DFW Cubing Spring 2024

The competition hall at the Grapevine Convention Center buzzed with constant turning and resetting on April 28, 2024, as the spring season brought together a massive gathering of puzzle solvers. Across the tournament floor in Grapevine, Texas, USA, stacks of timers sat ready alongside score sheets while parents and fellow solvers watched the main stage. With 177 competitors registered and 14 separate rounds on the schedule, the one-day WCA competition offered a relentless pace of action covering everything from tiny two-layered puzzles to large five-layered challenges.

The 2x2x2 Cube event became the centerpiece for sharp record-setting performances, producing rapid single solves and blistering averages in quick succession. CJ York claimed third place on the final podium with a 2.67 average, having posted a rapid 1.39 single alongside a 2.82 average during the rounds. Ryan Pilat captured the event title with a winning average of 1.58 and a best single of 1.14, while earlier delivering marks of 1.67 and 2.98. Casey Ngo secured second place overall with an average of 2.46, recording rounds that featured a 3.27 single and a 3.48 average.

Additional record marks tumbled throughout the 2x2x2 Cube preliminary rounds as competitors pushed their limits. Joshua Gao laid down a 1.79 single and a 3.51 average, while Samuel Threlkeld notched a 2.98 single and a 3.59 average. Dylan Baumbach registered marks of 2.39 and 3.65, Teddy Upton secured a 3.24 single and 3.67 average, and Oliver Tan delivered a 2.42 single alongside a 3.75 average. Matching that exact 3.75 average was Aarav Gaddam, who also turned in a 2.90 single, just ahead of Jackson Bodkin with a 2.20 single and 3.88 average.

In the flagship 3x3x3 Cube event, the classic Rubik's Cube brought all 177 competitors into action across four intense rounds of speedcubing. Ray Bai captured the championship title with a winning average of 6.65, highlighted by the tournament best single solve of 5.77 seconds. Ryan Pilat pushed the pace closely to take second place with a 6.86 average, while Casey Ngo took third place on the podium with an average of 7.57. The deep field made the 3x3 results exceptionally tight throughout the elimination stages.

Beyond the premier puzzle, the multi-discipline cubing competition showcased thrilling duels between the top finishers across several official formats. Ray Bai earned his second victory of the day in 3x3x3 One-Handed, recording a winning average of 11.08 and a best single of 10.80 among 74 competitors, finishing ahead of Ryan Pilat at 11.93 and Dylan Baumbach at 14.02. Bai also triumphed in the 5x5x5 Cube, winning with a 48.78 average and a best single of 45.30 over Pilat, who averaged 52.53, and Jason Lee, who finished third with 57.91.

Ryan Pilat reversed the order in the 4x4x4 Cube, taking the top spot with a winning average of 27.77 and a single of 25.76 to edge out Ray Bai, who took second with 27.87, followed by Jadon Castillo in third at 34.37. The specialized Square-1 event saw Dylan Baumbach deliver a dominant performance, securing first place with an average of 5.04 and a best single of 3.94 across two rounds of 39 entrants. CJ York finished as the Square-1 runner-up with an average of 7.42, while Pilat added another podium to his haul in third with 7.79.

Away from the championship podiums, several competitors achieved remarkable milestones across their events. Matt Xiong entered four disciplines and delivered a massive personal best in the 3x3x3 Cube of 18.06 seconds, which was 47.9 percent faster than their previous mark of 34.66, while also taking on their first ever attempt at 2x2x2 Cube with a 6.89 and their first 4x4x4 Cube attempt in 1:47.15. Michael Gao took on five events and earned a 10th-place finish in 3x3x3 One-Handed with a personal best of 16.86 seconds, a 24.8 percent improvement, while also lowering their 2x2x2 Cube personal best by 45 percent to 1.60 and logging a first ever 5x5x5 Cube attempt of 2:49.80.

Hank Lay took on three events and dropped their 2x2x2 Cube best down to 9.67 seconds, improving by 42.8 percent from 16.92, while logging a first Square-1 solve of 1:16.18 and a 14 percent drop in 3x3x3 Cube to 31.27. Ansh Dubey tackled six events, achieving a 14th-place finish in 2x2x2 Cube with a personal best of 2.31 seconds that was 41.5 percent faster, alongside a first Square-1 attempt of 31.13 and a 5x5x5 Cube best of 3:12.96. Bilal Khalid improved their 3x3x3 One-Handed best by 36.9 percent to 26.13, dropped their 4x4x4 Cube best by 20.2 percent to 44.01, and tried Square-1 for the first time with a 1:17.38.

Henry Reinhart logged a 36 percent improvement in Square-1 with a personal best of 32.57 seconds while taking their first ever attempts at 5x5x5 Cube in 2:15.06 and 3x3x3 One-Handed in 40.01 across six events. Kinli Bryan took on five categories, shaving 32.7 percent off their 4x4x4 Cube best to reach 1:35.67, alongside first attempts in 3x3x3 One-Handed of 1:00.18 and 5x5x5 Cube of 3:00.85. Milton Encarnacion competed across six events, posting first career marks of 4.17 in 2x2x2 Cube, 35.54 in 3x3x3 One-Handed, and 2:43.34 in 5x5x5 Cube.

The busy schedule of speed cubing concluded with United States competitors sweeping all 18 podium positions across the six featured categories. DFW Cubing Spring 2024 provided a stage where elite timing met personal growth, as veteran competitors traded narrow victories while emerging solvers expanded their repertoires into new puzzles and faster personal benchmarks. The single-day tournament demonstrated the breadth of talent active in the Texas cubing community as participants packed their gear and looked ahead to the next phase of the competitive calendar.