Perth Autumn 2023

A total of 115 competitors gathered at the South Perth Community Hall across April 29 and April 30 for Perth Autumn 2023, showcasing a weekend of intense dedication and remarkable progress. The two-day gathering in Perth, Western Australia, Australia featured 16 rounds across eight distinct puzzles, highlighting how rapidly up-and-coming solvers are elevating their standards. Throughout the cubing competition, younger participants demonstrated sharp execution, turning months of dedicated practice into major personal milestones while matching strides with experienced champions.

The classic 3x3x3 Cube drew an impressive field of 113 entrants through three competitive rounds of speedcubing. Lachlan Stephens claimed victory in the final with a winning average of 8.73 seconds, backed by a best single of 6.27 seconds. Jonathan Charlesworth secured second place with an average of 8.90 seconds, closely trailed by Alevio Hamizan Ersha who rounded out the podium at 8.97 seconds. The 3x3 results underlined the narrow margins separating top contenders in 2023.

In the 2x2x2 Cube, Jay Calter took the title with a swift 2.67-second average and a best single of 2.51 seconds across three rounds of 103 competitors. Jonathan Charlesworth finished as the runner-up with a 2.80 average, while Amy Smith captured third place with a 2.89 average. Smith later excelled in the 3x3x3 Blindfolded final, winning the event with a single solve of 55.02 seconds, finishing ahead of Oscar Wong Jing Yee at 1:54.91 and Jaxon Foster at 1:55.22.

Big cubes brought further excitement to Perth Autumn 2023 as Marquez Phan won the 4x4x4 Cube with a 32.49 average, followed by Jonathan Charlesworth at 33.70 and Joshua Hounslow at 35.38. Hounslow continued his strong run by capturing two event titles over the weekend, winning the 5x5x5 Cube with a 1:00.44 average and the 3x3x3 One-Handed event with a 14.75 average. Jeann Valdez took second in one-handed with 15.23, while Charlesworth took third with 16.04.

Alevio Hamizan Ersha dominated the largest puzzles at the venue, taking gold in both 6x6x6 Cube and 7x7x7 Cube. Ersha logged a winning 6x6x6 average of 1:57.43, finishing clear of Jonathan Charlesworth at 2:01.27 and Tyler Williams at 2:10.27. In the 7x7x7 Cube, Ersha secured victory with an average of 2:56.00, ahead of Charlesworth at 3:08.29 and Jeann Valdez at 3:16.63, illustrating immense stamina and puzzle discipline in big-cube speed cubing.

Beyond the top podiums, the heart of the WCA competition lay in the dramatic breakthroughs achieved across the scorecards. Harry Doherty registered massive progress in two events, cutting his 2x2x2 personal best by 59.6 percent down to 9.06 seconds and improving his 3x3x3 mark to 36.62 seconds. Jay Wadia shaved 57.9 percent off his previous 2x2x2 best to reach 5.68 seconds while also lowering his 4x4x4 best to 2:11.40. Sanjit Singh Saluja dropped his 3x3x3 best by 50.4 percent to 12.28 seconds, entered 3x3x3 One-Handed for the first time with a 48.94 single, and secured 10th place in 2x2x2. Alex Burrows showed rapid growth as well, posting a 7.99 single on 2x2x2 for a 51.2 percent improvement alongside a 25.82 single on 3x3x3.

Equally impressive was the ambition of competitors expanding into unfamiliar formats at Perth Autumn 2023. Liam Budge improved his 2x2x2 single by 49.7 percent to 4.37 seconds and attempted 3x3x3 One-Handed for the first time, recording a 1:01.84 mark. Michael Pynes dropped his 2x2x2 personal best by 47 percent down to 4.12 seconds and lowered his 3x3x3 mark to 19.10 seconds. Oliver Wright took on eight events, logging a 15.3 percent 3x3x3 improvement to 8.68 seconds and completing his first official attempts at 3x3x3 Blindfolded in 6:44.91 and 7x7x7 Cube in 7:10.48. Meanwhile, Sebastian Bock tackled seven events, logging maiden attempts in the 6x6x6 Cube at 3:55.75 and 7x7x7 Cube at 5:52.68 while improving his 3x3x3 One-Handed personal best by 22.7 percent to 16.74 seconds.

The weekend concluded with Australian solvers claiming 20 podium positions, alongside three for Indonesia and one for Malaysia. From newcomers testing their skills on the Rubik's Cube to experienced finalists delivering sub-nine averages, Perth Autumn 2023 proved how quickly the local community continues to sharpen its speed and breadth of talent across every format.