NZ South Island Championship 2025

Jasper Murray delivered the defining performance of the NZ South Island Championship 2025 by claiming victory in the classic Rubik's Cube with a decisive 6.30 winning average and a round-best 5.08 single. The three-round 3x3x3 battle featured 31 competitors and highlighted a fierce regional rivalry between top New Zealand contenders. Dwyane Ramos pushed Murray all the way to the final solves to take second place with a 6.69 average, while Adrien Auvray Matyn secured third on the podium with a 6.75 mark. The 3x3 results set the tone for an intense weekend of speedcubing across three packed days.

Staged at the Edgar Centre Naylor Love Lounge in Dunedin, New Zealand from April 12 to April 14, 2025, the NZ South Island Championship 2025 brought together 34 competitors tackling 16 events across 38 rounds. The weekend evolved into a multi-front contest among local rivals determined to assert control across both short sprints and big twisty puzzles. Every single podium position across all 16 events went to competitors representing New Zealand, resulting in an unbroken tally of 52 podium places for the home nation in this premier WCA competition.

Murray was not content with only the marquee 3x3 crown, expanding his rivalry against the field into the shorter and specialized puzzles. In 3x3x3 One-Handed, Murray locked down first place with a 9.82 winning average and an 8.91 single, leaving his fellow finalists behind. He repeated that winning formula in Pyraminx, taking the top step with a 2.22 average over Connor Johnson, who took second at 2.42, and Dylan Himmelfarb in third with 2.96. Murray also added personal milestones on the 2x2x2 Cube, delivering a 1.62 single and a 1.82 average during the preliminary rounds.

Connor Johnson mounted his own major challenge for regional dominance, collecting titles across four separate events at this cubing competition. Johnson clinched the 2x2x2 Cube title with a blistering 1.56 winning average, having posted a 1.14 single and a 1.39 average in earlier rounds. He also secured victory in Clock with a 6.35 winning average. On the blindfolded tables, Johnson achieved exceptional precision, capturing first place in 4x4x4 Blindfolded with a 7:34.42 single where all other four finalists recorded a DNF, and taking the 5x5x5 Blindfolded victory with a 21:59.00 single.

The rivalry shifted to the big cubes where Dwyane Ramos and Alexander Vujcich divided regional honours in commanding fashion. Ramos captured the 6x6x6 Cube title with a 1:37.20 winning average and dominated 7x7x7 Cube with a 2:19.88 average, holding off Henry Eyles at 2:37.05 and James Dyer at 2:52.74. Ramos also took the Skewb title with a 3.02 average ahead of Adrien Auvray Matyn at 3.43 and Johnson at 3.79. Vujcich proved untouchable in mid-range cubes, sweeping 4x4x4 Cube with a 25.64 average and 5x5x5 Cube with a 45.35 mark, before taking the Megaminx title in 30.51 ahead of James Macdiarmid and Eyles.

Beyond the fight for titles, the tournament floor at the NZ South Island Championship 2025 showcased substantial individual progress and milestone debuts. Eddy Forster notched an enormous improvement in Skewb, cutting his personal best to 8.69, which was 70.3 percent faster than his previous 29.25 mark, alongside a 4.30 personal best in 2x2x2 Cube. Gabe Smith contested 14 separate disciplines, recording a 64.7 percent improvement in 3x3x3 Blindfolded at 1:42.41, a 17.78 personal best in Square-1, and completing his first attempt at 3x3x3 Multi-Blind with 4 out of 6 cubes in 48:23. Quade Boutcher lowered his Pyraminx best to 6.79, a 57.3 percent drop, while taking his first official turns at Clock in 17.57 and 4x4x4 Cube in 1:52.45. William Jarvie entered 8 events and logged first-time official marks of 45.16 in Square-1, 58.91 in 4x4x4 Cube, and 1:39.54 in 5x5x5 Cube.

That same drive was evident throughout the rest of the field across diverse formats. Naman Shastri of India took on 7 disciplines, logging first attempts in 3x3x3 One-Handed at 34.66, 4x4x4 Cube at 1:40.61, and 6x6x6 Cube at 5:20.21. Cameron Bond entered his first official tournament and registered opening marks across 5 events, including 23.82 in 3x3x3 Cube, 8.31 in Pyraminx, and 24.25 in Clock. Joey Connor tackled 11 events, achieving an 11th-place finish in 4x4x4 Cube while improving his Pyraminx personal best to 3.33 and his Clock best to 10.16. Julia Eyles completed her first official 3x3x3 Multi-Blind attempt with a perfect 2 out of 2 in 17:45 to claim 7th place.

Technical puzzle specialists rounded out the weekend with high-stakes battles. Adrien Auvray Matyn took the Square-1 championship with a rapid 5.69 average, outpacing Henry Eyles at 8.13 and Connor Johnson at 11.04. In the memory events, James Macdiarmid secured the 3x3x3 Blindfolded win with a 28.47 single over Oscar Childs at 1:04.34, then followed it with a massive 3x3x3 Multi-Blind victory, solving 49 of 55 cubes in 1:00:00. The NZ South Island Championship 2025 concluded as a comprehensive display of speed cubing excellence, cementing regional rivalries that will carry forward into future seasons.