Nacionales El Salvador 2024

Shalóm Melquisedec Batz Rodríguez commanded the weekend with an extraordinary showing of speed and consistency, capturing eight individual victories across seventeen events. The action at Nacionales El Salvador 2024 reached its peak in the premier 3x3x3 Cube, where the Guatemalan speedcuber secured the title with an 8.48 winning average and an event-best single solve of 6.84 seconds. Held at Universidad Centroamericana José Simeón Cañas in San Salvador, El Salvador, the three-day competition ran from November 29 to December 1, 2024, gathering 39 competitors for 23 rounds of intense, multi-discipline racing.

Beyond the top podium steps, the weekend served as a showcase for massive progression across the board. The 3x3 results in the main event highlighted deep talent across Central America and beyond, as Jose Javier Melendez Maldonado took second place with a 9.83 average and Oscar Nieto earned third with a 10.25 mark. The standard Rubik's Cube was merely one facet of a marathon schedule spanning seventeen puzzles, testing everything from short mechanical turns to memory-intensive blindfolded categories that demand complete spatial mastery without visual feedback.

The sheer breadth of events pushed competitors to redefine their limits, and the short-format puzzles yielded ferocious turnarounds. In 2x2x2 Cube, Shalóm Melquisedec Batz Rodríguez clinched gold with a 2.72 average, just ahead of El Salvador's Elvis Isaí Rosales Hernández at 2.84 and Jose Javier Melendez Maldonado at 3.47. The Guatemalan frontrunner also dominated 4x4x4 Cube with a 34.17 average, 5x5x5 Cube with 1:00.54, 6x6x6 Cube with 2:04.93, 3x3x3 One-Handed with 15.05, Pyraminx with 3.88, and Megaminx with 48.10.

A major dimension of any WCA competition is the pursuit of personal milestones, and this cubing competition delivered exceptional breakthrough moments across all experience levels. Miguel Joshua Navas Ventura registered some of the sharpest drops of the weekend, carving 47.9 percent off his previous benchmark in Pyraminx with a new best of 5.27 seconds, while also trimming his marks in 2x2x2 Cube to 3.92 and 3x3x3 One-Handed to 22.12. Javier Eduardo Contreras Rivera made a huge leap in Pyraminx by posting an 11.69 single that cut 41.8 percent off his prior standard, while also tackling his first ever attempt at 2x2x2 Cube with a 6.17 clocking. Rafael Eduardo Leiva Cartagena dropped his 2x2x2 Cube personal best by 42.8 percent down to 5.72 seconds while taking on his first attempts in 4x4x4 Cube and 3x3x3 One-Handed across six total events.

That relentless drive to explore new categories and shave down times defined the spirit on the floor. Cesar Alberto Garcia Muñoz achieved a 34.2 percent drop in 2x2x2 Cube with a personal best of 4.09 seconds and logged his first official attempts at Pyraminx and Skewb. Daniel Martinez Mendoza improved his 3x3x3 One-Handed best by 32.7 percent to reach 15.34 seconds, finishing fifth overall. Mauricio Enrique Guzmán Rivera took on five events, registering first ever official attempts in 3x3x3 One-Handed, 4x4x4 Cube, and 2x2x2 Cube. Making their initial appearances in speed cubing, Santiago Esaú Alvarado Sibrián navigated three events including first attempts in Skewb and 2x2x2 Cube, while Josue David Martinez Cornejo recorded his first times in Pyraminx and the 3x3x3 Cube.

The blindfolded disciplines delivered high tension and meticulous problem-solving. In 3x3x3 Blindfolded, Sergio Bulux claimed victory with an average of 1:27.86, flanked on the podium by Samuel Cuellar Ramirez and Yuyang Zhen. Cuellar Ramirez proved unmatched across the long-form memory categories, securing the 3x3x3 Multi-Blind title by resolving 3 of 3 cubes within 11 minutes and 56 seconds. He followed up with top marks in 4x4x4 Blindfolded at 12:01.00 and 5x5x5 Blindfolded at 28:04.00, demonstrating rare focus under strict blind conditions.

Elsewhere on the schedule, specialized disciplines saw sharp battles among seasoned contenders. Oscar Nieto took top honors in Skewb with a 4.80 average, while José Enrique Jiménez captured two distinct titles, winning 7x7x7 Cube with a 3:19.24 average and Clock with a 9.25 mark. Pablo Say prevailed in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves with a single solve of 38 moves, narrowly leading Jose Javier Melendez Maldonado and Shalóm Melquisedec Batz Rodríguez. In Square-1, José Eduardo Palacios Castro topped the standings with a winning average of 16.95 seconds.

When the final rounds concluded at Nacionales El Salvador 2024, the podium tally reflected the regional depth in attendance, with Guatemala earning 24 podium placements, El Salvador taking 17, Colombia collecting 10, and China securing 2. Across every division, the tournament rewarded months of practice with tangible drops on the stopwatch. As the 2024 competitive calendar moves into its closing stretch, Nacionales El Salvador 2024 highlighted both elite multi-event dominance and remarkable personal progression across the speedcubing community.