Cubing at The Game Expo 2024

Inside the halls of the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre, the tables were set for intense speedcubing action as ninety-four competitors gathered for a packed single-day schedule. The atmosphere throughout the venue combined the energy of a major exhibition with the focused discipline of speed cubing, drawing enthusiasts from across Melbourne, Victoria, Australia to test their skills over nine rounds of play.

Held on March 23, Cubing at The Game Expo 2024 brought together a diverse roster contesting four official events across the 2024 calendar. The morning opened with preliminary heats across multiple disciplines, giving both seasoned champions and emerging talents an opportunity to set the pace under the official timing lights.

The 4x4x4 Cube contest delivered early drama with forty-seven competitors taking to the tables for a direct final round. Feliks Zemdegs commanded the event, putting together a winning average of 23.78 seconds alongside the best single time of 22.38. Nguyễn Khang Minh of Vietnam secured second place with an average of 33.03, while Australia's Lennon Hughes completed the podium in third with a mark of 36.17.

Action then shifted toward the Pyraminx, which drew sixty-two entrants across two competitive rounds of solving. Ziqi Ding claimed the title with a tournament-winning average of 2.68 seconds and a best single solve of 2.18. Eli Panetta followed in second place with an average of 2.90, while Phoenix Patterson took third on the podium with a 3.05 average.

The 2x2x2 Cube featured seventy-nine entrants over three rounds, resulting in exceptionally fast turnarounds and remarkable consistency from the frontrunners. Phoenix Patterson secured first place with a 1.75 winning average and a 1.20 single solve. Jacob Joshi finished as runner-up with an average of 2.06, and Nathan Fares earned third place with a 2.37 average for Australia.

Away from the top steps of the podium, several competitors achieved remarkable milestones across their individual schedules. Aria Sanza delivered a standout drop in the Pyraminx, recording a personal best of 5.90 that improved on their previous mark of 12.45 by 52.6 percent. Callum Ash similarly sliced their Pyraminx personal best by 50.8 percent down to 6.79, while Darren Ly cut their 2x2x2 Cube best by 40.4 percent to reach 3.06. Suan Jo notched a first ever attempt at Pyraminx with a 6.57 and dropped their 3x3x3 Cube best by 34.3 percent to 12.24.

The depth of progress continued across the lineup as Riley Verrall achieved a 15th-place finish in Pyraminx with a first attempt of 5.90 while improving their 3x3x3 Cube personal best by 22.4 percent to 9.36. Angelos Triantafyllou completed four events including a first 4x4x4 Cube attempt of 1:38.51. Nicholas Allen Crow also tackled four events, making initial attempts at Pyraminx in 10.70 and 4x4x4 Cube in 1:08.88, while Marcel Lalut attended their first WCA competition, taking on four events with opening marks of 8.21 in Pyraminx and 27.54 in the standard cube.

The headline Rubik's Cube event capped the day's timeline, featuring ninety-one competitors battling through three rounds to decide the 3x3 results. Feliks Zemdegs triumphed in the final with a winning average of 6.66 seconds and a best single of 6.14. Phoenix Patterson took second place averaging 7.05, and Nguyễn Khang Minh captured third with an average of 7.78.

By the conclusion of the evening, competitors from Australia had secured ten podium placements alongside two for Vietnam. The success of Cubing at The Game Expo 2024 highlighted the vibrant spirit of this cubing competition, leaving the local community energized for the next wave of tournament action in the region.