Cubestuff Challenge Q2 2024

Sixty-three competitors gathered at Alma School for a weekend dedicated to the craft of the Rubik's Cube across fifteen tense rounds. Held in Pretoria, South Africa from April 20 to April 21, the Cubestuff Challenge Q2 2024 tested solvers across eight different events. Unlike quiet, pen-and-paper Fewest Moves challenges where participants sit with sheets of paper and dissect turns move by move over an hour, this weekend was entirely about pure physical speed, instant recognition, and high-pressure execution on the tournament stage.

The premier 3x3x3 Cube event drew a large field of sixty competitors, delivering exciting 3x3 results across two full rounds of competition. Daniel Rush claimed the championship title with a winning average of 7.63 seconds, also recording the fastest single solve of the event at 7.07 seconds. Shivaan Harichander finished as the runner-up with an average of 8.51 seconds, while Isaac Scheepers rounded out the podium in third place with a mark of 8.60 seconds.

Daniel Rush also demonstrated his broad range across larger puzzles, taking the Megaminx victory in decisive fashion. Rush produced an impressive winning average of 53.53 seconds and posted the weekend's best single attempt of 44.89 seconds. Osman Badroodin secured second place with an average of 1:03.66, edging Joshua Christian Marais, who took third place on the podium with an average of 1:03.71 in the two-round contest.

Ruben Grobler delivered an outstanding multi-event performance throughout the 2024 speedcubing fixture, securing two tournament victories. In the 2x2x2 Cube, Grobler captured top honours with an average of 1.83 seconds after three competitive rounds, ahead of Daniel Rush in second at 3.08 seconds and Osman Badroodin in third at 4.18 seconds. Grobler followed that triumph with a gold medal in Pyraminx, winning the final with an average of 4.59 seconds, while Noah Levin took second in 5.27 seconds and Rush earned third in 5.56 seconds.

The specialized events highlighted precision and diverse skill sets across the board. In 3x3x3 Blindfolded, Marike Faught took the win with an average time of 1:10.04 and a leading single of 1:02.38, while Grobler took second place at 1:19.46 and Rush finished third at 2:57.08. Joshua Christian Marais mastered the one-handed division, winning 3x3x3 One-Handed with an average of 12.54 seconds. Osman Badroodin struck gold in Square-1, winning with an average of 9.45 seconds, and Juan Erasmus led Clock with an average of 7.89 seconds.

Away from the top steps of the podium, several solvers achieved massive personal breakthroughs during the weekend. Ruben van Niekerk enjoyed huge time drops across multiple disciplines, cutting his Square-1 personal best by 57.2 percent down to 21.29 seconds, his 3x3x3 One-Handed mark by 45.9 percent to 20.26 seconds, and his Pyraminx best by 16.9 percent to 6.39 seconds. Andre Gous improved his 2x2x2 Cube best by 48.5 percent to 19.28 seconds, while Logan Muller sliced his 3x3x3 Cube time by 48.3 percent down to 49.48 seconds alongside a new 13.06-second mark in 2x2x2 Cube.

First-time event attempts and debuts also defined the atmosphere at Alma School. Uthmaan Adam made his first official attempt in 3x3x3 Blindfolded with a time of 3:33.86 on the way to a fourth-place finish, alongside a new 3x3x3 One-Handed best of 26.07 seconds. Michael Kahumba logged first attempts in Square-1 at 54.92 seconds, One-Handed at 45.06 seconds, and Pyraminx at 7.80 seconds. Luan van der Walt took on Square-1 for the first time with a 33.00-second solve while shaving his 2x2x2 Cube mark by 45.3 percent to 1.56 seconds. Alexander Korff completed his first WCA competition by entering six events, including an initial 19.92 in 3x3x3 Cube, while Luke Basson also debuted across four events, placing seventh in 3x3x3 Blindfolded.

The Cubestuff Challenge Q2 2024 proved to be a vibrant display of South African speed cubing talent, bringing together experienced champions and energetic newcomers. With twenty-four total podium positions awarded exclusively to local solvers across eight events, this cubing competition provided another memorable chapter of fast turning, strategic focus, and personal progress on the national calendar.