Music City Speedsolving 2023

The tables at the Woodmont Hills Church of Christ were arranged in precise rows on January 21, 2023, surrounded by stacks of timers, display mats, and cube covers. Competitors carried cases filled with various puzzles, carefully warming up their fingers before the day of competition began. Across the hall in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, the rhythmic clack of turning layers set the tone for an intense single-day slate of events.

While speedcubing often draws attention to the long-haul endurance required on larger, heavier puzzles that test stamina over several minutes of sustained turning, this cubing competition delivered rapid-fire drama across a focused five-event schedule. The 108 competitors in attendance navigated 12 rounds of action, demanding quick mental resets between distinct puzzle formats ranging from triangular geometry to mechanical dials and blindfolded execution.

The premier classic Rubik's Cube event stood out as the centerpiece of the schedule. Luke Garrett paced the field across three rounds of competition, ultimately taking the victory with a winning average of 6.35 seconds. Dominic Redisi secured second place on the podium with a mark of 6.91 seconds, while Nicolás Sánchez earned third place with a 7.12 average. Garrett also logged the fastest single solve of the 3x3 results at 5.78 seconds among a deep lineup of 106 competitors.

Garrett extended his winning form into the 3x3x3 One-Handed event, securing his second title of the weekend. Facing a field of 69 competitors over two rounds, Garrett took first place with an average of 11.29 seconds and delivered the round best single of 10.03 seconds. Eli Parker finished as the runner-up with an 11.73 average, while Vishwa Sankar locked down third place with a time of 14.91 seconds.

Beyond the top of the podium, several competitors logged standout personal milestones throughout the weekend. Joe Bagley entered all five events on the schedule, taking on his first ever attempt at 3x3x3 Blindfolded with a time of 4:38.69 while cutting his Pyraminx personal best to 4.47 seconds, which was 56 percent faster than his prior mark of 10.16. Eli Satterfield also took on five events, posting his first blindfolded attempt at 6:57.36, improving his Clock best to 8.59 seconds by 39.6 percent, and dropping his one-handed mark to 24.54 seconds. Jonathan Lee recorded a 4.42 personal best in Pyraminx to improve by 53.8 percent and logged first attempts in Clock at 13.46 and One-Handed at 32.47.

The steady progression continued across several other scorecards during the day. Joshua Moore took on five events and finished 12th in the 3x3x3 Cube, posting a personal best single of 8.07 seconds alongside his first blindfolded attempt at 6:02.93 and a 53.9 percent improvement in Clock down to 16.32 seconds. William Smith dropped his Pyraminx personal best by 45.5 percent down to 6.38 seconds and logged his first Clock attempt at 18.45. John-David Seth Saysombath trimmed his one-handed best by 49 percent to 2:06.77, Nia Kolhatkar cut her Pyraminx mark by 37 percent to 21.41 seconds, and Isaac Navarro completed his first WCA competition by taking on four events, highlighted by an 8.02 single in Pyraminx.

In the specialized events, the clock puzzle produced intense final rounds among 59 entrants. Vishwa Sankar captured the victory with a 4.82 average and a low single of 4.04 seconds. Luke Garrett added another podium finish by taking second place with an average of 5.18 seconds, followed closely by Jacob Ambrose in third at 5.67 seconds.

Marcus Kamen earned the top spot in Pyraminx, leading a 90-person field through three rounds to secure the title with an average of 2.36 seconds and the fastest single of 1.77. Garrett picked up yet another podium spot in second place with a 2.99 average, while Kevin Min rounded out the top three with 3.19. In 3x3x3 Blindfolded, where competitors must memorize the puzzle entirely before donning a blindfold, Jacob Ambrose claimed first place with an average of 1:19.86 and the best single of 1:02.52, ahead of Raymond Goslow at 1:08.38 and Sankar at 1:43.02.

With all fifteen podium positions claimed by competitors representing the United States, Music City Speedsolving 2023 wrapped up an efficient and fast-paced gathering in Tennessee. The speed cubing community in the region saw decisive performances across five distinct disciplines, setting a competitive standard as the 2023 calendar progresses into future rounds of play.