Maritimes 2025

At Maritimes 2025, the demanding mean-of-3 format in the largest puzzles left absolutely no margin for error. With three solves and no discarding of a slowest attempt, a single slip can ruin an entire round. Albert Sanhueza Theriault mastered that pressure at the Inn on Prince Hotel & Conference Centre Truro, delivering a controlled 1:51.24 mean in the 6x6x6 Cube before conquering the 7x7x7 Cube with a 3:03.12 winning average. His clean execution across the long puzzles highlighted a dominant weekend in Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada, where 71 competitors gathered on February 22 and 23, 2025.

Beyond the grueling big cubes, Theriault anchored his weekend by capturing the premier 3x3x3 Cube crown. In the final round of the classic Rubik's Cube, he posted an 8.30 winning average and a best single solve of 7.94 across three competitive rounds. Michael Zheng secured second place on the podium with a 10.09 average, while Nathan Terpstra took third with 10.18. The classic event drew 69 competitors to the tables, making the final 3x3 results some of the most fiercely contested of the entire weekend.

Theriault added three more titles to his ledger over the two days, winning the 4x4x4 Cube in 34.76 seconds, the 5x5x5 Cube in 59.16 seconds, and the Megaminx in 44.58 seconds. His versatility across NxN puzzles established the benchmark for the weekend, but several other specialists claimed victories across the 13 scheduled disciplines. Across 20 total rounds of speed cubing action, athletes pushed the pace across both short sprint events and complex rotation challenges.

Jack Chicoine assembled an exceptional multi-discipline performance of his own. Chicoine won the Clock event with a 4.30 average, besting Zachary Miller of the United States who posted a 7.09. Chicoine also claimed top honors in Skewb with a 5.17 average and secured first place in Square-1 by recording an 11.19 winning average. In the rapid 2x2x2 Cube, Rémi Chrétien took the victory with a 2.34 average over Evan Meunier's 2.82, while Kyle Sardovia paced 39 entrants to win the Pyraminx title in 4.30 seconds. Riley Johnstone claimed the 3x3x3 One-Handed event in 16.19 seconds.

The 3x3x3 Blindfolded discipline demanded immense memorisation and composure under pressure, where competitors solved without visual cues. Russell Ansems secured the victory with a single solve of 2:48.04, leading Cohen Benoit who finished second in 5:41.82 and Jérôme LaRochelle who placed third in 6:29.82. The event provided an uncompromising test of mental endurance alongside the standard physical speedcubing disciplines.

The energy across the venue was driven by major personal leaps from competitors broadening their event lineups. Kendrick Desmond delivered a massive improvement in the 2x2x2 Cube, logging a personal best of 3.53 seconds that was 51.4 percent faster than his prior mark. John Teskey shaved 46.7 percent off his Megaminx standard with a new best of 1:54.40, while also registering his first official attempt at 3x3x3 One-Handed in 45.44 seconds. Gavin Ayles improved his Pyraminx best by 45.4 percent to 7.62 seconds, and Cole Turner dropped his 2x2x2 Cube mark by 23.2 percent to 4.01 seconds while taking on the Pyraminx for the first time with an 8.49.

First-time experiences highlighted the depth of the weekend schedule as competitors took on new puzzles. Gavin Carey-Sullivan entered 11 events and registered his first official 5x5x5 Cube result at 4:49.49. Lucas Broderick also tackled 11 disciplines, earning sixth place in the 7x7x7 Cube with an initial attempt of 5:40.58. Oliver Pugsley made his first WCA competition appearance, competing in 10 events and earning a fifth-place finish in Clock alongside a 3.53 in the 2x2x2 Cube. Gareth Lock entered his first WCA tournament as well, recording his first official 3x3x3 Cube solve of 29.35 seconds and completing six different events.

Julian Kim, the founder and developer of Speedcubing.app, competed in all 13 events on the schedule and collected seven personal bests over the two days. Kim achieved a fourth-place finish in 3x3x3 Blindfolded during his first ever official attempt at the event, and added another fourth-place finish in Megaminx with a personal best average of 1:23.04. He secured sixth place in Pyraminx with a 6.05 average, sixth in Clock at 11.78, and sixth in Skewb at 7.01. Kim also recorded personal bests in the 6x6x6 Cube with a 4:09.29 average for 10th place, the 2x2x2 Cube with a 4.80 average for 11th place, and Square-1 with a 35.20 average for 11th place.

The successful completion of Maritimes 2025 highlighted a rich balance of veteran precision and breakthrough performances across Eastern Canada. Canadian athletes collected 36 podium finishes over the weekend, with two going to American competitors and one to Korea. From the unforgiving demands of the mean-of-3 big cubes to the split-second margins of the sprint categories, this cubing competition delivered high-level execution from start to finish as competitors prepare for the next season of tournament play.