Cork Spring 2026

Devere Hall buzzed with focused energy as 77 competitors gathered across February 21 and February 22 for Cork Spring 2026. Stacks of multicolored puzzles lined the competition tables, while timers sat ready beneath the bright indoor lights. The two-day schedule offered 18 rounds across 12 distinct events, drawing contenders from near and far to test their precision, calculation, and stamina in Cork, Ireland. Across the room, judges and runners kept the action moving smoothly as competitors warmed their hands for a demanding slate of challenges.

The heavy machinery of speedcubing always demands exceptional endurance, and the weekend schedule put big cubes front and center. Solving puzzles with thousands of permutations requires sustained concentration and physical durability, where arm fatigue can disrupt turn accuracy in an instant. Ciarán Beahan delivered an exceptional showcase across the larger layers, capturing first place in the 4x4x4 Cube with a 22.27 winning average after securing a best single of 21.62 against 47 competitors.

Beahan extended his commanding run as the cube dimensions grew. In the 6x6x6 Cube, he topped the 26-competitor field with an average of 1:12.80, propelled by a single solve of 1:10.73, ahead of Colm McCarthy in second at 1:50.14 and Adam Bermingham in third at 1:51.95. He then closed out the big-cube sweep by conquering the 7x7x7 Cube, posting a 1:50.05 average and a 1:45.45 single across the 23-person bracket. The sheer physical output demanded by consecutive rounds of massive puzzles defined the high-intensity standard of the competition.

The 5x5x5 Cube brought its own fierce duel among 36 entrants, concluding with Colm McCarthy taking the victory with an average of 59.52 and a top single of 55.61. Bermingham secured second place on the podium with a 1:06.16 average, while Ben Timmons claimed third place with 1:09.58. McCarthy had a remarkably versatile weekend, also earning first place in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves with a single of 24 moves, and leading the 3x3x3 Blindfolded field with a winning single time of 24.86 seconds.

Away from the top steps of the podium, several competitors delivered massive personal breakthroughs that the final standings only begin to show. Patrick Burke took on three events and slashed his 3x3x3 Cube personal best down to 15.44 seconds, a 77.6 percent improvement over his previous 1:08.86 mark, while also completing his first official attempts in 2x2x2 Cube at 5.46 and Skewb at 13.95. Iollan Quinn tackled 10 events, finishing 12th in 6x6x6 Cube with a personal best of 3:10.28 that beat his old mark by 52.6 percent, along with a 4.58 Pyraminx best and a first 7x7x7 Cube attempt of 4:57.10. Thomas Tierney contested nine events, registering his first attempts in Skewb at 7.96, 6x6x6 Cube at 4:39.23, and 7x7x7 Cube at 8:39.02, while Malachy Roche logged first attempts across Megaminx at 2:43.11, Skewb at 14.27, and 5x5x5 Cube at 3:20.58.

The personal milestones continued across the floor as Patryk Hunia entered five events, recording his first marks in 6x6x6 Cube at 3:09.01 and 5x5x5 Cube at 1:19.17 while lowering his 4x4x4 Cube best to 40.51 for an 11th-place finish. Peter Taylor showed tremendous longevity across 11 disciplines, finishing seventh in 3x3x3 Blindfolded, logging his first 3x3x3 Fewest Moves result at 54, and cutting his 7x7x7 Cube best by 30.7 percent down to 6:00.36 alongside a 3:36.48 in 6x6x6 Cube. Adam Donoghue completed his first ever WCA competition by entering six events, recording a 4.51 in 2x2x2 Cube, a 12.40 in Pyraminx, and a 3:18.60 in 4x4x4 Cube. Isabelle Kiernan also made her tournament debut across three events, logging a 21.42 in 2x2x2 Cube, an 11.62 in Pyraminx, and a 1:13.66 in 3x3x3 Cube.

Shorter events brought lightning-fast turns and intense drama. Oscar Green captured the classic Rubik's Cube title, topping 71 entrants across three rounds of the 3x3x3 Cube with an 8.07 winning average and a single of 6.35. Trịnh Quang Dũng took second place with an 8.86 average, while Oisín Olwill reached the podium in third at 9.47. In the 2x2x2 Cube, Lucas Patrick Dowling surged to first place with an average of 1.53, followed by Trịnh at 2.29 and Green at 2.53. Dowling also claimed the Skewb title with an average of 4.00, while Olwill won the Pyraminx bracket with a 2.32 average.

Specialist solving added further intrigue to the program. Adam Bermingham led the 3x3x3 Multi-Blind event, successfully resolving 12 out of 13 cubes in a time of 52:07, ahead of Timmons who scored a clean 9 out of 9 in 51:37. Chris O'Shea secured first place in Megaminx, averaging 48.91 to lead 32 competitors. Across all 12 events, representatives from Ireland captured 32 podium spots, while competitors from Vietnam and Ukraine earned two podium places each. The broad participation and deep event schedule made Cork Spring 2026 an unforgettable weekend of speed cubing excellence.