Geelong Winter 2024

Inside the historic Geelong West Town Hall, Phoenix Patterson produced a dominant performance across two days of intense speedcubing action, capturing four separate championship titles. The hall served as a lively gathering ground for 118 competitors who converged on Geelong, Victoria, Australia across August 24 and August 25. The premier contest of the weekend saw Patterson claim the main Rubik's Cube crown with a decisive 6.99 winning average, backed by a lightning-fast single of 5.64 in the final round of the classic puzzle.

The 2024 gathering marked a bustling stop on the national circuit, packing the hall with 16 rounds of action across seven different disciplines. Geelong Winter 2024 delivered high-stakes matchups from the first morning solves through the final Sunday showdowns. Patterson set the tone early in the weekend, turning in top-tier results in both traditional twisty puzzles and specialised formats, demonstrating exceptional versatility while navigating a large field of dedicated speed cubing entrants across the two-day schedule.

In the headline 3x3 results, Patterson led an all-Australian podium, finishing well ahead of Jaime Fernandes, who secured second place with an 8.75 average. Myles Jarman rounded out the top three on the 3x3x3 Cube podium with an average of 9.13. The 3x3x3 One-Handed event brought another tight finish, where Patterson took the gold with an average of 13.05, edging out Zhenwei Su of China by a mere two hundredths of a second at 13.07, while Zayd Chaudhry earned third place with an 18.86 average.

Patterson continued to dictate the pace on the larger and smaller cubes at Geelong Winter 2024. In the 4x4x4 Cube, Patterson posted a winning mark of 31.10 and a best single of 29.25, leading Jarman in second at 35.31 and Putian Ye of China in third at 36.02. In the 2x2x2 Cube final, Patterson captured victory with an average of 1.56, standing atop the podium alongside Harry Forbes with a 2.11 average and Lukas Nguyen at 2.56, capping an extraordinary sweep of four distinct titles.

Away from the top of the podium, the weekend was defined by massive breakthroughs across the venue floor. Adhrit Kulgod delivered one of the steepest drops of the competition, lowering his 2x2x2 Cube personal best to 3.32, which was 66.2 percent faster than his previous mark, while also cutting his 3x3x3 Cube personal best to 17.11. Jasper Warner enjoyed an exceptional slate across five events, dropping his Skewb best to 5.49 for a 64.4 percent improvement and chopping his Pyraminx record to 4.86, a 63.3 percent reduction. Liam Sydenham tackled six events and logged a 32.46 personal best in 3x3x3 One-Handed, outperforming his old mark by 57.6 percent.

Other competitors took on fresh territory for the very first time on the WCA competition stage. Hudson O'Toole made his official debut at this cubing competition, stepping up for six events and posting marks of 8.93 on 2x2x2 Cube, 7.57 on Skewb, and 2:27.22 on 4x4x4 Cube. Orlando Cove Carrasset recorded first-time competition results of 6.93 on Pyraminx and 2:13.02 on 4x4x4 Cube. Jet Diolosa took on Skewb for the first time with a 6.17 mark, Christoff Reyes logged a 9.76 initial Skewb attempt alongside a 7.47 3x3x3 personal best, and Charlie Delia completed a debut Pyraminx run of 7.53 while setting a 15.00 3x3x3 best.

The alternative formats provided thrilling finishes of their own under the town hall roof. Ziqi Ding produced a stellar performance in Pyraminx, winning the title with a 1.82 average and a 1.40 single, outpacing Eli Panetta at 2.67 and Patterson at 2.72. Panetta bounced back in Skewb to claim victory with a 2.75 average, narrowly besting Max Parris at 2.82 and Alex Butera at 3.38 in a tightly contested final round.

The 3x3x3 Blindfolded discipline tested pure memorisation and precision, where Swami Srinivasan claimed the top spot with a successful 37.05 single. Putian Ye took second place on the blindfolded podium with a 40.77 solve, followed by Alex Butera in third with 1:50.63. Across the entire program, Australian competitors secured 18 podium spots while Chinese representatives claimed three, reflecting the strong regional depth on display throughout the weekend.

As the final timers stopped and the tables were cleared, Geelong Winter 2024 concluded having showcased elite speed and substantial personal progress across every round. With multiple titles decided by fractions of a second and dozens of competitors reaching new career milestones, the Geelong West Town Hall served as an ideal setting for an unforgettable weekend of community and competition.