I Hope It's Solved Edmonton 2024

Inside the halls of Finning Canada, an intense silence settled over the tables as competitors prepared their minds for some of the most mentally demanding challenges in speedcubing. The atmosphere across the December 21 to December 22 weekend carried a sharp competitive edge, with local puzzle specialists meeting side by side to contest specialized disciplines. Every blindfolded turn required total recall, while fewest moves solvers meticulously mapped out efficient paths across the plastic layers of the Rubik's Cube.

The gathering marked a high-stakes cubing competition in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, drawing 16 competitors across five events and six rounds of play. While Canadian cubers shared the venue, regional pride and personal rivalries fueled every round on the schedule. As solvers went head to head over the 2024 weekend, the margin between a podium finish and a disqualification came down to precision, memory, and nerve.

In the 3x3x3 Blindfolded discipline, Jake Klassen took the spotlight with a decisive victory, setting the fastest mark with a winning single of 16.54 seconds. Bernabe Kondrak secured the runner-up spot with a single of 25.43, while Benjamin Buchner took third on the podium with a time of 1:27.61. The 3x3 results in the blind event saw a total of 14 competitors battling across two intense rounds, proving how competitive memory-based speed cubing has become in the province.

Bernabe Kondrak answered back with unmatched authority across the multi-cube and big-blind events. In 3x3x3 Multi-Blind, Kondrak claimed top honors by successfully solving 22 out of 25 cubes in a time of 55:30. Danny Buschert took second place with 13 of 16 cubes solved in 59:17, while Rex Kotovich claimed third place by delivering 5 out of 6 cubes in 42:53 across the single round of 11 entrants.

Kondrak also stood atop the podium in 4x4x4 Blindfolded, recording a winning single of 6:32.30 to edge out Danny Buschert, who finished second in 8:06.99 among a field of eight competitors. In the grueling 5x5x5 Blindfolded event, Benjamin Buchner demonstrated outstanding endurance and accuracy, emerging as the sole competitor to log a successful solve with a winning single of 33:20.00 to take first place ahead of three other finalists.

The 3x3x3 Fewest Moves contest added another layer of rivalry to the weekend, testing pure algorithmic efficiency. Kyle Santucci earned first place with a winning average of 32.67 moves, supported by a best single solve of 30 moves. Austin Jensen pushed hard for the top position but finished second with an average of 34.33 moves, while Danny Buschert collected another podium placing in third with a 35.00 average.

Beyond the title fights, I Hope It's Solved Edmonton 2024 showcased remarkable individual progress across the roster. Orion Donovan led the breakthrough performances by cutting their 3x3x3 Fewest Moves personal best from 46 moves down to 36 moves, an improvement of 21.7 percent, on the way to an eighth-place finish. Cayden Grant tackled three events, trimming their Fewest Moves mark by 8 percent down to 46 moves and posting a personal best of 3 out of 3 cubes in 19:30 for a fifth-place finish in Multi-Blind. Elijah Mok made their first ever attempt at 3x3x3 Blindfolded, clocking a successful 1:30.07 solve to secure fourth place.

The spirit of personal milestones at this WCA competition continued with Liam Greg Mabale, who stepped up for their first WCA competition and achieved a 12th-place finish in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves. Longtime competitor Denis Reimer took on three separate events throughout the weekend and earned a weekend-best finish of seventh in 3x3x3 Blindfolded. Yvonne Chow rounded out the effort by competing in two events, reaching 10th place in 3x3x3 Multi-Blind.

When the final round concluded, Canadian solvers accounted for all 21 podium places awarded across the five disciplines. From lightning-fast memory solves to intricate move-count solutions, I Hope It's Solved Edmonton 2024 delivered a compelling showcase of technical skill, leaving every solver ready to raise the bar in the next chapter of regional competition.