NDHU Big Cube Day 2023

Kai-Wen Wang delivered the defining performance of the tournament by capturing the 5x5x5 Cube title with a blisteringly fast 41.31 winning average and a single of 37.18. Staged at Yichang Junior High School in Hualien, Taiwan on May 20, 2023, the event brought together 46 competitors across three demanding categories. The smoothly managed schedule allowed 9 full rounds of competition to run without a hitch, a testament to the dedication of the organizers, delegates, and staff members who guided the one-day gathering through dense solving schedules.

Running a dedicated big cube program requires immense behind-the-scenes precision from tournament officials and staff. Managing scrambles and score sheets for layered puzzles demands extra time, yet the crew behind NDHU Big Cube Day 2023 kept the timetable brisk across all nine rounds. The local community in Hualien, Taiwan rallied together at the venue, demonstrating the logistical teamwork needed to make every stage of a specialized WCA competition succeed.

The 5x5x5 Cube contest was the largest draw of the schedule, attracting 45 competitors through three fierce stages. Kai-Wen Wang established his presence early with a record single of 39.80 and record average of 43.39 before locking down the championship average of 41.31 in the finals. Ivan Li Ka Leong took second place with a mark of 45.87, while Yi-Fan Wu secured third with an average of 48.31 in a showcase of high-end speedcubing execution.

Beyond the podium battles, the tournament floor highlighted immense personal milestones for solvers tackling larger puzzles. Michael Chou delivered massive gains across the board, setting a 7x7x7 Cube personal best of 3:57.36 which was 41.4 percent faster than his prior 6:45.15 mark, lowering his 5x5x5 Cube best to 1:16.63 for a 23.5 percent cut, and logging his first ever attempt at 6x6x6 Cube in 2:45.16. Chao-Chi Teng produced a 23.5 percent improvement in 5x5x5 Cube with a 1:12.88 personal record while posting first-ever official attempts of 2:59.22 in 6x6x6 Cube and 4:19.94 in 7x7x7 Cube. Kuan-Ying Li brought strong form to three disciplines, charting a 10.7 percent drop to reach a 1:29.34 personal best on 5x5x5 Cube alongside maiden results of 3:00.88 on 6x6x6 Cube and 5:25.55 on 7x7x7 Cube.

The surge of breakthroughs continued as Guo-En Zeng advanced his 5x5x5 Cube personal best by 9.2 percent down to 1:17.13 and recorded debut marks of 3:03.32 on 6x6x6 Cube and 4:35.38 on 7x7x7 Cube. Cheng-Yu Hsieh completed all three events, recording his first official finishes in 6x6x6 Cube at 2:47.71 and 7x7x7 Cube at 4:18.04 while improving his 5x5x5 Cube best to 1:21.91. Zhi-Chen Cai took on all three categories in a triple debut, lodging initial times of 2:04.72 on 5x5x5 Cube, 5:59.43 on 6x6x6 Cube, and 8:29.09 on 7x7x7 Cube. Fang-Ru Yu completed the picture by registering first-ever marks of 2:50.69 on 5x5x5 Cube and 6:45.27 on 6x6x6 Cube during an active day.

In the 6x6x6 Cube bracket, 40 competitors took to the tables where Ivan Li Ka Leong earned top honors with a tournament-winning average of 1:22.96 and a round-best single of 1:19.00. Cian-Jyun Yang took the silver position with an average of 1:25.81, followed by Kai-Wen Wang in third at 1:29.66. The clean execution through the rounds proved how dynamic this event remains at NDHU Big Cube Day 2023.

The 7x7x7 Cube championship round capped the heavy puzzles with 39 competitors vying for the podium. Ping-Yueh Huang navigated the intricate center building and edge pairing to clinch the title with a 2:13.39 winning average and an impressive single of 2:00.78. Yi-Fan Wu chased closely behind to secure second place with 2:16.40, while Kai-Wen Wang rounded out his triple podium weekend with third place at 2:17.13.

The single-day meet highlighted how much depth Taiwan and visiting talent possess on larger hardware. Solvers who spend regular weekends looking at standard 3x3 results found a complete change of pace here, as the focus shifted entirely away from standard Rubik's Cube speed cubing toward massive layers. Across all three events, Taiwan captured 7 podium spots while Hong Kong claimed 2 podium positions.

The successful conclusion of NDHU Big Cube Day 2023 stands as a credit to the tireless staff, marshals, and officials who kept every round moving seamlessly on schedule. With massive leaps across 5x5x5, 6x6x6, and 7x7x7 categories, this cubing competition provided an ideal stage for veteran champions and ambitious solvers alike to leave their mark before looking ahead to the next season.

