Beginner & Blind Benoni 2026

The tables were set inside the hall at Actonville Primary School as timers clicked into place and scramble tables filled with puzzles. Competitors adjusted their seating and laid down their mats, preparing for an intense day of Rubik's Cube solving across standard and blindfolded formats. The one-day gathering on March 29, 2026, welcomed 49 competitors to Benoni, Gauteng, South Africa, for an action-packed schedule spanning seven disciplines and eight total rounds of speedcubing drama.

By the time the final scores were tallied at Beginner & Blind Benoni 2026, host nation competitors had achieved a total sweep of the podium places across every category. Across the board, all 20 awarded podium positions belonged to South African solvers, demonstrating extraordinary national depth. From rapid-fire face turns to high-stakes blindfolded memory feats, the regional talent commanded the top spots from the opening scramble to the final solve of the afternoon.

In the flagship 3x3x3 Cube event, which brought together 48 entrants across two rounds of play, Amahle Nyembe delivered an exceptional performance to capture the championship. Nyembe posted a winning average of 8.28 seconds along with the best single of the entire event at 7.76. Juandré Jacobs claimed the runner-up position with an average of 8.58 seconds, while Vincent Hazelton-Lagarrigue rounded out the top three by logging a 10.11 average in the final round of 3x3 results.

The blindfolded categories became an absolute masterclass led by Marike Faught, who conquered all four memory-based disciplines on the schedule. In 3x3x3 Blindfolded, Faught took victory with a single solve of 39.10 seconds, holding off Yusuf Talha Sayed Karim, who finished in second place at 39.65 seconds, and Joshua Bennett in third with 1:57.22. Faught maintained pristine execution across the larger puzzles as well, winning the 4x4x4 Blindfolded title in 4:38.47 and the 5x5x5 Blindfolded competition with a time of 13:16.00.

Faught closed out the blindfolded sweep by taking top honours in 3x3x3 Multi-Blind, successfully resolving 17 out of 23 cubes in a time of 55:46, while Yusuf Talha Sayed Karim recorded a DNF. Elsewhere on the floor, the short-puzzle specialists battled in standard speed cubing events. Juandré Jacobs earned the top prize in the 2x2x2 Cube with a winning average of 3.05 and a best single of 2.54 seconds, finishing ahead of Vincent Hazelton-Lagarrigue at 3.94 and Amahle Nyembe at 4.00. In Pyraminx, Joshua Bennett secured first place with an average of 6.46 seconds over James Ford at 6.63 and Christiaan Botha at 7.77.

Beneath the top podium finishes, the cubing competition served as a showcase for massive individual progress and breakthrough milestones. Bruce Engelbrecht took on three events and delivered a huge 2x2x2 personal best of 5.42 seconds, cutting 70.5 percent off a previous best of 18.38, while also tackling the Pyraminx for the very first time with a 12.82 mark. Eliyah Samson Visser dropped their 2x2x2 personal record by 63.6 percent down to 5.35 seconds, while Nardus de Waal earned a best finish of fourth place in 2x2x2 with a 3.34 mark that improved on an earlier 7.56 benchmark by 55.8 percent, alongside a 35.1 percent improvement in 3x3x3 to 10.48.

Other solvers embraced new challenges and recorded major leaps across the board at Actonville Primary School. Hammaad Dawood sliced 52.8 percent from their 2x2x2 time to reach 6.96 seconds, while Boikanyo Maboe registered a 35 percent leap in 3x3x3 with a 16.44 personal best and attempted Pyraminx for the first time at 12.53. Cameron Lochrie Mcleod improved their 2x2x2 single by 41.5 percent down to 5.12 seconds. Stepping onto the stage for their very first WCA competition, Chanel Blom completed three events with initial best marks of 20.37 in 3x3x3, 9.78 in 2x2x2, and 13.28 in Pyraminx, while Johan George made his debut across three events and secured tenth place in 3x3x3 with a 13.23 single.

The energetic day at Beginner & Blind Benoni 2026 illustrated the strength of the community, uniting newcomers and seasoned blindfolded specialists on a shared stage. With twenty podium spots secured by South African competitors and personal bests falling throughout every round, the single-day gathering in Benoni concluded as a memorable showcase of focused speedcubing skill.