PBQtah 7 2024

Inside the quiet event space at the Hilton Garden Inn Lehi, competitors gathered over tables lined with blindfolds, notation sheets, and stopwatches. Unlike high-speed scrambles featuring standard three-by-three sprints, this gathering focused on intense mental discipline, memorisation, and careful move counting. The single-day WCA competition on December 14, 2024 brought together 20 dedicated participants in Lehi, Utah, USA, each eager to test their limits across seven rounds and five specialised events.

As the 2024 calendar wound toward its final weeks, the late-season fixture provided an ideal window for solvers to chase elusive targets before the year concluded. The winter scheduling offered a calm, focused environment where competitors could capitalise on months of training. With only 20 entrants on site, every round unfolded at an intimate pace, allowing participants to fully immerse themselves in the complex demands of long memorisation phases and deliberate, strategic solving.

The blindfolded categories demanded extreme precision, where a single misplaced turn can derail an entire solve. Brendan Bakker delivered a commanding performance across the blindfolded events, securing victory in 3x3x3 Blindfolded with a top single of 37.17 seconds across three rounds of play. Bakker also clinched first place in 4x4x4 Blindfolded by posting an 8:39.00 single, holding off Logan Smith who took second in 9:18.47 and Jason Hammerman in third at 9:38.58.

The larger multi-cube and big-cube blind events delivered some of the most demanding tests of the weekend. In 3x3x3 Multi-Blind, Jason Hammerman earned the top spot on the podium by successfully solving 18 out of 20 cubes within a time limit of 56:54. Brendan Bakker followed in second place with 12 out of 16 in 55:58, while Logan Smith claimed third with 7 out of 10 in 51:04. Logan Smith later captured first place in 5x5x5 Blindfolded, recording a winning single of 33:23.00 as the sole competitor to log a successful solve.

Strategy took centre stage in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves, where competitors spend an hour analysing scrambles to find the most efficient solution on the classic Rubik's Cube. Bradley Sampson secured the victory with a mean of 27.67 moves, bolstered by a best single of 24. Canyon Pettitt earned the silver podium spot with a 32.00 mean, while Eric Pesci finished third with 35.67 moves. The analytical discipline highlighted the diverse approaches speed cubing offers beyond pure physical turning speed.

Beyond the top podium steps, the results sheets revealed substantial personal progress and bold debuts across the roster. Cade Beck achieved an enormous leap in 3x3x3 Blindfolded, logging a personal best single of 2:24.42 that improved upon their previous mark of 4:06.43 by 41.4 percent and earned a fifth-place finish. Steven Morrise tackled four events, making a first ever attempt at 3x3x3 Blindfolded with a 3:27.56 single, a debut in 3x3x3 Multi-Blind with 2 of 3 cubes in 25:26, and a first ever attempt at 3x3x3 Fewest Moves with 44 moves, while placing fourth in 4x4x4 Blindfolded. Corbin Rodriguez entered four events, setting a 3x3x3 Blindfolded personal best of 2:19.11, dropping their 3x3x3 Fewest Moves best by 5.6 percent to 34, and posting a first attempt in Multi-Blind of 2 of 3 in 22:20.

Other competitors similarly expanded their repertoire at this speedcubing meeting. Laird Paskett recorded a first ever attempt at 3x3x3 Fewest Moves with a mark of 45, taking a ninth-place finish. Akoy Gregory completed a first attempt in the same discipline with 52 moves across their three events. Ryan Allen Packer improved in all three entered disciplines, shaving 5.3 percent off their 3x3x3 Blindfolded best with 3:15.23, lowering their Fewest Moves mark by 4.1 percent to 47, and achieving a Multi-Blind personal best of 2 of 3 in 18:48. Skye Bateman earned a sixth-place finish in Fewest Moves across three events, while Joey Day competed in Fewest Moves to take eleventh place.

All sixteen podium positions across the tournament went to competitors representing the USA, illustrating the strong local and regional depth in specialist disciplines. When reviewing the overall 3x3 results across standard blindfolded and move-count variants, the gathering proved how much versatility exists within the sport. Participants managed the physical and mental demands of long memory sequences and meticulous FMC drafting with remarkable composure throughout the day.

As the final timers were packed away at the Hilton Garden Inn Lehi, PBQtah 7 2024 concluded a rewarding chapter of late-season competition. With personal breakthroughs logged, new event debuts officially in the books, and podium honours awarded, the tournament provided a fitting close to 2024. The dedicated community in Lehi now turns its attention to upcoming winter training as the next competitive year approaches.