Pickering Favourites Spring 2025

The competition hall at the Chestnut Hill Developments Recreation Complex was filled with focused energy as 150 competitors gathered across May 3, 2025. Timers beeped continuously while judges closely monitored every attempt across 12 distinct events. The tournament floor set the stage for an intense regional clash, pitting local Canadian standouts directly against elite talent from Hong Kong in a high-stakes speedcubing showdown in Pickering, Ontario, Canada.

A major storyline throughout Pickering Favourites Spring 2025 was the battle for supremacy between host nation stars and visiting contenders. Across the board, Canadian athletes collected 32 podium finishes, while Hong Kong took four. However, those four appearances translated into substantial titles, creating a fierce duel for top honors at this prominent WCA competition.

The premier 3x3x3 Cube event drew a massive field of 136 competitors through two hard-fought rounds. Canadian standout Brennen Lin claimed the top step of the podium, capturing victory with a blistering 6.45-second final average and a best single of 5.36 seconds. Fellow Canadian Morgan Yeh secured the silver medal just behind him with an average of 6.49 seconds, while Burno Li Chak Kwan of Hong Kong claimed bronze in 6.70 seconds. The 3x3 results demonstrated how razor-thin the margins were at the top of the classic Rubik's Cube division.

Brennen Lin also asserted his dominance in the rapid-fire 2x2x2 Cube, topping a field of 90 solvers with a sensational 1.39-second winning average. Canadian compatriot Ryan Wu took second place with a 1.49 average, followed closely by Andrew Mao in third at 1.75 seconds. Lin secured a remarkable sprint double, establishing Canadian authority across the shortest puzzle formats of the tournament.

Burno Li Chak Kwan responded decisively for Hong Kong across multiple disciplines, claiming three tournament victories. In the 4x4x4 Cube, Li Chak Kwan posted a 23.58 average to secure the title over Canadians Morgan Yeh, who marked 27.27, and Omar Ellabban at 27.40. Li Chak Kwan also took the Megaminx victory with a 34.30 average and dominated Square-1 with an 8.40-second average, defeating Canadian rivals Matthew Lee and Peter Charbonneau on the podium.

Away from the top of the standings, several competitors marked significant milestones and breakthroughs throughout the cubing competition. Tucker Harrison cut his Pyraminx personal best down to 3.57 seconds, a massive 77.3 percent improvement over his prior mark of 15.76, while also recording a 16.18 in his first ever attempt at Skewb. Law Yi Chun of Hong Kong took on four events, completing his first Clock attempt at 10.70 seconds and finishing seventh in 3x3x3 One-Handed with an 18.09 average, cutting 61.1 percent from his previous mark. Ishaan Mistry recorded a 7.20-second personal best in Pyraminx to go 56.7 percent faster than before and tried Clock for the first time with a 35.22. Oludara Orekoya lowered his 3x3x3 One-Handed personal best by 49.9 percent to 46.12 seconds and took on the 2x2x2 Cube for the first time with a 6.44.

Other dedicated solvers embraced new challenges and recorded major time drops across various formats. Jayden Shin improved his 3x3x3 Cube personal best by 44.9 percent down to 23.88 seconds after logging a first Megaminx attempt of 4:41.91. Santiago Quesada tackled four events, completing his first 4x4x4 Cube attempt in 1:34.89, his first 5x5x5 Cube attempt in 2:44.05, and shaving 43.9 percent off his 2x2x2 Cube best with a 6.13. William Feng made his initial Square-1 attempt in 1:29.50 while dropping his Pyraminx mark by 38.1 percent to 5.58. Aarav Chandra completed four events, notching a first-time Megaminx mark of 3:15.97 alongside a 37.2 percent improvement in 3x3x3 Cube with a 16.47.

Big cube mastery was on full display courtesy of Canadian competitor Omar Ellabban, who assembled a clean sweep of the largest puzzles. Ellabban took gold in 5x5x5 Cube with a 45.59 average, conquered the 6x6x6 Cube in 1:12.97, and triumphed in the grueling 7x7x7 Cube with an impressive 2:10.45 average. His efforts kept Canada firmly on top across the marathon events.

Specialist events delivered additional excitement across the final stages of Pickering Favourites Spring 2025. Andrew Mao captured the Pyraminx crown with an outstanding 1.55-second average, Matthew Lee took the 3x3x3 One-Handed title averaging 10.77 seconds, Nicholas Patterson finished first in Skewb at 3.85 seconds, and Anthony Iskander won Clock with a 6.18 average. The lively speed cubing gathering in Ontario concluded after 13 rounds of spirited international rivalry and memorable individual accomplishments in 2025.