Mandurah Mayhem 2023

Inside the Mandurah Bowling and Recreation Centre, timers lit up in steady unison as 59 competitors took their seats across four official disciplines. The Western Australian venue filled with the familiar, frantic clatter of plastic mechanisms being aligned and reset, setting the stage for a concentrated single-day program. Every table saw steady activity from morning to late afternoon as judges, runners, and solvers cycled through nine separate rounds. The atmosphere throughout the hall reflected the focused discipline typical of a high-energy speed cubing gathering.

Held on May 20, 2023, Mandurah Mayhem 2023 brought speedcubers together in Mandurah, Western Australia, Australia for a packed schedule of regional competition. The day featured a balanced mixture of traditional puzzles and specialized shapes, beginning early with the intricate big cubes and moving steadily toward the shorter, hyper-fast rounds. Jonathan Charlesworth emerged as the standout performer of the entire meeting, capturing the top step on every single podium contested across the full program.

The 5x5x5 Cube opened the morning program with 23 competitors testing their endurance on the largest puzzle of the day. Charlesworth set the tone early by securing victory with an average of 1:04.55 and the round's best single time of 57.91 seconds. Tyler Williams secured the runner-up position with an average of 1:08.36, while Jaxon Foster completed the podium in third place at 1:13.60. The two rounds of 5x5x5 Cube play established a high bar for the rest of the schedule.

As the afternoon arrived, attention shifted toward the fast-turning rotation events. In the Pyraminx, 49 competitors battled through two rounds, where Charlesworth took first place with a winning average of 4.19 seconds, bolstered by a 3.68 single. Amy Smith earned second place with an average of 4.40, while Jay Calter finished in third at 4.86. The Skewb bracket saw Charlesworth top the field again across 44 entrants, putting together a 3.31 winning average and a 2.61 single. Amy Smith picked up her second silver of the day with a 4.70 mark, just ahead of Tyler Williams in third at 5.03.

Beyond the podium battles, the day was packed with breakthrough milestones across the roster that regular standings often overlook. Kick Verbeek delivered massive drops across multiple events, cutting his 5x5x5 Cube best to 1:44.27, which was 53.8 percent faster than his previous mark, while also setting personal bests in Pyraminx at 7.92 and Skewb at 7.08, on his way to 10th place in 3x3x3 Cube. Alexander Maloney knocked 46.1 percent off his Skewb standard with a rapid 6.59 single, alongside a 6.01 Pyraminx personal best. George Pedigo made strides across four events, lowering his Pyraminx single to 6.65, a 35.4 percent reduction, and achieving an 11th place finish in Skewb with a best single of 5.79. Roy Jansan Jr. made his first ever tournament attempts at Skewb with 22.70 and Pyraminx with 12.28, while also dropping his 3x3x3 Cube best to 20.41, an improvement of 33.6 percent.

The depth of progress continued throughout the rounds as other solvers tackled unfamiliar formats and established new benchmarks. Matthew Done recorded a 35.9 percent cut to his Skewb personal best with a time of 26.21, notched a 32.89 in 3x3x3 Cube, and logged his first official Pyraminx solve at 17.20. Xavier Tardrew trimmed his 3x3x3 Cube best by 19.8 percent down to 20.74, logged an 11.03 Skewb best, and took on Pyraminx for the first time with a 9.03 mark. Meanwhile, Levi Ironmonger and Ethaniel Volkmer each made their WCA competition debut at Mandurah Mayhem 2023. Ironmonger completed his first attempts across three puzzles with marks of 9.41 in Pyraminx, 16.78 in Skewb, and 37.29 in 3x3x3 Cube, while Volkmer delivered 8.46 in Pyraminx, 14.60 in Skewb, and a 20.12 in his first competitive 3x3x3 Cube round.

The premier event of the cubing competition arrived in the late afternoon with three intense rounds of the classic Rubik's Cube. A total of 56 entrants contested the 3x3x3 Cube, making it the largest bracket of the day. In the finals, Charlesworth closed out his flawless day by winning with an average of 8.54 seconds. Jay Calter took second place with an average of 8.93, and Jeremy Foott claimed the bronze position with an average of 9.74.

The 3x3 results also highlighted notable single efforts earlier in the bracket, including a blistering 6.97 single from Jeremy Foott and a 7.20 from Charlesworth. All twelve podium spots awarded throughout the day went to Australian competitors, underscoring strong local representation across all four events. Mandurah Mayhem 2023 wrapped up having delivered a complete four-event sweep, dozens of personal milestones, and a full day of premier speedcubing action in Western Australia.