Kingston Winter 2024

Inside the hall at St. Lawrence College Kingston Campus, the rhythmic clatter of plastic mechanisms filled the room as timers blinked across dozens of stations. The gathering brought together 72 competitors in Kingston, Ontario, Canada on January 27, 2024, each ready to test their preparation across five distinct disciplines. Tables were lined with puzzles of every dimension, from compact pocket cubes to complex multi-layered mechanisms requiring deep focus and continuous finger movement.

Bigger puzzles always demand a unique blend of spatial awareness, physical endurance, and patience. In the 4x4x4 Cube event at Kingston Winter 2024, 39 competitors took to the tables to manage the intricate center building and edge pairing that distinguish the larger hardware. Ryan Wu demonstrated supreme composure across the single round of competition, setting the winning standard with an average of 30.62 seconds and a sharp single of 27.89 seconds to capture first place.

The fight for the remaining podium steps in the four-layer division was equally fierce. Jonathan Esparaz finished in the second position with an average of 31.24 seconds, edging out Max Xiong who claimed third place with a mark of 31.34 seconds. The razor-thin margins between the top trio showed just how demanding high-level speedcubing can be when managing four layers of moving parts under tournament conditions.

Beyond the heavier puzzles, Ryan Wu added a second gold medal to his tally in the 3x3x3 Blindfolded discipline. The memory-intensive event saw 24 competitors attempt solves without sight, relying entirely on pre-memorised piece orientations. Wu secured top honors with a successful single solve of 49.64 seconds, while Michael Mao took the second step on the podium in 1:02.97 and Andrew Mao earned third with a time of 1:09.75.

Away from the podium battles, several competitors delivered massive personal breakthroughs across multiple disciplines. Xavier Trudeau achieved an exceptional improvement in the 2x2x2 Cube, recording a personal best of 3.75 seconds which was 51.6 percent faster than his previous mark of 7.74 seconds. Mathieu Preston entered all five events on the schedule, earning a seventh-place finish in 3x3x3 Blindfolded with a personal best of 2:52.63 that improved his previous best by 43.1 percent, alongside a 14.1 percent drop in his 4x4x4 Cube single to 31.17 seconds.

Other competitors took on fresh challenges across the tournament schedule. Charlie Mulholland recorded his first ever attempt at 3x3x3 Blindfolded in 7:43.76, placed 13th, and improved his classic 3x3x3 Cube time by 9.5 percent to 11.88 seconds. Owen Graaskamp dropped his 3x3x3 mark by 31.5 percent to 22.22 seconds and took on his first Skewb attempt with an 18.43. Silas Dove took on four events including his first attempts at 4x4x4 Cube, 2x2x2 Cube, and Skewb. Brogan Morris tackled four disciplines with debut marks in three events, while Abigail White and Trace Bourgeault completed their first WCA competition appearances across four events each.

In the classic Rubik's Cube category, 71 entrants battled through three intense rounds of speed cubing to decide the flagship event. Brennen Lin claimed victory with a winning average of 7.60 seconds and a best single of 6.56 seconds. Ryan Wu followed closely in second place with an average of 7.75 seconds, while Maxence Leboeuf took third on the podium with an average of 8.38 seconds, wrapping up a memorable set of 3x3 results.

The shorter events also produced blistering times on the tournament floor. Andrew Mao had an exceptional day at Kingston Winter 2024, winning both the 2x2x2 Cube and Skewb competitions. In the 2x2x2 Cube final, Mao secured the title with a 1.50 average and a best single of 1.21 seconds, finishing ahead of Maxence Leboeuf at 2.06 and Rémi Chrétien at 2.21. Mao then went on to win the Skewb event with a 3.34 average ahead of Max Murphy at 3.58 and Brennen Lin at 4.38.

Across nine total rounds, the cubing competition demonstrated the depth of talent throughout the region. With Canada securing 14 podium finishes and China taking one, the single-day gathering in Kingston closed with memorable performances across every puzzle format.