Colorado Championship 2024

Brayden Wroten left an indelible mark on the Island Grove Event Center by capturing four individual titles across a packed schedule, including an astonishing 39.06 single in 3x3x3 Blindfolded. The multi-discipline prowess anchored a remarkable weekend of speedcubing in Greeley, Colorado, USA, spanning October 12 to 13, 2024. Wroten set the standard across a vast range of mechanical puzzles, securing top honors in 2x2x2 Cube, Skewb, Clock, and the blindfolded discipline to establish complete authority over the tournament floor.

The Colorado Championship 2024 brought together a diverse field of 121 competitors tackling 13 events and 31 total rounds. Wroten began his victory march in the 2x2x2 Cube, registering an average of 1.84 seconds and a best single of 1.37 to lead a final round where Simon Kellum took second with a 2.33 average and Jude Doland finished third with 2.36. In the Skewb final, Wroten captured first place with an average of 2.05 seconds, narrowly outpacing Kellum who posted a 2.09 average, while David Brady completed the podium at 3.74.

Wroten continued his commanding run in the Clock event, producing an average of 4.07 seconds and a best effort of 3.65 to take the title over Jakub Turczyk of Poland, who claimed second place with a 4.57 average, and Kellum in third with 4.97. Wroten then demonstrated exceptional spatial memory in the 3x3x3 Blindfolded event, posting a winning single mark of 39.06 seconds. Jason Hammerman earned second place with a time of 1:07.53, while Preston Hoing rounded out the top three with 1:08.94 in a field of 35 competitors.

While Wroten dominated the sprint events and blindfolded solving, Jacob Nokes commanded the larger hardware. Nokes swept the 4x4x4 Cube, 5x5x5 Cube, 6x6x6 Cube, and 7x7x7 Cube events in thorough fashion. In the 4x4x4 Cube, Nokes logged an average of 28.60 seconds with a best single of 24.02. He carried that form into the 5x5x5 Cube, finishing first with a 45.70 average ahead of Wroten at 57.09 and Raymos Castillo at 57.32. Big-cube solving demands sustained finger endurance and lookahead across numerous pieces.

Nokes retained total control in the massive 6x6x6 Cube and 7x7x7 Cube contests. In the 6x6x6 Cube final, Nokes captured victory with a 1:36.30 average, besting Wroten who took second in 1:44.99 and Castillo who secured third in 1:54.17. The 7x7x7 Cube saw Nokes post a winning 2:27.82 average, with Castillo placing second in 2:51.80 and Wroten taking third in 2:54.07. Across all twelve big-cube podium spots, Nokes, Wroten, and Castillo consistently proved their mastery of the heaviest rotational mechanics.

The traditional Rubik's Cube main event featured 119 competitors battling through four demanding rounds before Aaron Huynh claimed the 3x3 results crown. Huynh secured the title with a 7.41 winning average and a single of 6.25 in the final. Nokes added another podium finish to his tally by taking second place with a 7.58 average, while Oliver Michael Sitja Sichel rounded out the top three with a mark of 7.93. Canyon Pettitt secured titles in 3x3x3 One-Handed with a 13.49 average, Megaminx with 52.71, and Square-1 with 10.06, while Kellum added the Pyraminx crown in 1.93 seconds.

Away from the top steps of the podium, several solvers reached significant personal milestones during the weekend. Giovanni Damelio took on eight events and delivered a Clock personal best of 6.30 seconds, improving upon a previous mark of 12.00 by 47.5 percent, while also logging a first career attempt at Square-1 with 25.63 and 3x3x3 One-Handed with 35.95. Kaydin Echols entered five events and lowered their 2x2x2 Cube personal best to 3.90 seconds, a 40.3 percent improvement over their previous 6.53 best, while notching first official marks in Clock at 34.62 and One-Handed at 1:21.09. Simha Vinnakota tackled 12 events, earning a 12th place finish in 3x3x3 Blindfolded while logging first attempts in 6x6x6 Cube at 6:07.16, 5x5x5 Cube at 3:03.33, and Blindfolded at 7:18.82. Noah Wakefield contested 13 events, achieving 10th in 2x2x2 Cube alongside first attempts in 7x7x7 Cube at 6:17.57, 6x6x6 Cube at 3:36.42, and Square-1 at 17.53.

The depth of ambition continued across the tournament hall as competitors tackled brand-new formats. Harvey Schalk entered 12 events, recording first career attempts in Pyraminx with 5.95 seconds, 4x4x4 Cube with 1:15.78, and Square-1 with 47.76. Eli Muse stepped up to seven events, posting initial competition marks of 10.75 in Skewb, 1:32.16 in 4x4x4 Cube, and 2:44.15 in Megaminx. Jacob Espinoza entered seven events to secure first attempts in 4x4x4 Cube at 1:44.75, Square-1 at 1:37.91, and Clock at 10.34. Jason Arnold handled nine events, delivering first tries of 1:51.03 in 4x4x4 Cube, 3:00.19 in 5x5x5 Cube, and 1:13.43 in Square-1.

The Colorado Championship 2024 concluded as a definitive celebration of speed cubing excellence and community growth. With 38 podium placements captured by United States solvers and one earned by Poland, this WCA competition demonstrated elite precision across every format. From Wroten and Nokes locking down eight titles between them to the dozens of competitors exploring new categories, the cubing competition delivered high-stakes drama and technical mastery across every table.