Cubehenge 2023

Thirteen rounds across seven events tested 92 competitors at Cubehenge 2023, where structured round cuts and varying bracket formats shaped the path to victory. Held on June 11, 2023, at the Derry-Salem Elks Club in Salem, New Hampshire, USA, the single-day competition put solvers through a demanding schedule. From single-round straight finals on big cubes to multi-stage brackets on smaller puzzles, competitors had to manage pacing and precision to survive the progressive cutoffs.

The flagship Rubik's Cube event featured three distinct stages, starting with 90 entrants in the opening round. Only the most consistent solvers advanced to the final stage, where Gabriel Garber Burd secured the title. Delivering a winning average of 7.31 seconds and posting a round-best single of 6.59 seconds, Garber Burd led the 3x3 results ahead of Darren Saito in second with a 7.81 average and Aidan McKenzie in third with an 8.56 average.

Darren Saito delivered a dominant multi-event campaign across the schedule, claiming three separate titles. In the single-round 4x4x4 Cube, which offered 55 competitors no margin for error, Saito took first place with a 31.74 average and a 28.60 single, edging out Cameron Soulagnet at 32.69 and Chandler Pike at 35.31. Saito followed up with a win in 3x3x3 One-Handed across two rounds, averaging 13.61 seconds in the final to defeat Gabriel Garber Burd at 13.77 and Will Russo at 14.99.

Saito completed his trio of victories in Clock, navigating two rounds against 46 entrants to post a winning average of 5.87 seconds with a best single of 5.39. Gabrielle Morasse finished runner-up with an average of 6.61 seconds, while Nico Bezzerides captured third with 6.66 seconds. The 5x5x5 Cube tournament, decided in a single round among 45 competitors, went to Cameron Soulagnet, who registered a winning average of 56.24 seconds with a 53.61 single, leading Aidan McKenzie at 1:00.88 and Saito at 1:04.80.

Curtis Chai swept the shortest events of the day, conquering the multi-round formats in both 2x2x2 Cube and Pyraminx. In 2x2x2 Cube, Chai emerged from an 84-competitor bracket to record a 1.83 winning average in the final, finishing ahead of Chris Yeager at 2.84 and Ethan Zhuang at 2.94. Chai then navigated two rounds of Pyraminx against 65 competitors, taking the title with a 2.96 average and a 1.88 single, besting Abhinav Govindaraju at 3.06 and Gabriel Garber Burd at 4.10.

Beyond the top steps of the podium, the Salem, New Hampshire, USA gathering featured huge individual breakthroughs across every bracket. Henry Niemann took on four events, setting a massive personal best single of 1.32 seconds on 2x2x2 Cube, which was 78.2 percent faster than his previous mark, alongside a first career attempt in 4x4x4 Cube of 1:35.62. William Marshall tackled five events and dropped his 5x5x5 Cube best to 2:09.93, a 66.4 percent improvement, while also earning a sixth-place finish in Clock. Jonathan Zessis lowered his Pyraminx best by 65.3 percent to 18.52 seconds and logged a first Clock result of 20.99.

The progress continued throughout the field as solvers pushed past previous personal standards in this official speedcubing environment. Noah Sadowsky achieved a 2x2x2 Cube personal best single of 1.23 seconds, cutting his previous mark by 58 percent, while also tackling his first attempts in 3x3x3 One-Handed at 1:24.55 and 5x5x5 Cube at 2:58.31. Bradley Lanctot saw a 57.9 percent drop on 2x2x2 Cube down to 5.19 seconds and trimmed his 3x3x3 mark to 20.20. Hunter Morin took 56.5 percent off his 2x2x2 Cube best with a 5.89 single, Vaughn Anderson logged first-time marks in 5x5x5 Cube at 2:39.94 and 4x4x4 Cube at 1:18.48, and Adrian Chang completed a seven-event slate in his first official speed cubing appearance.

Across the 13 rounds of play, the WCA competition highlighted how different round structures influence strategy, from the immediate pressure of direct finals to the endurance demanded by multi-stage events. Competitors from the United States earned 20 podium places and Canada claimed one, making Cubehenge 2023 an energetic display of skill as solvers look forward to carrying their personal milestones into the rest of the 2023 cubing competition season.