Brilliant Ballarat 2026

Sixty-eight competitors gathered inside St Patrick's Cathedral Hall as Brilliant Ballarat 2026 brought intense speedcubing action to regional Victoria. Held across May 30 and May 31, the tournament delivered 19 separate rounds across 10 official events. For several newcomers taking their seats at an official cubing competition for the very first time, the tournament was an introduction to the rapid cadence of the timer. Stepping up to the solving stations alongside international champions, these fresh faces experienced every nuance of a major speed cubing gathering, from tense pre-solve inspections to the relief of a clean finish.

Making an official debut in a World Cube Association setting brings an unforgettable mix of focus and anticipation. First-time competitor Liam Shawn Vivares took on five separate puzzles over the weekend, posting a debut mark of 13.06 seconds in the 3x3x3 Cube, recording a 10.04 in Skewb, and securing 21st place in the 5x5x5 Cube with a time of 1:49.49. Fellow debutant Beatrice Polite tackled four events, recording an 8.34 in the 2x2x2 Cube, an 11.44 in Pyraminx, and claiming 27th place in the 5x5x5 Cube with a 3:58.68 finish. Cam La completed an initial official campaign with a 35.32 single in the main event and a 2:48.03 in the 4x4x4 Cube.

Ray Jameson marked his first official WCA competition appearance by registering an 18.39 in Pyraminx and a 1:01.12 on the classic Rubik's Cube. Beyond the first-timers, developing competitors across Ballarat, Victoria, Australia delivered substantial personal breakthroughs that highlighted the depth of the field. Jax Karslake entered five events and recorded a 65.5 percent improvement in the 2x2x2 Cube, dropping a previous best of 9.70 down to 3.35 seconds, while also executing first-ever official attempts of 1:30.07 in 3x3x3 One-Handed and 18.64 in Skewb. William Vergara took on seven events, securing sixth place in the 5x5x5 Cube while clocking inaugural competition singles of 9.06 in Skewb, 24.41 in One-Handed, and 44.88 in the 4x4x4 Cube.

The progress continued through the ranks as Lockie Lewis entered six events and cut a Skewb best almost in half, running 49.7 percent faster to record a 6.95 single while logging debut times of 2:01.44 in the 4x4x4 Cube and 4:38.13 in the 5x5x5 Cube. Chase Lee contested six events, finishing 13th in Skewb, lowering his 2x2x2 Cube personal mark by 26.7 percent to 2.91 seconds, and logging maiden singles of 24.56 in One-Handed and 2:00.35 in the 5x5x5 Cube. Yadhunandan Rejith entered six disciplines, taking ninth in Skewb with a personal best of 3.28 seconds, improving by 41.3 percent in Pyraminx to 4.56 seconds, and recording a 22.78 personal record in One-Handed. Oliver Farran entered seven events, logging a 33.8 percent improvement in Skewb down to 6.10 seconds alongside a 16.17 personal mark in the main event.

At the front of the pack, the 3x3 results concluded with Feliks Zemdegs securing the title on Sunday afternoon. Zemdegs generated a winning average of 6.48 seconds across the final round, highlighted by a best single of 5.79 seconds. The main event drew all 68 competitors across three rounds of intense qualification, serving as the central spectacle of the 2026 program. Zemdegs added three additional victories during the weekend, collecting first place in the 4x4x4 Cube with a 23.38 average, winning the 5x5x5 Cube with a 42.36 average, and capturing the 3x3x3 One-Handed title with a 10.97 average.

The two-handed big cubes and side events showcased fierce trans-Tasman and international competition. In the 4x4x4 Cube, Firstian Fushada finished as runner-up with a 28.22 average behind Zemdegs, while Phoenix Patterson took third place with a 29.92 mark. The 5x5x5 Cube podium saw Fushada take second place with a 47.22 average, followed by Roman Rudakov in third with a 57.41 average. In 3x3x3 One-Handed, Patterson took second place averaging 11.94, while Rudakov earned third with a 12.44 average. Rudakov went on to win the 2x2x2 Cube outright, posting an electric 1.28 average and a 0.98 single to top Fushada's 1.62 and Jacob Joshi's 1.74.

In the rotational and specialty events, Max Parris captured the Skewb championship by producing a 2.46 winning average and a 1.99 single, edging out Rudakov's 2.64 and Fushada's 2.75. Firstian Fushada claimed victory in the Pyraminx final, averaging 2.46 with a fast single of 1.44 seconds to best Patterson's 2.75 and Joshi's 3.14. Across the entire competition, Australian competitors claimed 22 podium positions while Indonesian representation secured 8 podium finishes.

Blindfolded solving presented its unique tests of memory and precision inside the hall. Michael Tripodi swept all three memory events on the schedule, capturing the 3x3x3 Blindfolded title with a winning average of 23.51 seconds and a best single of 19.55 seconds, besting Fushada's 20.21 single and Lennon Hughes's 56.66. Tripodi continued his masterclass on the larger puzzles, winning 4x4x4 Blindfolded with a single of 1:56.31 over Fushada's 2:17.41 and Hughes's 5:17.30, and taking 5x5x5 Blindfolded with a single of 3:38.64.

Brilliant Ballarat 2026 concluded having delivered a balanced stage where international champions executed clinical solves while brand-new competitors took their first confident steps into the sport. With personal milestones achieved across every age group and experience level, the weekend at St Patrick's Cathedral Hall established a vibrant baseline for all involved as the tournament calendar progresses.