Oamaru Open 2024

Twenty-three competitors gathered at Weston Hall for Oamaru Open 2024 across September 28 and September 29, staging 22 rounds of high-level puzzle solving. Held in Oamaru, New Zealand, the cubing competition brought together seasoned hands and newcomers in a compact, intense setting. China's Yinghao Wang demonstrated seasoned form throughout the main events, capturing titles in both 3x3x3 Cube and 4x4x4 Cube to set the standard for the 2024 tournament.

In the premier 3x3x3 Cube contest, 21 solvers advanced through three rounds of speedcubing action. Yinghao Wang took top honours on the podium with a decisive winning average of 8.06 seconds, bolstered by a best single solve of 7.48 seconds. Connor Johnson kept the pressure on by securing second place with an 8.22 average, while Bryn Gordon finished third with an 8.25 mark. The tight 3x3 results underlined how fine the margins were at the top of the standings.

Connor Johnson delivered an exceptionally busy and successful weekend, sweeping four separate event victories. In the 2x2x2 Cube final, Johnson captured first place with an average of 1.82 seconds, ahead of Cooper Jones at 2.12 and Yinghao Wang at 2.53. Johnson added a dominant performance in Pyraminx, posting an average of 1.99 seconds with a single solve of 1.20, while Henry Eyles and Cooper Jones finished second and third. In Skewb, Johnson took gold with a 3.29 average, and rounded out his triumphs by taking first place in Clock with a 5.80 average.

The larger puzzles and specialized disciplines saw experienced rivals trade top positions across both days. Yinghao Wang earned his second title of the weekend in 4x4x4 Cube, posting a winning average of 30.86 seconds to lead Henry Eyles and Daniel Fraser. Eyles struck back in 5x5x5 Cube, taking first place with an average of 52.67 seconds over James Dyer and Daniel Fraser. In 3x3x3 One-Handed, Franklin Y. Yuan claimed victory with a 13.17 average, followed by Eyles in second and Johnson in third.

The blindfolded category demanded pure memorisation and precision under the official WCA competition format. Numair Malik topped the 3x3x3 Blindfolded field with a winning single time of 1:57.38, edging out Rory Bailey who recorded a time of 1:58.77 for second place. Connor Johnson picked up another podium result by securing third with a time of 2:38.94. Across the entire weekend of speed cubing, New Zealand competitors took 23 podium spots, with China securing four.

Beyond the podium battles, significant milestones highlighted the depth of the field. Jack Jenkins tackled seven events, logging a first ever attempt at 4x4x4 Cube in 1:52.43, a first Pyraminx attempt of 10.56, and a 2x2x2 Cube personal best of 2.36 that was 60.3 percent faster than his previous mark. Finn Tomes posted an 18.54 personal best in 3x3x3 Cube, improving by 46.8 percent, alongside debut attempts in Skewb and Pyraminx. Ollie Kimber logged a 4x4x4 Cube debut at 1:32.72 and trimmed his One-Handed personal best by 41.1 percent to 36.59.

Other competitors delivered substantial personal breakthroughs on the Weston Hall tables. Jayden Smith recorded a Clock personal best of 16.44, improved his 2x2x2 Cube time by 29.5 percent to 3.35, and made a first One-Handed attempt of 46.48. Jacob Davey shaved 40 percent off his Clock personal best down to 16.23 while reaching eighth place in Skewb. Sebastian Kimber took tenth in Skewb with a personal best of 9.50, Julia Eyles improved her Skewb mark to 15.24, and Baxter Harnett lowered his Rubik's Cube best to 48.06.

The tournament also welcomed fresh talent to the official circuit. First-time entrants Jackson George Foote and Dang Le recorded their initial marks in official solving, with Foote completing attempts in the 2x2x2 Cube and 3x3x3 Cube, and Le logging a 3x3x3 Cube single. With veterans performing at their best and newer competitors achieving steep personal time drops, Oamaru Open 2024 concluded two productive days of national and international competition.