Kanto Winter 2026

Kantaro Sakamoto delivered a sharp 7.50 winning average in the 3x3x3 Cube to secure top honors in Tokyo, setting the tone for an explosive day of speedcubing. The single-day WCA competition brought together 110 competitors at Ota ward plaza in Ota, Tokyo, Japan on February 21, 2026. Across four events and eight rounds of play, rising talent showed rapid progress across multiple disciplines, turning a winter weekend into a showcase of quick development.

The 3x3 results featured exceptional depth as 106 competitors took to the tables for the classic Rubik's Cube. Sakamoto secured first place with his 7.50 mark, backed by a best single solve of 6.31. Takumi Kawazoe applied fierce pressure from the second step of the podium, posting a 7.53 average that finished a mere three hundredths of a second back. Eva Kato completed the podium in third place with a 7.80 average, rounding out a closely contested final round.

Takumi Kawazoe claimed a victory of his own in the 4x4x4 Cube, leading a field of 67 competitors through two rounds. Kawazoe posted a winning average of 29.51 and recorded the best single solve of the event at 26.60. Eva Kato followed closely in second place with a 29.88 average, while Shu Ogawa locked in third place with a 30.80 average. The top two finishers demonstrated their mastery across both big cubes and three-layered puzzles, proving to be the most consistent performers at the tables.

In the Skewb event, Jihoon Ha from Korea stood at the top of the podium, capturing first place with a 2.84 average across two rounds of play. Ha also logged the fastest single solve of the event at 2.46 among 48 competitors. Rio Esaki claimed the second spot on the podium with a 2.94 average, while Noriyuki Okada finished third with a 3.37 average. The fast-paced turning required in Skewb highlighted the quick reflexes of the field throughout the rounds.

The 3x3x3 Blindfolded event rounded out the four featured formats with 46 entrants attempting unseeing solves. Keita Hayakawa took the victory with a best single solve of 16.25, executing with precision during the final rounds. Will Cerne from the United States took second place with a 17.54 single, while Yuki Tsuneyoshi earned third place with an 18.12 single. Solving without sight demands immense concentration and memory, and the top three finishers proved adept under pressure.

Behind the top podium steps, several competitors logged major steps forward in their development. Qiuchi Sang delivered a dramatic improvement in 3x3x3 Blindfolded, logging a personal best single of 23.57, which was 56.9 percent faster than their previous mark of 54.65 on the way to a seventh-place finish. Shogo Yamamoto also excelled blindfolded, cutting their personal best by 39.1 percent from 1:07.19 down to 40.90, while also posting a first ever attempt of 1:00.51 in the 4x4x4 Cube. Mirei Morioka took on all four events, recording a first ever attempt of 2:20.34 in 3x3x3 Blindfolded, lowering their Skewb personal best by 31.4 percent to 7.68, and dropping their 4x4x4 Cube personal best by 9.6 percent to 54.59. Junee Koo tackled two events, posting a first ever attempt of 56.59 in the 4x4x4 Cube and a 3x3x3 Cube personal best of 13.32, which improved on their prior 19.16 mark by 30.5 percent.

The progress continued across new event introductions for several other dedicated participants. Kazuma Takahashi tackled three events in only their second career tournament, setting a personal best of 11.44 in the 3x3x3 Cube to improve by 26.6 percent over their previous 15.59, alongside first ever attempts of 1:04.64 in the 4x4x4 Cube and 5.98 in Skewb. Takumi Fujiwara contested four events, reaching tenth in Skewb with a first ever attempt of 4.18, alongside first ever marks of 35.10 in the 4x4x4 Cube and 2:07.52 in 3x3x3 Blindfolded. Naoyuki Takahashi took on four events, setting a 3x3x3 Blindfolded personal best of 3:02.36 to beat their prior 3:56.77 by 23 percent, and adding first ever attempts of 1:42.28 in the 4x4x4 Cube and 9.28 in Skewb. Michiyuki Tsukahara competed in three events, posting a 3x3x3 Cube personal best of 14.64 to best their previous 17.21 by 14.9 percent, alongside first ever marks of 8.97 in Skewb and 1:53.21 in the 4x4x4 Cube.

The speed cubing action concluded with Japan taking ten podium places, while Korea and the United States claimed one podium spot each. From the narrow margins in the 3x3x3 Cube final to the breakthrough personal milestones recorded across every bracket, Kanto Winter 2026 provided an impressive look at emerging talent. The cubing competition showcased how rapidly competitors are accelerating their solving times and expanding their repertoires across different puzzles as the competitive season moves forward.

