Please Be Quiet at UTS 2023

A blistering 15.04 single from Charlie Eggins in 3x3x3 Blindfolded stood out as the defining performance of the weekend at UTS Building 2. Staged on April 30, 2023, Please Be Quiet at UTS 2023 gathered 26 competitors in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia for a demanding slate of specialist disciplines. With six rounds contested across five events, the field demanded absolute precision from anyone aiming for a spot on the podium. Across the board, every single bracket required competitors to navigate high-pressure conditions where a solitary mistake meant elimination.

The 3x3x3 Blindfolded contest proved to be one of the most competitive brackets on the schedule, featuring 22 competitors battling across two rounds. Eggins set the benchmark early and locked down the title with his 15.04 single in the final, finishing ahead of Zachary Tang, who secured second place with a mark of 33.32. Chenhao Sun completed the podium in third place with a time of 36.04. The fierce depth of the round left several experienced solvers without completed averages, illustrating the razor-thin margins involved when tackling the classic Rubik's Cube without sight.

Eggins carried that commanding form directly into the big-cube blindfolded disciplines, collecting three gold medals over the course of the event. In 4x4x4 Blindfolded, a field of 10 competitors saw Eggins take top honours with a winning single of 2:10.21. Daniel Wang followed in second place with a time of 4:16.91, while Samuel Moliver rounded out the top three with 5:51.56. When the puzzle size expanded further in 5x5x5 Blindfolded, Eggins once again led the seven-person field, posting an 8:36.51 to finish ahead of Chenhao Sun, who recorded 16:02.00, and Moliver, who took third in 16:06.00.

The strategic complexity of 3x3x3 Fewest Moves produced another masterclass during the 2023 gathering. Jayden McNeill conquered the 19-competitor field by submitting an elite mean of 21.33 moves, backed by a best single of 20 moves. Liam Highducheck took second place on the podium with a 33.33 mean, while Moliver claimed his third medal of the day by placing third with a 34.00 mean. The discipline tested the limits of analytical speed cubing, requiring an hour of uninterrupted focus per attempt to uncover minimal-move solutions under strict judging conditions.

Multi-blind memorisation brought a fitting conclusion to the specialist schedule, testing mental endurance across dozens of scrambled cubes. Samuel Moliver rose to the top of a 17-competitor field in 3x3x3 Multi-Blind, securing victory with a remarkable 15 out of 16 cubes solved in 57:41. Daniel Wang pressed closely behind to earn second place, registering 15 out of 18 cubes in 59:32. Liam Highducheck delivered an immaculate performance to take third place, going a perfect 10 for 10 in 55:05 to wrap up an impressive showcase of blindfolded mastery.

Beyond the top steps of the podium, Please Be Quiet at UTS 2023 served as a proving ground for several solvers delivering standout individual milestones. Aaron Rattanachaipipat achieved a massive personal best in 3x3x3 Blindfolded with a 1:37.14 single, trimming 76.8 percent off his previous record of 6:57.88, alongside a sixth-place finish in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves with a first-time mark of 41. Lachlan Cooke also shattered his personal best in 3x3x3 Blindfolded by 28.3 percent, recording 3:01.04 down from 4:12.48, while placing tenth in 3x3x3 Multi-Blind. Martin Henry improved his 3x3x3 Fewest Moves personal best by 12.5 percent, dropping from 48 to 42 to finish fourteenth.

First-time attempts at unfamiliar formats provided further highlights across the event roster. Tyler Salburg tackled five separate disciplines, securing fifth place in 5x5x5 Blindfolded while delivering first-ever attempts in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves with 36, 3x3x3 Multi-Blind with 3/5 in 29:59, and 4x4x4 Blindfolded in 12:49.00. Connor Williams placed seventh in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves with an initial attempt of 48 and logged a clean 3/3 in 22:07 in his first 3x3x3 Multi-Blind appearance. Kai Tagg earned seventh place in 3x3x3 Blindfolded on a debut attempt of 2:53.40. Thomas Tinlin scored 45 on his first 3x3x3 Fewest Moves outing to finish fifteenth, while Oscar Liang notched a personal best of 49 in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves across his three events.

With 13 podium places earned by Australian competitors and two secured by China, the cubing competition highlighted both local excellence and regional depth in non-standard speedcubing events. The standard of play across all five disciplines reflected an impressive dedication to memorisation routines, spatial planning, and solve efficiency. As the curtain fell on Please Be Quiet at UTS 2023, the comprehensive 3x3 results and specialist triumphs reaffirmed the venue at UTS Building 2 as an ideal proving ground for the community ahead of the next competitive season.