Let's Qualify Kuwait 2023

Inside the CHESS HOUSE ACADEMY, the competition tables displayed an unusually broad assortment of mechanical puzzles. Across the single-day meet on May 19, 2023, the floor was lined with everything from massive multi-layered twisty cubes and twelve-sided dodecahedrons to double-sided dial boards and standard cubes waiting for blindfolded attempts. It was an environment tailored for complete technical versatility, demanding sharp spatial awareness, distinct finger-trick techniques, and intense mental discipline throughout eight packed rounds in Kuwait City, Kuwait.

The gathering was hosted as Let's Qualify Kuwait 2023, drawing twelve dedicated solvers together for a focused and highly specialized cubing competition. Unlike typical tournaments centered primarily around standard speedsolving, this official WCA competition tested the outer limits of puzzle variety. Competitors moved seamlessly from high-precision mechanical turning to blindfolded memorization routines, creating a dynamic showcase of the modern speed cubing discipline.

Jordanian competitor Zakarya Otair established absolute control over the tournament, taking first place across all seven disciplines on the schedule. In the larger multi-layered events, Otair delivered dominant routines. He claimed the top spot in the 6x6x6 Cube with a winning average of 3:04.82 and a single of 2:33.66, then followed up in the 7x7x7 Cube by registering a winning average of 4:35.70 with a best single effort of 4:12.22, outpacing a committed field of big-cube specialists.

Non-cubic disciplines brought a different rhythm to the venue, highlighted by the intricate two-sided Clock event and the complex geometry of the Megaminx. Zakarya Otair took the Clock title by putting together an average of 7.43, bolstered by a tournament-best single of 6.91, while Hasan Hashem Alwazzan finished second with an average of 11.95. On the twelve-faced Megaminx, Otair secured another victory with a winning average of 1:18.47, holding off Ahmad Alolaimi who took second place at 1:31.36.

Beyond the podium finishes, the tournament provided fertile ground for breakthroughs that the main standings rarely capture in full. Ali Hasan Ashknani tackled four separate events, recording his first official attempts in the Megaminx at 5:27.77, the 3x3x3 Blindfolded event with a 5:21.52 single, and the 6x6x6 Cube at 6:08.78 on his way to fourth place. Ghanim Abdulaziz Almutawa claimed fourth in Megaminx while lowering their personal best by 13 percent to 1:43.16, in addition to slashing their Clock mark by 14.2 percent down to 16.19 and completing their first 6x6x6 Cube run in 7:54.66. Fatemah Alsaleh attended their first official tournament and completed three brand new events, achieving a best finish of sixth place in Megaminx at 3:05.46 alongside debuts in Clock and 6x6x6 Cube.

The blindfolded categories demanded complete quiet and total memorization accuracy, testing competitors on both standard and oversized hardware. In the 3x3x3 Blindfolded discipline, which spanned two rounds, Zakarya Otair posted a rapid 28.30 single to take first place, ahead of Mohammad Almoumen in second at 2:12.05 and Saoud Abdulaziz Almutawa in third at 2:44.71. These blindfolded 3x3 results served as a prelude to even more intricate memory challenges later in the day.

Moving up in scale, the 4x4x4 Blindfolded event presented an immense test of piece-tracing and orientation without visual feedback. Zakarya Otair was the sole solver to register a successful attempt on the four-layer puzzle, earning the title with a single time of 6:56.21. Fellow podium contenders Mohammad Almoumen and Muhammad Hanif both pushed through difficult attempts but ended with uncompleted solves in an unforgiving discipline.

The mental marathon concluded with the 3x3x3 Multi-Blind event, where solvers attempted multiple cubes entirely from memory within a strict time frame. Zakarya Otair again stood alone at the top of the standings by successfully solving all 5 of his 5 submitted cubes in a time of 4:18. The rest of the seven-competitor roster faced harsh penalties in their multi-cube ambitions, leaving Otair as the sole finisher on the leaderboard.

By the close of Let's Qualify Kuwait 2023, host country Kuwait led the overall medal tallies with twelve total podium places across the day, supported by strong showings from Egypt with four podiums and India with two. Otair accounted for all seven of Jordan podium spots in a rare clean sweep. The tournament proved that modern speedcubing thrives far beyond the classic Rubik's Cube, celebrating the technical mastery and mental stamina required across the full spectrum of competitive puzzles.