Cubing at The Cube 2024

Inside The Cube at Campbelltown Catholic Club, the continuous hum of twisting plastic set the rhythm across two intense days of speedcubing. Across 17 rounds and nine distinct disciplines, 181 competitors gathered in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on January 6 and 7 for Cubing at The Cube 2024. The atmosphere was defined by the relentless pursuit of repeatability, where single lucky scrambles meant little without the poise to back them up across full averages.

The premier Rubik's Cube category served as the ultimate test of control, drawing a massive field of 180 entrants across four demanding rounds. Poland's Tymon Kolasiński established absolute authority by relying on mechanical precision and structured lookahead. In the final, Kolasiński secured victory with a 5.80 average, punctuated by a best single of 5.26. Australia's Toby Seufert secured the second step on the podium with a 6.38 average, while Charlie Eggins claimed third with a mark of 6.72.

Kolasiński continued his commanding display across the larger puzzles, demonstrating that stamina and rhythm are paramount as layers multiply. In the 4x4x4 Cube, he claimed the title with a winning average of 24.36 and a single of 22.81, holding off Australia's Bryan Eng at 30.45 and Liam Highducheck at 30.67. The Polish standout then took the 5x5x5 Cube final with a 40.72 average ahead of Eng's 54.62 and Highducheck's 58.44. In the single-round 6x6x6 Cube contest, Kolasiński finished his sweep with a winning average of 1:21.69.

Beyond the standard big cubes, specialized hardware required extreme technical discipline. In Megaminx, New Zealand's Chris Mills produced a series of smooth solves to take first place with a 46.50 average, outpacing Josephine Siburian at 48.01 and Peri Le Dain at 50.85. The Square-1 final was equally tight, as Benjamin Warry claimed the victory with an 8.58 average and a best single of 6.64. Thomas Liao took second with 9.38, while Sora Sato rounded out the podium at 9.58.

Blindfolded events introduced the weekend's highest stakes, where memory execution and spatial tracking replaced pure visual turning speed. Charlie Eggins mastered the 3x3x3 Blindfolded category, logging a winning single of 17.67 to finish ahead of Theodore Chan at 23.00 and Chenhao Sun at 34.41. In 4x4x4 Blindfolded, Australia's Daniel Wang earned first place with a 2:58.94 single. Chan struck back in the 5x5x5 Blindfolded event, taking the win with a 4:20.52 effort ahead of Eggins and Wang.

Away from the podium battles, several competitors achieved remarkable milestones across the schedule at Cubing at The Cube 2024. Daniel Mallinson tackled eight events over the weekend, logging a 26.39 in Square-1 that was 53.9 percent faster than his previous best, while also posting a 5:37.76 in his first ever attempt at 3x3x3 Blindfolded and 4:16.14 in his first 6x6x6 Cube solve. Eli Coffey cut 48.8 percent off his 3x3x3 Cube mark to finish with a 15.10 personal best, alongside debut attempts in Megaminx at 3:39.86 and 4x4x4 Cube at 2:12.25. Matthew L. Cornell trimmed 31.9 percent off his 5x5x5 Cube time to post 1:34.31, dropped his 3x3x3 Cube mark to 9.38, and made his first Square-1 attempt at 35.52. Nicole Fan recorded a 24.60 in the 3x3x3 Cube, an improvement of 30.1 percent, and logged debut solves in Megaminx at 4:16.37 and 4x4x4 Cube at 2:01.26.

The depth of progress across the roster highlighted the broader value of every official WCA competition round. Arlo David Lewis took on five events, improving his 3x3x3 Cube time by 24.4 percent to 15.04 while registering first-time marks of 3:32.87 in Megaminx and 1:30.58 in 4x4x4 Cube. Katy Jung advanced her 3x3x3 Cube benchmark by 18.2 percent to 22.29, adding initial attempts of 2:00.38 in 4x4x4 Cube and 4:02.43 in Megaminx. Shreeda Das lowered their 3x3x3 Cube record by 15.8 percent to 14.45 and completed maiden runs in Megaminx at 2:25.13 and 4x4x4 Cube at 1:30.91. Jacob Davy rounded out the breakthroughs with a 14.9 percent improvement in the 5x5x5 Cube to reach 2:24.42, alongside debut times of 1:04.89 in 4x4x4 Cube and 3:01.84 in Megaminx.

As the final timers stopped, the aggregate 3x3 results and podium totals reflected an unforgettable start to 2024. Host nation Australia captured 18 podium positions, Poland took four, Singapore and China claimed two each, and New Zealand secured one. Through disciplined turning and steady pacing, the participants proved that speed cubing rewards poise above all else. This memorable cubing competition demonstrated the depth of the regional scene and sets a rigorous standard for the season ahead.