Chapacos Cuberos 2024

A blistering 9.37 average in the three-round main event proved that format mastery was everything at Chapacos Cuberos 2024. Held at Cine MegaCenter in Tarija, Bolivia on April 20, 2024, the tournament brought together 61 competitors across 11 fast-paced rounds. With seven different events featuring varied structures, from three-round marathons to high-pressure single-round shootouts, success demanded immediate precision. Luis Ernesto Gutierrez Tolaba rose to the challenge, taking command of the headlining Rubik's Cube category by pairing consistency with an 8.13 best single to outpace 55 other rivals in the final round of the day.

The tournament calendar offered an intense test of tactical adaptation across various disciplines. In the 3x3x3 Cube, the multi-round format winnowed the massive field into a tight podium finish. Gutierrez Tolaba topped the 3x3 results ahead of Rodrigo Ugarte, who claimed second place with an average of 11.86, and Alessandro David Martinez Ojeda, who secured third place with 14.68. The extended rounds allowed finalists to settle into a rhythm, contrasting sharply with the immediate requirements seen elsewhere on the schedule.

Single-round events gave no room for error, rewarding those who executed on demand. Rodrigo Ugarte showed remarkable adaptability by dominating both big cubes, securing victory in 4x4x4 Cube with a 38.71 average and capturing 5x5x5 Cube with a winning average of 1:15.11. In the 4x4x4 Cube contest, Ugarte posted the single fastest solve of 35.15 to edge out Gutierrez Tolaba, who finished second with 41.23, while Jhersson Cabezas Luizaga followed in third at 49.46. Ugarte completed his big-cube double in the 5x5x5 Cube with a best single of 1:04.52, ahead of Gutierrez Tolaba and Cabezas Luizaga.

Gutierrez Tolaba returned to the top step in 3x3x3 One-Handed, an event decided in just one high-stakes round. Solving with a single hand demands exceptional control and fingertrick accuracy, and Gutierrez Tolaba delivered an impressive 17.08 average along with a 13.43 single. Rodrigo Ugarte took the runner-up position with a 19.96 average, while Alessandro David Martinez Ojeda placed third at 23.84. Gutierrez Tolaba went on to collect his third championship of Chapacos Cuberos 2024 in Megaminx, winning the twelve-sided puzzle event in 48.19 seconds, far ahead of Martinez Ojeda and Nelson Rodrigo Rios.

The two-round bracket in 2x2x2 Cube tested fast turning and rapid recognition. Seferino Victor Flores Condori emerged victorious with a tidy 3.63 average, posting a top single of 3.28 in the final. Jhersson Cabezas Luizaga took second place with a 3.83 average, while Mauricio Vilte Rocabado claimed third with 4.29. Cabezas Luizaga secured his own gold medal in the two-round Pyraminx contest, averaging 4.56 to finish ahead of Ugarte and Thiago Alexis Martínez Ramírez in an exhilarating display of speedcubing across Tarija.

Away from the top of the podium, Chapacos Cuberos 2024 featured remarkable personal breakthroughs from emerging speed cubing talents. Jhonatan Michel Mantilla Martinez delivered a massive 93.3 percent improvement in Pyraminx, cutting their personal best to 7.32 seconds on the way to a fourth-place finish. Jahilton Santiago Rivera Miranda trimmed their 3x3x3 One-Handed personal record by 75.3 percent down to 27.54 seconds while placing fifth. Alejandro Dilmar Fernández Velásquez advanced through the 3x3x3 Cube field to finish sixth, lowering their personal best by 66.8 percent to 12.90 seconds. In the same event, Ronald Pedro Cruz Cruz chopped 54.7 percent off their previous standard to record a 23.35 single.

First-time event entries also highlighted the depth of participation at this cubing competition. Alvaro David Correa took on five separate events, recording an initial mark of 1:12.69 in 3x3x3 One-Handed and 1:24.40 in 4x4x4 Cube while securing sixth place in the big cube. Cesar Gabriel Ruiz Irahola entered Pyraminx and 2x2x2 Cube for the first time, logging marks of 7.67 and 6.58 respectively while placing seventh in Pyraminx. Mateo Segovia Padilla made their official WCA competition debut across six events, posting a 2:39.90 first attempt in Megaminx for a fifth-place finish. First-timer Jose Leonel Vilte Jurado completed four events, posting an initial 11.20 in Pyraminx and finishing eighth in Megaminx.

When the final timers stopped, competitors from Bolivia had locked out all 21 podium positions across every event on the schedule. The mix of single-round sprints and multi-stage qualifiers at Chapacos Cuberos 2024 tested every facet of competitive endurance and focus. From the dominant multiple wins of Gutierrez Tolaba to the numerous personal records achieved throughout the pack, the one-day gathering proved to be a resounding celebration of puzzle solving in the region.