Mid-Atlantic Quiet Championship 2026

Inside the conference rooms of the Hyatt House Branchburg / Bridgewater, the usual frantic tapping of plastic on timers gave way to the steady scratch of pens on paper. Competitors sat hunched over sheets of notation, turning standard Rubik's Cube puzzles slowly in their hands while searching for the shortest path to a solved state. The gathering in Branchburg, New Jersey, USA brought together a dedicated group of solvers on June 27 and June 28, trading raw turning speed for deep analytical calculation and silent memorisation across a slate of specialist disciplines.

The 3x3x3 Fewest Moves discipline exemplified that cerebral atmosphere, requiring solvers to craft an efficient written solution within a strict time limit. Chris Chi captured the title in decisive fashion, recording a winning average of 23.00 moves and a weekend-best single of 22 moves. Brandon Villadolid secured second place on the podium with a 25.67 average, while Evan Liu finished third with a 28.00 average among the 21 solvers in the single-round event. In a sport often defined by milliseconds, this event rewarded deliberate restraint.

While methodical planning took centre stage at the tables, the competition also produced breathtaking historic speed in the blindfolded events. Tommy Cherry delivered the highlight of the Mid-Atlantic Quiet Championship 2026 during the three rounds of 3x3x3 Blindfolded. Cherry set a new world record single with an astounding time of 11.56 seconds on his way to winning the event with a 15.06 average. Liam Chen claimed second place with a 17.56 average, and Angel David Alvarado Sandoval of Colombia reached the podium in third with a 26.55 average.

The larger blindfolded puzzles pushed memorisation routines to the extreme across the rest of the schedule. Tommy Cherry earned a second victory by taking the top spot in 5x5x5 Blindfolded with a winning single of 3:57.11. Evan Liu claimed the runner-up spot in 8:44.06, followed by Brandon Villadolid in 12:02.00. In 4x4x4 Blindfolded, Liam Chen took the gold with a fast single of 1:20.64, holding off Cherry who secured silver in 1:23.87, while Brandon Lin (林博浩) earned bronze with a time of 3:07.94.

The stamina test of 3x3x3 Multi-Blind capped the program with 23 entrants managing dozens of cubes at once under the hour limit. Brandon Lin (林博浩) took first place by successfully resolving 37 out of 45 cubes in exactly 1:00:00. Ramses Amaya of Colombia followed in second place with 23 of 25 cubes in 1:00:00, while Liam Chen rounded out the top three by finishing 22 of 27 cubes in 59:50. The event proved to be a demanding display of spatial recall and time management.

Beyond the top steps of the podium, several solvers achieved massive individual breakthroughs throughout the weekend. Carter Strouse delivered one of the steepest drops of the tournament, lowering their 3x3x3 Blindfolded personal best by 43 percent to 3:40.76 down from 6:27.17, while also logging a first ever attempt at 3x3x3 Fewest Moves with 45 moves. Surya Narayana Teja Ravinutala completed a first attempt at 3x3x3 Multi-Blind with a clean 2/2 in 18:19 and dropped their 3x3x3 Blindfolded personal best by 25.3 percent to 2:30.92. Xuehao Ding of China tackled three events, finishing 11th in 4x4x4 Blindfolded with a debut 20:33.00, completing a first multi-blind effort with 4/5 in 38:21, and cutting their 3x3x3 Blindfolded mark by 11.1 percent to 2:35.86. Dean Angert entered all five events on the schedule, earning 5th in 5x5x5 Blindfolded, recording a debut 4:53.23 in 4x4x4 Blindfolded, trimming their blindfolded single to 50.03, and setting a fewest moves personal best of 35.

Other competitors similarly made the most of their rounds at this WCA competition. Currin Wilson contested five events, earning 5th in 3x3x3 Multi-Blind, improving their 4x4x4 Blindfolded personal best by 14 percent to 6:11.14, and registering a 55.60 single in 3x3x3 Blindfolded. Yili Yi took 8th in multi-blind with an upgraded personal best of 8/10 in 51:27, alongside a 1:03.78 single in 3x3x3 Blindfolded across four events. Tyler Lindow Tsao took on four disciplines, finishing 10th in fewest moves and logging a first multi-blind attempt of 3/5 in 42:06. Alex Hauben completed a full program of five events, highlighted by a 5th-place finish in 5x5x5 Blindfolded.

The 2026 gathering in Branchburg brought together 31 competitors across 5 events and 7 rounds, reflecting the broad international depth of modern speed cubing. United States competitors secured 13 podium places, with Colombian solvers claiming 2 podium finishes during the two days of competition. Solvers from near and far demonstrated the full spectrum of speedcubing, balancing high-tempo execution against patient positional calculation.

As the tables were cleared and scores entered into the official books, the Mid-Atlantic Quiet Championship 2026 proved that the quietest disciplines often yield the loudest milestones. From world records to memorable 3x3 results, the weekend stood as a showcase of puzzle solving at its most focused and deliberate.