Kansas Cube-Off Winter 2025

Twenty-two competitors assembled in Andover, Kansas, USA, for an intense day of high-level puzzle solving on January 11, 2025. Held at the Hope Community Church, Kansas Cube-Off Winter 2025 brought a demanding lineup across twelve rounds of play, putting dexterity and mental stamina at the center of the arena. Solvers who thrive on mechanical control and algorithmic efficiency found plenty of room to shine throughout the schedule. Even in a compact field, the focus required for technical disciplines set a remarkably sharp competitive tone across all eight events.

While general 3x3 results often capture casual attention, technical events that reward refined single-handed efficiency and pure spatial recall defined the atmosphere. Mastery of turning economy, finger independence, and rapid pattern recognition carried through the roster, influencing how competitors approached every puzzle from standard cubes to complex multi-layered dodecahedrons. In this focused environment, clean execution and reliable fingertricks proved decisive from the opening round.

Zachary Johnson delivered a standout performance in the faster speed events, capturing top honors in both the 2x2x2 Cube and 4x4x4 Cube. In the 2x2x2 Cube final, Johnson secured victory with an average of 2.20 seconds, having posted a best single of 1.67 seconds earlier in the event. Zachary Shaw followed in second place with a 3.09 average, while Benjamin J. Dunn completed the podium in 3.34 seconds. Johnson returned to claim the 4x4x4 Cube title with a 35.80 average and a best single of 33.88 seconds, edging out Dunn, who averaged 37.84 seconds, and Lydia Workman, who took third place at 38.72 seconds.

The larger puzzles brought impressive mechanical mastery to the fore. Lydia Workman took the title in the 6x6x6 Cube, recording a winning average of 1:41.90 alongside a best single of 1:31.64. Benjamin J. Dunn earned second place with a 2:15.09 average, and Zachary Johnson placed third at 2:30.26. Dunn found his own golden run in Megaminx, claiming first place with a 1:01.27 average and a 57.37 best single. Connor Lyons finished second in Megaminx with a 1:10.41 average, while Workman rounded out the podium at 1:12.12.

Beyond the podium battles, several competitors achieved remarkable milestones across new events at this cubing competition. Zachary Hiebert took on five separate events, securing a best finish of 5th in Megaminx, cutting his personal best down to 1:19.46, which was 13.5 percent faster than his prior mark, while also registering his first ever attempts at the 4x4x4 Cube with a 46.23 and the 6x6x6 Cube with a 4:22.17. Aaron Futral logged his first ever attempt at 4x4x4 Cube with a 2:20.41 and his first Megaminx attempt at 3:50.03. Liam Dunworth similarly broadened his repertoire with a first 4x4x4 Cube attempt of 2:19.42 and a first Megaminx mark of 3:59.03, while Ethan Herrill posted a first Megaminx time of 3:48.11 alongside a first 4x4x4 Cube attempt of 2:18.08.

Progression continued across the board as competitors tested their limits in unfamiliar disciplines. Connor Andrew Baldwin entered five events and recorded a 5th place finish in 3x3x3 Blindfolded, logging his first ever attempt at Megaminx with a 3:13.55 and his first 6x6x6 Cube result at 5:51.39. Max Wright finished 4th in 3x3x3 Multi-Blind, logged a first 4x4x4 Cube attempt of 1:16.98, and improved his 2x2x2 Cube personal best by 16 percent to 4.00 seconds. Bentley Renfro posted a first Megaminx attempt of 4:45.25, while Maverick Weinberg showed massive growth by cutting his 4x4x4 Cube personal best by 20.8 percent to 1:30.20 and his Megaminx mark by 13.2 percent to 3:36.70.

The blindfolded categories demanded supreme memorization and mental resilience. Ben Erwin produced a stellar performance in 3x3x3 Blindfolded, winning the event with a single of 1:10.73 ahead of Connor Lyons at 1:49.73 and Dan Smith at 3:22.75. Erwin doubled his success by taking the 4x4x4 Blindfolded crown with a time of 7:19.62, while Lyons placed second at 12:20.00. The non-sighted events highlighted the immense concentration required to execute complete Rubik's Cube solutions purely from memory without visual feedback.

Connor Lyons dominated the longer blindfolded challenges, winning the 3x3x3 Multi-Blind event by successfully solving 6 out of 6 cubes in a time of 37:20, leading Wade Buhrman who secured 2 out of 2 in 13:20 and Ben Erwin with 5 out of 9 in 39:28. Lyons also captured first place in the 5x5x5 Blindfolded event with a winning single of 24:58.00. This memorable WCA competition proved that precision, dedication, and deliberate speed cubing technique continue to drive the sport forward in Andover.