Bolton Spring 2025

The competition hall at Bolton School bustled across the April 5 to April 6 weekend as timers beeped, puzzle mechanisms turned in unison, and scorecards circulated continuously across the solving stations. A total of 75 competitors converged for Bolton Spring 2025, taking on 18 rounds of intense play across seven distinct events. Located in Bolton, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom, the gathering highlighted the deep technical precision and broad talent present within the national speedcubing circuit throughout 2025.

British solvers established an overwhelming presence on the awards podium across every single category. Out of 21 total podium placements awarded over the weekend, competitors representing the United Kingdom claimed 20 spots, leaving only a single second-place finish to Canada. This near-total sweep underscored the depth of the domestic contingent, which captured top honours in all seven disciplines while defending their home tables across both preliminary rounds and tense finals.

Leading the charge at Bolton Spring 2025 was Caleb Wolf Dunn, who delivered a remarkable quadruple-victory performance. In the classic Rubik's Cube, Dunn navigated three demanding rounds to capture first place with an exceptional 7.14 winning average in the final round, having already delivered the tournament benchmark with a 6.18 best single. Jensen Belen-Brown of Canada claimed second place in the 3x3x3 Cube with an 8.04 average, while Dan Turner took third with an 8.51 average, completing the official 3x3 results.

Dunn extended his supremacy across the schedule by collecting three additional titles in rapid succession. In the 5x5x5 Cube, Dunn finished atop the standings with a winning average of 57.27, trailed by Dan Turner at 1:02.03 and Luke Burns at 1:09.58. Over at Megaminx, Dunn recorded a 43.36 winning average and a 40.29 single to beat Fred Lang, who averaged 48.21, and Luke Burns, who posted 52.70. Dunn added a fourth gold in Clock with a 4.15 average, holding off Burns and Jimi Naysmith, who finished second and third after both logging 4.20 averages.

Beyond the headline multi-event sweep, the shorter puzzles produced blistering speed cubing finishes of their own. Max Tully earned victory in the 2x2x2 Cube with a rapid 1.27 winning average and a 1.00 single across 60 competitors, leading a podium that included Dan Turner with 1.54 and Harry Allen with 1.71. In Pyraminx, Edward Burgess secured first place with an average of 1.88, narrowly edging Dunn who averaged 1.93, with Allen taking third on 2.85. Square-1 saw Isaac Corker take the title with a 7.94 average, ahead of Burns on 10.03 and Turner on 10.05.

Away from the top steps of the podium, numerous participants celebrated major milestones across the weekend. Harry Conway dropped his 2x2x2 Cube personal best by 59.2 percent down to 1.25, while also lowering his 3x3x3 Cube best to 12.41 by 26.6 percent and placing 12th in 2x2x2 Cube. Ezra Sellers cut his 2x2x2 Cube mark by 57 percent to 6.60, dropped his Pyraminx best by 56.4 percent to 5.93, and completed a first career attempt at Clock in 28.37. Daniel Wan reduced his 2x2x2 Cube best by 51.4 percent to 1.06 and secured an 8th-place finish in the 3x3x3 Cube. Zachary Gold Hanif entered all seven disciplines, logging a personal best of 4.81 in Clock that was 42.7 percent faster, improving his 3x3x3 Cube best by 28.8 percent to 8.61, taking 11th in 2x2x2 Cube, and completing a first attempt at Square-1 in 27.10.

The spirit of growth was equally vivid among those trying unfamiliar formats or attending a cubing competition for the first time. Ryan Dingler improved his Pyraminx personal best by 42 percent to 6.63 and posted a first 2x2x2 Cube attempt of 7.64. Alexander Aspinall trimmed his Pyraminx best by 42.6 percent to 5.69, his 2x2x2 Cube best by 19.8 percent to 6.38, and his 3x3x3 Cube mark by 6.7 percent to 21.67. Lakshit Batavia achieved a 40.9 percent improvement on 2x2x2 Cube with a 2.82, improved Pyraminx by 36.6 percent to 8.31, and dropped 3x3x3 Cube by 24.5 percent to 12.67. William Woods took on all seven events in their first WCA competition, recording first-time marks of 46.23 in the 3x3x3 Cube, 30.08 in Pyraminx, and 11.20 in the 2x2x2 Cube.

When the final round concluded at Bolton Spring 2025, the tournament stood as a testament to British depth across every puzzle format. From high-speed 2x2x2 sprints to multi-layered 5x5x5 solves and mechanical clock puzzles, the gathering demonstrated the thriving health of the community. Solvers departed Bolton School with fresh personal milestones established and a dominant national display securely written into the season records.