First Cubing UNIDA 2023

The competition floor at Universidad de la Integracion de las Americas UNIDA hummed with intense focus on March 4, 2023, as competitors took their stations across eight busy rounds. Timing displays flickered continuously throughout the hall in Asuncion, Paraguay, while competitors adjusted their puzzles and prepared for rapid turns. Every table reflected the focused discipline of the tournament hall, setting a vibrant stage for a full single-day program spanning seven distinct events.

A field of 36 competitors gathered to test their skills at First Cubing UNIDA 2023, creating an engaging environment across every station. The venue provided a compact, high-energy setting where friends and fellow solvers tracked every solve closely. From the classic Rubik's Cube to specialized challenges like Megaminx and Clock, the tournament hall remained active from the opening scrambles to the final podium presentations in Paraguay's capital.

The premier 3x3x3 Cube event drew the largest field of the day with all 36 competitors taking part across two rounds. David Emmanuel Velozo Cabrera captured top honors in the final round with a winning average of 10.23 seconds, also posting a tournament-best single solve of 8.80 seconds. Jose Maria Escobar Fernandez secured second place with an average of 10.52 seconds, while Martin Alejandro Benitez Lopez claimed third on the podium with a mark of 10.95 seconds.

David Emmanuel Velozo Cabrera continued his winning momentum in the 3x3x3 One-Handed division, topping a field of 17 competitors with a 19.08-second average and a single solve of 16.11 seconds. Jose Maria Escobar Fernandez again claimed the runner-up spot with a 19.21-second average, and Martin Alejandro Benitez Lopez rounded out the podium at 23.67 seconds. The standard 3x3 results demonstrated fierce consistency at the top of the standings throughout the weekend.

Short-format events brought rapid movement across the tables, headlined by Martin Alejandro Benitez Lopez winning the 2x2x2 Cube final with a 3.16-second average and a 2.18 single. David Emmanuel Velozo Cabrera followed closely behind at 3.99 seconds, while Kenji Julian Caceres Matsumoto completed the podium with 4.00 seconds. Martin Alejandro Benitez Lopez earned another gold medal in Pyraminx, registering a winning average of 6.43 seconds ahead of Carlos Benjamin Mereles Martinez at 7.54 seconds and Pedro Benjamin Uliambre Galeano at 7.58 seconds.

Beyond the podium battles, several competitors achieved remarkable milestones away from the top spots on the leaderboard. Piero Alessandro Rugilo Alsina entered all seven events on the schedule, securing a career-best fourth-place finish in Skewb while improving his Clock personal best by 83.3 percent to 29.62 seconds. Francisco Delso made his first ever attempt at Skewb with a 21.07 single and shaved 43.3 percent off his 2x2x2 personal best to reach 7.16 seconds. Jorge Sol tackled his first Pyraminx solve with a mark of 6.51 seconds and lowered his 2x2x2 best to 4.34 seconds, 40.7 percent faster than before. Enrique Saul Rios Demattei cut his Pyraminx personal best by 51 percent down to 11.96 seconds and took sixth place in Skewb.

The spirit of personal advancement continued across multiple puzzle categories throughout the afternoon. Eliam Vallejos logged his first official attempt at 3x3x3 One-Handed with a time of 1:07.74 and claimed fifth place in Megaminx. Matias Penayo Mendez took on Megaminx for the first time, recording a mark of 3:17.52 to finish sixth overall. Carlos Rafael Gutierrez Gonzalez registered his first official Pyraminx attempt at 13.54 seconds and trimmed his 3x3x3 personal best to 35.47 seconds. Debutants made their mark as well, including Lucca Navarro Romero, who completed his first official WCA competition across three events and achieved an eighth-place finish in Pyraminx.

Specialty puzzles rounded out the day with sharp competitive battles. Josias Vallejos claimed the Megaminx title with an average of 2:03.09 and a single of 1:58.60, besting Pedro Benjamin Uliambre Galeano and Gustavo Adolfo Ortega Gomez of Venezuela, who took bronze. Elias Miguel Acosta Acosta earned the Skewb title with an average of 9.30 seconds, while Carlos Benjamin Mereles Martinez secured the Clock crown with a 13.56-second average.

The successful staging of First Cubing UNIDA 2023 highlighted the vibrant community spirit thriving in Asuncion. The single-day speed cubing gathering proved how effectively a university venue can host high-caliber speedcubing action. Solvers packed up their gear with fresh personal benchmarks and memories from a rewarding day of competitive play, looking ahead to the continued growth of the sport across Paraguay in the seasons to come.