Oredigger Open 2024

Inside the Ben H. Parker Student Center in Golden, Colorado, USA, stacks of puzzle timers and display mats lined the competition tables as a busy day of Rubik's Cube solving got underway. The single-day fixture on February 17, 2024, brought together a field of 73 competitors eager to test their skills across 11 total rounds. Throughout the hall, judges reset stopwatches and scrambled puzzles across multiple disciplines, setting the stage for a full slate of speedcubing action in the Rocky Mountain region.

From the early rounds through to the late-afternoon finals, Jacob Nokes turned Oredigger Open 2024 into a masterclass in versatility and poise. The American standout asserted his authority across several categories, claiming victory in three separate events while adding another podium finish to his tally. His dominant run anchored the competition and established the standard that the rest of the field spent the entire tournament chasing.

In the premier 3x3x3 Cube event, which featured a packed field of 70 entrants over three rounds, Nokes set the pace from start to finish. He delivered a winning average of 7.05 seconds in the final round to secure first place, bolstered by a best single solve of 6.85 seconds. Abhi Chawla took the runner-up position on the podium with an average of 9.24 seconds, while Kaemon Vita claimed third place with a mark of 9.44 seconds in the final 3x3 results.

Nokes continued his winning form in the 3x3x3 One-Handed event, outlasting 39 other solvers across two rounds to capture the title. Handling the puzzle with a single hand, he posted an event-winning average of 14.39 seconds alongside a best single solve of 11.18 seconds. Miles Walcott finished second with an average of 16.79 seconds, and Raymos Castillo rounded out the podium in third place at 17.41 seconds.

The larger puzzles brought more success for Nokes, who captured his third victory of the weekend in the 5x5x5 Cube. Across two rounds of play involving 37 competitors, Nokes produced the only sub-minute average of the tournament, winning the title with a mark of 52.93 seconds and a sharp single solve of 49.11 seconds. Raymos Castillo secured the silver position with a 59.22-second average, narrowly edging Dylan Hughlett, who placed third in 59.51 seconds.

Away from the top steps of the podium, the tournament served as an important proving ground for several competitors making major leaps. Joshua Aaron Maupin took on six different events and lowered his 3x3x3 Blindfolded personal best to 3:17.69, which was 38.8 percent faster than his previous best of 5:23.21, while also improving his 5x5x5 Cube mark to 2:15.71, a 33.6 percent drop. Cylas Ogea tackled five events and achieved a sixth-place finish in 5x5x5 Cube while improving his Square-1 personal best by 30.4 percent down to 19.71 seconds. August Croft reduced his 3x3x3 Cube best to 20.28 seconds, cutting 26.2 percent off his old mark, and completed his first official attempt at 3x3x3 One-Handed in 58.43 seconds. Gideon Smathers also made his one-handed debut with a time of 1:08.62 and posted a 3x3x3 Cube best of 16.99 seconds, an improvement of 25.9 percent.

That spirit of progression was equally evident among solvers expanding their repertoires or attending a cubing competition for the first time. Renn Gilbert took on four events, completing his first attempts at both 5x5x5 Cube in 1:51.43 and 3x3x3 Blindfolded in 3:24.99 to finish tenth in the blindfolded discipline. Carter Marshall entered six events, logged a first attempt in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves with 45 moves to finish seventh, and lowered his 3x3x3 One-Handed personal best to 21.85 seconds. First-time competitor Rose Killion Lindley made her debut at a WCA competition by posting an 18.96-second solve in 3x3x3 Cube and a 51.28-second effort in 3x3x3 One-Handed. Fellow debutant Victoria Shcleeter also made her official start on the circuit, recording a single solve of 29.27 seconds in the 3x3x3 Cube.

Specialist categories rounded out the remaining hardware on offer at Oredigger Open 2024. In Square-1, Kian Cline took the top spot among 28 entrants, posting a winning average of 11.61 seconds and a rapid single of 6.20 seconds. Miles Walcott finished second with a 12.37 average, while Jacob Nokes added another medal by taking third in 13.55 seconds. The 3x3x3 Fewest Moves discipline saw Junior Solis claim gold with a 32-move solution across 26 competitors, ahead of Stone Amsbaugh and Kian Cline, who tied for second place with identical solutions of 37 moves.

The 3x3x3 Blindfolded event presented the classic challenge of memorisation and execution without sight, drawing 22 competitors to the table. Stone Amsbaugh took victory with a winning single solve of 54.78 seconds, despite recording a DNF for the average. Raymos Castillo took second place with a time of 1:21.73, and Elizabeth Cutting secured third place on the podium in 1:23.68. With all 18 podium positions claimed by competitors representing the United States, the single-day speed cubing gathering in Golden concluded with exceptional depth across every round.