Hemlock Lake 2026

The competition tables at Little Finger Lakes Center were buzzing with focused energy as 17 competitors gathered in Hemlock, New York, USA for a full day of solving on April 26, 2026. Warmup tables saw rivals testing their hardware and running practice solves before the official timers turned green. The regional meeting brought together solvers from across New York and beyond, setting the stage for intense head-to-head battles across eight varied disciplines.

The classic Rubik's Cube division drew a competitive roster of 17 solvers over two rounds, culminating in a fierce contest atop the final leaderboard. Evan Liu took first place in the 3x3x3 Cube event, posting a winning average of 8.31 seconds alongside the day's best single of 8.13 seconds. Louis Truong secured second place with a 9.09 average, while Joey Mait claimed third with a 9.43 mark, highlighting the rapid pace of the 3x3 results at the tournament.

Across the broader schedule, the regional rivalry between Evan Liu, Louis Truong, and Joey Mait defined the upper tiers of nearly every bracket. In the 3x3x3 One-Handed final, Liu earned the top spot with a 16.56 average, besting Mait's 18.54 and Jake Oppedisano's 23.96. The single-handed event demanded clean finger dexterity, with Liu turning in the best single of the event at 13.73 seconds during his commanding victory.

Big cubes sparked another head-to-head clash among the top seeds. Louis Truong captured the victory in the 5x5x5 Cube, logging a winning average of 1:00.58 and a single of 58.11 to edge out Evan Liu, who took second at 1:03.07, and Joey Mait in third at 1:16.13. Liu struck back in the larger sizes, taking first place in the 6x6x6 Cube with a 1:42.41 average ahead of Truong's 1:48.29, and claiming the 7x7x7 Cube title in 2:29.97 while Truong finished second in 3:00.61 and Mingway Wang followed in 4:13.76.

Beyond the traditional nxn puzzles, the speed cubing program featured specialized challenges. Joey Mait broke through to capture the 3x3x3 Blindfolded title, an event requiring complete memorization, finishing with a winning single of 25.21 seconds ahead of Evan Liu's 1:16.63 and Johann C. Kim's 3:42.12. In Megaminx, Liu returned to the top with a 58.81 average over Mait's 1:06.52, while Liu also paced the Clock field across two rounds, winning with an average of 4.62 seconds over Jake Oppedisano's 6.94.

Beyond the podium battles, Hemlock Lake 2026 offered a showcase of remarkable personal milestones for solvers throughout the field. Joseph C. Kim made a huge leap in 3x3x3 One-Handed, recording a personal best of 1:06.76, which was 39.5 percent faster than their prior best of 1:50.29, while also taking on their first ever attempt at Clock with a time of 22.57. Phoenix Winters delivered a standout 3x3x3 Cube single of 19.05, cutting 36.8 percent off their previous best of 30.16. Logan Bancroft took down their 3x3x3 Cube best with a 27.04 single, an improvement of 17.8 percent, and Tobin Jack Ayers lowered their mark to 32.14, representing a 17 percent drop.

Other competitors took on demanding multi-event programs and logged impressive strides across the day. Frederick Selig entered seven events, making a first ever attempt at 7x7x7 Cube with an 8:12.04 result while setting a 5x5x5 Cube best of 1:59.83 that was 11.9 percent faster than their previous mark. Shaher Naser entered four events and finished 5th in Megaminx, setting a personal best of 2:02.75 to improve by 14 percent. Caleb Andersen lowered their Clock personal best to 14.90, an 8.2 percent improvement, and Kristopher Ayers achieved a 3x3x3 Cube personal best of 24.82, dropping 4.4 percent.

The single-day WCA competition concluded after ten total rounds, leaving the Little Finger Lakes Center with a deep set of personal milestones and hard-fought regional placements. With USA competitors sweeping all 24 podium spots, Hemlock Lake 2026 showcased high-level speedcubing across traditional cubes, big puzzles, and side events. Solvers packed up their timers and puzzles, looking forward to the next cubing competition on the seasonal calendar.