Exceedingly Mini-sota 2025

Inside the quiet rooms of RCL – Maplewood on February 5, 2025, five focused solvers gathered for a high-stakes demonstration of spatial memory. Blindfolded solving on large puzzles demands complete stillness, where competitors study a scrambled puzzle to commit hundreds of piece movements to memory before donning a blindfold to execute the solution sight unseen. The Maplewood, Minnesota, USA gathering provided an intense, specialized environment purely focused on the hardest mental challenges in the sport.

The 2025 gathering organized under the World Cube Association banner went into the record books as Exceedingly Mini-sota 2025. Unlike a standard cubing competition packed with hundreds of participants chasing standard Rubik's Cube finishes or traditional 3x3 results, this specialized meet delivered two rounds across two of the most technically demanding big-cube memory events. Solvers faced narrow margins of error where a single miscalculated turn results in a DNF.

Andy Wong emerged as the standout performer across both categories, securing a decisive sweep on the day. In the 4x4x4 Blindfolded event, Wong recorded the winning single of 2:53.13 during the single round of competition to claim the top podium position. Navigating the added layers and internal parity complications of a four-layer cube without visual feedback requires exceptional precision, and Wong delivered the fastest solve of the meet.

The 4x4x4 Blindfolded podium saw strong United States representation behind Wong. Kaius Young claimed the silver medal, putting together a solid single of 4:30.59 and delivering a full average of 5:00.38 across the round. Walker Welch took the third spot on the podium with a single time of 10:04.00, while Andrew Surine also registered a successful completion with a single time of 11:34.00 in the five-competitor field.

Stepping up to the even more complex 5x5x5 Blindfolded discipline, Andy Wong once again proved unbeatable. Wong achieved a winning single of 9:02.16 to secure his second title of the meet. Five-layer blindfolded solving requires tracking dozens of center, wing, and corner pieces entirely from initial memorization, and Wong was the only competitor at the venue to crack the sub-ten-minute barrier.

Walker Welch followed up his earlier podium with a silver medal in 5x5x5 Blindfolded, recording a successful single of 18:58.00 and wrapping up an average of 19:53.00. Andrew Surine completed the podium lineup in third place, locking down a successful solve with a single mark of 20:10.00 to cap off the grueling event where Kaius Young recorded a DNF.

Beyond the podium battles, the event offered dedicated competitors an intimate setting to tackle extreme disciplines. Veteran solver Shain Papalotl Longbehn brought extensive experience to the venue, marking competition number 133 in a lengthy career that features 46 career podium finishes. Entering a single event on the schedule, Longbehn took on the demanding 4x4x4 Blindfolded round and earned a 5th place tournament finish at the table.

The single-day meet highlighted how specialized speed cubing events offer a distinct test of endurance compared to standard speedcubing sprints. Across the two rounds at Exceedingly Mini-sota 2025, all six podium positions were claimed by United States competitors. The meet demonstrated the remarkable mental discipline required to conquer high-order blindfolded puzzles as the community looks forward to the next season of WCA competition.