Peace and Quiet Palisades 2025

Andrew Tao delivered an extraordinary display of concentration at the Palisades Center, resolving 43 out of 45 Rubik's Cube puzzles in 59 minutes and 19 seconds during 3x3x3 Multi-Blind. That commanding win set the tone for Peace and Quiet Palisades 2025, a single-day cubing competition held on January 19, 2025, in West Nyack, New York, USA. Bringing together 16 competitors across five specialized disciplines, the tournament gathered both veteran solvers and fresh faces looking to test their limits in memory and optimization events.

Rowe Hessler emerged as the most prolific victor of the entire weekend, capturing gold across three distinct blindfolded categories. In the traditional 3x3x3 Blindfolded event, Hessler led the field of five competitors with a winning single time of 25.34 seconds. Parker Trager claimed second place with a mark of 1:08.34, while Alex Hauben completed the podium in 1:26.74. With fast memorization and seamless execution, Hessler secured the top position while leaving the rest of the pack in pursuit of cleaner solves.

The larger puzzles proved equally kind to Hessler, who extended his mastery to 4x4x4 Blindfolded and 5x5x5 Blindfolded. In the 4x4x4 contest, Hessler recorded a winning single of 2:34.10, well ahead of Andrew Tao, who took second place in 3:33.60, and Alex Hauben, who earned bronze with an 11:36.00 finish. Facing the grueling requirements of the 5x5x5 cube, Hessler registered the only successful time of the event, taking gold in 5:57.04, while competitors Parker Trager and Andrew Tao each finished with a DNF.

The 3x3x3 Fewest Moves event demanded absolute efficiency over speed cubing reflexes, challenging ten entrants across a single concentrated round. Daniel Karnaukh took top honors with a winning average of 24.67 moves, bolstered by a best single solution of 23 moves. Joseph Guzman pushed him closely to secure the second-place spot, putting together an average of 25.67 moves alongside his own 23-move single. Yuki Nagai rounded out the podium in third place with a 44.33 move average.

Beyond the podium battles, the quiet atmosphere of the hall offered several solvers the opportunity to log meaningful personal milestones across various events. Eli Rogers took on three separate events, delivering a standout performance in 4x4x4 Blindfolded by clocking a personal best of 21:39.00, which was 14.9 percent faster than their previous best mark of 25:27.00, alongside earning a fourth-place finish in 3x3x3 Blindfolded. Meanwhile, Evan Huang logged a first ever attempt at 3x3x3 Fewest Moves with a single of 46 to finish in eighth place, and Yili Yi completed a first ever attempt at 3x3x3 Fewest Moves with a result of 62 to take ninth place.

Other entrants capitalized on the specialized schedule to achieve notable placements in their chosen events. Jacob Ding contested 3x3x3 Fewest Moves to capture tenth place. In the same event, Jackson Warley secured fourth place with a single of 23 moves, Chris Chi matched that 23-move single to share fourth place, and Levi Gibson finished in sixth place. Rounding out the accomplishments away from the top steps, Angelo Terpening entered 3x3x3 Multi-Blind and locked in a solid fourth-place finish with reliable execution throughout the long round.

The 3x3x3 Multi-Blind event proved to be one of the most demanding tests of speedcubing stamina all season. Andrew Tao took the title with his 43 out of 45 result, while Rowe Hessler finished in second place with an immense attempt of 55 out of 70 solved in 1:00:00. Alex Hauben earned his third podium of the competition by finishing third with 3 out of 4 solved in 22:31. The demanding event concluded the blindfolded program, showcasing the incredible cognitive control required to manage dozens of puzzles simultaneously.

With 15 total podium places swept by solvers representing the USA, Peace and Quiet Palisades 2025 offered a clean snapshot of high-level blindfolded and efficiency solving. The single-round formats created immediate stakes across every attempt, from the precise planning of 3x3 results in Fewest Moves to the silent endurance of multi-blind. The WCA competition in West Nyack, New York, USA highlighted the remarkable focus of the community, setting an inspiring standard for all 16 participants as they look ahead to the next season of events.