New York Quiet Championship 2025

The vast spaces inside Palisades Center grew completely still as competitors sat facing their covered puzzles, waiting for the signal to begin memorisation. At the New York Quiet Championship 2025, held from September 6 to September 7 in West Nyack, New York, USA, 20 competitors assembled to test their focus across five mentally demanding disciplines. Instead of rapid turning echoing through an arena, the atmosphere was defined by silence, deliberate breath control, and intense concentration across ten separate rounds of play.

The final round of 3x3x3 Blindfolded turned into a dramatic duel decided on the very last attempts. Stanley Chapel secured the championship victory with a blistering single solve of 15.22 seconds, outlasting Andrew Tao who claimed the second spot on the podium at 40.67 seconds. Evan Liu rounded out the top three with a mark of 54.77 seconds. In a discipline where a single miscalculation leads to an incomplete attempt, Chapel delivered the decisive performance under immense pressure to top the 3x3 results in the blindfolded category.

Chapel extended his mastery across the larger puzzles, demonstrating exceptional memory work in both the 4x4x4 Blindfolded and 5x5x5 Blindfolded events. In the four-layered puzzle final, Chapel took first place with a single of 57.74 seconds, finishing ahead of Liu who secured second in 3:27.87 and Brandon Villadolid in third at 5:31.97. The 5x5x5 blindfolded discipline produced another victory for Chapel, whose 2:07.09 single led the field, while Liu earned another podium finish in 12:37.00. Eli Rogers and Elliott Perkins finished tied for third after recording uncompleted attempts.

The 3x3x3 Multi-Blind event brought a massive test of stamina and endurance to the tables. Andrew Tao delivered a masterful performance, successfully solving 50 out of 60 cubes within a time of 58:51 to take the top step of the podium. Chapel pushed Tao closely, logging 37 points out of 41 cubes in 53:51 to take second place. Chris Chi took third on the podium, managing 18 successful cubes out of 23 attempts in a time of 56:37 in a grueling test of speedcubing memory.

Efficiency was the core challenge in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves, where competitors spent an hour per attempt charting the shortest possible solution for a standard Rubik's Cube. Joseph Guzman captured the title with a winning average of 22.00 moves, bolstered by a best single solution of 22 moves. Chi secured another podium appearance by taking second place with a 23.33 average, while Chapel completed a busy weekend by finishing third on an average of 23.67 moves, underscoring the high technical level present at the New York Quiet Championship 2025.

Away from the championship podiums, the event highlighted remarkable breakthroughs from dedicated competitors pushing their personal boundaries. Jalen Shareef delivered a massive improvement in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves, lowering his personal best down to 35 moves, an improvement of 25.5 percent compared to his previous record. Jack Lee posted a breakthrough single of 1:38.83 in 3x3x3 Blindfolded, cutting 24.6 percent off his previous benchmark, while also registering a personal best of 5/7 in 1:00:00 in multi-blind. Alex Hamburg dropped his 3x3x3 Blindfolded record by 20.3 percent to 2:31.77, while also lowering his fewest moves best to 33 and securing eighth in multi-blind with 6/6 in 44:43.

Other competitors took on entirely new events or set significant milestones across the weekend. Quinn Maloney improved his 4x4x4 Blindfolded best by 19.4 percent to 4:43.02 and took fifth in fewest moves with a personal best of 28. Matt Degala achieved a personal best of 34 moves in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves, a 12.8 percent jump. Serena Meng earned a best finish of fifth place in 4x4x4 Blindfolded while setting a multi-blind personal record of 9/10 in 51:51. Alex J. Barbecho achieved a 2/3 personal best in multi-blind and placed tenth in fewest moves, while Angelo Terpening logged a clean 4/4 in 35:14 in multi-blind.

New ventures into unfamiliar events also defined the weekend for seasoned participants. Jeffrey Chen tackled both 3x3x3 Blindfolded and 3x3x3 Fewest Moves for the first time in his career, recording a 2:00.32 single blindfolded and a 49-move solution. Milan Vincent Andric made his first career attempt in fewest moves with a solid 46, while Steven Wintringham added to his extensive history by placing ninth in the same discipline. The range of accomplishments proved that every solve at the New York Quiet Championship 2025 carried meaning.

With all ten rounds completed across the five specialty events, the weekend in West Nyack celebrated the depth of concentration required at the highest levels of speed cubing. From the tension of blindfolded turns to the calculated geometry of move reduction, the competitors demonstrated exceptional mastery. As the 2025 calendar moves forward, the memories and personal benchmarks forged at this WCA competition will serve as a high standard for upcoming silent events across the regional circuit.

The gathering proved once again how captivating an elite cubing competition can be when raw speed is paired with mental endurance. The New York Quiet Championship 2025 showcased world-class blindfolded executions and calculated solutions, leaving participants with hard-earned personal records and memorable head-to-head battles on the floor of the Palisades Center.