Bring the Heat AZ 2024

Seventy-eight competitors made the journey across the region and beyond to converge on the Southeast Regional Library for Bring the Heat AZ 2024. Across June 15, 2024, the single-day gathering brought together a committed field ready to tackle eleven rounds of head-to-head racing in Gilbert, Arizona, USA. The road traveled yielded intense matchups across six official events, demanding sharp focus from every participant looking to test their limits on the competitive stage.

Jeremy Bulambot stood out as the central figure of the weekend, capturing multiple titles in commanding fashion. In the premier 3x3x3 Cube event, Bulambot led the pack through three competitive rounds, securing first place with a 7.27 winning average and a best single solve of 6.66 seconds. Dan Tran followed closely on the podium with an 8.18 average, while Xavier W. NcCorchuk took third place at 8.61, highlighting the sharpest 3x3 results of the tournament.

Bulambot expanded his gold tally in the 2x2x2 Cube, delivering a 2.10 winning average in the final round to take the crown. Quintin Audisho locked in second place with a 2.99 average, while Dan Tran secured third with 3.04. The fast-paced two-round contest featured intense competition among seventy-four entrants, reinforcing the depth of talent present in the smaller puzzle brackets throughout the day.

The one-handed contest proved just as lucrative for Bulambot, who secured his third victory of the day in 3x3x3 One-Handed. Navigating a field of fifty-one competitors across two rounds, he posted an average of 11.62 seconds alongside a best single mark of 11.16. Tran picked up another silver placement with a 12.40 average, and Michael Larsen claimed the third step on the podium with a mark of 15.97.

Big cubes and complex geometry delivered exceptional performances of their own. In the 4x4x4 Cube, Dan Tran captured victory with a 30.51 winning average and a single solve of 29.06, finishing ahead of Michael Larsen at 32.36 and Jeremy Bulambot at 33.26. Meanwhile, Nicolas Naing demonstrated remarkable mastery of the twelve-sided puzzle, sweeping the Megaminx event across two rounds with a 31.55 average and a blistering 29.53 single, outpacing Mia Sponseller at 51.12 and Tran at 57.03.

Beyond the podium battles, several competitors made substantial strides in their personal development. Logan Gillespie took on six events and achieved a 3x3x3 One-Handed personal best of 39.97, which was 61.3 percent faster than their previous mark, alongside their first attempt at Megaminx with a 3:17.71. Kade Gamble improved their 2x2x2 Cube mark by 55.2 percent to 8.97 and logged their first Clock solve at 23.06. Julius Ponce dropped their 2x2x2 Cube personal best by 44.9 percent down to 6.59 and completed a first Clock attempt at 45.46. Riley Gamble tackled five events, setting a 3x3x3 One-Handed personal best of 51.43, an improvement of 36.5 percent, while debuting in Megaminx at 2:46.77.

The spirit of growth continued as Jackson Krefetz trimmed 33.5 percent off their 3x3x3 Cube mark to finish in 25.07 while logging a first 2x2x2 Cube solve of 9.24. Joey William Clawson improved their 2x2x2 Cube personal best by 33.4 percent to 3.41 and tackled 3x3x3 One-Handed for the first time with a 40.67 result. Ryan Joyner delivered a strong 13.68 personal best in one-handed solving, 27.7 percent faster than before, alongside a first Megaminx result of 1:31.66. Owen Allred entered five events, logging first attempts in 3x3x3 One-Handed at 39.24, Megaminx at 2:39.32, and 4x4x4 Cube at 1:21.99.

The Clock event provided a sharp single-round showdown among forty-one entrants, where Thien Phan captured the top spot with a 7.65 average and a 7.12 single. Samuel Chandler claimed second place with an 8.04 average, and Larsen earned another podium spot in third with 8.67. This high-speed test rounded out a packed schedule that celebrated every dimension of modern speed cubing.

From classic Rubik's Cube races to specialized hardware, Bring the Heat AZ 2024 served as a standout cubing competition on the summer schedule. The trip to Gilbert proved rewarding for both seasoned frontrunners and developing solvers making their mark at an official WCA competition. As the year 2024 progresses, the standards set in Arizona highlight the continued elevation of speedcubing across every discipline.