Grace Cubing Cedros 2023

Inside the halls of UBL, timing displays flickered and hands hovered over solving mats as 58 competitors gathered for Grace Cubing Cedros 2023. Staged on September 23, 2023, in Cedros de Montes de Oca, Costa Rica, the one-day speedcubing gathering brought together puzzle enthusiasts from across the region. Across eight events and nine total rounds, competitors challenged their times on everything from compact twisty puzzles to complex dodecahedrons, creating an intense atmosphere where every single turn mattered.

The fiercest contest of the entire cubing competition unfolded in the 3x3x3 One-Handed final, where the top three finishers were separated by less than four tenths of a second. Christian Rodríguez captured the title with a winning average of 16.83 seconds, featuring a best single of 14.45. Right behind him, Eduardo José Poveda Rojas secured second place with a 16.94 average, missing top spot by just eleven hundredths of a second. Carlos Andres Gonzaga completed the narrow podium in third at 17.19.

That razor-thin dynamic was not limited to single-handed solving. In the 5x5x5 Cube, Kyle McDonald Trejos claimed the victory with a 1:03.55 average, including the day's best single of 57.46 seconds. Michael Zúñiga Meléndez pushed the pace to the very end, taking second place with an average of 1:03.93, less than four tenths behind McDonald Trejos. Sebastián Herrera Pomares earned third place on the podium with an average of 1:07.17 in the 16-competitor field.

The flagship 3x3x3 Cube event drew 55 competitors through two stages of play. When the final 3x3 results were tallied, Daniel Josué Sandí Alvarado earned victory with a 9.17 average, bolstered by the competition's fastest single solve of 6.94 seconds. Michael Zúñiga Meléndez secured the runner-up spot on the Rubik's Cube podium with an average of 9.67 seconds, while Christian Rodríguez took third place with a 9.74 average, ensuring all three medalists finished under the ten-second barrier.

Beyond the podium battles, Grace Cubing Cedros 2023 highlighted remarkable milestones across the roster. Darrell Mora Campos delivered massive progress, lowering his 3x3x3 One-Handed personal best by 56.3 percent to 30.27 seconds, while cutting his Megaminx mark by 23.1 percent to 1:29.55 and his 3x3x3 best to 15.63. Mario Isaac León Soto improved his 3x3x3 personal best by 45.8 percent down to 22.67 seconds. Beaudin Larrabee dropped his Skewb personal best by 45.8 percent to 8.00 seconds, took his 2x2x2 best to 4.71, and reached 13th place in Skewb. Novak Rafael Gedeon Tellez logged a 40.9 percent improvement in 3x3x3 with a 15.21 best and reached 6th in Pyraminx.

New milestones continued across multiple disciplines at this WCA competition. Dylan Josue Mesen Soto reduced his 3x3x3 best by 37.0 percent to 38.02, alongside drops in Pyraminx to 19.27 and 2x2x2 to 16.73. Samuel Alejandro Sandoval Delgado made his first attempt at 2x2x2 Cube with a 5.68 result and improved his 3x3x3 mark by 22.6 percent to 33.75. Gabriel Cerdas Zúñiga entered five events, logging first attempts in Megaminx at 1:43.77, Pyraminx at 13.33, and Skewb at 5.87 on his way to 9th place. Esteban Gutiérrez Rojas achieved personal debuts in 5x5x5 Cube at 2:39.78 and 3x3x3 One-Handed at 53.60, while cutting his 3x3x3 best to 12.96 seconds.

Short-format events also featured standout displays throughout the afternoon. Michael Zúñiga Meléndez dominated the 2x2x2 Cube with a 2.34 winning average and a 1.87 single across a 47-competitor bracket, finishing ahead of Sebastián Herrera Pomares at 3.66 and Daniel Sibaja Salazar at 3.85. In Pyraminx, Isaí Abarca Smith won the title with a 3.38 average and a 2.26 single, trailed by Jason Conejo Aguilar at 3.93 and Carlos Andres Gonzaga at 5.70 in the 34-solver field.

Multi-puzzle mastery remained on full display during the late rounds of speed cubing in Cedros de Montes de Oca, Costa Rica. Andres Sanchez Ponce won the Skewb event with a 4.81 average over Christian Rodríguez at 5.14 and Aarón Alfaro Navarro at 6.00. Christian Rodríguez picked up another victory in Square-1 with a 15.05 average and a 10.95 single, holding off Jose Daniel Solano Rodríguez at 15.53 and Sanchez Ponce at 19.46. In Megaminx, Michael Zúñiga Meléndez captured first place in 52.82 seconds over Gonzaga at 57.35.

By the conclusion of Grace Cubing Cedros 2023, Costa Rican competitors had swept all 24 podium positions across the eight contested disciplines. With tightly matched finals and widespread individual progress across the board, the tournament offered a comprehensive showcase of precision solving before the community turns its focus toward the next season of competition.