Puzzling Papatoetoe 2025

The wooden floors of Papatoetoe Town Hall echoed with the rhythmic clatter of plastic pieces and the hum of timers on May 10, 2025. Solvers leaned intently over their mats, their fingers pre-positioned before the inspection window snapped shut. Across the bustling hall in Auckland, New Zealand, the one-day gathering assembled 80 competitors ready to tackle a dense slate of 7 events spanning 14 total rounds. Every turn carried weight, with athletes mindful of the unforgiving pressure where a single misaligned layer or hesitation could completely upend an entire round.

Nowhere was the sting of precision more keenly felt than in events where errors cannot be absorbed or hidden. Format structures that demand sheer consistency leave no room for safety nets, ensuring that every solve counts toward the final mark. Solvers had to balance outright turning speed with strict control, knowing that one missed cue or lockup meant the difference between standing on the podium and falling down the rankings. That unrelenting demand for excellence set the tone for the entire cubing competition across all disciplines.

The 3x3x3 Cube, the centerpiece of any speedcubing contest, brought intense excitement during the final round. Chris Mills claimed the title with a winning average of 6.90 seconds, bolstered by a best single of 6.62 seconds. Mills navigated a deep field of 77 competitors to secure the top step, holding off Alexander Vujcich who finished in second place with a 7.25 average. Elyas Eyou completed the 3x3 podium with an average of 9.10 seconds. The 3x3 results demonstrated peak performance, demanding perfection across every solve under the tournament lights.

Alexander Vujcich authored an extraordinary day overall, claiming victory in multiple puzzle formats. In the 4x4x4 Cube, Vujcich secured first place with an average of 25.37 seconds, accompanied by a single of 20.53 seconds, besting Richard Yiheng Tao who posted 27.93 and Mills who took third in 29.04. Vujcich also mastered the 12-sided challenge of the Megaminx, taking gold with a winning average of 28.47 seconds and a best single of 27.90. Brandon Harris followed in second at 38.06, while Mills collected another podium spot in third with 43.78.

The short-format contests brought astonishingly tight finishes to the venue. In the 2x2x2 Cube, India's Ram Thakkar captured the victory by the narrowest possible margin, posting an average of 1.45 seconds to edge out Vujcich at 1.46 and Lachlan Gibson at 1.50. Gibson found top honors of his own in the Clock event, winning with a 2.46 average over Harris with 3.51 and Edwin Shen with 4.33. Pyraminx saw Elyas Eyou take first place with a 1.95 average ahead of Levi Eyou with 2.86, while Ashley Foster captured the Square-1 title in 10.45 seconds just ahead of Chile's Diego Barrera at 10.52.

Beyond the podium battles, Puzzling Papatoetoe 2025 served as a proving ground for competitors setting notable milestones across various disciplines. Sam Lock entered five events and recorded a personal best of 2.20 in Pyraminx, an improvement of 68.4 percent over their prior mark of 6.96, while also recording a first ever attempt of 7.82 in Clock and 20.59 in Square-1. Jay McElwee took on seven different events, securing a first ever attempt of 48.85 on the 4x4x4 Cube, 1:36.72 on Megaminx, and 21.45 on Square-1. Nethan Joshua Salgadoe posted a Pyraminx personal best of 4.96, cutting 66.1 percent from a former 14.62, and logged a first ever attempt in Megaminx at 1:53.68. Adam Huang recorded a 2x2x2 Cube personal best of 3.62, which was 57.4 percent faster than their earlier 8.49.

The personal breakthroughs continued across the scorecards. Rylan Hardisty lowered their 2x2x2 Cube personal best by 59.3 percent down to 3.85 from 9.47 and logged a first ever attempt at the 4x4x4 Cube in 2:20.41. Alex Nguyen took on Pyraminx for the first ever attempt at 10.58 and dropped their 2x2x2 Cube mark by 54.7 percent to 3.27. Josh Curtiss recorded a first ever attempt of 12.18 in Clock alongside a 49.7 percent personal best drop to 27.49 on the 3x3x3 Cube. Meanwhile, Oswald Kuik tackled their first WCA competition, taking on five events and producing a first ever attempt of 2.34 in the 2x2x2 Cube and 5.55 in Pyraminx.

With 19 podium places staying with competitors from New Zealand alongside international podium finishes for India and Chile, the gathering highlighted the remarkable depth of the local speed cubing community. From classic Rubik's Cube solving to specialized twisting puzzles, every discipline demanded absolute focus from the 80 participants. As the venue emptied at the end of the day, the collection of rapid times and personal milestones stood as a testament to the dedication poured onto the tables in Papatoetoe.