Ottawa Favourites 2024

Darshan Bhavanasi put together an extraordinary display at Algonquin College on September 28, 2024, stringing together a sub-eight average of 7.99 seconds to secure victory in the premier 3x3x3 Cube event. His consistency across two rounds set the tone for the entire day, but the broader story in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, was the rapid pace at which younger and emerging competitors are climbing the ranks. With 109 competitors registered across 10 official events and 14 rounds, the energy throughout the venue remained electric as personal records tumbled from the morning heats to the evening finals.

Bhavanasi was far from finished after his signature Rubik's Cube victory. The Indian competitor went on to secure two more gold medals, capturing the 5x5x5 Cube title with a winning average of 1:00.98 and taking the Pyraminx crown with a 2.07 average. In the 3x3 results, Ben Davies took second place with a 9.21 average, while Sebastian Virag completed the podium in 9.81 seconds. The high level of execution demonstrated by Bhavanasi established a demanding standard for every other discipline on the schedule.

The 2x2x2 Cube competition provided its own set of rapid-fire highlights across two intense rounds. Sam Mehmani earned the top spot on the podium with a lightning-quick 1.73 average and a best single solve of 1.27 seconds. Remi Chretien claimed the runner-up position with a 2.25 average, closely followed by Bhavanasi in third place at 2.39. Mehmani duplicated his winning ways in the 3x3x3 One-Handed event, securing a second gold with an average of 19.55 seconds, just ahead of Virag and Nishant Praharaj.

Beyond the top steps of the podium, Ottawa Favourites 2024 revealed the incredible development taking place among developing solvers who made massive leaps forward. Raagav Prasanna delivered one of the most stunning progressions of the day, logging a 2x2x2 Cube personal best of 6.45 seconds, which was 67.5 percent faster than his prior mark, alongside a 3x3x3 Cube best of 22.96 seconds, marking a 51.7 percent drop. Lawrence Xiyuan Liu tackled four events at the tournament, establishing a fresh 2x2x2 Cube mark of 3.96 seconds, improving by 54.4 percent, while completing his first ever attempt at the 3x3x3 Cube with a time of 29.97 seconds. Harry Roberts also made immense strides, dropping his 3x3x3 One-Handed best by 51.9 percent to 33.16 seconds, while Moustafa Mohamed Rahim cut 48.9 percent from his Pyraminx record down to 9.39 seconds.

The surge of breakthroughs continued across every puzzle category as solvers unlocked new milestones during the cubing competition. Matthew Lee slashed his 3x3x3 Cube best by 48.6 percent to record a 27.76, while Ethan Wang dropped his 2x2x2 Cube mark by 41.5 percent to 6.06 seconds in addition to attempting Pyraminx for the first time with a 10.03 result. Gabriel El Khoury registered his first official Skewb time of 12.68 seconds and brought his 3x3x3 Cube best down by 35.8 percent to 17.88 seconds. Siddharth Sarma produced a solid 4x4x4 Cube personal best of 1:03.39, improving by 34.2 percent, and completed his first ever official attempt on the 5x5x5 Cube in 2:53.38.

In the mid-sized and specialized events, the speed cubing drama stayed intense as Diego Rodriguez-Ramirez claimed the 4x4x4 Cube championship with an average of 36.12 seconds, defeating Davies and Mehmani in a competitive single-round contest. Rodriguez-Ramirez also pushed Bhavanasi to the limit in the 5x5x5 Cube, finishing as runner-up just fractions of a second behind with a 1:01.24 average. Meanwhile, Walter Duff proved unbeatable on the Skewb, taking the victory with an average of 4.13 seconds across two rounds of play.

Clock and Megaminx also delivered sharp performances as experienced competitors handled the unusual puzzle mechanics. Jack Chicoine secured first place in Clock with a 6.22 average, edging out Jonathan Proulx at 6.31, before going on to take first in Square-1 with a 12.63 average. In Megaminx, Breton MacDonald delivered a decisive performance, taking the title with a mark of 47.34 seconds ahead of DaYeong Kim and Rodriguez-Ramirez.

Canadian competitors captured 22 total podium positions throughout Ottawa Favourites 2024, with India securing four, Iran three, and Korea one. The deep fields across all ten disciplines demonstrated the healthy state of competitive puzzle solving in the region. As the final rounds wrapped up at Algonquin College, Ottawa Favourites 2024 highlighted both the mastery of multi-event champions and the rapid rate at which newer competitors are transforming their personal records at every speedcubing gathering.

With this WCA competition concluded, the community looks ahead to the remainder of the 2024 calendar. The sheer volume of personal bests recorded across the Ottawa tournament confirmed that the newest wave of competitors is progressing at an unprecedented pace, setting up compelling storylines for upcoming regional meets.