Newcastle Tyneside Spring 2024

Nineteen rounds of intense action tested the endurance of 111 competitors at Gateshead International Stadium during Newcastle Tyneside Spring 2024. Across the weekend of May 25 to May 26, the cubing competition delivered exceptional displays across nine different puzzles. In mean-of-three events, the format demanded absolute precision from start to finish, where a single mistake, lockup, or stray turn across three solves could ruin an entire round without the safety net of dropping a worst result.

The 6x6x6 Cube served as the prime showcase for this razor-thin margin for error. Bart Sekulski representing Poland mastered the big puzzle across his three attempts to capture the title with an average of 1:37.41 alongside the fastest single of 1:27.23. Cham J. Chambers pressured him closely throughout the single-round shootout, securing second place with a 1:37.96 average. Malaysia competitor Ainesh Sevellaraja completed the podium in third position by averaging 1:52.44.

Precision under pressure also dictated the 3x3x3 Blindfolded event, where solvers must rely entirely on memorisation before donning a blindfold. Charlie Harrison navigated the mental strain across two rounds to secure first place with a 25.09 winning average and a single of 23.89. Ben Stokes claimed second place with a 27.08 average, narrowly edging Ryan Eckersley who posted a 27.38 average for third place in the high-stakes discipline.

George Scholey emerged as one of the most prolific performers at Newcastle Tyneside Spring 2024, collecting multiple titles. In the standard 3x3x3 Cube, Scholey led a massive field of 106 competitors, topping three rounds of play to take victory with a 7.72 average and a round-best 6.81 single. Charlie Harrison earned second place on an 8.31 mark, while Dean David finished third with an 8.56 average in the final 3x3 results.

Dean David showcased tremendous consistency in the mid-sized puzzles, claiming two victories in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom. David won the 4x4x4 Cube with a 29.50 average over Bart Sekulski on 32.77 and George Scholey on 33.34. David then doubled his gold tally by taking the 5x5x5 Cube in 54.70, holding off Cham J. Chambers at 55.29 and Scholey at 1:02.76. In Megaminx, Markus Otten prevailed through three rounds with a winning mark of 43.84.

Behind the top steps of the podium, several under-the-radar competitors delivered notable breakthroughs across the tournament schedule. Kai McLean achieved an impressive 57.7 percent drop on his Skewb mark down to 5.27, alongside a 38.15 Square-1 personal best and a first Megaminx solve of 2:45.06. Aidan Zgolinski cut his Megaminx time by 53.6 percent to 1:17.33 while logging his first official 4x4x4 Cube attempt at 1:59.37 and 5x5x5 Cube attempt at 2:26.28. Jack Adams took on nine events, slicing his Skewb best by 52.9 percent to 5.43 and attempting the 6x6x6 Cube for the first time with a 5:04.15 solve.

Other dedicated speed cubing participants similarly expanded their repertoires across the multi-round schedule. Jessica Moore registered an 8.81 in her first 2x2x2 Cube attempt, a 15.01 on her first Skewb, and a 42.5 percent improvement in the classic Rubik's Cube with a 19.52 personal best. Jeffrey Li lowered his 2x2x2 Cube mark by 42.8 percent down to 2.86 while tackling Skewb for the first time in 8.18. Jack Innes shaved 44.3 percent off his Skewb best to record 11.06, improved his Megaminx to 1:51.71, and made his 4x4x4 Cube debut at 1:23.01. Jack Mitchinson dropped his Skewb personal best by 31.9 percent to 6.95 and set a 3x3x3 Cube best of 19.93, while Demian Freitag took on five events including debuts in Skewb at 18.41, Megaminx at 5:49.13, and 4x4x4 Cube at 2:56.71.

The remaining short-format events brought intense speedcubing clashes to close out Newcastle Tyneside Spring 2024. Max Tully won the 2x2x2 Cube with a rapid 1.89 average, finishing ahead of Kris Lim at 2.28 and Ben Stokes at 2.35. George Scholey collected another trophy by securing the Skewb title with a 2.85 average over Sam Jones and Jaye Sloan. In Square-1, Ryan Eckersley captured the crown with an 8.87 average, beating out Fengyuan Kelvin Lou at 9.08 and Billie Hammill at 11.64 to conclude a memorable 2024 WCA competition in the North East.