Canadian Championship 2023

A mere sixteen hundredths of a second decided the 4x4x4 Cube final at the Canadian Championship 2023, where Max Siauw narrowly held off Matty Hiroto Inaba to claim the title. Siauw delivered a winning average of 24.90 seconds, just edging out Inaba's 25.06, while Sameer Aggarwal completed the razor-thin podium in third with a 26.97 average. The dramatic final set the tone for an intense weekend of top-tier speedcubing, proving that the margin between victory and second place could vanish in the blink of an eye.

The major gathering took place from July 13 to July 16, 2023, welcoming 296 competitors to Queen's Park Arena in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. Over four action-packed days, the major cubing competition featured 37 rounds across 16 different World Cube Association disciplines. Fans and competitors alike witnessed a showcase of elite mechanical puzzle solving, ranging from lightning-fast two-handed sprints to grueling memory challenges across the extensive competition schedule.

In the flagship 3x3x3 Cube, Brennen Lin emerged triumphant after four grueling rounds of competition against 294 entrants. Lin posted a stellar winning average of 6.27 seconds, highlighted by a best single solve of 5.98. Lin also secured a double championship by winning the 2x2x2 Cube with a rapid 1.71 winning average, finishing ahead of a 267-competitor field. The official 3x3 results cemented Lin's status at the top of the podium in the classic Rubik's Cube category.

Another dominant display unfolded in the blindfolded events, where Stanley Chapel executed a complete four-event sweep. Chapel captured the 3x3x3 Blindfolded crown with an average of 17.40 seconds, then secured the 4x4x4 Blindfolded title with a single mark of 1:03.10 and the 5x5x5 Blindfolded victory with a 2:30.84 single. Chapel capped off the masterclass in 3x3x3 Multi-Blind, resolving 45 out of 51 cubes within a time of 57:38 to sweep every memory-based discipline at the tournament.

The big-cube and side-event disciplines produced equally compelling storylines. Max Siauw added a second title to his weekend tally by winning the 6x6x6 Cube in 1:29.28, while Omar Ellabban claimed victory in the 7x7x7 Cube with an average of 2:18.20. In the one-handed division, Anto Kam earned gold in 3x3x3 One-Handed with an impressive 9.90 average. Lucas Kuczaj topped the Megaminx podium in 36.87 seconds, Harsha Paladugu won Pyraminx in 1.90, Carter Kucala took Skewb in 2.16, Dilshawn Sidhu captured Clock in 5.19, and Sameer Aggarwal won Square-1 in 6.04.

Away from the top of the podium, the Canadian Championship 2023 was filled with remarkable individual milestones and breakthroughs across the arena floor. Amun Chawla took on 12 events and logged huge personal records, dropping his Square-1 time to 52.13 seconds, which was 46.8 percent faster than his previous best, while also making a first career attempt at Clock with a 37.53. Alex Crouse tackled 12 events as well, posting an initial 6x6x6 mark of 4:27.51, a first 7x7x7 time of 6:50.55, and chopping 34.6 percent off his 3x3x3 One-Handed personal best with a 23.36 single.

Several other competitors celebrated major breakthroughs across multiple puzzle categories. Eric Yang logged an official 3.89 on his first 2x2x2 attempt, a 10.86 on his first Skewb solve, and cut his 3x3x3 One-Handed best by 45.3 percent to 17.17 seconds. Kayden Zhang lowered their 3x3x3 personal best to 16.27 seconds, an improvement of 32.5 percent, while trying 2x2x2 and 4x4x4 for the first time. Mateo Tang improved their 4x4x4 best by 31.7 percent to 59.07, Toby Johnson reduced their Pyraminx mark by 28.2 percent to 6.66, Raymond Wang completed 13 events including a first 4.12 2x2x2 solve, and Ezekiel M. Pareja logged first official attempts in Pyraminx, 5x5x5, and 2x2x2.

Overall podium finishes saw United States competitors collect 30 medals, host nation Canada earn 14, Hong Kong secure 3, and China take 1. Across 37 rounds of high-level speed cubing, the tournament delivered outstanding individual triumphs alongside inspiring personal benchmarks for competitors throughout the arena. As the WCA competition concluded in New Westminster, the Canadian Championship 2023 stood as a vibrant celebration of skill, endurance, and precision solving.

With 16 champions crowned and hundreds of personal records established, the weekend showcased the depth and talent of the international cubing community. The thrilling battles across every round left a lasting impression as solvers now look forward to continuing their progress and meeting new benchmarks in the seasons ahead.