Brent Cross Winter 2023

A total of 175 competitors gathered at Hendon Leisure Centre in Barnet, Greater London, United Kingdom for two days of high-octane speedcubing action. Staged over February 18 to February 19, Brent Cross Winter 2023 brought together talent across seven distinct events and twenty hard-fought rounds. Speed was the defining feature of the weekend, with the classic short-format puzzles delivering extraordinary marks on the competition floor.

The 2x2x2 Cube event drew 138 competitors through four full rounds of frantic action, proving to be one of the quickest events on the schedule. James Alonso of the United Kingdom took top honors with an astonishing winning average of 1.68 seconds, powered by a tournament-best single of 1.04. Fellow British competitors Luan Philippe Da Silva and Harishan Ramanan completed the podium, posting averages of 2.31 and 2.37 seconds respectively in a remarkably tight finish.

The flagship 3x3x3 Cube contest, the pinnacle of every cubing competition, saw 160 participants line up across four grueling rounds. Poland's Tymon Kolasiński secured the title with a world-class winning average of 5.95 seconds and a blistering 5.28 single. James Alonso followed his 2x2 victory with a runner-up 3x3 average of 6.83, while France's Juliette Sébastien claimed third place on a 7.15 average to round out the 3x3 results at the top.

Kolasiński doubled his gold-medal tally in the 4x4x4 Cube, leading the 85-player field across three rounds. He posted a winning average of 23.41 seconds with a best single of 21.37. Great Britain's Chris Mills captured second with a 28.88 average, ahead of Harishan Ramanan who recorded 30.51. Across both the traditional Rubik's Cube and the bigger puzzles, the standard of execution remained exceptionally high throughout the 2023 meeting.

Beyond the hardware at the very top of the standings, Brent Cross Winter 2023 showcased massive personal growth for competitors tackling ambitious goals. Ugham Lindsay achieved an enormous leap in Pyraminx with a personal best of 3.85 seconds, improving by 64.6 percent from a previous 10.88, while also taking their 3x3x3 Cube mark to 14.09. Jacob Payne dropped their 2x2x2 Cube personal best to 2.54 seconds, a 57.7 percent improvement, while also logging a first attempt at 4x4x4 Cube in 1:09.92. Dominic Seaton lowered their Pyraminx best to 5.29, taking 48.9 percent off their previous time, and Reece McDonald cut their Pyraminx mark to 5.35 while recording a 3x3x3 Cube personal best of 11.13.

Other solvers took on unfamiliar disciplines to broaden their competitive range at this WCA competition. Alex Pennington shaved 45 percent off their Pyraminx best down to 6.24 seconds, while setting a first ever Megaminx mark of 1:32.43. Chong Kai Chit improved their 2x2x2 personal best by 44.8 percent to 4.12, took 22nd in Megaminx, and posted a first Pyraminx result of 8.26. Jayden de Quincey reduced their 2x2x2 mark by 43.9 percent to 3.33 and completed a first 4x4x4 attempt in 1:38.79. Jacob Walton took on all seven events, placing 30th in Pyraminx, making a first blindfolded attempt at 6:56.84, and slashing their 4x4x4 Cube best by 33.8 percent to 1:07.35.

Specialist categories also featured prominently on the London program. Juliette Sébastien took victory in 3x3x3 One-Handed among 76 competitors, recording a 10.61 average and a 10.00 single, finishing clear of British solvers Joseph Briggs at 11.86 and Louis de Mendonça at 11.94. In the Pyraminx, Chris Mills captured first place with an average of 2.94 seconds, holding off Jaye Sloan with 3.96 and Poland's Jan Bebłot at 4.19.

The 3x3x3 Blindfolded division demanded pure memorization and nerves, where Ben Stokes won with a 21.72 average and 20.43 single, edging Jaye Sloan's 24.12 and Ireland's Tao Yu at 24.73. Megaminx went to Sean Moran with an impressive 35.09 winning average ahead of Sébastien's 40.71 and Mills's 43.78. Across the entire weekend of speed cubing, host nation United Kingdom captured 14 podium places, Poland took three, France secured three, and Ireland claimed one.

With twenty rounds completed and dozens of personal milestones achieved, Brent Cross Winter 2023 delivered a weekend of exceptional sprint-solving excellence. The Hendon Leisure Centre proved a fantastic setting for competitors across every event, setting a high bar for the remainder of the season.