Montevideo Gaming House Open 2026

Inside the Montevideo Gaming House, the steady click of turning plastic filled the room as twenty-eight competitors gathered for a packed single-day cubing competition. Tables were arranged beneath bright overhead lighting, timers waited beside inspection mats, and nervous energy met quiet focus throughout the hall. For several participants, stepping up to the official stations marked the very beginning of their tournament journey. Surrounded by experienced solvers and supportive peers, the venue buzzed with the distinctive focus that defines live speedcubing in South America.

The Montevideo Gaming House Open 2026 provided an ideal stage for fresh faces stepping onto the scene on June 21, 2026. A first official tournament brings an unmistakable mix of anticipation and pressure, from managing the strict fifteen-second inspection window to executing solutions under the gaze of a judge. Stepping into a sanctioned WCA competition transforms casual home practice into a shared sporting pursuit, offering newer solvers their earliest official benchmarks across a variety of puzzle categories.

Among those experiencing their first official events, Leandro Oses took on three disciplines, recording an opening mark of 26.43 seconds in Pyraminx, 4:18.04 on the 4x4x4 Cube, and 36.63 seconds on the classic Rubik's Cube. Gael García also made a memorable debut across three categories, notching an official 17.34 in Pyraminx, 39.72 on the three-by-three, and an 8.09 on the 2x2x2 Cube. Facundo Gómez rounded out the debutants by competing in three events, posting a mark of 1:53.16 on the 4x4x4 Cube alongside an opening 11.58 in the 2x2x2 Cube and 24.32 in the three-by-three, while American debutant Henry Naugle logged a solid 23.98 in his first three-by-three solve.

The broader field delivered remarkable personal progress throughout the day. Santiago Goyén chopped his previous Pyraminx personal record by 54.8 percent down to 12.26 seconds. Philippe Mizrahi produced a massive leap on the 3x3x3 Cube, finishing with a personal best of 29.46 seconds to improve by 46.4 percent, while also tackling Clock and 2x2x2 Cube for the first time with marks of 12.49 and 6.93. Facundo Ottonello trimmed 32.3 percent off his 2x2x2 Cube standard to reach 7.79 seconds, and Mauricio Calvelo entered seven separate disciplines, posting a 25.4 percent drop in Pyraminx with a 9.81 mark and a 20.0 percent cut in Clock down to 20.27 seconds.

At the sharp end of the standings, Santiago Cabral delivered the most spectacular moments of the tournament during the Clock event. The Uruguayan competitor recorded a lightning single solve of 2.20 seconds and backed it up with an average of 2.96 seconds, capturing two South American records in one round. Cabral took first place ahead of Mateo de León and Víctor Gálvez, anchoring an exceptional display of speed cubing efficiency that stood as the numerical peak of the competition.

Cabral continued his dominant day across other short-format puzzles. In Pyraminx, he took top honours with a winning average of 2.84 seconds, edging out Sebastiano Benato at 2.98 seconds and Brian Hambeck at 4.40 seconds. Cabral added a third gold in Skewb, where an average of 5.77 seconds was enough to lead Martín Kurt Bethencourt Diaz and Mateo de León onto the podium, proving his versatility across three distinct mechanical disciplines.

The marquee three-by-three puzzle saw two competitive rounds unfold among twenty-eight solvers before the final podium was decided. Víctor Gálvez topped the official 3x3 results with a winning average of 9.21 seconds and a best single of 8.43 seconds. Rodrigo Burone followed closely in second place with a 9.67 average, while Leon Achata secured third at 9.97 seconds, ensuring an intense sub-ten-second final battle to close out the primary event.

Gálvez also claimed victory in the 4x4x4 Cube, posting a winning average of 37.37 seconds to finish ahead of Burone and Achata. In 3x3x3 One-Handed, Irene Pinto earned the top spot on the podium with a calculated average of 18.32 seconds, overcoming Burone and Achata in the fourteen-solver field. Achata claimed a victory of his own in the 2x2x2 Cube, logging a rapid 2.29 winning average to finish ahead of Cabral and Gálvez.

Host nation competitors dominated the medal table, earning seventeen podium places for Uruguay alongside four for Peru. Across eight rounds and seven official events, the Montevideo Gaming House Open 2026 proved to be both a showcase of continental records and a launchpad for the next generation of speedcubers in Montevideo, Uruguay.