Nacionales El Salvador 2023

Inside the Escuela de Comunicación Mónica Herrera, the rhythm of plastic on plastic echoed through the hall across three days of intense solving. Over the August 11 to August 13 weekend, thirty-five competitors gathered for Nacionales El Salvador 2023, tackling seventeen events and twenty-three rounds of play. Long tables lined with timers set the stage where every fraction of a second demanded absolute steadiness, proving from the opening solves that single-solve brilliance could not outlast disciplined, reproducible consistency across entire rounds.

The premier 3x3x3 Cube contest highlighted the value of dependable execution. While isolated quick turns regularly sparked excitement, the classic Rubik's Cube battle rewarded the solver who managed minimal fluctuation from solve to solve. Shalóm Melquisedec Batz Rodríguez from Guatemala captured the top spot on the podium, posting a winning average of 9.12 seconds, anchored by a best single of 7.58. Fernando Daniel Domínguez Castaneda of El Salvador secured second place with a 9.72 average, while Colombia's Oscar Nieto took third averaging 10.21 in the official 3x3 results.

Batz Rodríguez built a dominant weekend in La Libertad, El Salvador by maintaining poise across distinct puzzles. In 2x2x2 Cube, his 3.61 winning average held off José Eduardo Palacios Castro, who finished at 3.79, and Oscar Nieto, who took third at 4.20. Batz Rodríguez extended that steady form across one-handed and alternate geometric puzzles, claiming first place in 3x3x3 One-Handed with a 14.38 average, taking Skewb in 5.25, topping Pyraminx with a 4.67 average, and winning Megaminx with a 54.54 average.

Elsewhere on the stage, the broader range of speedcubing disciplines demanded tactical adaptability. José Enrique Jiménez captured the 4x4x4 Cube title with a 42.08 average, overcoming his competition thanks to a sharp 31.15 single solve. Oscar Nieto showed relentless pacing in the larger cubes, winning the 5x5x5 Cube in 1:11.88 ahead of El Salvador's Samuel Cuellar Ramirez at 1:16.70 and Jiménez at 1:18.49. Nieto also claimed the 6x6x6 Cube with a 2:20.11 average and the 7x7x7 Cube with a 3:24.01 average, adding to Colombia's tally of thirteen podiums over the weekend.

Specialist categories also tested the mental resilience of competitors at this cubing competition. In Clock, José Eduardo Palacios Castro prevailed with a 10.41 average, while Connor Weed delivered a 14.95 average to win Square-1. Samuel Cuellar Ramirez achieved a major victory in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves with a single of 33 moves. In the memory events, Cuellar Ramirez won 3x3x3 Blindfolded with a 1:33.33 average and captured 3x3x3 Multi-Blind by successfully solving 3 of 4 cubes in 17:12. Across the blindfolded categories, both 4x4x4 Blindfolded and 5x5x5 Blindfolded ended without completed solves, showing how difficult blindfolded solving remains.

Behind the top podium spots, several competitors delivered remarkable individual breakthroughs away from the final round spotlight. Fernando Andres Escobar Abarca produced a standout performance by dropping his Pyraminx personal best to 11.10 seconds, which was 38.8 percent faster than his prior mark of 18.14, while also recording his first ever attempt in Skewb at 27.88 and his first 2x2x2 Cube solve at 8.82. Matthew Hernández took on 3x3x3 One-Handed and slashed his personal best to 30.79, a 33.7 percent improvement over his earlier 46.44. José Alberto Henández Romero cut his Pyraminx record to 23.66 seconds, improving by 32.9 percent, and registered a 43.36 in the 3x3x3 Cube. Fausto Tomas Avalle-Piber lowered his 3x3x3 Cube mark to 13.44, improving by 30.4 percent, while also posting his first ever attempt in 3x3x3 One-Handed at 39.28.

The depth of progress across the roster continued through several other key performances. Armando Javier Guevara Escalante logged a 14.46 in the 3x3x3 Cube, an improvement of 28.6 percent, alongside his first official Skewb result of 9.71. Oscar Antonio Montoya Mancia showed substantial growth by trimming his Megaminx best to 1:21.26, a 23.1 percent drop, and his 3x3x3 Cube best to 12.04. Marcos Josué Dimas García took on eight separate events, recording a best finish of 5th in Pyraminx along with his first ever attempts in Skewb at 11.16 and 5x5x5 Cube at 2:16.76. Miguel Joshua Navas Ventura completed his first ever official attempts in three different events, logging 38.36 in 3x3x3 One-Handed, 4.55 in 2x2x2 Cube, and 11.28 in Pyraminx.

For first-time participants Jose Angel Centeno Joya and Eduardo Domínguez, this WCA competition marked an official entry into tournament play, with Centeno Joya registering a 1:04.75 and Domínguez logging 45.98 on the 3x3x3 Cube. Host nation El Salvador led all delegations with twenty-five podium finishes, while Guatemala secured eight and the United States collected four across the weekend. The fast-paced action at Nacionales El Salvador 2023 illustrated that sustained rhythm and calculated control remain the ultimate deciding factors in modern speed cubing.