Don't Fail Kinsale 2024

Inside Saile at the Kinsale Sports & Community Centre, the floor was alive with the rapid clatter of plastic mechanisms and the steady chime of digital timers. Scores of newcomers and travelling veterans gathered across two days on November 30 and December 1, 2024, filling the hall with intense focus and shared anticipation. The tournament welcomed 106 competitors to Kinsale, Cork, Ireland, creating an atmosphere where first-time entrants stood side by side with elite solvers in an extensive ten-event schedule spanning 18 rounds of official action.

The heavy presence of rising talent and fresh faces gave this WCA competition a distinctive energy from the very first scramble. Dozens of participants took to the competition tables to mark their earliest milestones in competitive speedcubing, navigating the official regulations and stage timers with remarkable poise. With large fields competing across every discipline, the gathering highlighted the sport's rapid grass-roots growth, drawing enthusiastic puzzle solvers from across the island and beyond to test their skills in a welcoming setting.

At the front of the pack, Daniel Rush delivered an extraordinary display of versatility and speed. In the premier 3x3x3 Cube event, Rush captured top honours with a dominant winning average of 6.12 seconds, backed by a best single solve of 5.61 seconds across three rounds that featured 100 competitors. His mastery extended far beyond the traditional Rubik's Cube, as he went on to sweep the larger puzzles with victories in the 4x4x4 Cube (26.89 average), 5x5x5 Cube (48.79 average), and 6x6x6 Cube (1:28.65 average), setting the benchmark for the entire weekend.

The 3x3 results formed the centerpiece of the tournament, but the battle for podium places was fiercely contested in every bracket. Oscar Green secured second place in the 3x3x3 Cube with a 7.39 average, while CJ Furey took third at 7.54. Furey quickly climbed to the top step in Pyraminx, taking the title with a swift 3.08 average over Miłosz Andzel's 3.09. Meanwhile, Kalin Doherty captured the 2x2x2 Cube championship with a lightning-fast 1.53 average, leading Green (1.94) and Rush (2.03) in a compact, high-speed final.

Beyond the podiums, the heart of the weekend lay in the remarkable personal breakthroughs achieved across the scorecards. Zsombor Nemec recorded an extraordinary leap in the 2x2x2 Cube, logging a personal best of 5.02 seconds to shave 66.9 percent off his previous mark. Seán O'Sullivan took on five events, logging his first ever attempts at Skewb (28.03) and Pyraminx (6.93) while improving his 2x2x2 Cube best to 6.22 seconds, a 55.7 percent drop. Colin Szczesny entered six disciplines, cutting his Clock personal best by 51.9 percent down to 16.72 seconds, alongside sharp gains in Pyraminx (5.82) and 4x4x4 Cube (1:16.49). Ben Messabih expanded his range with first-time official runs in Square-1 (39.23) and 4x4x4 Cube (1:59.18), paired with a 44 percent improvement on Skewb at 7.58 seconds.

That same spirit of progression fueled Reuben Kiernan, who tackled seven events and posted debut marks of 6.60 in Skewb and 1:40.72 in 5x5x5 Cube while improving his 2x2x2 Cube best by 47.4 percent to 3.02 seconds. Tom O'Reilly tried Clock (18.00) and Pyraminx (6.59) for the first time while dropping his 2x2x2 Cube personal record by 28.8 percent to 3.70 seconds. Fionn O'Mahony delivered a breakthrough 1:36.13 in 4x4x4 Cube, a 25.8 percent personal best, and tried Clock for the first time with a 42.26. Finn O'Sullivan also enjoyed a productive weekend, posting a debut 9.31 in Pyraminx and cutting his 3x3x3 Cube best by 19 percent to 33.66 seconds.

The specialized events rounded out a varied schedule of speed cubing excellence. William Carey claimed two gold medals, winning the Skewb final with a 2.67 average and taking the Clock title with an average of 4.20 seconds. In Square-1, Ryan Eckersley navigated three rounds to win with an 8.98 average. The blindfolded category saw Simon Kelly demonstrate superior memorisation and execution to secure the 3x3x3 Blindfolded title with a single solve of 26.92 seconds, finishing ahead of Eckersley and Colm McCarthy who both posted single times of 30.46 seconds.

When the final round concluded at Don't Fail Kinsale 2024, Irish solvers had secured 19 podium positions across the ten disciplines, supported by strong international finishes from South Africa, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and Mongolia. From elite multi-event sweeps to the dozens of newly minted personal bests registered by developing competitors, this cubing competition in Kinsale stood as a vibrant celebration of personal progress and competitive spirit that will resonate through the upcoming tournament calendar.