Kensington May Upstairs 2024

Ten events and 18 intense rounds pushed 26 competitors to their limits over two days of speedcubing action at Kensington Town Hall. Held across May 11 and May 12, Kensington May Upstairs 2024 brought a specialized schedule to Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, emphasizing big cubes, blindfolded disciplines, and side events. Across the entire program, solvers made huge leaps against their previous marks, proving that measurable progress remains the heartbeat of the sport as the 2024 calendar moves forward.

The blindfolded events produced some of the weekend's most dominant performances, led by Michael Tripodi. In 3x3x3 Blindfolded, Tripodi secured victory across three rounds with a blistering best single of 18.86 seconds, finishing ahead of Tam Quan at 22.66 and Chenhao Sun at 25.10. While standard 3x3 results typically measure eyesight and raw turning speed, memory disciplines demand total cognitive control. Tripodi added a decisive win in 4x4x4 Blindfolded with a top single of 1:42.24, cementing his control over the multi-layered blind categories.

Tripodi also captured the top spot in 3x3x3 Multi-Blind, successfully resolving 32 of 45 cubes within the exact 1:00:00 time limit. Swami Srinivasan followed in second place by registering 19 out of 25 solved puzzles in 59:30, while Chenhao Sun claimed third with 11 of 15 in 59:33. In the grueling 5x5x5 Blindfolded competition, Chenhao Sun stood alone as the sole solver to complete a successful attempt, taking the title with a single time of 9:48.62 amid a field where all other entrants logged disqualifications.

Ray Zhang displayed remarkable consistency across the largest mechanical puzzles featured at Kensington May Upstairs 2024. In the 6x6x6 Cube, Zhang claimed victory with a winning average of 1:41.75 and a best single effort of 1:34.98. He doubled his gold tally in the 7x7x7 Cube, posting a 2:30.70 average and a fast single of 2:19.07 to lead Harrison Jonathan Newbery-Chunn and Divnoor Bajwa on the podium. Zhang also added a third-place finish in Megaminx and a runner-up spot in the 4x4x4 Cube.

Beyond the top steps of the podium, significant breakthroughs defined the weekend for solvers who shaved immense chunks off their personal records. Jeff Xu entered eight events and made his first ever official attempt at 3x3x3 Multi-Blind with a flawless 2/2 in 9:36, logged his first 4x4x4 Blindfolded time of 12:05.00, and slashed his Clock best down to 6.06 seconds, which was 63.3 percent faster than his prior mark. Peter Au tackled nine disciplines, finishing fourth in Multi-Blind, completing his first 4x4x4 Blindfolded solve in 18:40.00, and trimming his 3x3x3 Blindfolded best by 31.5 percent to 1:52.33 alongside a 36 percent drop in Clock to 9.05. Hallel Ben-Meir cut his Clock mark by 56.4 percent to 7.35 seconds, took on Square-1 for the first time with a 22.93, and lowered his 7x7x7 Cube personal best to 3:57.10. Xavier Lianto improved his Square-1 best by 21.4 percent to 33.05 seconds and lowered his Clock mark to 23.00.

The pattern of sharp improvement continued throughout the pack across multiple puzzle varieties. Harry Forbes entered nine events, placing sixth in Multi-Blind while lowering his Clock best by 36.3 percent to 6.92 seconds, his 6x6x6 Cube time by 21.7 percent to 2:34.97, and his 7x7x7 Cube mark by 21 percent to 4:15.17. Noah Przychodzen lowered his 3x3x3 Blindfolded time by 29.1 percent to 3:40.23, improved his 6x6x6 Cube record by 20.1 percent to 2:40.55, and trimmed his Square-1 best by 14.6 percent down to 10.08 seconds. Charlie Handley reduced his 6x6x6 Cube personal best by 24.3 percent to 3:31.76, while Andrew Davidge took on seven events, placing 11th in Multi-Blind and lowering his Megaminx personal best by 6.5 percent to 2:41.83.

Fast finishes also highlighted the remaining rotational events at Kensington May Upstairs 2024. Divnoor Bajwa captured the 4x4x4 Cube crown with an average of 34.77 seconds and a best single of 32.85, edging Ray Zhang and Zayd Chaudhry. In the Megaminx final, Tam Quan delivered a 52.02 winning average and a 45.72 single to capture first place over Chaudhry and Zhang. Auric Cui took top honors in Square-1 across three rounds of competition, finishing with a 9.17 average ahead of Chaudhry and Putian Ye.

The Clock event closed out the fast-paced proceedings, where Alex Butera secured the gold medal with a 4.86 winning average and a 3.84 single. Junqi Feng took second place with a 5.67 average, while Zayd Chaudhry earned another podium finish in third at 5.77. Whether handling twisty mechanical classics or tackling complex blind memory tasks, the speed cubing community demonstrated sharp execution across all divisions.

By the time the final awards were distributed at Kensington May Upstairs 2024, Australian competitors had collected 26 podium positions alongside seven earned by Chinese solvers. The gathering showcased how a dedicated WCA competition focused on complex Rubik's Cube variants can produce massive personal progress. Solvers now take their newly lowered baseline times into the next training block as the national season continues.