CubeChella 2024

The competition floor inside the gymnasium at La Quinta High School hummed with focused activity on December 14, 2024. Stacks of multicolored puzzles lined the preparation tables while solve mats registered rapid taps throughout the venue in La Quinta, California, USA. A total of 61 competitors assembled for a fast-paced, 13-round schedule spanning six distinct disciplines. While traditional three-layered puzzles always draw attention, the less-common formats and larger hardware took center stage across the tables.

The niche rotations opened up thrilling battles, particularly in Pyraminx where 44 solvers tackled three full rounds of triangular twists. Owen Yepeng Sun of China set the benchmark, capturing victory with a winning average of 2.23 seconds alongside a best single of 1.48 seconds. Daxton Westlake pushed the pace to secure the runner-up spot with an average of 2.32 seconds, while Korea's Kyeongmin Choi locked up third place averaging 3.44 seconds in a tight finish.

Skewb specialists also delivered an exceptional showcase across two rounds of play. Kyeongmin Choi demonstrated brilliant precision on the corner-turning puzzle, claiming first place with a 2.35-second average and a crisp single of 2.00 seconds. France's Peter Grassard took second place on the podium with a mark of 4.36 seconds, followed closely by Dan Tran of the United States in third place at 4.65 seconds.

The heaviest physical test of the cubing competition arrived in the big cubes category, where Max Park dominated the larger mechanisms. In the 6x6x6 Cube final, Park posted a winning average of 1:10.09 and an event-best single of 1:09.34 to lead the field of 25 competitors. Kate Grahame earned second place with a 1:26.68 average, and Peter Grassard collected another podium finish in third with 1:41.22. Park added another victory in the 5x5x5 Cube, averaging 37.65 seconds to finish ahead of Grahame at 49.35 seconds and Tran at 53.00 seconds.

Away from the top of the standings, the heart of CubeChella 2024 was defined by breakthrough milestones across the roster. Jarell Velasco made massive strides in the 2x2x2 Cube, trimming his personal best down to 4.35 seconds to mark a 55 percent improvement over his previous standard. Mason Dy took on all six events on the schedule, achieving a 48 percent personal best drop in the 5x5x5 Cube with a time of 1:41.45, while also setting a new Skewb mark of 6.58 seconds and recording his first official 6x6x6 Cube attempt at 2:56.61 to place 17th. Logan Govic cut his Pyraminx personal best by 45.6 percent down to 7.89 seconds, and Jacob Wong posted a sharp Pyraminx mark of 2.58 seconds, improving by 43.4 percent to finish eighth in the event.

Fresh challenges and initial steps also highlighted the speedcubing action. Liam Wu entered four events and produced a 2x2x2 Cube personal best of 5.05 seconds, which was 39.4 percent faster than before, while logging his first official attempts at 5x5x5 Cube in 3:25.44 and Pyraminx in 6.64 seconds. Jamison Ferrero improved his Pyraminx mark by 28 percent to 6.45 seconds and recorded his first Skewb attempt in 14.89 seconds. Avery Garcia tackled six events, securing an 11th-place result in Skewb with a personal best of 4.82 seconds and making a first 6x6x6 Cube attempt in 4:29.24. Meanwhile, Gregory Miguel attended his first WCA competition, recording initial marks across four events including a 4.05-second solve in 2x2x2 Cube and an 11.94 in Skewb.

Sprint events brought intense parity to the tables, led by the 2x2x2 Cube where Khôi Minh Nguyễn of Vietnam topped the 55-person field. Nguyễn secured the title with a rapid 1.76-second average, anchored by a best single of 1.01 seconds. Dan Tran took second place with a 1.91 average, just ahead of Kate Grahame, who claimed third place with a 2.28 mark to conclude an impressive multi-podium day.

The classic Rubik's Cube contest drew the entire 61-competitor field through three rounds of speed cubing action. In the final 3x3 results, Max Park completed a triple-championship performance at CubeChella 2024, winning the event with an average of 5.34 seconds and a single of 4.80. Nancy Liu took second place on the podium averaging 6.65 seconds, and Jeremy Bulambot rounded out the top three with a 6.80 average.

Across 13 rounds of competition, CubeChella 2024 highlighted the vast depth of talent in the sport, celebrating elite performances on big puzzles alongside memorable personal milestones for solvers across California.