Fleur-de-Lis Fall LA 2023

The East Baton Rouge Parish Library welcomed solvers from across the region and beyond as competitors made the journey to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Across November 24 and November 25, a dedicated contingent of 44 participants travelled in to test their skills at Fleur-de-Lis Fall LA 2023. The two-day cubing competition brought together seasoned contenders and long-distance travelers alike, filling the venue with intense focus as timers started across twelve official disciplines spanning 17 full rounds of tournament play.

The classic Rubik's Cube main event saw 43 competitors battle through three stages of competition, culminating in a dominant performance at the final table. Dylan Miller captured the premier title by posting a winning 3x3x3 Cube average of 5.71 seconds, highlighted by the weekend's best single solve of 4.79 seconds. Teri McAcy secured the runner-up spot with an average of 7.63 seconds, while Tej Aliota took third place with an 8.42 mark. The final 3x3 results cemented Miller's control over the marquee bracket throughout the entire weekend.

Teri McAcy put together an exceptional multi-event campaign across the schedule, claiming gold medals in five separate disciplines. In the 2x2x2 Cube, McAcy secured first place with a 2.13 winning average, ahead of Evan Smith with 2.99 and Tej Aliota with 3.25. McAcy also demonstrated unmatched mastery across the larger puzzles, winning the 4x4x4 Cube with a 32.19 average, the 5x5x5 Cube with a 58.11 average, the 6x6x6 Cube in 1:51.39, and the 7x7x7 Cube with a mark of 2:57.75.

Dylan Miller complemented his main event victory by taking the Megaminx title, posting a winning average of 33.76 seconds with a best single solve of 32.25 across two rounds of play. In the Pyraminx competition, Peyton Tumy climbed to the top of a 34-competitor field to claim first place with a 4.36 winning average and a single solve of 3.00 seconds. Solvers across every division showed great adaptability as the rounds progressed through the busy holiday schedule in 2023.

The blindfolded events tested memory and execution without visual feedback, led by Nathan Benson who captured a remarkable sweep of three separate blindfolded titles. Benson won the 3x3x3 Blindfolded event with a single solve of 1:46.55, took first place in 4x4x4 Blindfolded with 7:17.74, and finished atop 5x5x5 Blindfolded with an 18:10.00 single. In the 3x3x3 Multi-Blind discipline, Michael Conard earned the victory by successfully solving 9 out of 9 cubes in a time of 47:12.

Away from the top of the podiums, Fleur-de-Lis Fall LA 2023 served as a platform for remarkable individual progress and breakthroughs. Jacob Russell made massive leaps across his five entered events, slicing 46.1 percent off his previous 4x4x4 Cube mark down to a personal best of 53.52 seconds, improving his 3x3x3 Cube best to 9.79 seconds, and recording a first ever attempt at Megaminx in 1:05.05. Zachary Frieden dropped his 3x3x3 Cube best to 10.04 seconds, an improvement of 40.1 percent, while also logging personal bests of 4:30.67 in 6x6x6 Cube and 3.79 in 2x2x2 Cube. Aaron Roberts achieved a 35.2 percent improvement with a 4:19.11 in 6x6x6 Cube, along with a 1:25.82 in Megaminx and a 7:22.51 in 7x7x7 Cube. Jackson Threlkeld improved his 2x2x2 Cube mark by 28.9 percent to 4.48 seconds while completing his first attempts in both 4x4x4 Cube at 59.80 seconds and 5x5x5 Cube at 3:20.94.

The personal milestones continued as Siwoo Kim tackled 11 events, taking a first ever attempt at the 6x6x6 Cube in 7:21.33 and improving their 4x4x4 Cube personal best by 23.8 percent to 1:11.36. Jacob Ryan took on six events, recording a first ever attempt at Pyraminx in 4.52 seconds on the way to a 6th-place finish, alongside first attempts at 4x4x4 Cube in 1:04.40 and Megaminx in 2:31.37. Rohan Raj completed a first ever attempt at 7x7x7 Cube with a time of 6:51.04 to finish 7th, while also lowering their 6x6x6 Cube best to 4:01.01. First-time WCA competition entrant Elijah Matzke took on five events, completing a first official 2x2x2 Cube solve of 3.32 seconds, a 4x4x4 Cube attempt of 1:48.14, and a 5x5x5 Cube solve of 3:43.06.

The weekend demonstrated the depth of the local community alongside those who made long trips to Baton Rouge for the gathering. Solvers supported one another across every event, whether scrambling, judging, or competing through multi-cube attempts. The collective efforts of organizers, judges, and delegates ensured that each heat ran efficiently throughout both full days of speed cubing action.

As the final medals were awarded, Fleur-de-Lis Fall LA 2023 concluded as a memorable showcase of speedcubing talent in Louisiana. Competitors departed the East Baton Rouge Parish Library with new personal milestones, titles, and shared memories from two demanding days of competition. The community now looks ahead to the upcoming season of regional tournaments across the United States.