Falkirk Open 2026

Inside Grangemouth Town Hall, the continuous clatter of turning plastic echoed across the hall floor as puzzle covers lifted and timers engaged throughout a busy single day of action. Hand warmers rested beside scorecards while competitors settled into their stations under the bright hall lights. Entrants gathered from across the host nation and well beyond its borders, making the trip into Grangemouth, Falkirk, United Kingdom on February 21, 2026. Long journeys across continents and regional transit lines converged in central Scotland, bringing together an ambitious field for Falkirk Open 2026.

The 67 competitors who checked in represented a vibrant mix of backgrounds, with entrants hailing from the United Kingdom, Poland, Pakistan, and Macau. Traveling across multiple time zones proved no obstacle for Macau representative Max Kwok U Sam (郭愉琛), whose overseas trek was rewarded with a collection of high finishes across multiple puzzle formats. At the same time, regional travelers from all corners of the country packed the venue for the high-tempo speedcubing schedule, which packed eight rounds across six distinct disciplines into the calendar.

The classic Rubik's Cube drew a field of 64 competitors across three intense rounds of cutting-edge speed cubing. Johnny Morello Kerlaff produced a standout performance to capture the title, finishing with a winning average of 6.81 seconds alongside a competition-best single solve of 5.44 seconds. Adam Black took second place on the podium with an 8.60 average, while Pakistan representative Muhammad Ibrahim Khokhar earned third with an average of 9.10. The 3x3 results at the top reflected sharp consistency throughout the multi-stage bracket.

Johnny Morello Kerlaff doubled his gold medal haul in the 3x3x3 One-Handed event, taking victory among 50 competitors with a winning average of 11.11 seconds and a top single of 8.13. Max Kwok U Sam (郭愉琛) secured the runner-up spot with an average of 13.89, while Muhammad Ibrahim Khokhar claimed another podium finish in third with 17.60. The one-handed event tested fingertip dexterity and control across forty-five-second time limits, offering one of the most technical showcases of the entire cubing competition.

Big cubes belonged to Max Kwok U Sam (郭愉琛), who dominated the larger puzzles through sheer turning speed and efficient lookahead. In the 4x4x4 Cube, Max took the title with an average of 31.02 seconds, edging out Johnny Morello Kerlaff who posted a 31.50 average, while Adam Black secured third place with 33.98. Max followed that up with another gold medal in the 5x5x5 Cube, registering an average of 52.87 seconds to top Muhammad Ibrahim Khokhar in second at 57.69 and Adam Black in third at 57.73.

Behind the headline podiums, the official WCA competition gave several developing solvers the chance to establish major milestones. Scott Winter posted a huge breakthrough in 3x3x3 One-Handed, dropping his personal best to 47.35 seconds, which was 56.7 percent faster than his prior mark of 1:49.42, alongside a debut Clock attempt of 13.19. Mathew Carter showed massive progress on the 4x4x4 Cube by clocking 1:28.00, an improvement of 36.9 percent over his previous 2:19.39 record, while also improving his one-handed mark by 27.4 percent to 40.11. Dylan Torbet improved his 4x4x4 Cube personal best by 26.6 percent to 55.77 seconds and logged his first ever 5x5x5 Cube time at 1:32.50. Christopher King lowered his 3x3x3 personal best to 15.95 seconds, taking 27.2 percent off his previous 21.92 mark, while entering one-handed and 5x5x5 for the first time.

Other competitors took on broad multi-event schedules to notch first-time official results across several puzzle variants. Aarush Naik entered all six events on offer, recording a personal best finish of 11th place in 3x3x3 Blindfolded, alongside first-time attempts in Clock at 10.14, 5x5x5 at 2:33.04, and blindfolded at 2:45.44. Piru Tang tackled four events, completing first official attempts in 4x4x4 Cube at 1:19.08, Clock at 25.98, and 3x3x3 One-Handed at 36.14. Andrew Williams recorded maiden marks in Clock at 11.04, 4x4x4 at 1:17.67, and one-handed at 29.06. Elsie Whyte also expanded her official ledger with first attempts in Clock at 16.78 and 4x4x4 Cube at 1:30.61, alongside a personal best of 36.25 in 3x3x3 One-Handed.

Specialty disciplines rounded out the program with fast-paced turning and pure memory work. In Clock, Rylan Cheng-Brown earned first place with a sub-five average of 4.99 seconds, narrowly ahead of Ryan Eckersley who took second in 5.13 and Seth Malachy Wilson Paterson in third with 5.93. Ryan Eckersley returned to the top step in 3x3x3 Blindfolded, claiming the win with an average of 22.50 seconds and a single of 16.61, leading Daniel Kidd at 45.07 and Max Kwok U Sam (郭愉琛) at 1:02.64.

When the final awards were distributed, competitors packed their bags to begin their return journeys home from Falkirk Open 2026. The podium tally reflected an international spread of honors, with United Kingdom representatives earning 11 podium spots, Macau taking 4, and Pakistan claiming 3. From overseas journeys to local debuts, the day of competition in Grangemouth proved to be a vibrant gathering of speedcubing talent.