Faria Brito 2023

A decisive final round in the classic Rubik's Cube brought Faria Brito 2023 to a thrilling conclusion in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as Kaique de Oliveira Neves delivered a winning 8.37 average to secure top honours. Across two packed days on November 11 and November 12, 2023, 61 competitors made the journey to the coastal city to put their puzzle-solving abilities to the test. Solvers travelled in from throughout the region to gather at Colégio Faria Brito, filling the venue with intense focus across 20 distinct rounds of play. The 3x3 results formed the centrepiece of a programme featuring 11 official disciplines, setting a high competitive standard from the opening stages.

The journey proved especially rewarding for Kaique de Oliveira Neves, who collected three distinct tournament victories over the course of the weekend. In the premier 3x3x3 Cube event, which brought together 57 competitors across three rounds, his 8.37 average proved unreachable, backed by an event-best single of 7.76 seconds. Israel Machado Soares finished runner-up on a 9.05 average, with Gustavo Dias Dullens taking the third step on the podium with 9.18. Neves extended his dominance to the Pyraminx, claiming gold with a 4.15 average from an entry list of 39 competitors. He added another title in 3x3x3 One-Handed, recording a winning mark of 16.29 seconds to cap a remarkable series of performances.

The 3x3x3 One-Handed final delivered one of the closest battles of the entire WCA competition. Gabriel Sargeiro Gomes de Mello pushed Kaique de Oliveira Neves to the wire, logging an average of 16.50 seconds to finish just behind the winner, while Israel Machado Soares secured third place with 18.82. Gomes de Mello found his own golden moments across the longer-format puzzles. He topped the Megaminx podium with a 53.04 average, ahead of Neves at 1:02.80 and Pedro Henrique Maciel Ceccopieri Belo at 1:30.13. Gomes de Mello also prevailed in the 5x5x5 Cube, finishing with an average of 1:18.57 in an extraordinarily tight finish against Gustavo Dias Dullens, who recorded 1:18.58, while Belo claimed another third-place finish at 1:24.99.

Fast-paced shorter formats delivered intense turnarounds for the field at Faria Brito 2023. Miguel de Oliveira Dias dos Santos took first place in the 2x2x2 Cube with an impressive 2.60 average, narrowly besting Kaique de Oliveira Neves, who recorded 2.67, and Thiago Henrique Jardim Cardoso, who finished on 3.30. In Skewb, Igor Butter Leão de Freitas captured the title with a 4.59 average, outpacing Jonathan Pires Medeiros at 5.82 and Gustavo Dias Dullens at 6.09. Dullens earned top honours in the 4x4x4 Cube with a winning average of 35.06, leading Victor Rampinelli Villar de Medeiros on 41.91 and Neves on 47.38 in the two-round competition.

Beyond the podiums and headline times, the speedcubing community gathered in Rio de Janeiro celebrated breakthrough individual milestones across every heat. Daniel Gama Lignani took on seven events and registered a major breakthrough in Skewb, setting a personal best of 8.01 seconds that was 57 percent faster than his prior 18.61, while also logging his first official attempts in 5x5x5 Cube at 3:58.83 and Megaminx at 4:11.63, alongside an 11th-place ranking in 5x5x5. Gabriel da Cruz Vargas de Araujo also tackled seven events, finishing 9th in Pyraminx while logging first-ever attempts in 4x4x4 Cube at 1:45.39, Square-1 at 40.50, and 3x3x3 One-Handed at 39.98. Ravi Guilhon Oliveira Pinto took on three events, posting a Pyraminx debut of 10.69 seconds, a 2x2x2 Cube personal best of 10.04 that was 43.2 percent faster, and a 3x3x3 Cube personal best of 37.79 that was 33.2 percent faster.

Other competitors showed similar strides across the programme. Gabriel Pereira Góes improved his Pyraminx personal best to 10.03 seconds, shaving 40 percent off his mark, alongside improvements to 17.97 in 3x3x3 Cube, which was 18.9 percent faster, and 6.01 in 2x2x2 Cube, 17.2 percent faster. Henrique Borges Carvalho took on four events, setting an initial mark of 12.10 seconds in Pyraminx and 4.76 in 2x2x2 Cube, while dropping his 3x3x3 One-Handed best to 40.74, an improvement of 32.4 percent. Hernán Blanco Santana debuted in Skewb with a 16.95, while improving his Pyraminx best to 14.38, 30 percent faster, and his 2x2x2 Cube mark to 9.50, 26.4 percent faster. Kércion Andrade Gonçalves de Souza notched an 8.64 Pyraminx debut, dropped his 2x2x2 best to 6.48, 24.1 percent faster, and recorded a 24.22 3x3x3 best. Luiz Tacarijú da Rocha de Paula made a first 4x4x4 Cube attempt of 2:18.92 and set personal bests in Pyraminx at 8.02, 15.1 percent faster, and Skewb at 9.02, 6.3 percent faster.

Specialist solving categories provided another dimension of variety across the weekend schedule. Israel Machado Soares excelled in the mental challenge of the 3x3x3 Blindfolded, where memory and spatial awareness are tested without sight, winning with an average of 2:09.82 over Daniel Schreiber Guimarães at 1:58.61 and Pedro Henrique Maciel Ceccopieri Belo at 2:27.17. Machado Soares added another title in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves, where competitors spend an hour finding the most efficient solution, leading the discipline with a single of 34 moves. In Square-1, Matheus Bezerra Primo secured the victory with an average of 19.34 seconds, ahead of the 11-competitor field.

