Nimble Newborough 2025

Navigating the immense mental endurance demanded by big-cube blindfolded solving, Firstian Fushada registered a remarkable 10:12.00 single to capture the 5x5x5 Blindfolded title. The marathon effort served as the standout highlight of a packed program that celebrated the more specialized disciplines of speedcubing alongside traditional speed events. Staged across November 15 and 16, Nimble Newborough 2025 brought 63 competitors together at the Newborough Public Hall in Newborough, Victoria, Australia. Across 10 events and 19 rounds of high-pressure solving, the 2025 gathering rewarded both versatile veterans and dedicated niche specialists.

The blindfolded category proved to be one of the weekend's most compelling storylines, testing memory and spatial precision without visual cues. In 4x4x4 Blindfolded, Zayd Chaudhry navigated the complexities of inner-slice tracking to take first place with a single of 4:12.82, finishing ahead of Harry Forbes who logged 6:01.05 and Swami Srinivasan with 6:09.10. Chaudhry was not done yet, securing second place in 5x5x5 Blindfolded with a 12:48.00 single ahead of Srinivasan in third at 16:54.00. Meanwhile, Michael Tripodi demonstrated blistering execution to take 3x3x3 Blindfolded, posting a single of 20.45.

Niche puzzle expertise was equally visible in the standard timed events, where non-twisty and side puzzles took center stage. Zayd Chaudhry carried his precision into Clock, topping a field of 39 entrants with an average of 4.06 and a best single of 3.22. In Pyraminx, Eli Panetta conquered two rigorous rounds among 52 competitors to claim gold with a 2.35 average, edging out Emmet Hobbs at 2.55 and Ziqi Ding at 3.01. The Skewb contest saw Firstian Fushada surge ahead with a winning average of 2.45, with Ziqi Ding and Eli Panetta rounding out the podium spots at 3.56 and 3.57 respectively.

Firstian Fushada also asserted command over the classic twisty puzzles throughout Nimble Newborough 2025. In 3x3x3 One-Handed, Fushada took top honors with an 11.34 average and a 10.50 single, holding off Phoenix Patterson who posted 12.20 and Tommy Kiprillis who managed 14.28. Fushada repeated that supremacy in 4x4x4 Cube, producing a winning mark of 26.27 over Kiprillis and Panetta. That form carried straight into the premier 3x3 results, where Fushada earned victory in the classic Rubik's Cube with a 6.51 average, ahead of Kiprillis at 7.45 and Patterson at 7.74.

The short-format 2x2x2 Cube featured 59 competitors battling through three full rounds of quick-fire execution. Harry Forbes rose above the contest to clinch the title with a tournament-leading 1.79 average and a 1.38 single. Tommy Kiprillis secured the silver medal with a 2.09 average, while Hallel Ben-Meir took bronze with a 2.62 result. The tournament's overall podium distribution reflected deep local depth, with Australian competitors collecting 22 podium positions, alongside seven for Indonesia and one for Israel.

Beyond the championship battles, the cubing competition served as a major proving ground for contenders unlocking impressive personal milestones. Otto Sahlberg entered seven events and dropped his 3x3x3 Cube personal best by 53.5 percent down to 10.71, while trimming his 2x2x2 Cube personal best by 30.7 percent to 2.12 and logging a first Clock mark of 36.16. Andreas Lukic slashed his Skewb personal best by 56.9 percent to 7.01 and took on seven events, also improving his 4x4x4 Cube time by 23.1 percent to 1:18.92. Charlie Delia tackled seven events, finishing 9th in Pyraminx with a personal best of 2.95, a 24.2 percent improvement, and recording a first attempt at 4x4x4 Cube of 1:09.68. Edward Ronchi cut his Skewb best by 36.4 percent to 8.39 across seven disciplines.

First-time achievements continued to flourish throughout the weekend. Spencer Van Heurck stepped up for a debut WCA competition across five events, putting up marks of 20.73 on 3x3x3 Cube, 8.13 on 2x2x2 Cube, and 49.81 on 3x3x3 One-Handed. Luka Mihalicek also made a debut appearance, taking on four events with a 35th-place finish in Clock and first attempts in 2x2x2 Cube at 7.67, Pyraminx at 11.37, and Skewb at 15.53. Jason Naylor launched his tournament journey with a 13.92 single on 3x3x3 Cube, 12.76 on Clock, and 6.79 on Skewb. Henry Regan took on three events, achieving a 37.1 percent drop on his 3x3x3 Cube best to 32.44 while recording first attempts of 6.59 on 2x2x2 Cube and 20.60 on Clock.

The depth of performance demonstrated across both niche specialties and classic events reinforced the value of a varied schedule. Over two days of intense speed cubing, participants pushed boundaries across blindfolded puzzles, one-handed turning, and mechanical side challenges. Nimble Newborough 2025 captured the full breadth of the modern puzzle landscape, setting a high standard of versatility as solvers across the region prepare for the next season of competition.