Geelong Winter 2023

A total of 114 competitors stepped up to the tables as the organizing team, delegates, and dedicated volunteers guided the schedule through 16 rounds across seven distinct events. Staged at the Geelong West Town Hall in Geelong, Victoria, Australia across July 29 and July 30, the event ran on the tireless work of community staff who managed judging, scrambling, and data entry. Their collective effort turned the two-day cubing competition into a smooth platform for elite speedcubing and personal breakthroughs alike.

The premier event delivered top-tier 3x3 results as Feliks Zemdegs claimed first place on the classic Rubik's Cube with a winning average of 6.38 seconds, complemented by a best single solve of 5.61 seconds. David Epstein took second place with a solid 6.77 average, while Phoenix Patterson secured third place with an 8.45 mark. Zemdegs displayed remarkable precision across the three rounds of play, anchoring a competitive field of 106 entrants in the main event of the 2023 tournament.

Zemdegs continued his dominant weekend by capturing titles in two other marquee events. In the 4x4x4 Cube, he finished atop a field of 65 solvers with an average of 24.77 seconds and a best single of 22.56, leading Epstein who averaged 31.30 and Patterson who recorded 32.79. Moving on to 3x3x3 One-Handed, Zemdegs collected yet another victory with a 10.17 average and a 9.37 single, outpacing Patterson with a 13.00 average and Divnoor Bajwa who took third on 16.49.

Phoenix Patterson put together an exceptional showcase of multi-discipline speed cubing, winning two separate categories at Geelong Winter 2023. In the 2x2x2 Cube, Patterson topped 96 entrants with an average of 1.50 seconds and a tournament-best single of 0.94, finishing ahead of Zemdegs at 1.66 and Epstein at 1.79. Patterson then added the Pyraminx crown to the tally, averaging 2.50 seconds across two rounds to edge out Eli Panetta at 3.04 and Emmet Hobbs at 3.12.

The side events provided thrilling action throughout the weekend brackets. Eli Panetta took top honors in the Skewb final with a winning average of 2.87 seconds, outperforming Ziqi Ding with 3.54 and Ben Wakelin with 4.18. In the 3x3x3 Blindfolded division, where competitors rely purely on memorisation and spatial recollection without seeing the puzzle during the solve, Tam Quan captured the title with a single time of 21.47 seconds, topping Swami Srinivasan at 46.26 and Putian Ye at 1:21.81.

Beyond the podium battles, Geelong Winter 2023 served as a launchpad for remarkable individual milestones across every stage of the draw. Noah Muscat logged an outstanding performance in 3x3x3 One-Handed, setting a personal best of 19.79 seconds to beat the previous mark by 67 percent, while also finishing 15th in the 2x2x2 Cube. Hongyi Fan achieved a 66.7 percent improvement on the 2x2x2 Cube with a 5.59 single, dropped the 3x3x3 Cube best to 22.21, and made a first official attempt at Pyraminx with a 12.21 result. Hugo Devine took a 50.6 percent leap forward in Pyraminx with a 9.15 mark and logged a first ever attempt at the 4x4x4 Cube in 1:54.42.

Jai Singh tackled five events during the weekend, establishing a 2x2x2 Cube best of 2.79 seconds for a 47.1 percent drop, alongside first ever attempts in 4x4x4 Cube at 1:05.31 and 3x3x3 One-Handed at 39.72. Chaeyoung Kim delivered an 8th-place finish in Pyraminx with a personal best of 2.26 seconds, representing a 40.5 percent improvement, while also debuting in 4x4x4 Cube with 54.19. Jesse Oviss entered all seven events, took 14th in the 3x3x3 Cube, improved the 4x4x4 Cube best to 53.60 for a 39.4 percent gain, and debuted in Skewb at 11.94. James Jarrett dropped the 3x3x3 Cube best by 38.6 percent to 15.13 while posting a first 4x4x4 Cube attempt in 1:11.24, and Ashleigh Elletson achieved a 37.2 percent improvement in Skewb at 12.98 alongside a debut 39.18 in 3x3x3 One-Handed.

The 2x2x2 Cube rounds also generated a cascade of notable personal records and top-level times, with David Epstein setting a 1.55 single and 1.97 average, Patterson recording a 1.32 single, and Zemdegs notching a 1.62 single. Australia dominated the final standings across the board, capturing 20 of the 21 podium spots, alongside a single international podium for China. The smooth execution of the schedule proved that a well-supported WCA competition can deliver both elite masterclasses and transformative personal breakthroughs.

As the equipment was packed away at Geelong West Town Hall, the legacy of Geelong Winter 2023 remained anchored in the work of the organizers and judges who kept the stations moving without delay. Their efforts ensured that more than a hundred competitors had the exact environment needed to push their limits. With strong turnouts across seven events and dozens of lifetime personal bests established on the official record, the local cubing community closed out another memorable winter fixture.