Poway Summer Cubing 2023

Thirty-one competitors took their seats for Square-1 at Poway Summer Cubing 2023, setting the stage for a day where specialized disciplines shared the spotlight alongside marquee events. Held at the Mickey Cafagna Community Center in Poway, California, USA on June 18, 2023, the single-day gathering brought together 100 competitors across five distinct events. With 10 total rounds on the schedule, the roster leaned heavily into puzzles that test distinct mechanical proficiencies, from shape-shifting layers to corner-turning rotations and big-cube endurance.

The Square-1 tournament featured two rounds of sharp play, culminating in a dominant performance by Kyeongmin Choi of Korea. Choi secured the title with an 8.91 winning average and delivered the event fastest single at 7.28. Ethan Yeh claimed the second step on the podium with an 11.99 average, while Michael Young earned third place with a mark of 12.74. The intricate mechanics of the puzzle provided a compelling showcase of turning efficiency before the program pivoted toward other non-standard hardware.

Corner-turning precision defined the Skewb event, which drew 54 competitors across two full rounds of action. Elijah Brown took top honors for the United States, recording a winning average of 4.19 and posting the competition best single time of 2.15. Andy French followed closely behind in second place with an average of 4.48, while Joel Kim rounded out the top three with a 4.83. The rapid solves highlighted the fine margins that govern modern speed cubing at every level.

Big cubes also had their moment on the stage, headlined by the grueling 7x7x7 Cube where twenty competitors took on the largest puzzle of the day. Max Park earned the victory with an average of 1:52.83, anchored by a best single solve of 1:49.12. Shane Grogan finished as the runner-up with an average of 3:21.84, while Hana Nakano took third place with a 3:26.59. The lengthy resolves offered a stark contrast in pacing compared to the sprint disciplines earlier in the morning.

Away from the top steps of the podium, several participants made substantial strides across multiple brackets at Poway Summer Cubing 2023. Chase Graber lowered a personal best in Skewb down to 3.43, an improvement of 72.4 percent over an earlier 12.42, while also taking eighth overall. Nora Y. Kester delivered major progress in Square-1 by recording a 26.29 personal best, cutting 50.8 percent from an earlier 53.41 mark. Cyrus Givens knocked 39.5 percent off a previous baseline in the 3x3x3 Cube to finish with a 17.56 personal best, and Erick Patino improved by 38.2 percent with a 20.93 single in the same category.

The weekend also served as an entry point into new territory for many entrants tackling unfamiliar challenges. Aron Burke took on five events, registering a first ever attempt of 12.70 in Square-1 and a 5:30.36 in the 7x7x7 Cube on the way to a fifth-place finish in Skewb. Aayush Sahu also tackled five events, recording initial official marks in Skewb at 5.38, Square-1 at 31.16, and the 7x7x7 Cube at 5:56.71. Lincoln Nair logged a first 4x4x4 Cube time of 2:53.95 alongside a 25.77 in the classic cube, while Omar Gaitan Jr. entered a first WCA competition, recording marks of 10.95 in Skewb and 20.05 in the standard puzzle.

The 4x4x4 Cube competition brought 52 competitors to the tables across two rounds. Max Park secured his second gold of the day with a 22.46 winning average and a standout single of 17.68. Kyeongmin Choi earned second place with an average of 32.59, and Shane Grogan collected another podium finish by taking third place with a 33.98 average. The results demonstrated the blend of speed and calculation required when handling middle-tier cube layers.

The standard Rubik's Cube brought 98 competitors into the arena across three full rounds to determine the final 3x3 results of Poway Summer Cubing 2023. Max Park completed a triple-victory day by taking first place with a 6.03 winning average and the best single of the weekend at 4.80. Elijah Brown took second place with an 8.18 average after setting marks of 7.06 single and 7.78 average earlier in the rounds, while Kyeongmin Choi placed third with an 8.27 average.

Altogether, competitors from the United States and Korea shared the 15 podium positions across five disciplines at Poway Summer Cubing 2023. From the unique demands of Square-1 and Skewb to the endurance tests of the big cubes, the speedcubing community in Southern California delivered a balanced single-day cubing competition across all levels of experience.