Imaginaire Québec 2024

Inside the bustling corridors of Boutique Imaginaire de Laurier, timers reset and hands hovered over electronic pads across two full days of high-intensity action. The gathering brought together 55 puzzle enthusiasts in Québec, Quebec, Canada on September 21–22 for an intense weekend of turning accuracy. Spectators and family members gathered around the solving tables, watching the quick-handed competitors work through complex scrambles in an energetic environment. As the 2024 season reached late September, this cubing competition offered a showcase across 15 separate rounds of play, testing both veteran resolve and rising talent in equal measure.

The lightning-fast 2x2x2 Cube set a blistering pace for the entire tournament. Across two rounds featuring 50 competitors, Maxence Leboeuf proved untouchable, taking the top spot on the podium with a winning average of 1.87 seconds to go along with a best single of 1.50 seconds. Benjamin Kyle secured second place with an average of 2.83, while Augustin Renaud completed the top three with an average of 3.01. Leboeuf had already set the standard earlier in the event with a 1.65 single and a 1.92 average, leading a field that delivered rapid-fire action from the opening round.

In the classic 3x3x3 Cube, the premier test of any speedcubing contest, Leboeuf maintained his sprint supremacy against 53 competitors over three rigorous rounds. Leboeuf secured victory with a 9.16 winning average and produced the single fastest solve of the tournament at 7.45 seconds. The 3x3 results remained razor-thin at the very top, where Louis-Alex Tremblay followed closely in second place with a 9.37 average. Mathieu Camiré locked down third position with a 9.40 average, capping off a thrilling final round that kept the crowd watching every hundredth of a second.

Beyond the traditional Rubik's Cube, Leboeuf added a third gold medal to his weekend tally in the Pyraminx event. Navigating the tetrahedral puzzle across two rounds of 37 entrants, he clinched victory with a winning average of 2.52 seconds and a single solve of 2.10 seconds. Benjamin Kyle took his second silver medal of the tournament with a 3.05 average, while Max Décarie earned third place with a 5.03 mark. The win gave Leboeuf an extraordinary triple across the short-format puzzles at Imaginaire Québec 2024.

The big-cube events saw Albert Sanhueza Theriault step forward to dominate the longer disciplines. Sanhueza Theriault captured the 4x4x4 Cube crown against 32 competitors, recording a winning average of 36.78 seconds alongside a single of 35.12 seconds, just edging out Leboeuf at 37.69 and Tremblay at 38.06. He repeated that success on the 5x5x5 Cube, finishing first among 18 entrants with a 1:04.87 average and a 1:03.28 single, followed by Leboeuf with 1:10.28 and Tremblay with 1:11.40. In the Megaminx, Sanhueza Theriault made it three golds by recording a 56.42 average and a 47.72 single, ahead of Leboeuf at 1:01.94 and Tremblay at 1:07.22.

Away from the top of the podiums, the official WCA competition saw competitors throughout the roster achieve major personal milestones. Ryan Xie produced stunning progress, cutting his Skewb mark to 17.34 seconds for a 58.1 percent improvement and lowering his 2x2x2 Cube personal best to 8.10 seconds, which was 57.3 percent faster. Guillaume Bouchard showed immense growth across five events, taking 11th in Skewb while improving his Pyraminx best to 4.28 seconds for a 48.6 percent drop and his Skewb mark to 5.54 seconds. Kerwan Rouleau made significant gains as well, trimming their 2x2x2 Cube personal best down to 5.22 seconds, a 49 percent leap from their prior mark. Gaspar Reid tackled three events, achieving a 14.88 3x3x3 Cube personal best that was 30.9 percent faster, while also registering their first ever attempts in 4x4x4 Cube at 1:58.44 and 2x2x2 Cube at 3.29.

Other competitors took on ambitious multi-puzzle programs and debuted on the circuit with remarkable runs. Billy Corbin competed across seven different events, securing 8th in 5x5x5 Cube while logging their first ever attempts in Megaminx at 2:19.26, Pyraminx at 5.46, and Skewb at 4.75. Joshua Ghislain also took on all seven disciplines, recording first ever attempts in 4x4x4 Cube at 1:16.72, Pyraminx at 6.47, and Skewb at 7.02. Adèle Senécal earned a 10th-place finish in Pyraminx while logging first ever attempts in 5x5x5 Cube at 3:42.73 and 4x4x4 Cube at 1:37.68. Florent Strasbourg embraced their very first WCA competition by entering five events, recording initial official marks of 10.14 in Pyraminx, 13.48 in Skewb, and 26.28 in 3x3x3 Cube.

The Skewb bracket delivered exciting speed cubing drama of its own over two rounds featuring 31 participants. Jack Chicoine captured the title with a composed 5.07 winning average and a single of 3.91 seconds, holding off a tough push from Benjamin Kyle, who recorded a 5.35 average for silver. Leboeuf rounded out the Skewb podium in third place with a 5.54 mark, bringing his individual medal haul to six across seven events. All 21 podium positions throughout the entire schedule were secured by competitors representing Canada.

As the final timers were packed away, Imaginaire Québec 2024 concluded having demonstrated the immense depth and variety of the community across seven official disciplines. From the sub-two-second bursts on the 2x2x2 tables to the endurance required on the twelve-sided Megaminx, the event provided a thorough test of mechanical skill and mental discipline. The competitors now turn their focus to training and refining algorithms as the next chapter of regional tournaments approaches.