Manchester Winter 2024

Four hundredths of a second decided the Square-1 final, setting the tone for an intense weekend of puzzle solving in the North West. Across two days on January 20 and January 21, 118 competitors gathered at the Wythenshawe Forum for Manchester Winter 2024. In the Square-1 showdown, Luke Burns managed an average of 11.56 seconds to narrowly edge Danny Morgan, who took second place with an average of 11.60. Billie Hammill completed a remarkably tight podium in third place at 11.74 seconds. The razor-thin margins showed just how much pressure rested on every single turn of the puzzle.

The broader cubing competition brought together solvers from across the region to contest 18 rounds across eight official events. Danny Morgan claimed the marquee prize in the 3x3x3 Cube event, delivering a winning average of 7.49 seconds alongside a tournament-best single of 6.83 seconds. Luke Burns secured the silver medal with an 8.12 average, while Nicholas Archer rounded out the top three at 8.17 seconds. The standard 3x3 results demonstrated exceptional consistency across three intense rounds of traditional Rubik's Cube solving in Manchester, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom.

Morgan was far from finished on the podium trail, picking up a second gold medal in Clock. He registered an average of 4.12 seconds and a single of 3.52 to take top honours in the event, finishing ahead of Luke Burns with 4.92 and Cham J. Chambers with 5.44. In total, Morgan appeared on six different podiums during the two-day gathering, demonstrating his broad mastery across multiple disciplines in modern speedcubing.

Nicholas Archer proved equally dominant in his specialist disciplines, collecting two titles over the weekend. Archer secured victory in 4x4x4 Cube with a winning average of 32.79 seconds, holding off Danny Morgan who recorded 33.36, and Matthew Lowe who took third with 34.02. Archer followed that with a dominant performance in 3x3x3 One-Handed, taking the win with a single-round average of 9.15 seconds. Morgan placed second with 16.47, while Caleb Wolf Dunn took third with 16.65 seconds.

Beyond the top steps of the podium, Manchester Winter 2024 provided a stage for breakthrough milestones across the wider field. Joey Bolton took on eight events and secured a 14th-place finish in 3x3x3 Cube, posting a new personal best single of 9.80 seconds that was 39 percent faster than their previous mark of 16.07, alongside a first career attempt at Square-1 of 28.48. Adharsh Vinodh slashed their 2x2x2 Cube personal best by 63.9 percent down to 2.67 seconds, finished 16th in 3x3x3 Cube, and logged a first ever attempt in 3x3x3 One-Handed of 24.14. Jack Fishwick shaved 48.4 percent off their Pyraminx best to record an 8.27 single, while also registering a first career attempt at Skewb in 13.28.

The progression continued throughout the roster of competitors trying new formats for the first time. Oliver Benington entered eight separate events, recording a 17th-place finish in 2x2x2 Cube and posting a first ever attempt at Skewb with a time of 5.30 seconds. Stephen Mullen contested six events, placing 38th in 3x3x3 One-Handed while tackling their first ever attempt at 4x4x4 Cube in 1:32.63. Luca Carey-Halsted logged a first attempt at Square-1 in 59.93 seconds, William Parkin posted a first Clock result of 35.95, and Richard Mang improved their 2x2x2 Cube personal best by 44.5 percent to 2.56 seconds while clocking a first Skewb attempt of 10.97.

Short-format puzzles also produced blistering times, led by Luke Burns claiming the 2x2x2 Cube title with an average of 1.74 seconds. Danny Morgan took second in 1.81 seconds, while Canada's Jensen Belen-Brown earned third place with a 2.16 average. The field of 90 solvers produced a flurry of rapid attempts, with Belen-Brown earlier setting a round single of 1.12 seconds and an average of 1.76 during the tournament run.

The remaining puzzle categories highlighted the versatile speed cubing skill required across different hardware designs. Edward Burgess won Pyraminx with an average of 2.33 seconds, outpacing Joel Keenan at 3.11 and Caleb Wolf Dunn at 3.43. In Skewb, Harry Owen earned top honours by averaging 2.99 seconds, while Danny Morgan finished runner-up with 4.19 and Jensen Belen-Brown took third with 4.62. Across the weekend, competitors from the United Kingdom earned 22 podium spots, alongside two podium finishes for Canada.

The successful conclusion of Manchester Winter 2024 wrapped up a high-tempo start to the 2024 calendar at the Wythenshawe Forum. Solvers from beginners to established champions pushed through 18 competitive rounds, demonstrating the depth and ambition present throughout this WCA competition. With personal milestones logged and titles claimed, the community looks forward to the next major stop on the British circuit.