Going Back to the Gong 2024

Ninety-one competitors gathered across fifteen rounds of intense speedcubing action at the Dapto Ribbonwood Centre, establishing a high benchmark for the 2024 season. The weekend delivered non-stop drama as Australian puzzle solvers secured eighteen of the twenty-four available podium positions across eight separate events. From big cubes to complex memory challenges, the host nation established dominance on the scoreboards, sharing the honors with standout performers representing New Zealand and Hong Kong throughout a memorable two days of competition.

Held across February 10 and February 11, Going Back to the Gong 2024 brought top-tier speed cubing back to Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. Fans following the classic Rubik's Cube watched an eighty-seven-solver field narrow down across three distinct stages. When the final 3x3 results were tallied, New Zealand standout Chris Mills secured victory with a 7.51 winning average and a best single of 6.04. Mills held off strong Australian challenges from Liam Highducheck, who took second with 8.18, and Bryan Eng, who took third with an 8.36 average.

Eng made his mark across multiple formats throughout the WCA competition, capturing top honors in both 2x2x2 Cube and Skewb. In the 2x2x2 Cube final, Eng produced a winning average of 1.84 alongside a best single of 1.55 to take the title over Joseph Liu of Hong Kong, who clocked 2.30, and Mills, who took third in 2.36. Eng returned to the top of the podium in Skewb with a 3.97 average, outperforming Mills at 4.34 and Oscar Liang at 4.58. Eng also placed second in both 4x4x4 Cube and 7x7x7 Cube, accumulating five total podium finishes.

The 4x4x4 Cube contest saw Liam Highducheck earn a hard-fought victory with a 28.65 winning average, edging past Eng at 28.72 and Mills at 28.88 in an exceptionally close finish. In the large-cube department, Terence Chenh conquered the 7x7x7 Cube final, averaging 2:40.00 with a best single solve of 2:28.92. Eng followed in second with 2:45.94, while Harrison Jonathan Newbery-Chunn rounded out an all-Australian podium sweep in the event with a time of 3:07.56.

Chris Mills collected his second individual crown of the cubing competition in Pyraminx, where he navigated sixty-eight competitors to take first place with a 2.83 average and a 1.89 single. Eng finished second with a 3.28 average, followed by Liam Sawade in third at 3.76. Across the weekend, Mills consistently pushed the pace, ensuring that international rivals remained in sharp contention alongside Australia's deep lineup of finalists.

Beyond the standard formats, the blindfolded events tested endurance and precise memorisation. In the 3x3x3 Blindfolded competition, Elias Chong secured the win with a single of 33.63, ahead of Liam Highducheck at 1:00.52 and Samuel Moliver at 1:06.14. Moliver turned the tables in 3x3x3 Multi-Blind, achieving victory with 16 out of 17 solved cubes in 55:23. Chong claimed second place with 12 out of 19 in 53:31, and Highducheck finished third with 9 out of 13 in 59:59.

Away from the podiums, the open stages provided huge milestones for several competitors pushing their personal limits. Xander James recorded a monumental leap in 3x3x3 Blindfolded, logging a personal best of 2:42.75 to improve by 70.2 percent over his previous best of 9:05.49, on his way to a 5th place finish. Levi Sher registered a Pyraminx personal best of 6.11, which was 49.7 percent faster than his prior mark of 12.14, alongside taking his first official Skewb attempt at 17.65. Emerson Owen cut his Pyraminx best down to 6.56, an improvement of 44.6 percent, and completed his first Skewb solve at 17.28. Isaac Mitchell improved his 2x2x2 Cube personal best by 34 percent to 7.02 and logged a first ever 4x4x4 Cube attempt of 2:37.04.

Daring debuts across demanding events added further depth to the scorecards. Callan Vom entered all eight events, earning 5th place in 4x4x4 Cube while logging his first official attempts in 3x3x3 Multi-Blind with 2/4 in 26:32, 7x7x7 Cube at 3:50.37, and 3x3x3 Blindfolded at 2:04.73. Rhys O'Leary took on seven events, recording a first 7x7x7 Cube effort of 7:19.50 for an 18th place finish. Xavier Pupovac-Hopper completed his first official 4x4x4 Cube attempt in 1:22.34 and improved his 3x3x3 Cube best to 16.27. First-time participant Noah Winfield launched his career across five events, posting an opening 3x3x3 Cube mark of 15.81.

The successful conclusion of Going Back to the Gong 2024 wrapped up a high-energy schedule that celebrated both elite championship standards and major individual development. With eighteen podium placements earned by Australian solvers and multiple titles going to international visitors, the competition highlighted the growing technical mastery across every discipline. The achievements in Wollongong set an ambitious pace as competitors look ahead to their upcoming assignments on the national and regional circuits.