Goulburn Open 2024

Sora Sato delivered the defining performance of the tournament with a blisteringly fast 7.14 winning average in the 3x3x3 Cube, setting the high-water mark for precision. Held on April 20, 2024, at the Goulburn Workers Club in Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia, the Goulburn Open 2024 brought together a determined roster of speed cubing talent. Over eight rigorous rounds across four distinct disciplines, 73 competitors took their turns at the timers, battling the narrow margins that separate victory from a missed podium finish.

Across the tournament floor, the tension inherent in speedcubing formats was on full display. In every discipline, whether demanding the rapid turn counts of standard solves or the unforgiving focus of short-format rounds, a single minor lockup or miscalculated turn could derail an entire series. Competitors faced the relentless pressure of keeping their solve times consistent under the scrutiny of the judges, knowing that consistency is the only reliable path to advancement in a high-stakes cubing competition.

The premier 3x3x3 Cube competition featured three demanding stages, narrowing down the 73 entrants to a fierce final group. Sato took the top spot with a 7.14 average, also laying claim to the fastest single solve of the event at 6.63 seconds. Liam Highducheck kept the pressure on until the final turn, securing second place with a 7.59 average, while Harrison Jonathan Newbery-Chunn rounded out the podium with an 8.71 average. The official 3x3 results underlined the exceptional quality of play at the top of the Australian circuit.

Sato continued his dominant run in the 3x3x3 One-Handed event, navigating thirty-six entrants across a solitary, pressure-packed round to secure another title. Balancing speed with fluid fingertricks using only a single hand, Sato posted a winning average of 13.23 and the event single best of 10.67 seconds. Aiden Krog captured second place with an average of 15.77, while Noah Smith claimed the bronze step on the podium by recording a 17.05 average.

Beyond the championship battles, the tournament floor hosted major milestones for competitors pushing their own personal limits. Isaac Simon made significant strides at Goulburn Open 2024, cutting his 3x3x3 Cube personal best to 12.80 seconds, a 40.6% improvement over his previous mark of 21.54, while taking his first official attempts at the 2x2x2 Cube with a 4.85 single and Skewb with 12.92. Whitfield James unlocked massive progress on the classic Rubik's Cube, dropping his personal best by 39.6% from 1:01.84 down to 37.33, while also logging a 3.5% drop in 2x2x2 Cube to 18.72 and trying Skewb for the first time with a 17.04 single. Noah Block shattered his previous standard with an 11.77 3x3x3 personal best, outpacing his former 18.63 by 36.8%, and logged a 9.77 in his first official Skewb appearance. Flynn Kennedy took on four events, improving his 2x2x2 Cube mark by 36.6% down to 7.34, lowering his 3x3x3 best to 21.13 by 29.6%, and clocking 1:32.58 in his first one-handed solve.

The progress continued across the roster as William Kupkee shaved 30.8% off his standard 3x3x3 record to finish with a 10.91 personal best, improved his one-handed mark by 5% to 28.76, and tried Skewb for the first time with a 10.71 result. Ben Mitchell dropped his 3x3x3 One-Handed benchmark by 29.1% from 48.56 to 34.45 while making his first attempts at 2x2x2 Cube with 8.16 and Skewb with 14.13. Jackson Schulstad registered a 14.75 personal best in the 3x3x3 Cube, an 11.8% drop, while tackling his first attempts in Skewb with 12.78 and one-handed with 51.43. Meanwhile, Noah Sippel stepped up for their first WCA competition, successfully tackling four events and recording inaugural marks of 6.68 in 2x2x2 Cube, 21.51 in 3x3x3 Cube, and 55.54 in one-handed.

The 2x2x2 Cube event presented another fast-moving challenge for 61 competitors across two tight rounds. Jad Smith took the victory with a 2.23 winning average, backed by a 1.64 single. Sato pushed the contest to the wire, securing second place with a 2.67 average, while Thomas Tinlin earned third with a 3.00 flat average. The event featured exceptional speed throughout the bracket, with competitors like Liam Highducheck logging a 1.94 single and 3.30 average, Pavan Kumar Krishnan Swaminathan posting a 2.53 single and 3.41 average, and Aiden Krog turning in a 3.06 single and 3.53 average.

Action wrapped up with Skewb, where Thomas Tinlin captured first place with an impressive 3.32 average and a round-best 1.72 single across two rounds of play. Liam Highducheck took his second silver of the day with a 4.46 average, and Sato added a fourth medal to his tally by claiming third with a 4.81 average. With Australian competitors sweeping all 12 podium spots across the four disciplines, the single-day gathering concluded as a resounding showcase of precision, sharp execution, and breakthrough individual milestones at the Goulburn Open 2024.

As the timers were packed away and the tables cleared at the Goulburn Workers Club, the event highlighted the depth of competitive speed solving in the region. Whether setting winning marks in lightning-quick sprints or recording milestone personal bests across multiple puzzles, each competitor left their stamp on a memorable 2024 competition that set a high bar for the rest of the season.