Los Árboles Eventos 2024

A blistering 8.86 winning average in the 3x3x3 Cube final sealed a dominant showcase for Elías Villamayor in Lambare, Paraguay. Across a packed day of competition on March 3, 2024, the venue at Los Árboles Eventos hosted 40 competitors battling through 11 rounds across eight distinct puzzles. Villamayor set the tone early in the flagship Rubik's Cube category, delivering a best single of 8.30 on his way to the top of the podium ahead of a competitive field of 39 entrants.

The 3x3 results formed only part of a dual masterclass that shaped the entire schedule. Alongside Villamayor, Kenji Julián Cáceres Matsumoto mounted a formidable campaign across multiple disciplines. Cáceres Matsumoto secured a pair of victories of his own, prevailing in 3x3x3 One-Handed with a 15.67 winning average and capturing the 4x4x4 Cube crown in 44.61 seconds. Together, the two speedcubing standouts traded podium positions across nearly every major category, defining the tempo of the entire cubing competition.

Villamayor added a second title in the 2x2x2 Cube, logging a winning average of 3.19 and a best single of 2.95 in the final round. The event featured exceptional speed across the rounds, including a national record average of 2.68 set by Cáceres Matsumoto along with a 2.19 single. Martin Alejandro Benítez López captured the silver medal with a 3.55 average, while Cáceres Matsumoto took third with 3.74, completing an all-Paraguay sweep of the podium spots.

Beyond the traditional cubes, international talent left a substantial mark on the leaderboard. Colombia's Esneider Giraldo Restrepo controlled the alternate puzzle events, claiming victories in both Megaminx with a 1:16.49 average and Skewb with a 6.13 mark. Giraldo Restrepo also earned third-place finishes in both the 4x4x4 Cube and Square-1, bringing his medal tally to four and demonstrating remarkable versatility across non-standard geometries on the tournament floor.

In the Pyraminx, Martin Alejandro Benítez López delivered a crisp performance to capture the championship, averaging 5.13 with a single of 4.38. Benítez López outperformed Carlos Benjamin Mereles Martinez, who took second place at 6.29, and Villamayor, who secured third at 6.48. Meanwhile, Giovanni Mendez clinched the Square-1 title with an average of 21.66, holding off Venezuela's Gustavo Adolfo Ortega Gomez, who finished second with a 22.75 average.

Away from the top of the standings, Los Árboles Eventos 2024 highlighted dramatic breakthroughs from emerging competitors. Josias Aguilera achieved a massive milestone in the 2x2x2 Cube, clocking a personal best of 4.72 seconds to improve on his previous benchmark by 77.8 percent, alongside his first ever attempts at Megaminx with 5:35.86 and 3x3x3 One-Handed with 46.83. Santino Osvaldo Camps Torres showed significant growth in the main event, cutting his 3x3x3 Cube personal best to 27.55 seconds, an improvement of 36 percent. Ian Xavier Brice marked his first official Pyraminx attempt with a 9.53 mark on the way to an 8th-place finish, while also lowering his 3x3x3 Cube best to 14.02 seconds, a 26.2 percent drop.

Several competitors tackled new disciplines and recorded substantial personal milestones throughout the weekend. Andrés Gaete Ledesma took 8th in Megaminx during his first official attempt at 2:48.12 while dropping his 3x3x3 Cube best to 14.54 seconds. Silas Núñez Ortiz took on eight separate events, claiming 4th in Square-1 while attempting Skewb, the 4x4x4 Cube, and Square-1 for the very first time. Felipe Javier Rugel Cáceres recorded his first attempts in three disciplines, including a 7.48 in 2x2x2 Cube, 11.50 in Pyraminx, and 43.31 in One-Handed. Fresh faces also made their marks at their first WCA competition: Rafael Belen Hildebrandt placed 12th in Pyraminx with a 13.71 first attempt, and Leonardo Ezequiel González González posted a 13.60 first attempt in Pyraminx.

The tournament concluded with host nation Paraguay collecting 18 podium positions, backed by strong delegations from Colombia with four and Venezuela with two. Across eight different events, the gathering showcased the rising technical depth of speed cubing in the region, closing an intense day of competition that set new regional standards heading into the remainder of the 2024 season.