46名頂尖選手齊聚花蓮縣立宜昌國中體育館，在專注而熱烈的氛圍中展開高難度大階項目的角逐。2023年5月20日舉辦的NDHU Big Cube Day 2023將舞台完全留給大階魔術方塊，賽場內清脆俐落的轉動聲此起彼落。這場WCA competition共設有3個項目與9輪激戰，選手們在Hualien, Taiwan的賽場上展現出極致的手速與精確判斷，為現場帶來一場高水準的極限競速盛宴。

在競爭最為激烈的5x5x5 Cube項目中，共有45名選手參與3輪比拚。Kai-Wen Wang (王楷文)展現出強大統治力，在決賽中以41.31秒的優異平均成績奪得冠軍，同時他在該項目繳出全場最快單次37.18秒。來自香港的Ivan Li Ka Leong (李嘉亮)以45.87秒的平均成績收穫亞軍，Yi-Fan Wu (吳亦凡)則以48.31秒的平均成績奪得季軍。

6x6x6 Cube項目迎來40位選手的正面對決。Ivan Li Ka Leong (李嘉亮)在此項目發揮亮眼，以全場最佳單次1:19.00以及1:22.96的平均成績強勢登頂夺冠。Cian-Jyun Yang (楊謙君)以1:25.81的平均成績緊追在後位居次席，而在5階奪冠的Kai-Wen Wang (王楷文)則以1:29.66的平均成績拿下第三名，持續站上頒獎台。

7x7x7 Cube項目作為本屆賽事結構最複雜的考驗，39名參賽者在3輪考驗中展現深厚底蘊。Ping-Yueh Huang (黃品越)發揮出色，憑藉全場唯一突破2分10秒大關的2:00.78單次成績，並以2:13.39的平均成績一舉奪魁。Yi-Fan Wu (吳亦凡)以2:16.40的平均成績收穫亞軍，Kai-Wen Wang (王楷文)則以2:17.13位列第三，完成個人在三大項目全數登上領獎台的亮眼戰績。

在鎂光燈聚焦的冠亞軍之外，NDHU Big Cube Day 2023的賽場深處記錄了許多默默突破自我的感人歷程。Yi-En Tsai (蔡以恩)在此次報名的3個項目中迎來全面爆發，6x6x6 Cube拿下個人最佳2:21.86，較先前成績大幅提速33.2%，7x7x7 Cube繳出3:41.73進步32.6%，5x5x5 Cube亦推進26.5%來到1:02.87。Cong-Yu Huang (黃琮煜)同樣在3項賽事全面突破，6x6x6 Cube繳出2:42.63提速29.2%，5x5x5 Cube以1:28.43進步27.5%，7x7x7 Cube也以5:03.68進步6.8%。Che-Jui Hsu (許哲睿)在5x5x5 Cube跑出4:06.78的個人最佳，比過去大幅提速28.3%。

更多選手在本次大賽邁出了探索全新項目的關鍵一步。Yu-Shi Tzeng (曾瑀希)出戰3項賽事，首次挑戰6x6x6 Cube便留下2:38.14的紀錄，並在7x7x7 Cube與5x5x5 Cube分別創下3:51.43及1:15.98的個人最佳。Yan-Xiang Qiu (邱彥翔)在本場賽事迎來生涯首次7x7x7 Cube與6x6x6 Cube嘗試，分別繳出6:03.67與3:44.81。初次踏上WCA舞台的Yen-Cheng Hsu (許晏橙)完成生涯首個5x5x5 Cube項目並收穫4:33.59，而Chih-Hsiang Yang (楊志翔)也在這場生涯首場WCA賽事中完成5x5x5 Cube首秀，繳出1:08.45的亮眼成績。

從各地前來的魔術方塊好手在宜昌國中齊聚一堂，展現出台灣speedcubing社群強大的凝聚力與競技水平。在本屆賽事的獎牌分佈上，台灣選手一共斬獲7個頒獎台席位，香港選手則拿下2席。整個場館在一整天的賽程中洋溢著彼此激勵、追求極限的熱忱，參賽者在每一次轉動中不斷挑戰手部極限與觀察速度。

隨著各項決賽成績塵埃落定，NDHU Big Cube Day 2023在熱烈掌聲中圓滿收官。這場在花蓮舉行的cubing competition不僅見證了頂尖選手的冠軍榮耀，更記錄了數十位選手突破個人極限的珍貴瞬間。選手們帶著在大階方塊上累積的寶貴經驗與全新紀錄，為2023年的魔術方塊競賽季寫下精彩的一頁。