CuBeaulieu Craze 2024

Inside the hall at Beaulieu Preparatory School, the steady rhythm of quick turns and timer stops echoed throughout the weekend. Competitors took their seats across seven distinct disciplines, watching the digital displays intently as each solve concluded. The gathering in Midrand, South Africa brought together 41 contenders on December 7 and 8, delivering intense competition across 14 packed rounds of action.

The fiercest showdown of CuBeaulieu Craze 2024 arrived in the Pyraminx final, where podium places hung on fractions of a second. Gerard McGinley of Australia secured the title with a 7.38 average, narrowly staying ahead of a hard-charging South African contingent. Yusuf Talha Sayed Karim captured second place with an 8.14 average, edging out Albert Kruger who took third with 8.28. Less than a second separated the entire podium trio in a frantic finish.

Gerard McGinley added another gold in the 2x2x2 Cube, logging a winning average of 2.80 and setting the best single of the event at 1.73 across two rounds featuring 35 competitors. Juandré Jacobs applied steady pressure to claim the second step on the podium with a 3.19 average, while Osman Badroodin followed closely behind in third place at 3.88. The tight gaps at the top showed how unforgiving the short format can be at any cubing competition.

The premier Rubik's Cube category delivered decisive drama as 36 competitors battled through three rounds for the weekend crown. Osman Badroodin took victory in the 3x3x3 Cube with a winning average of 10.73, bolstered by the weekend's best single of 9.56. Amahle Nyembe claimed the runner-up position with an 11.81 mark, just beating Gerard McGinley who took third with 11.91. The official 3x3 results confirmed South Africa taking the top two steps on the podium in the country's flagship event.

Beyond the main event, Osman Badroodin assembled a dominant campaign by sweeping two other titles at CuBeaulieu Craze 2024. In 3x3x3 One-Handed, Badroodin secured first place with an average of 13.43, well clear of McGinley at 20.53 and Marike Faught at 22.60. Badroodin then conquered the 5x5x5 Cube, averaging 1:01.07 across two rounds with a best single of 58.12, ahead of McGinley in second with 1:15.55 and Faught in third with 1:18.02.

Marike Faught excelled in the weekend's specialty puzzles, capturing two outright victories for the home nation. In Megaminx, Faught posted an average of 58.54 and a single of 52.64 to finish ahead of Badroodin at 1:03.06 and McGinley at 1:26.50. Faught followed that up with a commanding win in the 3x3x3 Blindfolded event, recording a winning average of 47.09 and a top single of 45.36, leading McGinley who clocked 1:41.92 and Karim at 2:07.10.

Away from the top of the podium, numerous competitors delivered massive breakthroughs that highlighted the depth of speedcubing talent. Jacques Andre Horne took on six events and notched a 10th-place finish in 5x5x5 Cube with a personal best of 2:20.76, cutting 49.1 percent from a previous best of 4:36.31, while also trying Megaminx for the first time with a 2:40.91 mark. Atlega Makoti knocked 48 percent off a prior 2x2x2 Cube mark with a new personal best of 4.46 and trimmed Pyraminx down by 22 percent to 9.62. Dhiren Callister Nair shaved 44.1 percent off a Pyraminx single down to 4.91, and Bonolo Ngwako Ramokgopa reduced a 3x3x3 One-Handed personal best by 43.4 percent to 1:02.02.

The spirit of testing new disciplines flourished across the weekend roster. Muhammed Trajia entered six events and logged first attempts in Megaminx at 3:23.22, One-Handed at 32.67, and 5x5x5 Cube at 5:08.88. Phetolo Mashamaite took on all seven events, achieving fifth in blindfolded solving alongside debut marks in Megaminx at 2:28.71 and 5x5x5 Cube at 3:12.12. Michiel Bernard de Kock set debut times across three events, including a 34.17 in One-Handed, while Chulumanco Kumkani Mdanyana tackled three events, improving a 2x2x2 Cube single by 45.7 percent to 8.39.

Across the schedule, competitors from South Africa collected 14 podium places while Australia earned seven. The two days of speed cubing at Beaulieu Preparatory School concluded a thrilling 2024 season chapter for the local community. With personal bests broken across every division, CuBeaulieu Craze 2024 served as a shining example of competitive excellence and personal progress at a premier WCA competition.