Lakewood Newcomers 2025

Sixty-five competitors took on the exacting challenge of 3x3x3 One-Handed at Harrison Preparatory Academy, setting a distinctive tone for a tournament that celebrated technical skill across multiple formats. Lakewood Newcomers 2025 gathered 130 competitors in Lakewood, Washington, USA on March 22, 2025, offering a sharp four-event schedule across eight rounds of play. While standard two-handed solving always draws massive interest, the single-handed contest provided some of the day's finest execution. Matty Hiroto Inaba commanded the one-handed event, logging a winning single of 10.11 and taking gold with a 10.90 winning average. Sameer Aggarwal followed in second place with an 11.23 average, while Mihir A. Rai secured third with 13.59.

The specialised demands continued with the 4x4x4 Cube, where 67 competitors tackled the larger puzzle without the safety net of preliminary stages in a direct single-round final. Managing parity cases and extended lookahead, Matty Hiroto Inaba once again set the benchmark, capturing first place with a 24.51 average and a tournament-best single of 23.69. Sameer Aggarwal earned the silver medal with a 29.24 average, and Kevin Hays took bronze with 30.50. The high level of execution in these secondary puzzles highlighted the deep preparation required for complex events at an official WCA competition.

Shorter puzzle variants brought unmatched speed to the tables during the 2x2x2 Cube rounds. Across two stages featuring 99 entrants, rapid recognition proved decisive in fractional-second margins. Sameer Aggarwal captured top honors with a blistering 1.65 winning average and a best single of 1.40. Zane Qureshi followed closely on the podium with a 2.06 average for second place, and Ron G. Arama took third with a 2.27 mark. The fast-paced format ensured that every turn carried immense weight throughout the elimination rounds.

The traditional 3x3x3 Cube drew the weekend's largest field, bringing 129 entrants across three stages of competition. Matty Hiroto Inaba completed a commanding treble by winning the event with a 5.35 average, backed by the day's lowest single time of 4.83. Sameer Aggarwal recorded a 7.37 average to claim the silver medal, while Walter Lee Wilson rounded out the podium in third place with a 7.54 mark. The final 3x3 results reinforced Inaba's control over the tournament, giving him three distinct titles during a single day of speed cubing.

Away from the top steps of the podium, several participants delivered dramatic breakthroughs on the competition floor. Alex Matalobos took on four events, highlighted by a massive 62 percent drop in 3x3x3 One-Handed to set a new personal record of 44.56, down from 1:57.23, alongside personal bests of 3.12 in 2x2x2 Cube and 1:12.65 in 4x4x4 Cube. Mason Jung contested four events and cut his 3x3x3 One-Handed personal best by 59 percent down to 24.35, while also improving his 2x2x2 Cube mark by 51.9 percent to 2.56 and his 3x3x3 Cube best by 30.2 percent to 9.77. Anthony Wu entered the 3x3x3 Cube and carved 57.4 percent off his previous benchmark, recording a new personal best of 20.13. Ethan Fourney logged his first ever attempt at 2x2x2 Cube with a time of 6.98 and slashed his 3x3x3 Cube best by 35.2 percent to 25.12.

First-time event entries and sharp improvements continued across the roster throughout Lakewood Newcomers 2025. Quincy Hargrove took on four events, logging his first ever attempt at 2x2x2 Cube with a 4.27 and his first 4x4x4 Cube attempt with a 1:36.20, while taking 34 percent off his 3x3x3 One-Handed best to finish in 38.16. Maximus Niebuhr improved his 4x4x4 Cube best by 31.8 percent to 2:02.22, lowered his 3x3x3 Cube time by 23.2 percent to 30.68, and recorded a 5.31 in his first ever attempt at 2x2x2 Cube. Sahas Karthik posted his first ever attempts in 2x2x2 Cube at 5.61 and 4x4x4 Cube at 1:32.39, while dropping his 3x3x3 Cube personal record by 27.8 percent to 14.59. Jadon Starkey made his first ever attempts at 2x2x2 Cube with a 6.25 and 4x4x4 Cube with a 1:03.26, while lowering his 3x3x3 Cube mark by 24 percent to 11.31.

A flurry of official milestone results in 2x2x2 Cube further energised the arena. Henry Spear registered a 2.25 single and a 3.41 average, while Kaleb Peltola produced a 2.08 single and a 3.42 average. Eshan Arora marked down a 3.15 single and 4.03 average, and Rainier Feiler recorded a 4.42 single alongside a 6.29 average. International solvers also locked in official numbers, including Haris Carpenter with a 4.68 single and 6.04 average, Pavan Nemani with a 5.56 single and 6.06 average, and Johan David Michael Bester with a 7.54 single and 8.90 average. Josh Bauer posted a 5.43 single and 6.96 average, Henry Davila logged an 8.02 single and 12.47 average, and Thomas Dennison rounded out the marks with a 10.70 single and 13.59 average.

Across all disciplines, the speedcubing community in the Pacific Northwest displayed both technical versatility and rising depth. United States competitors swept all twelve podium spots across the four scheduled puzzle categories. From classic Rubik's Cube solving to complex one-handed and big-cube disciplines, Lakewood Newcomers 2025 provided an expansive platform for development and high-level competition that will shape contenders for the remainder of the 2025 tournament calendar.