GAN Southern Championship 2026

Across 37 rounds of high-intensity play, 251 competitors gathered at the Will Rogers Memorial Center for a premier test of skill, speed, and endurance. The GAN Southern Championship 2026 transformed the Fort Worth, Texas, USA venue from June 11 to June 14 into a proving ground where regional pride and championship titles were on the line. With 17 official events compressed into a single four-day schedule, every phase demanded absolute precision. Speedcubing championships in the 2026 circuit rarely offer an easy path, and this weekend rewarded those who could withstand multi-round attrition across varied disciplines.

The premier 3x3x3 Cube event drew 241 hopefuls through four rigorous elimination rounds, creating an electric atmosphere as the margins tightened at every stage. Siddharth Reddy delivered the weekend standout performance on the classic Rubik's Cube, capturing the title with an average of 6.23 seconds and a sharp single solve of 5.91 seconds. In a discipline where consistency under championship pressure is paramount, Reddy remained flawless. The final 3x3 results demonstrated how competitive the field was, with tenths of a second separating the top contenders in the main event.

Multi-event excellence came to define the upper tiers of the standings, none more evident than the remarkable sweep assembled by Ryan Pilat. He captured five distinct titles, conquering the Square-1 with a 7.06 average, the 6x6x6 Cube in 1:27.38, and the 7x7x7 Cube in 2:19.18. Beyond the big cubes, Pilat proved his versatility by taking top honors in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves with an average of 26.00 and winning 3x3x3 Blindfolded behind a single solve of 20.07 seconds. His podium presence extended across multiple other formats throughout the WCA competition.

Matty Hiroto Inaba matched that dominance across the mid-sized puzzles and specialized formats. In 4x4x4 Cube, Inaba secured first place with an average of 23.21 seconds, finishing ahead of Ray Bai at 24.08 and Ryan Pilat at 27.88. Inaba repeated his triumph in the 5x5x5 Cube, clocking a winning 45.14 average ahead of Bai and Pilat once again. Adding to his trophy haul, Inaba navigated three rounds of 3x3x3 One-Handed to take the title with an 11.56 average, further reinforcing the high standard of speed cubing on display throughout the weekend.

Specialist solving events saw equally sharp battles at the GAN Southern Championship 2026. Joshua Gao authored a commanding performance across the long-form memory events, claiming first place in 4x4x4 Blindfolded with a single of 1:48.73, winning 5x5x5 Blindfolded in 4:47.05, and prevailing in 3x3x3 Multi-Blind by successfully solving 55 out of 66 cubes in 59:38. In the faster formats, Sujan Feist claimed the 2x2x2 Cube title with a blistering 1.44 average, Marcus Kamen captured Pyraminx in 1.81, Sid Shivnath secured Skewb with a 2.00 flat average, Gunner Engelsman won Clock in 3.70, and Maddox Smith topped Megaminx in 34.81.

Away from the top of the podium, significant individual milestones highlighted the expansive depth of the cubing competition. Nolan Varela achieved a massive breakthrough in Skewb, setting a new personal best of 5.31 seconds, which was 70.9 percent faster than their previous mark of 18.22, while also completing their first official attempts in 5x5x5 Cube with 1:44.31 and 6x6x6 Cube with 3:33.75. Henry Blakeman tackled eight events, lowering their 3x3x3 One-Handed personal record to 20.96 seconds, an improvement of 57.2 percent, alongside inaugural attempts in Megaminx at 1:28.83 and 5x5x5 Cube at 2:04.47. Aariv Changede dropped their 2x2x2 Cube personal best by 55.9 percent down to 8.19 seconds and posted first attempts in 3x3x3 One-Handed and Pyraminx.

The progress continued with Stachys French, who contested ten events, cutting their 2x2x2 Cube best by 46.6 percent to 4.04 seconds and adding maiden times in 3x3x3 One-Handed at 31.99 and 5x5x5 Cube at 1:54.72. Kori Baker tackled 11 disciplines, improving their Megaminx mark by 41.5 percent to 1:05.68 while notching initial times in 6x6x6 Cube and Skewb. Ishaan Sakhuja achieved a 36.7 percent drop in 5x5x5 Cube to 1:54.94 alongside first-time attempts in Pyraminx and 3x3x3 One-Handed. Eli Nelson expanded their repertoire across seven events with debut attempts in Megaminx at 2:50.48, 5x5x5 Cube at 3:58.48, and Skewb at 7.89, while Robert Tiukov recorded first-ever times in Pyraminx at 9.41, Skewb at 16.65, and Megaminx at 3:40.49.

International representation left its mark on the tournament ledger as well. Abdel Issa set a national record average for Jordan in the 7x7x7 Cube with a time of 2:54.74, establishing a new continental standard amid intense multi-cube competition. Across every bracket, competitors from the United States secured 51 podium placements, underscoring the formidable strength of the domestic field gathered in Fort Worth.

When the final timers were stopped and the equipment packed away, the GAN Southern Championship 2026 stood as a definitive showcase of peak preparation and competitive composure. From the marathon blindfolded efforts to the rapid turnarounds of short-format finals, the four days of action set a high benchmark for the remainder of the calendar year. Competitors now look ahead to refining their solves as the circuit rolls onward into the upcoming regional schedule.