Brisbane Big n Blind 2023

Charlie Eggins delivered a tour de force across the memorisation categories at Northside Christian College, securing four gold medals to define the weekend. The Australian standout capped his run with a dominant 15.99 winning average and a 14.74 single in 3x3x3 Blindfolded, alongside top honours in Multi-Blind, 4x4x4 Blindfolded, and 5x5x5 Blindfolded. Taking place from November 11 to November 12, the Brisbane Big n Blind 2023 assembled 37 competitors in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, for a challenging slate of 15 rounds spanning seven heavy and complex disciplines.

Saturday opened the two-day schedule with high drama as the large NxN puzzles took centre stage alongside early blindfolded qualifying stages. Hayden Ng established an immediate standard on the big cubes, battling through three packed rounds of 6x6x6 Cube to post a first-place average of 1:35.65 with a single of 1:28.64. China's Yibo Wang pressed hard throughout the day, claiming second place on 6x6x6 with a 1:45.52 average, while Avery Graham secured third in 2:09.62, showcasing the intense speedcubing talent gathered in the region.

The 5x5x5 Cube rounds delivered a reversal at the top of the standings later on the first day. Yibo Wang secured the victory over a 30-player field with a rapid 51.82 winning average and a 49.31 single. Hayden Ng finished as runner-up with an average of 54.19, while Jamie Otsu took third place in 1:10.03. Competitors focused on the classic Rubik's Cube mechanics scaled up to five layers, proving how much technical mastery goes into solving these intricate mechanisms under strict tournament conditions.

Sunday morning turned the spotlight squarely toward blindfolded endurance and spatial memory. Charlie Eggins continued his masterclass by solving 21 out of 27 cubes in 52:24 during the 3x3x3 Multi-Blind event, holding off strong showings from Carlo Malagar, who posted 14/16 in 57:33, and David McLean, who finished 10/11 in 52:47. Eggins also took victory in 4x4x4 Blindfolded with a single of 2:02.04 over Ming Dao Ting's 12:14.00, and sealed the 5x5x5 Blindfolded win with a 7:23.80 single, where three other finalists recorded DNFs.

Away from the top steps of the podium, several competitors achieved remarkable milestones across the schedule at this WCA competition. Jacob Cornege cut his 7x7x7 Cube personal best down to 4:23.29, an improvement of 42.1 percent over his previous mark, while also taking eighth overall. Laura Ting dropped her 7x7x7 personal record by 21.1 percent to 8:43.20 and improved her 6x6x6 time by 18.1 percent to 4:41.05. Moses Limmer achieved a 3:39.22 personal best in 3x3x3 Blindfolded, beating his previous record by 40.9 percent, while Samuel Michael Gaffney dropped his 7x7x7 best by 15 percent to 4:59.70.

Other solvers embraced brand new events across the packed timetable, demonstrating the wide scope of speed cubing development in 2023. Connor Sharpe logged his first ever attempt at 6x6x6 Cube with a result of 4:19.20, while Emily Warry tackled her first 7x7x7 Cube attempt, recording an 8:20.66. Charlie Shulman completed his first official attempt at 5x5x5 Cube in 3:48.46, and Billy Chapman registered his first attempt at 6x6x6 Cube with a time of 5:26.59. Connor Theodore also made his debut in 3x3x3 Multi-Blind with 2/3 in 16:01 and improved his 3x3x3 Blindfolded mark by 43.4 percent to 2:24.63.

Sunday concluded with the marathon 7x7x7 Cube finals and the decisive stages of blindfolded competition. Hayden Ng closed out his second title of the weekend in 7x7x7 Cube, posting a winning average of 2:20.10 and a blistering single of 2:08.48 to lead the 25-competitor bracket. Yibo Wang earned another silver medal with an average of 2:58.77, while Jamie Otsu captured the bronze podium spot with a 3:22.56 result, rounding out a demanding weekend of big cube execution.

The blindfolded 3x3 results formed the final exclamation point of the weekend as Charlie Eggins led Conan Mo, who took second in 44.78, and Carlo Malagar, who finished third in 1:22.61. Across two intense days, Australian competitors took home 19 podium positions alongside three for China. Brisbane Big n Blind 2023 proved to be an exceptional cubing competition, leaving the local community energized as solvers look ahead to the next cycle of competition.