Puzzling Pakenham Sunday 2025

A single hundredth of a second decided the premier event at Puzzling Pakenham Sunday 2025, producing one of the sharpest showdowns on the Australian speedcubing calendar. Ethan Stevens clinched victory in the 3x3x3 Cube final with a winning average of 6.78 seconds, narrowly edging out Roman Rudakov, who finished in second place with an average of 6.79 seconds. Stevens also delivered the round's best single solve at 6.44 seconds to seal the narrowest of margins at the top. Nam Nguyen rounded out the podium in third place with an average of 7.22 seconds, completing a tense finish in the premier discipline.

The one-day WCA competition took place on September 28, 2025, inside the Pakenham Library Hall in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Across seven rounds of action, 71 competitors gathered to test their skills across three distinct events. Spectators tracking the 3x3 results witnessed high-caliber solving throughout the three-round bracket, which began with 68 entrants battling for spots in the final. The intense schedule showcased the depth of talent present in the Melbourne speed cubing scene, with Australian competitors securing all nine available podium positions across the day.

While Rudakov missed out on the top step in the 3x3x3 Cube by the slimmest possible margin, he made an emphatic statement in the 2x2x2 Cube event. Facing a field of 55 competitors over two rounds, Rudakov claimed the title with an exceptional winning average of 1.21 seconds, supported by a best single time of 1.16 seconds. His commanding pace placed him well ahead of the chasing pack, establishing one of the weekend's most dominant winning margins in the shortest format on the schedule.

The remaining places on the 2x2x2 Cube podium were contested with similar intensity. Nathan Fares secured second place with an average of 1.78 seconds, while Jacob Joshi took third place with an average of 1.82 seconds. Joshi also registered a single of 1.36 seconds during the event. The competition highlighted rapid turns and minimal pause times, reinforcing how much execution speed matters over five quick solves at a high-level cubing competition.

Beyond the podium battles, Puzzling Pakenham Sunday 2025 served as a venue for massive personal breakthroughs and milestone attempts. Arvin Eshragh tackled two events, making a first ever attempt at 2x2x2 Cube with a time of 7.15 seconds while dropping their 3x3x3 Cube personal best to 19.78 seconds, an improvement of 54.3 percent. Gabriel Gardiner entered two events, logging a first ever attempt at 2x2x2 Cube with 4.80 seconds and lowering their 3x3x3 Cube personal best by 40.3 percent to 12.41 seconds. Fotios Iatropoulos trimmed their 2x2x2 Cube best by 49.7 percent down to 5.06 seconds and improved their 3x3x3 Cube mark by 13 percent to 29.24 seconds. David Clarke competed in three events, achieving a best finish of 7th in 3x3x3 Blindfolded with a personal best of 1:28.94, which was 49.4 percent faster than before, alongside an 8.07 personal best in the classic Rubik's Cube.

Other competitors delivered equally memorable personal milestones across their events. Julian Mallia entered two events and dropped their 2x2x2 Cube mark by 41.9 percent to 2.48 seconds while improving to 13.92 in the 3x3x3 Cube. Mingeun Song made a first ever attempt at the 2x2x2 Cube with 4.02 seconds and set a 3x3x3 Cube personal best of 11.67 seconds, cutting 12.8 percent off their previous benchmark. Aarya Deneth Francis Dharmadasa improved their 3x3x3 Cube best by 41.7 percent to 27.73 seconds, while Jack Mannix lowered their 2x2x2 Cube best by 31.4 percent to 6.28 seconds and took 26.7 percent off their 3x3x3 Cube best with a time of 33.39 seconds.

The 3x3x3 Blindfolded event demanded an entirely different set of skills, combining memorisation and blind execution across two rounds featuring 24 competitors. Tam Quan took top honours with a winning single time of 27.57 seconds, despite recording a DNF average. The victory underscored Quan's speed during solved attempts, leading the field by a comfortable margin. Swami Srinivasan earned second place with a successful solve of 36.29 seconds, while Zayd Chaudhry placed third with a mark of 47.28 seconds.

With fast times across all three disciplines, Puzzling Pakenham Sunday 2025 demonstrated the competitive balance and growing technical proficiency across the Melbourne speedcubing community. From Rudakov's lightning-fast 2x2x2 average to Quan's sub-30 blindfolded performance and the thrilling 0.01-second separation in the main event final, the tournament provided compelling racing from start to finish as competitors prepare for the next season of events.