Berkeley Summer 2024

The expansive halls of Pauley Ballroom and Stephens filled with the rhythmic click and snap of plastic as solvers gathered in Northern California. Tables were lined with timers and mats, ready for a full schedule of seven events packed into a single intense day on June 9, 2024. Competitors examined scrambled puzzles under the venue lighting before launching into their solutions with rapid finger movements. The bustling atmosphere in Berkeley, California, USA set the stage for a day of high-level puzzle solving.

A total of 154 competitors took part in Berkeley Summer 2024, navigating twelve rounds of competition across various puzzle sizes and formats. The tournament drew solvers from across the region to test their preparation under official conditions. Among the deep field, one name rose to prominence across multiple disciplines throughout the schedule. Varun Mohanraj delivered a commanding series of performances, asserting total control over three separate events to become the defining figure of the tournament.

Mohanraj began his dominant run in the classic Rubik's Cube, leading the way through three hard-fought rounds among a field of 150 competitors. In the final round of the 3x3x3 Cube, Mohanraj posted a winning average of 6.52 seconds alongside a best single solve of 5.68 seconds. Christopher Yen pushed the pace closely, finishing second with an average of 6.65 seconds, while Paul Mahvi secured third place with 7.55 seconds. The 3x3 results capped a thrilling main event that showcased elite efficiency.

The dominance continued seamlessly into the big cube categories, where Mohanraj demonstrated exceptional speed on larger mechanisms. In the 5x5x5 Cube, he claimed top honors with a winning average of 49.43 seconds, recording a standout single of 42.83 seconds. Paul Mahvi followed in second place with a 52.10 average, and Christopher Yen rounded out the podium at 1:00.06. Mohanraj then captured his third title in the 6x6x6 Cube, logging a winning average of 1:33.54 and a best single of 1:28.65, again finishing ahead of Mahvi, who took second in 1:38.25, and An Le in third at 1:48.51.

Beyond the podium battles, the open rounds served as a launchpad for major personal breakthroughs across the scoreboards. Armaan Qasim achieved a massive leap in Square-1 with a personal best of 20.14 seconds, cutting his previous mark by 58.4 percent, while also dropping his Megaminx best by 42.1 percent down to 1:12.78. Ayaansh Kala slashed his Skewb mark by 50.2 percent to 8.36 seconds and set a 3x3x3 One-Handed personal best of 34.42 seconds. Micah Lee improved his 6x6x6 Cube time by 46.2 percent to 2:36.04 and dropped his 3x3x3 Cube best to 9.43 seconds. Yuanrui Zhang reached tenth place in Megaminx with a personal best of 56.64 seconds, a 43.2 percent improvement, while also logging a first ever attempt at 5x5x5 Cube in 1:13.82 and 6x6x6 Cube in 2:31.39.

Other dedicated participants took on fresh disciplines to expand their competitive horizons. Benjamin Wang cut his 3x3x3 Cube best by 39.1 percent down to 12.24 seconds and completed a first ever attempt at 3x3x3 One-Handed in 32.30 seconds. Zachary Vautier tackled his first ever attempt at Square-1 with a 1:49.62 and dropped his 3x3x3 One-Handed best by 28 percent to 57.97 seconds. John Ackalloor recorded a first ever attempt at Megaminx with a 3:04.90 while lowering his 5x5x5 Cube best by 20.4 percent to 2:29.44. Marloe Sanchez-Taporco took on six events, recording first ever attempts in 5x5x5 Cube at 2:24.59, Skewb at 12.12, and Megaminx at 1:45.68.

Specialty events added further excitement to the schedule, bringing diverse puzzle types to the center stage. In 3x3x3 One-Handed, Anto Kam earned victory with a winning average of 10.60 seconds and a best single solve of 9.78 seconds. Jihu Mun took the second podium spot with a 12.11 average, while Nico Harper finished third at 12.86 seconds. The Megaminx event saw Harper take the top step of the podium, winning with an average of 35.58 seconds ahead of Nolan Yiu at 39.90 seconds and Alessandro Diomampo at 40.56 seconds.

The side events concluded with tight finishes in both the Skewb and Square-1 categories. Rahul Bollini claimed the Skewb victory with a 4.45-second average, narrowly edging Cameron Miller at 4.56 seconds and Ethan Mendelson at 4.99 seconds. In Square-1, Calvin Nielson secured first place with an average of 8.01 seconds and a fast single of 5.67 seconds, followed by Miller in second at 8.61 seconds and Harper in third at 8.74 seconds. Across the board, this WCA competition demonstrated the tremendous depth of regional speed cubing talent.

The intense action at Berkeley Summer 2024 brought a day of world-class speedcubing to a satisfying close in the Bay Area. With twenty podium finishes earned by United States solvers and one by Hong Kong, the tournament highlighted both seasoned champions and rising talents pushing their personal boundaries. As the tables cleared and timers powered down, the community celebrated a full day of precision and speed, setting a benchmark for the next season of cubing competition.