With all 33 podium places secured by competitors from Brazil, Faria Brito 2023 served as a complete celebration of speed cubing talent in the heart of Rio de Janeiro. From the widespread travel that brought tens of solvers to the tables to the multi-event triumphs and individual breakthroughs, the cubing competition delivered competitive drama across all 11 disciplines. Solvers departed the venue with new benchmarks established, closing out a memorable chapter in the 2023 calendar.

16.29 segundos foi a média necessária para Kaique de Oliveira Neves assegurar o primeiro lugar no 3x3x3 com uma mão, uma das modalidades mais exigentes do speedcubing mundial. A categoria testa a destreza mecânica pura e o controle dos giros, onde cada movimento deve ser executado com precisão absoluta usando apenas cinco dedos. Na decisão, Neves garantiu o topo da tabela superando Gabriel Sargeiro Gomes de Mello, que ficou em segundo com média de 16.50, e Israel Machado Soares, terceiro colocado com 18.82, em um duelo técnico de alto nível.

O torneio Faria Brito 2023, sediado nas instalações do Colégio Faria Brito em Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, reuniu 61 participantes entre os dias 11 e 12 de novembro de 2023. Ao longo de 20 rodadas e 11 modalidades oficiais, a competição de cubo mágico movimentou a cena carioca com disputas intensas em quebras-cabeças que variaram desde os tradicionais cubos cúbicos até formatos geométricos complexos e desafios com vendas.

No clássico cubo 3x3x3, a categoria principal mobilizou 57 competidores através de três fases eliminatórias. Kaique de Oliveira Neves voltou a triunfar ao registrar a média vencedora de 8.37 segundos e a melhor marca individual da final com 7.76. Israel Machado Soares conquistou a segunda colocação anotando média de 9.05, enquanto Gustavo Dias Dullens completou o pódio com 9.18 segundos.

A velocidade extrema do 2x2x2 também produziu tempos baixos no fim de semana. Miguel de Oliveira Dias dos Santos venceu a final com média de 2.60 segundos e o melhor single de 1.68, superando Kaique de Oliveira Neves, vice-campeão com 2.67, e Thiago Henrique Jardim Cardoso, terceiro com 3.30. Nas pirâmides, Kaique de Oliveira Neves somou mais um título ao vencer o Pyraminx com média de 4.15 segundos, enquanto Igor Butter Leão de Freitas sagrou-se campeão do Skewb com média de 4.59.

Nos cubos maiores, Gustavo Dias Dullens venceu o 4x4x4 com média de 35.06 segundos e o melhor single em 28.49, seguido por Victor Rampinelli Villar de Medeiros com 41.91 e Kaique de Oliveira Neves com 47.38. No 5x5x5, Gabriel Sargeiro Gomes de Mello levou a vitória com 1:18.57, batendo Gustavo Dias Dullens por apenas um centésimo, 1:18.58, com Pedro Henrique Maciel Ceccopieri Belo (陈昊然) em terceiro marcando 1:24.99. Gabriel Sargeiro Gomes de Mello também venceu o Megaminx registrando média de 53.04 segundos.

Para além dos troféus, a competição teve marcos individuais notáveis construídos por participantes em franca evolução. Thomas Cherene Erbesdobler Haase disputou cinco categorias e melhorou seu recorde pessoal no 2x2x2 em 38% com a marca de 8.44, além de evoluir 23.9% no 3x3x3 com 45.34 e 18.7% no Pyraminx com 12.53. Miguel Guimarães Rego Barros competiu em cinco eventos, obteve o 7º lugar no 3x3x3 Blindfolded ao cravar 5:11.91, uma melhora de 34.9%, avançando também no 3x3x3 com 29.18 e no 2x2x2 com 6.41. Bernardo Elias Esposito obteve o 12º lugar no Pyraminx com 6.37, progresso de 36.7%. Cadu Marques participou de seis eventos, alcançando o 7º lugar no 2x2x2 e superando marcas no 4x4x4 com 1:32.43, no Skewb com 9.74 e no 3x3x3 com 12.44.

A bancada de estreantes também deixou sua marca em sua primeira competição da WCA. Enzo Alves da Silva Souza encarou oito modalidades, terminando em 11º no Square-1, e fez suas primeiras tentativas oficiais no 2x2x2 com 3.49, no Square-1 com 1:40.05 e no 4x4x4 com 1:41.33. Talita Silva Lisboa encarou sete provas e foi 10ª no 5x5x5, estreando no 3x3x3 com uma mão com 1:03.07, no 4x4x4 com 1:41.34 e no Megaminx com 2:42.77. Samuel Katsuo Yamamoto Amaral disputou cinco categorias, sendo 9º no Square-1 e realizando suas primeiras tentativas no 3x3x3 com 24.59, no Pyraminx com 9.22 e no Skewb com 8.93. Rafael Borges Peres fez sua estreia em quatro eventos, completando o Skewb com 12.50, o 2x2x2 com 11.48 e o Pyraminx com 17.77.

As provas de memorização e lógica pura fecharam o programa do Faria Brito 2023. No 3x3x3 Blindfolded, onde a resolução às cegas exige memorização precisa do arranjo das peças, Israel Machado Soares foi campeão com média de 2:09.82, à frente de Daniel Schreiber Guimarães com 1:58.61 e Pedro Henrique Maciel Ceccopieri Belo (陈昊然) com 2:27.17. Soares também venceu o 3x3x3 Fewest Moves com resolução em 34 movimentos, enquanto Matheus Bezerra Primo faturou o Square-1 com média de 19.34 segundos, encerrando um encontro de alto nível técnico no Rio de Janeiro.