Boulder Holiday Bash 2025

Seventy-one competitors made the trek to the Shining Mountain Waldorf School on January 4, 2025, bringing solvers together across state lines and international borders for Boulder Holiday Bash 2025. Travelling to Boulder, Colorado, USA, participants arrived ready to launch the new competitive year across five distinct disciplines and 13 scheduled rounds. The journey proved particularly fruitful for international visitor Ash Chen of Canada, who crossed the northern border to contend for top honours against a strong American contingent in an action-packed, single-day speedcubing showcase.

The premier 3x3x3 Cube event drew the largest field of the weekend, testing 71 entrants over three demanding rounds. Brayden Wroten delivered a masterclass in standard Rubik's Cube solving, claiming the title with a tournament-winning average of 7.24 seconds while posting the round best single of 6.82 seconds. Oliver Michael Sitja Sichel secured second place on the podium with an 8.15 average, while Raymos Castillo locked down third position with an average of 9.35, capping a fiercely contested battle in the headline 3x3 results.

Wroten was not finished with just the classic puzzle, executing a dominant campaign across multiple tables. In the 3x3x3 One-Handed event, which saw 47 solvers tackle the puzzle using solitary manual dexterity across two rounds, Wroten secured his second victory with a winning average of 12.40 seconds and a round-best single of 10.31. Kian Cline took the runner-up spot averaging 15.54 seconds, narrowly edging out Raymos Castillo, who earned another podium finish in third place with a 15.77 average.

The Clock event provided Wroten with a third gold medal at Boulder Holiday Bash 2025. Navigating the mechanical puzzle across two rounds against 50 competitors, Wroten produced a winning average of 3.90 seconds alongside a single of 3.44. Kaemon Vita mounted a strong challenge to take second place with an average of 4.18 seconds, while Ben Tibbetts rounded out the American sweep of the podium steps by securing third place with an average of 4.70 seconds.

Canada found its golden moment in the Pyraminx, where Ash Chen mastered the tetrahedral puzzle to take the top step of the podium. Across three rounds featuring 60 competitors, Chen recorded a decisive winning average of 2.66 seconds, supported by a 1.95 single. Wroten added to his comprehensive medal collection by taking second place with a 3.59 average, while William Mitchell secured the third podium step by averaging 3.99 seconds in the final round.

The 2x2x2 Cube competition brought intense speed across three rounds and 67 competitors, resulting in a victory for Jude Doland. Doland captured first place with an impressive winning average of 2.42 seconds and a single of 1.67 in the final. Bryan B. Conrrado claimed the second spot on the podium with a 3.05 average, finishing just ahead of Noah Gorski, who registered a 3.22 average to claim third place in the weekend-long speed cubing contest.

Beyond the championship podiums, the official WCA competition provided a stage for remarkable individual milestones and massive personal improvements. Jason Arnold delivered a standout performance by dropping his 2x2x2 Cube personal best to 2.85 seconds, an improvement of 64.5 percent over his previous mark of 8.02. Zach Hyman cut his 2x2x2 Cube mark by 51.7 percent to reach a 1.00 single and earned a best finish of 12th place. Cole Stanton tackled five events, slicing 50.9 percent off his Clock best to hit 24.39 and recording his first ever attempt at 3x3x3 One-Handed in 2:26.57. Dexter Gibson lowered his 3x3x3 One-Handed best to 33.00, an improvement of 44.8 percent.

Other competitors marked significant breakthroughs across their event schedules. Caleb Kobilan logged his first ever attempt at Clock with a time of 1:07.70 while slashing his 2x2x2 Cube best by 41.9 percent to 1:15.27. Andrew Kobilan improved his 2x2x2 Cube best by 40.1 percent down to 1.96 seconds. Adrian Brookens registered his first ever attempt at 3x3x3 One-Handed in 26.60 and cut his Pyraminx mark by 31.6 percent to 8.96. Making their first appearance at an official tournament, Finn Adaska entered three events, logging initial career attempts of 38.00 in the 3x3x3 Cube, 12.58 in the 2x2x2 Cube, and 16.16 in Pyraminx.

With 14 podium positions going to United States competitors and one to Canada, Boulder Holiday Bash 2025 delivered an exceptional showcase of regional and visiting talent. From the first rounds on Saturday morning to the closing finals, the cubing competition demonstrated the focus, preparation, and precision demanded across the discipline. Solvers packed away their puzzles from the Shining Mountain Waldorf School venue, carrying home hard-earned times and personal benchmarks to conclude a memorable day of racing the clock in Colorado.