MBLD in a Madison Meeting Room 2023

Twenty-five dedicated competitors gathered on March 4 to March 5, 2023, turning Monona Terrace into a vibrant stage for complex puzzle solving. The gathering for MBLD in a Madison Meeting Room 2023 brought specialist disciplines to Madison, Wisconsin, USA. Across six demanding events and eleven rounds of play, the tournament emphasized pure technical calculation and memory discipline over rapid turning speed. The specialized roster produced high-level battles across multiple categories, drawing participants from across the region to test their preparation on the official stage.

The blindfolded categories served as the centerpiece throughout the weekend, featuring complex memorization routines and high-stakes execution. In the 3x3x3 Blindfolded discipline, Stanley Chapel delivered a commanding series of solves, claiming the title with a winning average of 17.25 seconds after putting up a best single of 14.80 seconds. Graham Siggins earned the second-place spot on the podium with an average of 18.27 seconds, while Will Cerne secured third position with a 20.00 average, capping off an intense three-round contest of rapid recollection.

Stanley Chapel expanded his successful run by taking the top spot in 4x4x4 Blindfolded, recording a best single of 1:28.01. Graham Siggins followed in second place with a mark of 1:49.13, while Cale Schoon claimed third place by logging a time of 2:31.80. In 5x5x5 Blindfolded, Cale Schoon captured first place with a single solve of 6:15.92. Thomas Reinke finished second with 11:29.00, and Zeke Mackay took third with 13:09.00, completing the big-cube blindfolded program.

The 3x3x3 Multi-Blind event brought the ultimate test of spatial memory to the tables, where competitors memorized multiple cubes before donning blindfolds to solve them consecutively. Thomas Reinke captured the victory by solving 25 out of 27 cubes in a time of 56:07. Carter Kucala took the runner-up position with 17 out of 25 cubes completed in 59:23, while Cale Schoon reached the podium in third place with 21 out of 33 cubes solved in exactly 1:00:00.

Beyond the memory disciplines, the classic Rubik's Cube received a deeply analytical treatment in the 3x3x3 Fewest Moves contest. Mark Boyanowski navigated two rounds of careful branch searching and block building to win the event with a 24.33 move average and a best single of 23 moves. Carter Kucala finished right behind in second place with an average of 24.67 moves, while Brian Johnson locked down third place with an average of 26.67 moves, giving speedcubing fans a demonstration of pure solution efficiency.

The Clock event delivered the fastest mechanical turning of the weekend across its two rounds of action. Zeke Mackay took top honors with a winning average of 4.93 seconds, backed by a tournament-best single of 4.41 seconds. Stanley Chapel earned second place with an average of 5.80 seconds, and Sebastian Carrillo completed the podium in third place with an average of 6.27 seconds. The dual-sided mechanical puzzle provided a rapid contrast to the extended mental marathons across the rest of the schedule.

Behind the podium battles, several competitors achieved meaningful milestones across their chosen events. Tommy Moreno tackled six events and produced a 3x3x3 Blindfolded personal best of 56.26 seconds, which was 41.4 percent faster than his prior mark of 1:36.04, alongside making his first ever attempt at 3x3x3 Fewest Moves with a 32. Ivan Krueger improved his 3x3x3 Fewest Moves personal best by 30.3 percent down to 23 moves. Aaron Soley lowered his 3x3x3 Blindfolded personal best by 15.7 percent to 1:22.55 and achieved a 10 out of 12 multi-blind personal best. Justin Sui set three personal bests across six events, including a 5x5x5 Blindfolded time of 16:47.00 that was 9.4 percent faster than his previous mark.

Other participants marked significant firsts during their time at the tables. Brandon Reichman took on four events, registering his first ever attempt at 3x3x3 Blindfolded with a time of 3:22.59 and completing his first ever attempt at 3x3x3 Multi-Blind with 2 out of 3 cubes in 19:54. Varun Gudibanda logged his first ever attempt at Clock with a 14.16 and set a multi-blind personal best of 3 out of 3 in 26:55. Emmett Hoffman took his first ever attempt at Clock with a 28.78, while Ty Portzen recorded a 55 in his first ever attempt at 3x3x3 Fewest Moves.

The action at MBLD in a Madison Meeting Room 2023 highlighted the technical depth present across North American speed cubing. Enthusiasts tracking cubing competition outcomes and WCA competition records found plenty to dissect from the official 3x3 results and blindfolded scorecards. As the venue cleared out, the twenty-five solvers concluded a concentrated weekend of calculation and memory, adding twenty-three official personal bests to their records.