Perth Puzzle Party 2025

Diego Meneghetti delivered the most striking result of the day at the South Perth Community Hall, conquering the 3x3x3 Blindfolded event with a single solve of 26.73 seconds. Solving without sight demands extraordinary memory and spatial calculation, and the Brazilian competitor was the only solver in the 18-person field to break the 30-second barrier. Amy Smith claimed second place with a single of 31.01 seconds, while Joshua Hounslow rounded out the podium with 43.93 seconds. It set a high benchmark for a weekend that celebrated technical mastery across diverse disciplines.

Held on January 18, Perth Puzzle Party 2025 brought 66 competitors together in Perth, Western Australia, Australia for a packed schedule of five events across ten rounds. While traditional puzzles drew strong fields, the niche categories provided immense drama. In the single-handed category, Ethan Caalim demonstrated remarkable one-handed dexterity to take the 3x3x3 One-Handed title with a 13.69-second winning average and a 11.89 single. Hounslow took the silver position averaging 14.27 seconds, while Lachlan Stephens secured the third podium step with a 14.93 average in a competitive field of 41 entrants.

The Skewb tournament was another showcase of specialised rotation mechanics, where Jonathan Charlesworth produced a dominant display to capture top honours. Charlesworth posted a winning average of 3.07 seconds alongside a best single of 2.97 seconds across two rounds of play. Tyler Williams followed in second place with an average of 4.12 seconds, narrowly ahead of Regan Roberts who claimed third with a 4.30 average. The rapid corner-turning puzzle highlighted the varied skill sets on display throughout the cubing competition, drawing 42 participants into the preliminary round.

Away from the top of the standings, the day brought massive personal milestones for competitors pushing their limits in new arenas. Sachiv Nevin Silva achieved a massive personal best in the 3x3x3 Cube with a 16.49 single, which was 66.9 percent faster than his previous mark, while also logging a first attempt at the 2x2x2 Cube with a 5.41. Christian Blackburn made a huge leap in Skewb, cutting his personal best by 63.2 percent down to 4.84 seconds, alongside personal bests of 4.53 in 2x2x2 Cube and 16.42 in 3x3x3 Cube. Kuba Sianozecki finished 7th in the 2x2x2 Cube final with a personal best of 1.42 seconds, an improvement of 63.7 percent, while also tackling his first 3x3x3 One-Handed solve in 26.14.

The breakthroughs continued across all experience levels in the hall. Marlon Spotkaeff took on five events, earning an 11th-place finish in 3x3x3 Blindfolded with a first attempt time of 6:49.34 and improving his Skewb personal best by 29.4 percent to 3.20 seconds. Martin Jacobo Menéndez Jiménez logged his first ever attempt at Skewb with a 16.09 and cut his 2x2x2 Cube best by 50.5 percent down to 4.58 seconds. Jayden Chung improved his Skewb best by 49 percent to 5.97 seconds and registered a first 3x3x3 One-Handed solve of 32.11. Linggeswaran Manimaran completed first-time attempts in Skewb at 16.31 and One-Handed at 1:16.09, while Christian Thair entered his first WCA competition, recording initial marks of 6.24 in 2x2x2 Cube, 16.86 in Skewb, and 1:05.55 in One-Handed.

The compact 2x2x2 Cube event saw lightning-fast action through two full rounds, culminating in a fiercely contested final. Lachlan Stephens claimed the gold medal with a winning average of 1.76 seconds and a best single of 1.51. Charlesworth took second place right behind him with a 1.83 average, while Smith captured third with a 1.95 average after registering a rapid 0.68 single during the competition. The tight margins underlined the relentless pace of modern speedcubing, where fractions of a second separate the top tier of solvers.

Stephens proved to be the standout performer of the meeting, adding the classic Rubik's Cube crown to his tally in the 3x3x3 Cube final. Navigating through three rounds and a 65-competitor bracket, Stephens delivered a winning average of 7.79 seconds and a best single of 7.06. The standard 3x3 results saw Williams take second place with a 7.98 average, while Hounslow earned his third podium of the event by taking third place with an 8.46 average. Australian competitors captured 14 of the 15 podium places available during the competition, sharing the honours with Brazil.

The single-day gathering concluded with ten complete rounds successfully run, providing a comprehensive test of dexterity, memory, and nerve. From blindfolded concentration to rapid-fire speed cubing on alternative puzzles, Perth Puzzle Party 2025 offered a thorough celebration of solving variety in Western Australia to open the 2025 competitive calendar.