Melbourne Cube Days 2024

A single hundredth of a second decided the title in 3x3x3 One-Handed at Melbourne Cube Days 2024, delivering the most dramatic climax of the weekend. David Epstein captured gold with an average of 12.59 seconds, barely edging out Firstian Fushada, who finished in second place at 12.60 seconds, while Riley Dexter claimed third with 12.78 seconds. That margin of 0.01 seconds between the top two spots underscored an intensely competitive weekend of speedcubing across every division. Held at Keysborough Secondary College, Banksia Campus in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia from November 30 to December 1, the event drew 222 competitors for 24 rounds of action across 12 distinct events.

The premier 3x3x3 Cube event drew a massive field of 218 competitors across four rounds, testing stamina and precision. Riley Dexter emerged on top in the final with a winning average of 6.28 seconds, highlighted by a blistering best single of 4.78 seconds. David Epstein took second place with an average of 6.58 seconds, while Phoenix Patterson earned third with a 6.98 average. The premier Rubik's Cube category delivered high drama throughout, giving the packed venue some of the fastest 3x3 results seen all season.

Short-format speed cubing saw explosive action on the 2x2x2 Cube, where Roman Rudakov took top honours with a stellar winning average of 1.16 seconds after registering a single of 0.94 in the final round. Cameron Stollery secured second place with an average of 1.59 seconds, followed by Benjamin Kao in third at 1.84 seconds. Kao also unleashed the fastest single of the entire event with a 0.64 effort. The 2x2x2 rounds featured a long list of milestone times across the roster, including sub-one-second singles by Harry Forbes at 0.73 and Rudakov at 0.80.

Beyond the shorter formats, Melbourne Cube Days 2024 showcased remarkable endurance and versatility across big cubes and specialty disciplines. Firstian Fushada enjoyed an extraordinary weekend across several formats, sweeping the 4x4x4 Cube with a winning average of 27.29 seconds and the 7x7x7 Cube with an average of 2:05.09. Fushada also showed supreme tactical calculation in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves, taking the victory with a 22-move solve ahead of Epstein on 24 moves and Tommy Kiprillis on 27 moves. Epstein added to his medal haul by securing victories in both 5x5x5 Cube with a 50.75 average and 6x6x6 Cube in 1:32.54.

The blindfolded categories demanded unmatched spatial memory and composure under pressure. Michael Tripodi won the 3x3x3 Blindfolded division with a sharp best single of 23.91 seconds, narrowly outpacing Tam Quan who logged a 24.39 single for second place. In the grueling 3x3x3 Multi-Blind event, Quan took top honours by successfully solving 24 out of 25 cubes within a time limit of 57:55, holding off Tripodi who scored 32 out of 41 in 59:18 and Swami Srinivasan who registered 23 out of 25 in 58:17. Firstian Fushada extended his dominance to the larger blindfolded puzzles, winning both 4x4x4 Blindfolded in 2:37.17 and 5x5x5 Blindfolded in 10:12.00.

Away from the top of the podium, Melbourne Cube Days 2024 produced sensational individual progress and ambitious milestones from dedicated competitors across the floor. Manan Goyal delivered two of the weekend's largest personal bests, cutting his 2x2x2 Cube single to 3.11 seconds to improve by 81.7 percent while trimming his 3x3x3 mark by 67 percent to 17.37, alongside a debut 4x4x4 attempt of 1:47.24. Ike Liddiard took on five events, registering personal bests including a 12.92 in 3x3x3 that was 48.2 percent faster than his previous mark, while making first attempts in One-Handed at 52.46 and 4x4x4 Cube at 1:56.00. Bradley Tjahja tackled six disciplines, shaving 47.6 percent off his 2x2x2 best to hit 2.32 seconds and reducing his 5x5x5 mark to 1:32.48, while entering One-Handed for the first time with a 41.13 solve. Oscar Niizeki stepped up across seven events, posting a 52 percent improvement in One-Handed down to 44.80 seconds and taking on Fewest Moves and 4x4x4 for the very first time.

That spirit of breakthrough performances was shared by many others in the field. Max Sun took on three events, logging a 27 percent 3x3x3 improvement to 13.67 seconds while making first career attempts in both 2x2x2 at 3.34 and 4x4x4 at 1:27.53. Vighnesh Mishra made his first recorded 2x2x2 attempt with a 7.09 and slashed his 3x3x3 best by 53.7 percent down to 30.72 seconds. Muhammad Zohaib Arsalan Khan earned a 10th-place finish in 2x2x2 behind a massive 70.7 percent drop to a 0.67 single, while taking his One-Handed best down to 17.59 seconds. Jeff Xu entered 10 events, earning sixth in 4x4x4 Blindfolded while setting personal bests in 3x3x3 Blindfolded at 1:45.15, 5x5x5 Cube at 1:08.98, and One-Handed at 15.15.

The medal table reflected strong international quality alongside deep local representation, as Australian competitors collected 27 podium finishes and Indonesian competitors earned 9 podium spots across the two days. From tight hundredth-of-a-second margins in One-Handed to massive multi-puzzle blindfolded marathons, the cubing competition delivered premier action from start to finish. As another successful WCA competition drew to a close in Melbourne, the 2024 gathering demonstrated the depth, determination, and community strength that continues to propel competitive solving forward.