I Hope It's Solved Edmonton 2023

Thirty-three point thirty-three moves per solve was all Ethan Basanov needed to top the standings in a contest where every single turn mattered. Across December 16 to December 17, 2023, the Finning Canada venue in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada played host to I Hope It's Solved Edmonton 2023. Bringing together 26 competitors across five specialized events and seven total rounds, the gathering offered a fascinating change of pace from traditional tournaments by highlighting technical efficiency and memorization over raw turning speed.

Unlike the blur of standard Rubik's Cube races, 3x3x3 Fewest Moves replaces fast fingers with pencils, paper, and methodical calculation. In this event, cubers spend an hour dissecting a single scramble to find the shortest possible path to a solved state. Basanov navigated the single round with precision, securing a winning average of 33.33 and a best single attempt of 32 moves. He edged out Danny Buschert, who placed second with a 33.67 average, and Theodore Chow, who took third on the podium with a 34.67 mean.

The intellectual demands of the weekend extended heavily into the blindfolded disciplines, which formed the bulk of the schedule at I Hope It's Solved Edmonton 2023. Xavier Saunders claimed victory in the 3x3x3 Blindfolded final with a decisive winning single of 45.61 seconds in the third round. Saunders had earlier posted a single of 38.81 and an average of 47.20 during the tournament. Buschert earned second place with a time of 1:30.72, while Azaro Gorloo completed the podium with a 1:34.45 mark in the final round.

Buschert proved to be a versatile force across the multi-stage schedule, reaching the podium in four separate disciplines. In 4x4x4 Blindfolded, Buschert secured the title with an average of 14:40.00 and a best single solve of 9:21.66. Gorloo followed in second place with a single of 11:31.00, while Basanov finished third with a mark of 15:33.00. The sheer stamina required for big-cube memorization was tested further in 5x5x5 Blindfolded, where Zach Ramer captured first place with a single time of 32:51.00, ahead of Buschert's 35:54.00.

The 3x3x3 Multi-Blind event brought its own brand of drama, requiring solvers to memorize and solve a massive collection of puzzles consecutively without sight. Bernabe Kondrak won the contest by registering 14 successful solves out of 17 attempted cubes within a time of 56:27. Buschert placed second with 10 out of 13 cubes in 58:56, while Alex Mutch took third place by posting a perfect 6 for 6 performance in 42:20.

Beyond the championship battles, the cubing competition served as a proving ground for several competitors achieving personal milestones. Anthony Finnigan made substantial strides in two separate disciplines, cutting his 3x3x3 Blindfolded personal best down to 6:16.00, an improvement of 30.8 percent over his previous 9:03.27 best, while also trimming his Fewest Moves record by 6 percent to 47 moves. Austin Jensen delivered a sharp 12.5 percent reduction in Fewest Moves to reach a 28 personal best, and lowered his blindfolded personal mark by 9.9 percent to 2:31.53. Dylan Vaskevicius also shaved 12.5 percent off his Fewest Moves standard to finish with 35.

The weekend also featured numerous ambitious first attempts at complex disciplines that added depth to the WCA competition. Cayden Grant tackled three events, logging a first ever attempt at 3x3x3 Multi-Blind with 2 of 3 cubes in 20:22 alongside a first Fewest Moves solve of 50. Yvonne Chow stepped up to 4x4x4 Blindfolded for the first time with a time of 30:11.00, while James Deibert also completed his initial 4x4x4 Blindfolded attempt in 31:01.00. Cooper Kurata registered 45 on a first Fewest Moves attempt, and Niels Nijstad logged opening marks in both blindfolded and Fewest Moves events during his three-event program.

The variety of formats at I Hope It's Solved Edmonton 2023 highlighted how broad speedcubing can be when traditional speed cubing takes a backseat to strategy and memory. Rather than chasing sub-second execution on standard 3x3 results, participants demonstrated deep analytical ability across every round. The weekend concluded an exciting 2023 chapter in Edmonton with Canadian competitors securing all 22 podium spots, setting a high standard of precision for the seasons ahead.