Dolphin Coast Autumn 2023

The competition hall at Freedom House Church was packed with focused energy as timers beeped and plastic clicked across eight intense rounds of play. Set along the coast in Salt Rock, South Africa, the one-day gathering on May 1, 2023 brought together 52 competitors eager to test their solving speed across six distinct disciplines. With large turnouts across all brackets, securing a spot on the stage required navigating exceptionally dense qualifying fields where every fraction of a second carried weight.

The flagship 3x3x3 Cube drew all 52 entrants, making the progression through two rounds of competition a demanding exercise in consistency. Surviving the cut meant producing flawless execution under pressure, as the race for the top three came down to fine margins. In the decisive final, Waseem Hoosain delivered a dominant display, capturing the title with a winning average of 8.53 seconds alongside a best single solve of 6.89. The 3x3 results placed Zayd Oomar in second place with an average of 11.99, while Pranav Ramraj secured third with a 12.38 average.

Hoosain was not finished with the classic Rubik's Cube. In the 3x3x3 One-Handed event, which drew 24 competitors across two rounds, he claimed another victory with an average of 14.63 seconds and a sharp single solve of 12.37. Zayd Oomar took the second podium spot with an 18.31 average, and Maverick Pearson rounded out the top three at 19.81. Hoosain completed a remarkable triple-victory weekend by topping the 26-player field in the 4x4x4 Cube, winning with an average of 35.09 seconds. Pearson took silver in 42.69 seconds, while Ramraj claimed bronze with an average of 1:00.44.

Beyond the main three-layered puzzles, Dolphin Coast Autumn 2023 featured high-stakes battles in the alternate categories. The Pyraminx bracket featured 36 competitors battling in a single round. Andre Johannes Goosen topped the leaderboard with a 4.82 average and a 3.80 single, holding off Chase Lee Roodt at 5.63 and Pearson at 6.72. Meanwhile, 27 participants contested the Skewb event, where Jesse Tipton took the gold with an average of 5.48 seconds. Ramraj followed in second at 7.45, and Roodt picked up another podium in third with an average of 7.68.

The blindfolded contest provided one of the most demanding tests of the day, as competitors tackled the 3x3x3 Blindfolded solve relying entirely on memory and tactile spatial awareness. Out of eight brave entrants, Timothy Lawrance emerged victorious with a winning single solve of 2:15.44. Maverick Pearson joined him with a successful solve of 2:31.04 to take the second podium position, while the remainder of the field recorded DNFs, underlining how unforgiving the event can be.

Away from the top of the podiums, the real measure of depth at this speed cubing gathering emerged in the personal milestones achieved across the venue. Abubakar Ahmed recorded a massive leap in the 3x3x3 Cube, setting a personal best of 14.44 seconds, which was 76.6 percent faster than his previous mark of 1:01.71, while also making a first career attempt at the 4x4x4 Cube with a 1:12.36 solve. Canadian competitor Sasha Shepherd shaved 35 percent off his 3x3x3 Cube mark with a new 15.77 personal best and made his first attempts at Pyraminx with an 8.85 solve and 3x3x3 One-Handed in 31.86. Ryan Rees cut 35.8 percent off his Skewb standard down to 4.51 and completed his first official attempts in both the 4x4x4 Cube and 3x3x3 One-Handed.

Newer participants also left their mark across multiple disciplines during the WCA competition. Jack du Plessis dropped his 4x4x4 Cube time by 38.8 percent down to 1:44.72 and his Skewb time by 35.3 percent down to 13.66, in addition to a first official 3x3x3 One-Handed solve of 42.97. Dylan Maujean took on five separate events, logging initial career attempts in 3x3x3 One-Handed with 1:06.08, the 4x4x4 Cube in 2:30.42, and Skewb in 13.58. First-timer Muhammed Khan made his competitive debut across four events, including a 13.04 single in 3x3x3 Cube and a 1:01.70 in 4x4x4 Cube. Brady Noah Hunsley also debuted across four events, posting 25.86 in the 3x3x3 Cube and 2:25.80 in the 4x4x4 Cube, while Matthew Michael Daniel stepped onto the competition floor for the first time with a 20.75 in the 3x3x3 Cube.

By the time the final awards were distributed, Dolphin Coast Autumn 2023 had showcased the expanding regional talent in South African speedcubing. The high attendance across all eight rounds demonstrated how competitive every single stage of a modern cubing competition has become, pushing seasoned champions and new solvers alike to their sharpest performances as another season of puzzles gets underway.