Ecuador Nationals 2025

Sixty competitors gathered under the lights of Teatro Gran Colombia Ibarra from August 15 to 17, creating one of the most rigorously contested tournaments on the regional calendar. Staging 17 events across 23 rounds, Ecuador Nationals 2025 pushed every participant to fight through deep qualification brackets to reach a final. The sheer density of contenders in Ibarra, Ecuador meant that advancing out of the preliminaries required sharp consistency on every single turn, leaving no margin for early slip-ups.

The premier 3x3x3 Cube event drew a massive field of 56 solvers who battled through three full stages of competition. In the decisive final, Anthony Gerard Álvarez Ludeña captured the title with a winning average of 9.78 seconds, backed by a best single solve of 8.43. Fabrizzio Alejandro Peñafiel Mena took second place on the podium with an average of 10.16 seconds, while Sebastián Mateo España Chango earned third with a 10.58 mark. These tight 3x3 results demonstrated how closely matched the top tier remained throughout the weekend.

Beyond his main event triumph, Álvarez Ludeña produced a commanding campaign across numerous disciplines. He claimed gold in the 4x4x4 Cube with a 33.51 average, holding off Mateo Baruc Mero Benavides who logged 34.85, and third-place Santiago David Ulcuango Romero at 43.30. Álvarez Ludeña also secured first place in the 5x5x5 Cube with a 1:09.07 average, where Ulcuango Romero took second with 1:22.00 and Josué Ordóñez finished third at 1:25.35. His versatility was further underlined by a 17.37 average win in 3x3x3 One-Handed, an event where Ulcuango Romero placed second with 19.61 and Ariel Vacacela took third at 22.58.

The classic Rubik's Cube was far from the only test of skill during this extensive cubing competition. In the fast-paced 2x2x2 Cube division, 47 competitors vied for the podium over two rounds, culminating in a victory for Raúl Gómez with a 2.62 winning average and a single of 2.00 seconds. Santiago Vacacela led a 32-player field in Pyraminx with a 4.92 average, finishing ahead of Alejandro Velasquez Torres at 5.05 and Mateo Baruc Mero Benavides at 5.89. In Skewb, Juan Pablo Suárez Narváez posted a 4.84 average to take the top spot.

Away from the top steps of the podium, the depth of this WCA competition inspired immense progress across the ranks. Luis Sigcho sliced 47.1 percent off his Pyraminx personal best with a single of 4.32 seconds, down from 8.16, while tackling four separate events. Matías José Morales López took on nine disciplines, setting a 2x2x2 Cube personal best of 2.44 seconds that improved his previous mark by 44.4 percent, in addition to making his first career attempts in Square-1 at 1:31.34 and Megaminx at 2:25.80. Jean Carlos Echeverría Jácome contested 11 events, achieving a 3x3x3 One-Handed personal best of 27.55 seconds that was 44 percent faster than before, alongside his first official 6x6x6 Cube attempt at 5:32.50.

First-time event entries and sharp time drops continued throughout the lower brackets. Sebastian Josue Valencia Miranda reduced his 2x2x2 Cube personal best by 42.2 percent to 3.21 seconds and registered his first Clock mark at 15.28. Carlos Gael Cabrera del Hierro improved his 4x4x4 Cube personal best by 39.7 percent down to 2:05.35, while Dario Matias Estrada Loor entered eight disciplines, logging his first official attempts at Megaminx in 2:06.83, Clock in 37.34, and 5x5x5 Cube in 1:40.29. Alexander Morillo contested six events, registering a best finish of fourth in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves with a debut score of 49. Erik Matias Rugel Calva took part in his very first speed cubing tournament, completing initial attempts in 3x3x3 at 24.77 seconds, Pyraminx at 15.63, and 2x2x2 at 8.41.

Specialty disciplines also saw high levels of skill throughout the tournament. Pablo Sebastián Flores Peralta earned two victories, topping Clock with an 8.54 average and securing the Square-1 title with an 18.03 average. In the Square-1 final, David Alejandro Ibarra Marin took second place with a 22.00 average, followed by Santiago David Ulcuango Romero in third at 27.75. In the larger puzzles, Ulcuango Romero won the 6x6x6 Cube with a 2:39.10 average, while Josué Ordóñez secured the 7x7x7 Cube championship with an average of 3:28.00.

The memorisation and mental stamina events proved just as decisive across the weekend schedule. Anthony Gerard Álvarez Ludeña added to his remarkable collection by winning 3x3x3 Blindfolded with a 1:18.40 average, beating Luis Fernando Aldás Cuestas who posted a single of 1:13.29, and Kristie Daniela Andrade Puente at 2:22.32. Álvarez Ludeña also captured 4x4x4 Blindfolded with an 8:35.20 single and 5x5x5 Blindfolded with a 25:25.00 single. In 3x3x3 Multi-Blind, Luis Fernando Aldás Cuestas won by solving 10 out of 12 cubes in 51:01, having also taken first place in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves with a 41.67 average.

With all 54 podium spots captured by domestic athletes, Ecuador Nationals 2025 served as a comprehensive showcase of national speedcubing talent. The three days of intense racing in Ibarra demonstrated that reaching any final in the 2025 season demands both technical mastery and endurance against a continuously deepening competitive field.