Lexington Weeknights I 2024

Thirty-nine competitors gathered on June 17 at the Lexington Knights of Columbus for Lexington Weeknights I 2024, an evening of sharp turns and fast solving in Lexington, Massachusetts, USA. The single-day tournament condensed three distinct disciplines across five rounds of action, drawing seasoned contenders and newcomers to the tables. Across the roster, participants pushed through the brackets in pursuit of top marks, delivering intense finishes throughout the 2024 gathering.

The premier 3x3x3 Cube contest featured a field of 38 entrants battling in a single decisive round. Charles Amarello set the benchmark for the event, claiming first place with a winning average of 7.76 seconds alongside the day's best single solve of 7.69 seconds. The 3x3 results saw Derek White secure the runner-up spot with an 8.54 average and a 7.95 single, while Ethan Zhuang rounded out the podium in third place with an average of 8.59 seconds.

Ethan Zhuang proved to be a constant force throughout the competition schedule, securing multiple top-three finishes across the evening. Alongside his third-place showing in the classic Rubik's Cube, Zhuang earned another bronze podium in Skewb with a 3.63 average. His double podium run highlighted a high level of multi-event versatility across differing puzzle mechanics under tournament conditions.

The Skewb bracket delivered the narrowest margin of the tournament during its two rounds of competition. Justin Lee captured the title with a winning average of 3.26 seconds and a best single solve of 2.37 seconds among 24 competitors. Brendan Lee pushed the final to the wire, taking second place with an average of 3.28 seconds, merely two hundredths of a second behind Justin Lee, while Zhuang finished third.

In the Pyraminx event, David Andron-Silva commanded the field across two rounds of play against 26 competitors. Andron-Silva took the victory with a winning average of 2.88 seconds, bolstered by a blistering best single mark of 1.18 seconds. Saisabari Ramesh finished in second place with an average of 3.08 seconds, followed by Brendan Lee in third place with a 4.10 average, completing a clean sweep of podiums by United States competitors across all three events.

Away from the top steps of the podium, Lexington Weeknights I 2024 served as a breakthrough stage for several competitors cutting significant time from their marks. Ben Adam posted a major advancement in 3x3x3 Cube, recording a personal best of 21.21 seconds that was 19.8 percent faster than his previous best on the way to a 24th-place finish. Syed Mekaeel Ghani improved his Pyraminx personal best to 17.61 seconds, an 18.2 percent improvement, and dropped his 3x3x3 Cube mark to 32.55 seconds. Samuel Anes shaved 16.4 percent off his 3x3x3 Cube personal best with an 8.05 single, and Theo Kamon achieved a personal best of 15.29 seconds in the same discipline, cutting his previous mark by 15.1 percent.

Other competitors took on brand-new territory during the speedcubing schedule. Jonah Mathew tackled his first ever attempt at Skewb, posting a 5.29-second result, while Lucas Newcomb logged an 11.55 in his first official Skewb try. Murry Zuo lowered his Pyraminx personal best to 12.35 seconds, an 11.9 percent reduction, and Will Gray dropped his Pyraminx personal best to 9.04 seconds, an 11.2 percent improvement, while taking eighth place in Skewb. For Hsi-An Chang (張襲安), the meet represented a first WCA competition, logging initial marks of 23.84 on 3x3x3 Cube, 14.64 on Skewb, and 12.89 on Pyraminx.

Also competing in the field was Julian Kim, the founder and developer of Speedcubing.app, who took on three separate events on the night. Kim achieved two personal bests across the schedule, finishing 25th in 3x3x3 Cube with an average of 26.98 seconds and a single of 21.59 seconds. In Pyraminx, Kim placed 15th with an average of 11.09 seconds and a best single of 8.91 seconds, while also completing his first ever attempt at Skewb to place 16th with an 11.32 average and a 9.24 single.

The efficient five-round format at Lexington Weeknights I 2024 offered a complete showcase of speed cubing talent in the region. From the razor-thin margin in the Skewb final to the steady standard set by Charles Amarello in the main event, the evening highlighted the competitive depth present in this WCA competition. With multiple personal bests established and fresh milestones reached, the participants closed out another productive chapter on the regional circuit as they look ahead to the next season of events.