Kansas Championship 2024

Fifty-four competitors gathered across 34 rounds of intense action from May 3 to May 5, 2024, creating one of the most memorable weekends in regional speedcubing history. The Kansas Championship 2024, held across a multi-site venue in Wichita, Kansas, USA, featured a full roster of 17 official World Cube Association disciplines. The sheer breadth of the schedule drew dedicated solvers from across North America and beyond, testing endurance, precision, and technical ability across three consecutive days of tournament play.

The 2x2x2 Cube event became the centerpiece for record-setting marks during the tournament. Nicolás Sánchez delivered a breathtaking sequence of solves, establishing a single of 1.02 seconds alongside a 1.44-second average. Ryan Pilat added to the flurry of milestones with marks of 1.29 single and 1.88 average, while Ray Bai notched a 1.77 single and 2.18 average. Other competitors joining the standard-setting tally included Jake Maddox, James Marzluf, Alexander Wheeler, Titus Sutterfield, Casey Ngo, Dominic Brungardt, and Jadon Castillo. In the final round, Sánchez captured the title with a winning average of 1.70 seconds.

Ray Bai demonstrated exceptional mastery across several major twisty puzzles throughout the weekend. In the premier 3x3x3 Cube event, Bai topped a field of 50 competitors, securing the gold with a 7.32-second average and a single of 6.48 seconds. The classic Rubik's Cube final featured a tightly packed podium, as Ryan Pilat followed in second place with an average of 7.50 seconds and Nicolás Sánchez placed third at 7.68 seconds, making the 3x3 results some of the closest of the entire gathering.

Bai extended his dominance across the larger cubes and specialty events as well. In 4x4x4 Cube, Bai claimed first place with a 27.14-second average ahead of Sánchez at 30.13 and Pilat at 31.31. Bai also secured victories in 5x5x5 Cube with an average of 47.79 seconds, 3x3x3 One-Handed with an 11.49-second average, and Megaminx with an average of 39.23 seconds. Across every event he entered, Bai demonstrated the rapid execution and composure demanded at a premier cubing competition.

Away from the main stage, numerous solvers reached major individual milestones throughout the tournament. Anderson Meyers achieved remarkable progress across multiple disciplines, dropping his 2x2x2 Cube mark by 47.5 percent to 6.49 seconds, his 4x4x4 Cube time by 35.4 percent to 1:22.85, and his 3x3x3 Cube mark to 24.69 seconds. Ryan Le improved his Pyraminx personal best by 34.7 percent down to 7.31 seconds while also logging an 11.81-second mark in his first 2x2x2 Cube appearance. Jett F. Knappe cut his Pyraminx time by 31.7 percent to 3.40 seconds, shaved 29.3 percent off his Skewb personal best down to 5.07 seconds, and completed his first 6x6x6 Cube attempt in 7:07.86. Dylan Buie brought down his 5x5x5 Cube best by 28.9 percent to 1:33.76, while tackling 12 events including his first attempts at 3x3x3 One-Handed and 6x6x6 Cube.

First-time competitors and expanding repertoires added tremendous depth to the competition. Caleb Hildebrand made his official debut at a WCA competition, taking on nine events and registering his first marks of 11.02 seconds in 2x2x2 Cube, 23.44 seconds in 3x3x3 Cube, and 2:23.17 in 4x4x4 Cube. Logan Spooner tackled a massive 12-event workload, recording his first official finishes in 6x6x6 Cube at 4:17.33, 5x5x5 Cube at 2:29.89, and 3x3x3 One-Handed at 32.10 seconds. Brody Ewing cut his Pyraminx personal best by 28.7 percent to 4.40 seconds and logged his first attempts at 4x4x4 Cube and 3x3x3 One-Handed. Cody Murrell dropped his Skewb personal best by 29.4 percent to 8.17 seconds, finished fourth in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves, and made his first appearances in Clock and 4x4x4 Cube.

Ryan Pilat assembled an astonishing resume of victories across multiple categories, topping eight separate events during the Kansas Championship 2024. Pilat took first place in Pyraminx with a 2.68 average, Clock with a 4.59 average, Square-1 with a 7.06 average, and 6x6x6 Cube with a 1:31.61 average. In 6x6x6 Cube, Pilat led the field ahead of Bai at 1:40.50 and Lydia Workman at 1:46.41. In Pyraminx, Pilat finished ahead of Titus Sutterfield's 3.03 average and Samuel Pollom's 3.90 average.

Pilat also swept all blindfolded formats and efficiency challenges, which demand intricate memorization and precise execution. He took first in 3x3x3 Blindfolded with an average of 27.49 seconds, solved 17 out of 17 cubes in 56:30 to win 3x3x3 Multi-Blind, and claimed 3x3x3 Fewest Moves with a best single of 29 moves. Pilat completed his blindfolded sweep by winning 4x4x4 Blindfolded in 4:15.39 and 5x5x5 Blindfolded with an 8:21.52 single.

The remaining events rounded out a competitive showcase across all mechanical formats. Lydia Workman secured victory in the 7x7x7 Cube with a winning average of 2:34.89, holding off Pilat at 2:39.26 and Bai at 2:41.64. In Skewb, Titus Sutterfield captured the championship title with a 3.27-second average across three rounds. With competitors from the United States accounting for 49 podium finishes alongside international participants, this edition of speed cubing excellence confirmed the high level of talent converging on Wichita.

The Kansas Championship 2024 concluded having delivered top-tier battles, deep fields, and notable personal breakthroughs across all three days. Solvers left Wichita with substantial time drops and championship hardware, setting a strong standard as the community looks forward to the next season on the speedcubing circuit.