Door County Cube Challenge 2024

Forty-five competitors gathered at the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, USA on August 31, 2024, to battle across six events and fifteen rounds of intense speedcubing. The one-day cubing competition brought together rival contenders from across the region, each seeking to establish supremacy on the tournament floor. Right from the opening scrambles, the clash at the top of the standings pitted familiar regional challengers against each other in a relentless pursuit of hardware across puzzles ranging from the classic Rubik's Cube to odd-shaped side events.

The premier 3x3x3 Cube contest stood as the centerpiece of this regional rivalry. Brian Johnson delivered an authoritative performance across three full rounds, ultimately securing first place with a winning average of 6.90 seconds and a best single of 5.92. Carter Kucala pushed hard in pursuit, taking second place with an average of 7.53 seconds, while Zachary Cribb rounded out the podium in third with an 8.03 average. The final 3x3 results underlined Johnson's command of the classic puzzle under direct pressure from his closest regional peers.

Johnson continued his winning ways in the short-format puzzles, taking the top spot in the 2x2x2 Cube with an average of 1.78 seconds. In that contest, Reegan Cantrall claimed the silver step with an average of 2.37 seconds, while Carter Kucala added another medal to his tally with a 2.70 average for third. The depth of the field in this event was clear throughout three rounds of 44 competitors, as athletes traded rapid-fire solutions in an event where every hundredth of a second determined advancement.

Carter Kucala claimed his own triumph over his rivals in Skewb, leading the 34-competitor lineup through two rounds to capture the title with an average of 1.92 seconds and a single of 1.77. Brian Johnson took second place in that final with an average of 3.00 seconds, just ahead of Simon Kellum, who finished third with a 3.03 average. Kellum showed consistent speed across several formats, remaining a constant presence in the chase behind the frontrunners throughout the afternoon schedule.

In the specialized events, Zachary Cribb took top honors in Clock, registering a winning average of 4.10 seconds and a round-best single of 2.96 across two rounds of 27 competitors. Lucas Lippman-Bruno earned second place with a 5.14 average, followed by Carter Kucala in third at 5.66. Brian Johnson returned to the top of the podium in both 3x3x3 One-Handed, winning with an 11.25 average ahead of Kucala at 12.03 and Kellum at 16.24, and Pyraminx, where Johnson posted a 2.12 average to top Kucala at 2.73 and Kellum at 3.12.

Beyond the fight for titles at the Door County Cube Challenge 2024, several competitors achieved remarkable milestones across their individual disciplines. Eli J. Hensley completed six events and delivered a standout Skewb personal best of 6.45 seconds, which was 73.6 percent faster than his previous mark of 24.45, while also recording his first attempts in Clock at 34.87 and 3x3x3 One-Handed at 42.06. Colin McCormick dropped his 2x2x2 Cube mark by 65.4 percent to 4.90 seconds and logged first attempts in 3x3x3 One-Handed at 1:27.01 and Clock at 32.91. Beau Dusterwinkle improved his Pyraminx time by 50.6 percent to 5.09 seconds, set a 2x2x2 Cube personal best of 1.94, and finished seventh in Skewb.

Fresh debuts and expanded event repertoires defined the rest of the lower bracket stories at this WCA competition. Jack Stephen Handrich tackled six events, achieving a Pyraminx personal best of 2.89 seconds, a 48.8 percent improvement, along with a seventh-place finish in 2x2x2 Cube. Elisha J. Thibaudeau improved their Pyraminx mark by 42.6 percent to 7.29 seconds and tried Skewb for the first time with a 10.65 result. Patrick O'Brien entered his first official tournament, taking on four events including his first 3x3x3 Cube attempt at 26.39 seconds. Crew Tittel marked his debut tournament with a 9.46 Pyraminx attempt, while Romulus Robinson contested his first competition with a 7.11 single in 2x2x2 Cube.

The single-day meet proved that dedicated speed cubing tournaments in smaller venues can generate fierce regional competition across every round. With 18 podium spots earned by United States competitors across six events, the Door County Cube Challenge 2024 wrapped up a high-tempo day of solving in Sturgeon Bay, leaving rivals with new benchmarks to chase when they meet again next season.