New Zealand Nationals 2025

A total of 147 competitors assembled at the Auckland Netball Centre from December 12 to 14, 2025, turning the court floor into a hive of turning puzzles and fast hands. Across 16 events and 38 rounds of play, local solvers delivered top-tier performances on their home turf in Auckland, New Zealand. The national championship atmosphere elevated the pace across three full days of speedcubing action, establishing high benchmarks in both standard twisty puzzles and niche disciplines as the domestic season reached its peak.

The premier 3x3x3 Cube final delivered an exceptional finish for home fans. Andrew Feng secured the national title with a winning average of 5.64 seconds, bolstered by a best single solve of 5.22. Feng held off Dwyane Ramos, who took second place with an average of 6.28 seconds, while Jasper Murray completed the all-New Zealand podium in third at 6.59 seconds. The 3x3 results capped four rounds of rigorous competition featuring 143 entrants in the classic Rubik's Cube category.

Alexander Vujcich emerged as a dominant multi-event victor throughout the weekend, capturing titles across three distinct disciplines. In the 4x4x4 Cube, Vujcich took first place with a 24.12-second average ahead of Feng, who placed second at 24.96, and Richard Yiheng Tao in third at 27.06. Vujcich returned to the podium top in the 5x5x5 Cube, winning with an average of 43.24 seconds over Ramos at 47.08 and Feng at 47.53. He completed his triple triumph in Megaminx, taking the title with a 29.03-second average.

The smaller puzzles brought rapid-fire action across multiple rounds. Yuki Gao won the 2x2x2 Cube with an average of 1.42 seconds, outperforming a field of 127 competitors across four rounds. In Pyraminx, Elyas Eyou took the victory with a 2.06 average, recording a best single of 1.69. The Skewb title went to Dwyane Ramos with a 2.58 winning average, finishing ahead of Connor Johnson at 3.21 and Australia's Jacob Joshi at 3.49. In Clock, Lachlan Gibson secured victory with a 2.79 average, leading Dylan Heerikhuisen and Elvis Chung.

One-handed mastery and specialty events continued to highlight the technical depth of the field at New Zealand Nationals 2025. Jasper Murray claimed the 3x3x3 One-Handed crown with a sharp average of 9.49 seconds, narrowly edging Ramos at 9.60 and Chris Mills at 10.78. In Square-1, Adrien Auvray Matyn took first place with an average of 6.06 seconds, outlasting Australia's Auric Cui and Zayd Chaudhry. The larger cubes saw Henry Eyles complete a double victory, winning the 6x6x6 Cube with a 1:24.96 average and the 7x7x7 Cube in 2:13.37.

Beneath the championship titles, several solvers achieved major breakthroughs across the weekend schedule. Apollo McVey cut his Skewb personal best down to 4.76 seconds, an improvement of 51.4 percent, while also shaving time in 5x5x5 Cube to 1:52.11 and Clock to 4.99. Richie Gill cut his Pyraminx personal best by 49.3 percent to 12.33 seconds and logged his first ever attempt at 5x5x5 Cube with a time of 3:14.32. Benjamin Huang delivered a 2x2x2 Cube personal best of 1.64 seconds, running 47.6 percent faster than his prior mark, alongside personal bests in Pyraminx at 3.86 and 3x3x3 Cube at 7.64. Justin Zhang chopped 45.6 percent off his Skewb best with a 7.53 solve, logged a 7.77 in Pyraminx, and made his first 4x4x4 Cube attempt at 1:34.39.

The progress continued across diverse disciplines for competitors expanding their repertoires at this cubing competition. Marco Lawson-Hughes improved his Pyraminx personal best by 38.7 percent to 5.51 seconds, trimmed his 3x3x3 One-Handed mark to 26.67, and completed his first 4x4x4 Cube attempt at 54.66. Lihan Lin achieved a 36.3 percent improvement in the 3x3x3 Cube with a personal best of 14.12 seconds after tackling their first 2x2x2 Cube attempt at 5.50. Ryan Hin Wah Chung reduced his 2x2x2 Cube best to 3.65 seconds, a 35.6 percent leap, while logging a Pyraminx best of 10.32 and a first attempt at 3x3x3 One-Handed at 57.00. Abigail Pillay dropped her 2x2x2 Cube best by 25.2 percent to 2.41 seconds and registered first-time attempts in both 5x5x5 Cube at 2:31.04 and 3x3x3 One-Handed at 45.70.

Memory-intensive events tested focus without visual cues, demanding absolute precision under tournament conditions. Tom Nelson secured the 3x3x3 Blindfolded victory with a single solve of 35.63 seconds and went on to win 4x4x4 Blindfolded in 2:29.53, finishing ahead of Jack McDougall at 3:16.25 and Australia's Harry Forbes at 7:01.41. Charlie Eggins captured the 5x5x5 Blindfolded event with a single of 5:38.51. In 3x3x3 Multi-Blind, James Macdiarmid solved 36 out of 53 cubes within the one-hour limit to secure the victory.

The gathering demonstrated the strength of the regional community, with New Zealand competitors earning 40 podium spots, supported by seven podium finishes from Australia and one from China. From newcomer breakthroughs to commanding multi-event sweeps, New Zealand Nationals 2025 delivered three full days of high-calibre speed cubing. The successful conclusion of this major WCA competition sets an impressive standard for the solvers as they look ahead to the next competitive cycle.