CubingUSA Southern Championship 2023

Inside the sprawling Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas, USA, hundreds of puzzle bags sat unpacked beside timer mats as participants prepared for a massive four-day schedule from June 22 to June 25. Across the hall, solvers exchanged scramble algorithms and warmed up their fingers after long journeys across states and regions. The gathering brought together 252 registered competitors who travelled far and wide to meet at this major WCA competition, filling the hall with constant turning clicks across 46 total rounds.

The CubingUSA Southern Championship 2023 offered a complete slate of 17 official disciplines, drawing elite contenders alongside rising enthusiasts. As the flagship cubing competition for the southern region in 2023, the event tested everything from handheld speed to long-distance mental endurance. The premier 3x3x3 Rubik's Cube category featured a massive field of 245 entrants, creating high tension as the preliminary stages whittled the contenders down across four competitive rounds.

Luke Garrett delivered an outstanding weekend, capturing the title in the main 3x3x3 Cube final. Garrett recorded a winning average of 6.09 seconds to lead the final 3x3 results, backed by a tournament best single of 4.88 seconds. He extended his dominance across multiple disciplines, claiming victory in the 3x3x3 One-Handed event with a 9.18 winning average and an impressive 7.74 single. Garrett also took top honors in 5x5x5 Cube with an average of 55.63 and added the Megaminx championship with a 38.14 average.

Tommy Cherry produced an equally stunning set of performances at the CubingUSA Southern Championship 2023. Cherry secured the 2x2x2 Cube title with a swift 1.88 average, narrowly edging out Stanley Chapel at 1.98 and Garrett at 2.01. Cherry also captured first place in 4x4x4 Cube with a 28.28 average and claimed the Clock final with a 4.30 average. In the bigger puzzles, Cherry conquered 6x6x6 Cube in 1:43.17, while taking the 3x3x3 Blindfolded win with a 14.18 single.

Beyond the championship trophies, the weekend served as a proving ground for competitors setting notable personal milestones. John Aguiluz took on six events and delivered a standout Pyraminx personal best of 3.49 seconds, an improvement of 72.1 percent over his previous mark, along with a 2x2x2 personal best of 2.67 seconds and a first career official 3x3x3 One-Handed attempt of 48.23 seconds. Jacob Fuentes tackled seven events, slicing 45.5 percent off his 2x2x2 best with a 4.17 single and logging his first official solves in Square-1 in 1:07.68 and One-Handed in 33.92.

Other dedicated solvers embraced the challenge of brand new disciplines at the CubingUSA Southern Championship 2023. Lucas Rigoulot took on a demanding schedule of 12 events, posting his first official attempts in Megaminx at 2:22.19, Skewb at 5.50, and One-Handed at 40.72. Silas Winegeart logged his first official marks in 2x2x2 at 4.32, 4x4x4 at 1:17.16, and Megaminx at 2:58.61. Murphy Chen registered first attempts in 2x2x2 with 4.46, Pyraminx with 8.06, and Skewb with 15.04. Richard Ye logged his first Clock solve in 21.01, Peter Cavanaugh recorded his first Skewb attempt in 5.53, and Conner Duval took on 13 events, marking his first official 6x6x6 solve in 3:15.12.

Specialist events delivered thrilling conclusions throughout the weekend. In blindfolded solving, which requires intense memorization before execution, Stanley Chapel achieved an extraordinary sweep. Chapel won 4x4x4 Blindfolded with a 1:21.70 single, took 5x5x5 Blindfolded in 2:23.89, and mastered 3x3x3 Multi-Blind by resolving 42 out of 51 cubes in 58:51. Chapel also won the Skewb crown with a 2.75 average, while Andres Rodriguez topped Pyraminx in 2.76, Walker Welch secured 3x3x3 Fewest Moves with a 25.33 average, and Ryan Pilat claimed both Square-1 in 6.97 and 7x7x7 Cube in 2:34.86.

The vast gathering proved why live speed cubing continues to thrive across the continent. When the final puzzles were locked away, the CubingUSA Southern Championship 2023 concluded with United States competitors earning 52 podium positions and Brazil claiming one podium place. From distant travellers to local contenders, the competition in Austin celebrated pure precision and technical growth at the highest level of speedcubing.