February Fitzroy Fun 2023

Twenty-eight competitors gathered at the Emely Baker Centre across February 11 and February 12, creating an energetic atmosphere tailored for focused solving and camaraderie. Across 19 rounds of play, February Fitzroy Fun 2023 offered a welcoming space where friendships flourished alongside intense head-to-head battles. Held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, the weekend gave the tight-knit contingent a chance to tackle challenging side events, share techniques, and enjoy the supportive environment of a classic speedcubing competition.

While standard Rubik's Cube speed cubing meetings often centre around the traditional puzzle, this gathering leaned heavily into complex variants. Competitors spent their time between rounds comparing hardware setups, talking through algorithms, and helping judge rounds. The schedule brought together nine different events, giving solvers who specialize in larger hardware and blindfold solving a dedicated platform to demonstrate their craft throughout the busy two-day fixture.

David Epstein delivered a standout performance across the weekend by capturing victories in two demanding events. In 5x5x5 Cube, Epstein secured the top spot with a winning average of 1:03.61 and a single of 57.99 across three rounds. He followed that up in Square-1 by taking first place with an impressive winning average of 5.92 and a single of 5.34. Zayd Chaudhry finished second in Square-1 at 10.99, while Jacob Joshi earned third place with a 13.99 average.

Chaudhry claimed his own title in Clock, taking victory across three rounds with a winning average of 4.22 and a best single of 3.11. Lennon Hughes secured second place with 6.32, and Junqi Feng from China placed third at 6.54. In Megaminx, Arisandra Soo led a field of 25 competitors across two rounds, clinching the win with a 46.24 average and a 41.18 single. Myles Jarman dominated the big cube scene, winning the 6x6x6 Cube event with an average of 2:11.43, ahead of Matthew Sieredzinski in second and Epstein in third.

Beyond the podiums, the heart of the cubing competition was found in the remarkable progress achieved right across the roster. Miller Atkinson cut his Square-1 personal best to 12.03, an improvement of 45.2 percent over his former 21.95 mark, while also posting a 7.09 in Clock and 2:19.04 in Megaminx. Putian Ye knocked 39.1 percent off his 3x3x3 Blindfolded best with a time of 4:41.55, alongside a 3:35.95 in 6x6x6 Cube. Peter Au tackled his first ever attempt at 3x3x3 Multi-Blind with a 2/4 score in 38:43, and set a Clock personal best of 14.14, which was 21.8 percent faster than his previous best.

First-time event experiences and personal strides continued to unfold throughout the schedule. Zhoe Taylor registered a first ever attempt at Clock, posting a 22.76. Alex Butera earned fifth place in Square-1 while setting a Clock personal best of 5.64, a 15.8 percent improvement. Auric Cui placed fourth in Square-1 with a personal best of 8.67 and also improved his Clock single to 7.73. Michael Alexander took on six events and lowered his Clock mark to 9.23, while Patrick Kleverlaan finished fourth in Clock with a new personal best of 6.07. Ting Sheng Bao Yang completed a busy seven-event schedule, securing fourth place in 4x4x4 Blindfolded and setting a 5x5x5 Cube best of 1:07.22.

The blindfolded categories demanded extreme concentration, requiring complete memorisation before executing turns without sight. In 3x3x3 Blindfolded, Tam Quan clinched victory with a winning single of 21.37 across three rounds, ahead of Michael Tripodi at 22.88 and Swami Srinivasan at 34.90, despite 3x3 results ending with DNF averages in the final standings. Hughes won 4x4x4 Blindfolded with a single of 4:38.18, leading Aaron Spiller and Srinivasan on the podium. Srinivasan then claimed first place in 5x5x5 Blindfolded with a 15:22.00 single, followed by Chenhao Sun in 21:18.00 and Jarman in 38:28.00.

The test of endurance culminated in 3x3x3 Multi-Blind, where Michael Tripodi achieved an exceptional winning single of 40/45 cubes solved within 57:12. Hughes took the second spot with 12/16 in exactly 1:00:00, while Jarman rounded out the top three with 8/9 in 56:20. As the final puzzles were packed away, February Fitzroy Fun 2023 demonstrated the spirit of the local community, closing another memorable chapter for speedcubing in the region.