Pretzel Mania Denver 2024

A total of 142 competitors assembled at the Colorado Convention Center over May 25 to May 26, turning Denver, Colorado, USA into a bustling hub of rapid hands and sharper personal milestones. The two-day cubing competition featured 16 rounds of action across seven different disciplines, offering ample opportunities for seasoned champions and rising talent to push their limits. From the classic Rubik's Cube to large multi-layered puzzles, Pretzel Mania Denver 2024 showcased remarkable progress across every single bracket in the year 2024.

The 3x3x3 Cube contest stood at the center of the schedule, drawing a massive field of 136 entrants through four rigorous stages of solving. Jacob Nokes claimed the premier title of the weekend, securing first place with a winning average of 7.54 seconds alongside the weekend's best single of 6.17 seconds. Simon Kellum pushed hard in the finals, finishing second with a 7.63 average, while Abhi Chawla rounded out the podium in third with an 8.58 mark. These standout 3x3 results capped off an electrifying display of top-tier speedcubing in the Mile High City.

Jacob Nokes extended his dominant form deep into the big cube categories, demonstrating exceptional precision over complex layers. In the 6x6x6 Cube final, Nokes captured victory with a 1:37.03 average and a single of 1:30.87, outlasting Eli Hezron Mika Jr. who posted 1:53.47 and Simon Kellum who took third at 2:12.19. Nokes completed his sweep of the large cubes in the 7x7x7 Cube event, topping the single-round contest with a 2:18.22 average and a 2:05.80 single. Eli Hezron Mika Jr. claimed second place at 2:43.81, while Dylan Hughlett took third place with a time of 3:12.47.

Simon Kellum delivered a tour de force across the side events, capturing four separate championship titles across the weekend. In the 2x2x2 Cube final, Kellum posted a winning average of 2.49 seconds, holding off Alex Aguayo who recorded a 3.05 and Blake Thompson who took third in 3.06. In 3x3x3 One-Handed, Kellum navigated two rounds of competition to win with an average of 13.75 seconds and a single of 11.41. Eric Zhao took second place with 14.44, while Oliver Michael Sitja Sichel achieved third place with a 14.60 average.

Kellum remained untouchable on the geometric twisty puzzles as well, adding two more gold finishes to his tally. In the Pyraminx division, Kellum secured first place with an average of 2.24 seconds and a single of 1.20, ahead of runner-up Stone Amsbaugh at 4.05 and third-place finisher Kian Cline at 4.14. He completed his quartet of victories in the Skewb event, averaging 3.75 seconds to lead the field, while David Brady took second with 4.26 and Liam Finn McCool Kelly finished in third place with a 4.32 average.

Beyond the top podium steps, the heart of this WCA competition belonged to the remarkable improvements logged across the roster. Maddox Breitweiser took on four disciplines and produced an astonishing 86.5 percent drop on 2x2x2 Cube with a 2.16 personal best compared to a previous 15.99, while also completing first-time attempts in Skewb with 18.92 and Pyraminx with 7.42. Adrian Mitre entered five events and trimmed 82 percent off his 2x2x2 Cube standard down to 9.49 seconds, alongside maiden attempts in 3x3x3 One-Handed at 1:12.80 and Skewb at 42.06. Dane Ruhland slashed his 2x2x2 Cube best by 69.7 percent to 4.06 and his Pyraminx mark by 57.4 percent to 8.59, while also recording a first 6x6x6 Cube attempt of 5:47.15. Holden Tryon lowered his Pyraminx personal record by 54.7 percent to 4.77, adding first-ever attempts in 3x3x3 One-Handed at 37.03 and 6x6x6 Cube at 6:01.98.

The progress continued with Zane Myers, who tackled all seven events, improving his Skewb personal best by 51.1 percent to 6.24 seconds, lowering his 2x2x2 Cube time by 39 percent to 4.17, and logging a first 7x7x7 Cube mark of 6:03.30. Josh Fricker improved his Pyraminx personal best by 49.3 percent to 5.02 seconds, alongside first attempts in 2x2x2 Cube at 4.63 and 3x3x3 One-Handed at 40.72. Seth Hammell also took on the full seven-event program, notching a 46.5 percent improvement in Skewb with a 7.63 personal record while registering initial career marks in 6x6x6 Cube at 5:04.50 and 7x7x7 Cube at 7:26.60. Max Kohn shaved 45.7 percent off his Pyraminx best down to 10.93 seconds while posting initial marks in Skewb at 22.92 and 3x3x3 One-Handed at 1:30.01.

With 21 podium positions distributed across seven hard-fought events, the weekend served as a testament to the dedication found throughout the regional speed cubing community. The tournament highlighted the dual nature of competitive solving, celebrating both the elite consistency of multiple-event winners and the breakthrough milestones of athletes conquering new puzzles for the very first time. As the final results entered the archives, Pretzel Mania Denver 2024 concluded having pushed dozens of personal benchmarks to all-time highs.