seasoned solvers together to test their form against six distinct events. The compact field created an environment where experienced competitors had little room for hesitation, demanding sharp precision from the opening heats through the finals.

Veteran solver Chris Chi delivered a commanding performance across multiple disciplines, headlining the weekend with three separate event victories. In the premier 3x3x3 Cube, Chi set the benchmark early and maintained control through two rounds of competition. His winning average of 7.67 seconds and a best single solve of 6.74 cemented his top position on the podium, holding off strong challenges in the official 3x3 results from Evan Liu, who took second with an 8.56 average, and Levi Gibson, who secured third at 9.10.

Chi continued his winning form in the 2x2x2 Cube, navigating two intense rounds among the full ten-person field. He claimed first place with a winning average of 1.90 seconds, backed by an impressive 0.87 best single solve. Levi Gibson pushed hard for the title, finishing second with an average of 2.03 and recording a 1.68 single, while Eli Rogers rounded out the podium in third with an average of 2.12. The tight margins throughout the 2x2x2 contest highlighted the high caliber of execution present at Be Placid in Lake Placid 2024.

Beyond standard speed events, the weekend tested deep tactical knowledge in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves, where eight competitors worked to construct the shortest possible solutions. Chris Chi once again demonstrated his veteran poise, claiming his third victory of the competition with a winning average of 22.67 moves and a best single of 22. Levi Gibson provided formidable competition, taking second place with an average of 23.33 moves, while Evan Liu finished third with a 33.00 average.

Behind the headline victories, several competitors made substantial progress on their personal journeys. Canadian solver William Lavoie took on four events and tackled his first ever attempt at 3x3x3 Fewest Moves, securing a 46-move solve, while also setting a new 2x2x2 Cube personal best of 0.88 seconds, which was 22.8 percent faster than his previous mark of 1.14 on his way to a fourth-place event finish. Meanwhile, Benjamin Downs entered three events and delivered a standout 2x2x2 Cube personal best of 2.61 seconds, improving by 21.1 percent from his previous best of 3.31, alongside achieving a weekend-best sixth-place finish in Clock.

The Clock event delivered one of the closest finishes of the day, featuring nine competitors across a single high-pressure round. Canadian representative Jack Chicoine edged out the competition to take the win with a 4.91-second average and a best single of 3.37 seconds. Evan Liu finished mere hundredths of a second behind to capture second place with an average of 4.96, while Levi Gibson stood on his third podium of the competition by taking third place with a 6.17 average.

Blindfolded disciplines presented immense difficulty at Be Placid in Lake Placid 2024, demanding flawless execution without visual feedback. In the 3x3x3 Blindfolded contest, Jacob Hughes emerged victorious from a field of seven solvers, recording a winning single time of 57.65 seconds to edge past Evan Liu, who placed second with a single of 58.05. The remaining five competitors, including Gibson, Chicoine, Rogers, Chi, and Avian Burt, were unable to register a completed solve in the final standings.

The challenge scaled up even further in the 4x4x4 Blindfolded event, which drew four brave competitors to the solving table. Eli Rogers proved to be the lone solver to complete a successful attempt, securing the championship with a winning single time of 25:27.00. The grueling test saw Liu, Hughes, and Chi all register incomplete attempts, emphasizing the sheer concentration required to master the larger Rubik's Cube variants without sight.

The single-day gathering concluded with United States competitors capturing 21 podium places, alongside 2 podium finishes for Canada. As an official WCA competition, the event demonstrated how high-level speed cubing thrives in focused, small-scale settings where every solve carries weight. Leaving the High Peaks Resort, the participants at Be Placid in Lake Placid 2024 closed out the 2024 season with remarkable achievements, setting a refined standard for upcoming regional tests.