Montevideo en Llamas 2024

Inside the halls of Grupo Altavista, the steady clatter of turning plastic and the sudden click of timers set the rhythm for an intense single-day showdown. Twenty-six competitors gathered in Montevideo, Uruguay on November 17, 2024, prepared to tackle nine different official events across eleven rounds. The atmosphere was charged with focus as solvers inspected their scrambles, calibrated their tensioning, and prepared to contest some of the narrowest margins seen on the South American circuit this season.

The defining drama of Montevideo en Llamas 2024 arrived in the final round of the classic Rubik's Cube. Across two rounds featuring 25 contenders, the battle for the top spot came down to fractions of a second. Rodrigo Burone captured first place with a decisive winning average of 9.03 seconds, also logging the weekend's best single solve of 7.23 seconds. Right on his heels was Manuel Malvárez, who secured second place with an average of 9.19 seconds, while Santiago Agustín Gomez Duarte took third with 9.24 seconds. A mere twenty-one hundredths of a second separated the entire 3x3x3 Cube podium, highlighting the razor-thin margins of top-tier speedcubing.

While Burone took the headline prize in the 3x3 results, Manuel Malvárez assembled an extraordinary campaign across the schedule. Malvárez claimed victories in three separate events, demonstrating remarkable versatility. In the 2x2x2 Cube, he topped a 22-competitor field with a winning average of 3.35 seconds after delivering a 2.60 single. He followed that performance with a first-place finish in 3x3x3 One-Handed, averaging 14.51 seconds to edge out Bruno Lezama at 14.64. Malvárez then added the 5x5x5 Cube title, recording an average of 1:13.86 to once again finish ahead of Lezama's 1:16.48.

Bruno Lezama proved equally formidable across multiple categories, capturing two individual titles and finishing on the podium five times throughout the day. Lezama earned the top spot in the 6x6x6 Cube with a winning average of 2:03.75, finishing clear of Malvárez at 2:09.86 and Nicolas Aguirre at 2:42.91. Lezama also dominated the Skewb event across two rounds, locking in victory with a 3.55 average. In Megaminx, Brian Hambeck set the benchmark with an impressive winning average of 46.05 seconds, taking first place ahead of Lezama and Malvárez.

The competition also featured specialized disciplines that tested pure pattern manipulation and memory. In Clock, Mateo de León produced a winning average of 4.54 seconds to lead a 13-competitor bracket. Meanwhile, the 3x3x3 Blindfolded event demanded total recall and execution without visual feedback, where Felipe Santamaría Ruiz of Venezuela secured victory with a best single solve of 1:08.26. Santamaría Ruiz was the lone international victor in a weekend otherwise dominated by Uruguayan talent, while Lezama took second place with a time of 1:26.68.

Beyond the top podium steps, this WCA competition saw notable breakthroughs from competitors expanding their repertoires and slashing their personal bests. Juan Diego Alonso delivered a massive leap in Skewb, posting a personal best of 4.52 seconds to cut his previous mark by 51.2 percent, alongside a 12.7 percent improvement in Clock down to 10.83 seconds and a 13.97 in the 3x3x3 Cube. Lucas Barrientos improved his Skewb mark by 40.3 percent down to 14.76 seconds, trimmed 12 percent off his 3x3x3 One-Handed best with a 45.49, and lowered his 3x3x3 Cube single to 13.91. Sofía Rojo shaved 20.8 percent from her 6x6x6 Cube time to reach 4:42.96 while also improving her 5x5x5 Cube mark to 2:16.28.

Several other competitors marked significant milestones by taking on new challenges at Grupo Altavista. Lautaro Andres Martinez Penen improved his 3x3x3 Cube mark by 16.3 percent to 13.86 seconds and reduced his 2x2x2 Cube best to 5.39. Dante Martinez Renovales posted a 15.1 percent improvement on the 3x3x3 Cube with a 26.56 single and lowered his 2x2x2 Cube mark to 5.36. Leandro Estevez took eighth place in 3x3x3 One-Handed while dropping his personal best to 21.35 seconds, a 13.6 percent improvement. Meanwhile, Lautaro Fabián Benítez Sosa took on five events, recording his first official attempts in the 2x2x2 Cube with a 7.53, the 5x5x5 Cube with 2:58.73, and Clock with 14.44. Joaquín Rosa Rubino completed his first official attempts in the 2x2x2 Cube at 13.03 and the 3x3x3 Cube at 37.49.

The single-day gathering concluded with Uruguayan competitors claiming 26 of the 27 available podium places across the board. From the rapid-fire turns of the 2x2x2 Cube to the strategic complexity of big cubes, this speed cubing showcase highlighted the growing depth of the regional scene. As the final scrambles were resolved and equipment packed away, Montevideo en Llamas 2024 stood as a testament to high-pressure precision and relentless personal progress.