Bloomington Open 2024

Five victories across six events defined a masterclass of speedcubing on February 24, 2024, as Luke Garrett turned the Banneker Community Center into his personal stage. The one-day gathering in Bloomington, Indiana, USA, brought together 55 competitors across 11 rounds of intense puzzle solving. Garrett wasted no time asserting complete control over the weekend schedule, setting the pace in almost every discipline he entered and securing top honours with ruthless consistency. By the end of the day, his commanding presence left an indelible mark on the tournament.

Garrett set the tone in the traditional Rubik's Cube category, delivering a stellar winning average of 5.95 seconds to take the title in a field of 55 competitors across three rounds. His best single in the final round reached 5.04 seconds, while earlier rounds saw him post a single of 4.93 and an average of 5.93 seconds. Brody Lassner secured second place on the 3x3x3 Cube podium with an average of 8.41 seconds, followed closely by Ellery Dillon in third with an 8.45 average. The 3x3 results highlighted fierce contention behind Garrett, but nobody could match the champion's relentless pace.

The 4x4x4 Cube competition followed a nearly identical script, with Garrett taking first place courtesy of a 28.84-second winning average and a best single solve of 25.35 seconds over two rounds. Lassner claimed another runner-up finish with an average of 37.87 seconds, edging out India's Akshaansh Chilakapati, who took third place on the podium with a 38.04 average among 38 competitors. Garrett's command of the larger puzzle demonstrated the technical precision that separated him from the rest of the field throughout the afternoon in Indiana.

Stepping into the geometric complexities of the Megaminx, Garrett once again topped the rankings with a winning average of 39.61 seconds and a rapid single of 31.54 seconds in a direct single-round final. Lucy Grace Bryson earned second place with an average of 56.48 seconds, while Chilakapati secured his second podium finish of the competition by taking third in 58.49 seconds. Across both big cubes and side events, Garrett maintained an untouchable standard that continuously dictated the flow of the entire cubing competition.

The domination extended to the Pyraminx and Square-1 tables, where Garrett completed his five-title haul. In Pyraminx, he took gold with a 2.84-second average and a best single of 1.98 seconds, leading Layne VanSiegel in second at 4.37 and Luke Pearson in third at 4.44. Garrett then navigated a razor-thin Square-1 final, capturing first with an average of 11.49 seconds against Aidan Halloran's 11.58 average and Reed W. Richardson's 12.58. Richardson broke Garrett's clean sweep of the entire event lineup by winning Clock with an average of 3.77 seconds, ahead of Graham Hartman at 9.44 and Lucas Stambaugh at 9.54.

Away from the top of the podium, several competitors logged significant personal breakthroughs during Bloomington Open 2024. Christian Leach delivered massive improvements across multiple events, cutting his Megaminx personal best by 55.3 percent down to 1:42.96, dropping his Pyraminx best by 38.2 percent to 7.25, and shaving 25 percent off his 4x4x4 Cube mark to 1:09.98. Justin Reilmann entered five disciplines and slashed his Megaminx personal best by 45.7 percent to 2:01.78, alongside a 17 percent cut in Square-1 to 22.30 and a 10.5 percent boost in 4x4x4 Cube with 46.84. John Hruska logged his first ever attempt at 4x4x4 Cube with a 55.94 single and improved his Square-1 mark by 31.2 percent to 26.01. Boston Barnard improved his Pyraminx personal best by 33.9 percent to 11.38.

New puzzle challenges and first-time appearances brought immense energy to the competition floor. Keiden Hudson recorded a first ever attempt at Clock in 24.69 seconds while lowering his Pyraminx best by 27.3 percent to 9.86. Caleb Kippenbrock took on five events, registering his first ever attempt at Pyraminx with a 10.17 single, a first Megaminx solve of 4:03.38, and a first 4x4x4 Cube mark of 2:05.75. Grant Denton logged a first Clock single of 25.23 and improved his Pyraminx time by 22.8 percent to 6.25. William Guijosa tackled three events, registering a first ever attempt at Pyraminx in 15.87 and Clock in 25.74.

The gathering also served as an exciting debut for several newcomers stepping onto the official floor for their first WCA competition. Samuel Fleming tackled four events, opening his official ledger with an initial 3x3x3 Cube solve of 16.72, a 59.74 in Square-1, and 11.73 in Pyraminx. Jack Richard Kilby III posted a 1:02.40 3x3x3 single and an 11.57 in Pyraminx, while Kartik Dhanda notched 20.34 in 3x3x3 and 11.34 in Pyraminx. Kingston Pumel rounded out the first-time entrants, clocking 33.96 in the 3x3x3 Cube and 14.87 in Pyraminx as speed cubing continues to welcome fresh talent.

With 16 podium places claimed by United States competitors and two secured for India, Bloomington Open 2024 concluded as an exhilarating showcase of local and visiting talent. Garrett's masterclass in speed, taking five titles in a single afternoon, established one of the most dominant individual performances seen across the region this year. As the community packs up the timers and looks forward to the next season of competition, the remarkable efficiency and versatility displayed on the tables in Bloomington will remain the benchmark to beat.