Liverpool Winter 2023

Ninety-seven competitors converged on the Adelphi Hotel over the weekend of December 2 to December 3, turning the historic venue into a buzzing hub of speedcubing action. Solvers journeyed across regions and borders to reach Liverpool, Merseyside, United Kingdom, bringing international talent from as far afield as Canada, France, Macau, and Hong Kong to the English northwest. Across nine events and 15 rounds of high-pressure solving, the gathering proved that distance is no barrier for dedicated competitors chasing fast times.

The premier 3x3x3 Cube event drew a massive field of 89 entrants through three intense rounds of competition. Elian Beguec of France made the international journey count by securing the title with a winning average of 8.26 seconds, bolstered by a best single solve of 6.58 seconds. United Kingdom solver Katie Moughan claimed the second step on the podium with an 8.80 average, while Jensen Belen-Brown made the trip from Canada pay off by taking third place with an average of 8.99 seconds in the final 3x3 results.

Elian Beguec established total control over the big cube categories throughout Liverpool Winter 2023. In the 5x5x5 Cube, the French standout claimed victory with a 59.07 average, finishing ahead of Macau entrant Max Kwok U Sam with 1:01.78 and Katie Moughan with 1:04.01. Beguec repeated his triumph in the 6x6x6 Cube, taking top honours with an average of 1:41.47, as Dean David clocked 1:53.51 for second place and Moughan secured another third-place finish with 1:56.45.

The 4x4x4 Cube contest brought another showdown at the front of the pack, where Dean David secured first place for the United Kingdom with a winning mark of 28.94 seconds and a single of 26.42 seconds. Beguec followed closely behind with a 32.38 average to take second, and Matthew Lowe finished third on 35.18. Meanwhile, Katie Moughan took top honours in the Megaminx, navigating two rounds against 37 entrants to win with an average of 44.94 seconds alongside a single of 35.01 seconds.

Shorter formats produced blistering turn speeds and razor-thin margins. Luke Burns captured the 2x2x2 Cube title for the host nation, delivering a rapid 1.70 winning average in the final round. Jensen Belen-Brown secured second place with 1.90, narrowly edging Beguec, who took third on 1.92. Over in the Skewb event, Harry Owen took first place with a 3.48 average, holding off Beguec at 3.55 and Belen-Brown at 4.46 across two competitive rounds.

Away from the top of the podium, deep personal breakthroughs unfolded across the tables as competitors expanded their repertoires. Jordan Mostert crossed from Ireland to take on five disciplines, cutting his Skewb personal best by 65.6 percent down to 4.36 seconds and logging first ever attempts in Clock at 22.25 and 4x4x4 Cube at 1:55.58. Daniel Gunasekera shaved 55.3 percent off his 2x2x2 Cube mark with a 4.81 and dropped his 3x3x3 Cube best by 44.1 percent to 17.49. Thomas Vickers recorded a 56.7 percent Skewb personal best of 6.94 while trying Megaminx for the first time with a 2:46.06. Oliver Benington entered six events, lowering his Clock best by 43.2 percent to 22.95 and finishing ninth in 2x2x2 Cube.

Several solvers tackled fresh formats and made their official debuts at this WCA competition. Seamus Murphy took on eight events, making first ever official attempts in Square-1 with 44.08, 4x4x4 Cube with 1:28.30, and 5x5x5 Cube with 3:02.37. Charlie English improved his 3x3x3 Rubik's Cube best by 31.9 percent to 14.74 and completed a first Skewb solve of 12.14. First-time tournament competitors also jumped straight into deep schedules, with Yeung Cheung tackling five events and setting a best finish of 18th in 2x2x2 Cube with a 2.93 single, while Thomas Corrigan tackled six events, recording an opening Megaminx solve of 1:45.05 and a 10.64 3x3x3 Cube attempt.

The remaining specialist categories completed a packed weekend of speed cubing in the city. Oliver Castledine took first place in Clock with a 5.80 average, just ahead of Caleb Wolf Dunn at 5.92 and Tom Damsell-Walker at 6.55. In Square-1, Ryan Eckersley topped the 29-competitor field with an average of 9.88 seconds, holding off Billie Hammill at 10.10 and Wolf Dunn at 11.78. With seventeen podium positions earned by British solvers, six by France, three by Canada, and one by Macau, Liverpool Winter 2023 closed out the 2023 calendar as an impressive display of international cubing competition talent.