Cuenca Open 2025

The retail corridors of Centro Comercial Monay Shopping buzzed with activity on July 26 and July 27 as thirty-five competitors gathered for a major speedcubing tournament in Cuenca, Ecuador. Across eighteen rounds and thirteen distinct official events, solve stations remained occupied from morning until evening. Timers beeped continuously as judges observed turns on puzzles of every shape, drawing curious shoppers who stopped to witness the precision of the domestic field.

A flurry of official marks highlighted the weekend, particularly during the 2x2x2 Cube rounds where a long succession of breakthrough results reshaped the national standings. Caleb Salcedo Rivera spearheaded the pace by delivering a blazing 1.80 single alongside a 3.20 average. Ten different solvers logged landmark personal best marks in the event, including Matias Eduardo Recalde Ayala with a 2.70 single, Luis Sigcho with a 3.21 single, and Martín Sebastián Chanalata Escobar turning in a 3.23 single.

The 3x3x3 Cube, the premier test of Rubik's Cube mastery, delivered a dramatic showdown across three elimination rounds. Pablo Sebastián Arévalo Barros earned the title with a tournament-winning average of 10.13 seconds, anchored by a best single of 8.80. He edged Caleb Salcedo Rivera by a razor-thin margin of two hundredths of a second as Salcedo Rivera finished second with a 10.15 average. Justin Santiago Reinoso Arias locked down the bronze position with a 10.66 average to round out the 3x3 results at Cuenca Open 2025.

Beyond the main puzzle, Caleb Salcedo Rivera orchestrated a sweeping campaign across multiple disciplines. He collected first-place finishes in the 2x2x2 Cube with a 3.33 final average, the 4x4x4 Cube in 33.02, and the 3x3x3 One-Handed event in 16.85 seconds. Extending his reach to the larger cubes and non-standard polyhedra, Salcedo Rivera captured the Megaminx with a sub-fifty average of 49.91, the 5x5x5 Cube in 1:12.96, the 6x6x6 Cube in 2:09.69, and the 7x7x7 Cube in 3:23.21.

Pablo Sebastián Flores Peralta proved equally versatile in specialized disciplines throughout the cubing competition. Flores Peralta secured the Square-1 crown with a 17.11 average, outdistancing Luis Fernando Aldás Cuestas who recorded 35.71. Flores Peralta also won Clock by posting an 8.28 average and claimed the 3x3x3 Fewest Moves contest with a single count of 38 moves, sharing the podium with Ronny Morocho and Aldás Cuestas who tied for second place on 42 moves.

Away from the top steps of the podium, several competitors achieved remarkable milestones across new disciplines. Jorge Emiliano Ratto De Luca slashed his 2x2x2 personal best down to 3.28 seconds, an improvement of 48.1 percent, while also cutting 13.8 percent from his 3x3x3 best with a 13.94 single. Martín Sebastián Chanalata Escobar tackled eight events, improving his Skewb best by 41.2 percent to 5.12 seconds, taking fourth in 5x5x5 Cube with a 1:45.12 debut, and finishing his first official 6x6x6 solve in 3:55.73. Alexis Sebastian Bueno Tacuri took on four disciplines, recording debut times of 1:19.22 in 4x4x4 and 2:09.74 in 5x5x5.

The progress continued with José María Tamayo Vaca, who registered a 30.1 percent cut in Pyraminx to reach 9.15 seconds and notched initial marks in Megaminx at 2:29.40 and 3x3x3 One-Handed at 58.07. Stalyn Martin Pomavilla Quito lowered his Pyraminx personal record by 30.4 percent to 12.19 seconds. Luis Sigcho reduced his 3x3x3 single to 10.62 seconds, a jump of 18.2 percent. First-time WCA competition participants also made their mark, as Karim Samuel Hill Alvarez completed four events including a 44.08 single in 3x3x3, while Juan Francisco Durán Lituma finished tenth in Megaminx with a debut time of 3:35.56.

The remaining rotation of events at Cuenca Open 2025 delivered decisive victories. Pablo Alejandro Herrera Verdugo captured the Pyraminx title with a 7.12 average, leading Luis Fernando Aldás Cuestas and Samir Felipe Espinoza Landivar. Espinoza Landivar later secured the top spot on the Skewb podium with a 4.61 average, bolstered by a 3.41 single. Competitors representing Ecuador captured all thirty-nine podium spots across the thirteen events contested.

As timers were packed away and the tables cleared, the 2025 speed cubing gathering in Cuenca demonstrated the depth of the local scene. From the rapid-fire succession of record-level 2x2x2 times to multi-category victories across large cubes and side events, the two days of competition provided a complete snapshot of athletic progression across every tier of the regional roster.