Empire State Winter 2024

Ninety competitors converged on the Albany Capital Center on February 3 and 4 for Empire State Winter 2024, facing a dense schedule of 20 rounds across 10 disciplines. The weekend in Albany, New York, USA showcased the demanding endurance required by the larger puzzles, where complex piece reduction and heavy physical turning test every layer of a solver concentration. Across multiple rounds of big-cube action, the top tiers demanded relentless consistency over several minutes of sustained solving.

The 6x6x6 Cube final highlighted the physical stamina needed at the highest level of speedcubing. Kevin Hays captured the 6x6x6 title with a winning average of 1:27.41 and a standout single of 1:19.64, holding off Livia Kleiner at 1:38.65 and Christopher Sun at 1:42.30. Hays returned to the center stage in the 7x7x7 Cube final, taking victory with a 1:56.03 average and a best single of 1:52.63 across two grueling rounds of deep tactical solving.

Christopher Sun rounded out the big-cube triumphs in the 5x5x5 Cube, claiming first place with a 47.36 average and a 46.40 single, finishing ahead of Hays who registered a 49.31 average for second place. Alexei Sinyavin completed the podium with a mark of 54.65. Sun also displayed elite mental fortitude in the 4x4x4 Blindfolded event, conquering the complex memorization and execution phases to win with an average of 4:36.10 and a top single of 3:46.67.

Carson Widjaja established a formidable presence across the mid-range puzzles at this speed cubing showcase, securing top honors in the 4x4x4 Cube with a 29.52 average and a 27.16 single, outpacing Kleiner at 34.52 and Henry Syn at 36.11. Widjaja then led the marquee classic Rubik's Cube event, claiming the 3x3x3 Cube title with a winning average of 6.56 and a 5.76 single after three rounds, topping Alex Niedland at 8.19 and Kleiner at 8.50 in the 3x3 results.

Livia Kleiner captured victory in 3x3x3 One-Handed with an average of 13.02 and a best single of 12.24, besting Jihu Mun at 13.74 and Widjaja at 14.34. The 2x2x2 Cube title went to Eli Rogers with a 2.49 winning average over Kleiner at 2.74 and Widjaja at 2.95. In the Clock event, Sula Mareska delivered a winning average of 5.59, while Brandon Lin captured the 3x3x3 Blindfolded crown with a 38.96 average ahead of Sun at 37.93.

Beyond the podium battles, Empire State Winter 2024 served as a breakthrough stage for competitors expanding their repertoire. Dylan Nickelsburg tackled 5 events, earning a 7th place finish in 2x2x2 Cube while cutting his 4x4x4 Cube personal best down to 41.04, an improvement of 54.7 percent over his previous 1:30.62, alongside first attempts in 3x3x3 One-Handed at 24.75 and Clock at 26.91. Skyler Kimball entered 8 events, shaving 34.9 percent off his 4x4x4 Cube mark down to 52.67 and posting a first 7x7x7 Cube attempt of 9:17.47. Greyson Salibrici trimmed his 4x4x4 Cube best by 43.7 percent to 1:18.00 and tried 3x3x3 One-Handed for the first time at 29.14. Phoenix Mascellino took on 8 events, cutting his 2x2x2 Cube mark by 45.4 percent to 3.19 and logging a first 6x6x6 Cube attempt of 6:37.03.

The depth of progress across the venue continued with Klara Browka, who embraced 8 events and logged debut attempts in 5x5x5 Cube at 2:08.94, 6x6x6 Cube at 3:40.12, and 7x7x7 Cube at 5:31.06. Matthew Chermak similarly took on 8 events, recording first marks in 5x5x5 Cube at 2:31.33, 6x6x6 Cube at 4:34.10, and 7x7x7 Cube at 7:58.27. Brennan Humphreys took on 5 events and posted first attempts in 2x2x2 Cube at 5.59, 4x4x4 Cube at 1:56.11, and 3x3x3 One-Handed at 1:05.69. First-time competitor David Gershgorin stepped into his initial WCA competition with 4 events, establishing marks of 19.60 in 3x3x3 Cube, 6.89 in 2x2x2 Cube, and 44.00 in 3x3x3 One-Handed.

With 20 rounds of intense competition wrapped up in 2024, the weekend proved how endurance, precision, and broad puzzle versatility define a major cubing competition. From the marathon solves of the 6x6x6 and 7x7x7 events to the rapid turns of short-format puzzles, the tournament demonstrated the complete spectrum of modern puzzle mastery. As the field looks ahead to the upcoming stages of the season, the results from Empire State Winter 2024 stand as a testament to deep practice and technical control.