Nickel City 2023

The Buffalo Airport Hotel buzzed with focused energy on March 25, 2023, as rows of timers, display mats, and puzzle covers were arranged for a full day of action. Forty-eight solvers gathered inside the venue hall, preparing their hardware and checking inspection angles across tables lined with diverse puzzles. The single-day WCA competition brought together competitors for 12 rounds of intense speedcubing across six distinct events in Cheektowaga, New York, USA, drawing talent from across the region to test their solving speed.

When the final rounds concluded, competitors representing the United States established near-total control over the podium steps, capturing 17 of the 18 available top-three placements. Across the entire weekend of speed cubing, American solvers swept five of the six disciplines completely. The sole international podium breakthrough came in Megaminx, where Canada representative Marco Yang secured third place with an average of 1:01.84 behind an otherwise dominant American contingent.

Evan Liu emerged as the most prolific champion of Nickel City 2023, collecting three separate titles throughout the meet. Liu claimed victory in 4x4x4 Cube with a winning average of 36.32 and a best single of 33.58, edging out Stephen Griggs who finished second with a 37.55 average. Tomas Kaiser took third in the event at 44.65. Liu continued his winning form in Clock, logging an average of 5.66 and a single of 5.25 to top Jayden Mitchell at 7.83 and Skylar Porter at 8.00.

Liu capped off his triple-gold performance with a commanding win in Megaminx, recording an average of 1:01.84 and a single of 55.08 in the single-round contest. Griggs earned the silver step on the podium with a 1:06.58 average, while Yang claimed bronze for Canada in 1:10.46. Liu also collected a silver medal in Square-1 with an average of 15.32, finishing just behind champion Alex Cohen, who took the title with a mark of 14.84 and a round-best single of 10.14. Mitchell rounded out the Square-1 podium in third place at 20.08.

In the classic Rubik's Cube division, Joey Saia delivered an emphatic performance across three competitive rounds to claim the title. The 3x3 results saw Saia post a winning average of 7.56 and a single of 7.20 to lead a field of 48 competitors. Kaiser secured second place on the 3x3x3 Cube podium with an average of 9.57, while Mitchell placed third with 10.12. Saia doubled his gold medal tally in 2x2x2 Cube, logging a winning average of 2.36 and a best single of 2.07 across two rounds, finishing ahead of Liu at 2.79 and Kaiser at 3.07.

Beyond the championship races, the cubing competition served as a showcase for massive individual progression across all experience levels. Niall Roche-Kelly entered five events and recorded substantial personal bests, cutting his Megaminx mark down to 2:12.90, which was 38.7 percent faster than his previous best of 3:36.87, while also lowering his 4x4x4 Cube personal best by 25.9 percent to 1:14.56. Oliver David Lukowski knocked 34.3 percent off his 3x3x3 Cube standard with a 19.28 solve compared to his earlier 29.35, while also logging a first ever attempt at 4x4x4 Cube of 2:10.91. Milo Kittleson took on five disciplines, improving his 3x3x3 Cube best to 14.48, an improvement of 26.5 percent, and dropping his 4x4x4 Cube mark by 14.2 percent to 1:15.56 alongside a first ever attempt at Square-1 of 45.48. Richard Foxe contested two events and dropped his 2x2x2 Cube personal best by 29.1 percent to 6.24.

First-time event entries provided some of the most memorable milestones of Nickel City 2023. Austin Thein took on four disciplines and made a first ever attempt at 2x2x2 Cube with a 6.21 single, while finishing 11th in 3x3x3 Cube with a personal best of 10.67. Edward Caine entered five events, recording his first ever attempt at Megaminx in 1:33.99, Square-1 in 31.60, and 4x4x4 Cube in 1:10.81 to place ninth in Megaminx. Phoenix Mascellino tackled four events, making a first ever attempt at Clock with 16.74, 4x4x4 Cube with 1:58.84, and 2x2x2 Cube with 5.84. Liam Terry took on five events and posted his first ever attempt at 2x2x2 Cube with a 5.04 solve, alongside a first attempt at Clock of 22.72.

With 48 competitors pushing their limits across 12 fast-moving rounds, Nickel City 2023 delivered a comprehensive showcase of American speedcubing depth in Cheektowaga. From Joey Saia and Evan Liu collecting multiple championship victories to dozens of solvers achieving breakthrough times, the 2023 tournament established a high standard of consistency across every puzzle format on the schedule.