Big & Blind Pretoria 2024

Marike Faught delivered the standout performance of the weekend at Brooklyn Gereformeede Kerk Hall, securing a commanding victory in the 3x3x3 Blindfolded event with a blisteringly fast single time of 1:02.80. The feat set the standard for an intensive one-day gathering where memory disciplines and heavyweight puzzles shared the spotlight. Held on June 15, 2024, Big & Blind Pretoria 2024 brought together an elite group of nine dedicated solvers in Pretoria, South Africa. Across eight rounds spanning seven distinct events, competitors took on some of the most grueling categories recognized in the global speedcubing community.

The 3x3x3 Blindfolded division demanded flawless memorisation and precision execution from every entrant on the start line. Faught edged out Ruben Grobler, whose best single effort of 1:04.17 secured second place in a tightly contested round. Yusuf Talha Sayed Karim completed the podium with a solid single mark of 1:44.04. Behind them, Osman Badroodin registered a successful solve of 3:52.11, while Taariq Hassim logged a 4:27.35. Although each solver walked away with an overall average recorded as DNF due to uncompleted attempts in their three-solve sets, the individual 3x3 results demonstrated exceptional poise under pressure.

Faught extended her command over the sightless events into the heavier categories, capturing first place in the 4x4x4 Blindfolded discipline with a top single time of 4:25.23. The victory placed her well clear of Yusuf Talha Sayed Karim, who finished in second place with a time of 14:55.00, and Taariq Hassim, who secured third place with 18:32.00. Stepping up to the largest blindfolded challenge of the meet, Faught also clinched the 5x5x5 Blindfolded title with a lone successful solve of 12:25.00, completing a sweep across the single-cube blind events at Big & Blind Pretoria 2024.

In the 3x3x3 Multi-Blind competition, where participants must memorise and solve multiple standard Rubik's Cube puzzles consecutively without sight, Taariq Hassim took top honours. Hassim delivered a flawless score of 7 out of 7 cubes solved within an official time of 50:43. Faught attempted the most ambitious pack of the day, successfully solving 14 out of 21 cubes in 55:35 to earn second place. Yusuf Talha Sayed Karim took third with a perfect 3 out of 3 in 22:01, while Ruben Grobler completed the field with 5 out of 9 cubes solved in 41:16.

Away from the blindfolds, Osman Badroodin established himself as the premier big cube specialist of the tournament. In the 7x7x7 Cube final, Badroodin earned first place with a winning average of 3:20.58, highlighted by a best single solve of 3:17.97. Ian Luies followed in second place with an average of 4:14.64, while Marike Faught added another podium finish to her tally, taking third with an average of 4:36.66. Badroodin showed remarkable stamina on the large mechanisms, maintaining rapid turning speeds through complex reduction phases and long parity algorithms.

Badroodin continued his winning form in the 6x6x6 Cube category, posting a winning average of 2:02.60 and a single solve of 1:54.59 to finish ahead of six other competitors. Ruben Grobler pushed the pace to take second place with a 2:17.20 average, and Marike Faught earned third with a 2:43.99 average. The standard 5x5x5 Cube event, the only discipline featuring two full rounds of competition at this cubing competition, saw Ruben Grobler take the title with an average of 1:07.09 and a top single of 1:02.75, narrowly beating Badroodin who averaged 1:08.51.

Beyond the championship podiums, the official WCA competition highlighted tremendous individual development across the small field. Isaac Scheepers took on four events and delivered monumental personal milestones, trimming his 7x7x7 Cube personal best to 6:31.72 to go 21 percent faster than his previous mark, improving his 6x6x6 Cube best to 2:46.44 to run 15.2 percent faster, and shaving his 5x5x5 Cube mark to 1:12.55, an improvement of 13.8 percent. Dhiren Callister Nair made a successful first ever attempt at 5x5x5 Cube, finishing sixth overall with a time of 2:17.94. Tyrone Pedro also took on a first ever attempt at 5x5x5 Cube, recording a commendable solve of 2:39.91.

Big & Blind Pretoria 2024 proved to be an efficient and demanding showcase of high-end speed cubing, closing out all seven events with all twenty podium placements going to South African competitors. From the memory trials of multi-blind to the mechanical rigours of the large cubes, the day pushed each solver to their technical limits. As the 2024 season moves forward, the benchmarks established in Pretoria provide a formidable target for big cube and blindfolded solvers preparing for the next round of regional competition.