Elmira Miracle 2025

Burno Li Chak Kwan delivered an overwhelming showcase across the big cube disciplines, sweeping victories in four separate events to lead the charge in upstate New York. The single-day WCA competition took place on December 21, 2025, bringing 20 competitors together at the Clarion Inn Elmira-Horseheads. While top-level speedcubing battles determined the podiums, the event served as a major proving ground for aspiring solvers stepping onto the official stage, navigating the distinct focus required across a packed nine-event schedule.

Elmira Miracle 2025 featured a full spectrum of puzzles, testing competitors in classic three-layered solving, high-order rotational mechanisms, and blindfolded execution. In the traditional 3x3x3 Cube, Shota Fukuoka secured the victory by posting a 7.84 winning average along with a best single of 6.87. Li finished as the runner-up with an 8.34 average, while Jeffrey Chen claimed third on the podium with an 8.43 mark. The standard 3x3 results highlighted tight margins across the 17 competitors entered in the event, setting the tone for the entire gathering in Elmira, New York, USA.

Fukuoka continued his winning ways in 3x3x3 One-Handed, claiming another title with a 13.10 average and an 11.97 single. Li followed closely in second place at 13.47, and Evan Waters took third with a 15.36 average. Meanwhile, Clem Tucker produced dominant showings in the specialty events, earning double victories. Tucker captured the Pyraminx title with a 2.38 winning average and an event-best 1.52 single, then added a Clock win with a 4.12 average and a 3.35 single to secure two first-place finishes.

The larger puzzles belonged entirely to Li, who demonstrated exceptional consistency and mechanical control across 4x4x4, 5x5x5, 6x6x6, and 7x7x7 cubes. In the 4x4x4 Cube, Li posted a 24.63 average, finishing ahead of Marcus S. Bilik at 33.47 and Evan Liu at 34.56. Moving up to the 5x5x5 Cube, Li registered a 50.15 average for gold, once again joined on the podium by Bilik with 54.53 and Liu with 59.30. In the 6x6x6 Cube, Li clocked a 1:21.39 average, with Bilik taking second at 1:43.43 and Liu earning third at 1:44.57. Li closed out the big cubes by winning the 7x7x7 Cube with a 2:17.44 average. In 3x3x3 Blindfolded, Alvin Hiu Yeung Cheng won the event with a 25.32 single, leading Liu and Caleb Andersen.

Beyond the championship trophies, Elmira Miracle 2025 provided a massive platform for personal milestones across the field. Andrea Neal delivered a standout drop in Clock, lowering her personal best to 21.13, which was 25.5 percent faster than her prior mark, on her way to 15th place. Alex Hancock tackled four events and dropped his Clock personal best by 10.7 percent down to 11.83, while finishing 13th in the 3x3x3 Cube. Charley Eucker entered four events and earned a 13th-place finish in Clock. Jody Neal took on two events during the weekend, achieving a 15th-place finish in Pyraminx.

The breakthroughs continued throughout the roster in Elmira. Sanjam Dash Mohanty entered two events, finishing 13th in Pyraminx. Addy Coolidge took on a heavy eight-event program, finishing 6th in the 4x4x4 Cube while establishing a 5x5x5 personal best of 1:05.07, an improvement of 5.6 percent, alongside a 5:12.80 personal best in 7x7x7. Adelynn Neal competed in eight events, taking 4th in Clock while logging personal bests of 1:33.04 in 5x5x5 Cube, a 9.5 percent drop, and 16.21 in 3x3x3 One-Handed, 5.7 percent faster. Lauren Phung also took on eight events, securing a 6th-place result in 3x3x3 One-Handed.

Also among the competitors in Elmira was Julian Kim, the founder and developer of Speedcubing.app, who tackled all nine events on the schedule. Kim reached 6th place in 3x3x3 Blindfolded and secured 8th-place finishes in the 6x6x6 Cube, 7x7x7 Cube, Pyraminx, and Clock. Along the way, he established two personal best singles: a 2:27.56 in the 6x6x6 Cube, which was 12.4 percent faster than his previous best, and a 1:21.36 in the 5x5x5 Cube. Kim also recorded averages of 4:55.40 in 7x7x7, 6.13 in Pyraminx, 8.63 in Clock, 44.83 in 4x4x4, 22.37 in One-Handed, and 13.52 in the 3x3x3 Cube.

The single-day meet proved that every Rubik's Cube category demands distinct physical preparation, from the fast dexterity of speed cubing short rounds to the deep stamina required for big cubes and blindfolded solving. Ethan Qiu demonstrated that versatility by tackling eight events, earning 4th in the 6x6x6 Cube while setting personal bests of 1:57.27 in 6x6x6, 3:12.87 in 7x7x7, and 20.68 in One-Handed. As Elmira Miracle 2025 concluded in Elmira, New York, USA, the podium counts reflected 20 top-three finishes for the USA and seven for Hong Kong, closing an intense day of racing as competitors look ahead to the next season.