Perth Winter 2026

The winter light across the Swan River filtered into the South Perth Community Hall as timers blinked green across dozens of competition tables. With stacks of puzzles laid out on matching mats and judges tracking each attempt, the room filled with the focused hum of hands turning plastic layers at maximum speed. Competitors, families, and officials gathered in Perth, Western Australia, Australia for a full two-day schedule spanning August 1 to August 2, setting the stage for 79 participants contesting eight separate puzzle disciplines across 19 rounds of high-pressure solving.

Among the standout performances of Perth Winter 2026, Amy Smith set the standard for cross-event dominance. In the 2x2x2 Cube, Smith navigated three rounds to secure victory in the final with a blistering 1.68 average, holding off Lachlan Stephens at 1.99 and Eshiel Benzion Narayanan at 2.61. Smith also showcased masterclass precision in the 3x3x3 Blindfolded event, where solving without sight requires immense memorisation and execution under the clock. Her winning single of 18.36 seconds claimed the title by a massive margin over Declan Sander at 1:13.28 and Jaxon Foster at 1:32.32, while also adding a silver medal in Clock with a 3.71 average.

The premier 3x3x3 Cube contest, the classic Rubik's Cube format, drew an event-high 77 entrants across three challenging rounds. Phillip Lewicki of the United States clinched the title with a tournament-winning average of 7.24, highlighted by the quickest single solve of the entire weekend at 5.11 seconds. Lewicki paced ahead of Australia's Joshua Hounslow, who captured second with an 8.09 average, and Stephens, who stepped onto his second podium of the weekend in third at 8.26. The 3x3 results confirmed Lewicki as a major force across the table, backing up podium finishes in two other puzzle formats.

The larger hardware saw equally tight showdowns across the final rounds. In the 4x4x4 Cube, Stephens claimed the top step with an average of 31.61, narrowly edging Zak Kenny who posted 31.79 and Foster at 32.29 in a frantic final. The 5x5x5 Cube brought out Jonathan Charlesworth for Australia, who registered a 53.33 average and a 49.10 single to take the gold ahead of Lewicki at 53.82 and Narayanan at 55.58. In the twelve-sided Megaminx, Indonesia's Farrell Nusantara captured first place with an impressive 41.05 average, finishing ahead of Lewicki at 41.64 and Regan Roberts at 46.42.

Side events offered exceptional speed and international milestones throughout Sunday. Eshiel Benzion Narayanan took victory in Clock with a 3.60 average, besting Smith's 3.71. The Clock podium was completed by Ameen Nethaka Abhayasinghe of Sri Lanka, who made history by establishing two national record averages during the competition, first at 6.02 and improving to 5.88 in the final. Pyraminx closed out the specialty disciplines with Joel Harrop taking gold on a 3.05 average, leading France's Antoine Quemerais at 4.03 and Abhayasinghe who notched his second bronze medal of the weekend at 4.99.

Beyond the top podium steps, this WCA competition saw dramatic breakthroughs from competitors pushing their limits across multiple categories. Aditi Kolloju entered four events and delivered a 2x2x2 personal best of 5.99 seconds, improving by 39 percent from an earlier 9.82 mark, while also recording a first official 4x4x4 attempt of 1:42.15 and a Pyraminx debut of 4.52. Abhinav Saini cut 42.9 percent off his previous 2x2x2 best down to 4.31 seconds, dropped his 3x3x3 mark to 11.63 seconds by 34 percent, and logged a maiden 5x5x5 result of 2:28.09. Siraaj Parker took on three events, dropping his 2x2x2 best by 40.3 percent to 7.26 and his 3x3x3 solve to 21.93, a 30.6 percent improvement alongside a first Pyraminx solve of 8.33. Theo Avery Sasmita posted a 26 percent cut on Pyraminx down to 8.06 seconds, lowered his 3x3x3 time to 15.19, and completed his first 2x2x2 solve at 3.62.

First-time events and significant time drops defined the weekend for several more solvers on the floor. Lucas King took on seven events, logging first-time marks in Clock at 20.00 seconds, Megaminx at 2:50.80, and 4x4x4 at 1:52.82. Hareeyz Hazree stepped up in five events, securing first career attempts in Clock at 18.89 and 4x4x4 at 1:35.32 alongside a 6.07 2x2x2 personal best. Joshua Vemavarapu trimmed his 3x3x3 best to 14.96 seconds, lowered his Pyraminx single to 9.06, and completed his first Clock solve at 20.17. Sein Kwon tackled six disciplines, posting a 15.9 percent drop in Clock to 14.45 and another 15.9 percent cut in Pyraminx to 4.61, in addition to a first 5x5x5 solve of 3:11.58.

By the conclusion of Perth Winter 2026, Australian competitors earned 17 podium placements, with the United States collecting three, Sri Lanka two, and Indonesia and France one apiece. Across eight varied formats, the speedcubing gathering in South Perth showcased both the technical mastery of its multi-podium champions and the rapid personal strides of newcomers expanding their repertoires. The successful speed cubing weekend wrapped with high participation numbers, setting a strong benchmark for the competitive circuit in Western Australia heading into the next block of regional tournaments in 2026.