わずか0.03秒という極限の僅差で決着した3x3x3ルービックキューブ決勝。坂本貫太郎（Kantaro Sakamoto）が記録した平均7.50秒の鮮明な勝利が、会場となった東京都大田区の大田区民プラザを大いに沸かせました。国内外から集った多くのスピードキュービング選手たちが挑んだ2026年2月21日の熱戦は、ハイレベルな記録の応酬とともに幕を開けました。

今回の公式キューブ大会であるKanto Winter 2026には、日本国内のみならず韓国やアメリカ、インド、ベトナムなど様々な地域から合計110名の選手が集結しました。Ota, Tokyo, Japanで開催されたこのワンデーコンペティションでは、遠方から駆けつけた国際色豊かな選手たちが4種目全8ラウンドにわたって卓越した指先の技術を競い合いました。

最注目となった3x3x3キューブ種目では、106名がエントリーする大混戦となりました。坂本貫太郎（Kantaro Sakamoto）が単発最速6.31秒、平均7.50秒を揃えて頂点に立ちました。2位の川添匠（Takumi Kawazoe）が平均7.53秒と僅差で続き、3位には平均7.80秒で加藤映葉（Eva Kato）が入るなど、上位陣による1秒未満の激闘が繰り広げられました。

4x4x4キューブでは川添匠（Takumi Kawazoe）が単発26.60秒、平均29.51秒という見事なパフォーマンスを発揮して優勝を飾りました。2位には平均29.88秒の加藤映葉（Eva Kato）、3位には平均30.80秒で小川柊（Shu Ogawa）が続き、日本勢が表彰台を独占する結果となりました。

海外勢の活躍も光り、Skewb種目では韓国から遠征したJihoon Ha（하지훈）が単発2.46秒、平均2.84秒を記録して見事タイトルを獲得しました。2位には平均2.94秒の江碕莉旺（Rio Esaki）、3位には平均3.37秒の岡田典之（Noriyuki Okada）が入り、ハイペースな回転勝負が展開されました。

目隠しで解法手順を暗記して挑む3x3x3 Blindfolded種目では、早川慶太（Keita Hayakawa）が単発16.25秒の快記録で優勝を果たしました。アメリカから参戦したWill Cerneが17.54秒で2位、恒吉優紀（Yuki Tsuneyoshi）が18.12秒で3位に入り、国際色豊かなポディウムを形成しました。

順位表の上位争いだけでなく、自己の限界に挑む選手たちの飛躍も今大会の大きな見どころでした。Mishti Asher（India）は3x3x3で従来の29.30秒から17パーセント短縮する24.32秒の自己新をマークし、Skewbにも初挑戦して12.99秒を残しました。Ojiro Nakagami（中神王治郎）はSkewbで16.4パーセント短縮の7.34秒を記録し、4x4x4にも初挑戦して1分02.75秒を叩き出しました。Ryota Takahashi（高橋瞭太）は3種目に出場し、3x3x3で13.4パーセント更新の17.70秒、4x4x4で1分21.18秒を収めつつ、Skewb初挑戦で7.18秒をマークしました。Fumi Okuda（奥田文）も3x3x3で13.8パーセント更新の19.36秒を出し、初挑戦のSkewbで5.01秒を記録しました。

さらに今大会でWCA公式大会への記念すべき初参戦を果たした選手たちも素晴らしい足跡を残しました。Trần Thái Hoàng（Vietnam）は初の公式戦で3x3x3単発14.14秒を出し、難関の3x3x3目隠しでも初挑戦で2分13.14秒を記録しました。Sona Okuda（奥田備）は初出場で3x3x3単発13.60秒、Skewbで5.28秒をマークしました。Mizuki Ogawa（小川瑞樹）は初挑戦の3x3x3で13.88秒、Koudai Nakazawa（中澤康大）も同じく3x3x3で18.30秒の初記録を刻みました。

各国のスピードキューバーが技術を持ち寄り、それぞれの挑戦と成長を刻んだKanto Winter 2026。全日程を終えた会場には、ハイレベルな争いを演じたトップ選手たちの栄誉と、自己ベストを塗り替えた選手たちの確かな手応えが満ちていました。