Quad Cities Saturday 2025

Brian Johnson set the tone in Rock Island, Illinois, USA, by claiming three individual titles across a packed schedule, highlighted by a commanding 6.62 second winning average in the classic 3x3x3 Cube. The single-day WCA competition brought 55 competitors to the Rock Island Church of the Nazarine on November 22, 2025. Across five events and 11 rounds of action, Johnson repeatedly set the standard, establishing himself as the weekend standout across multiple formats.

The morning slate launched the action with the larger puzzles and specialty events. In the 5x5x5 Cube, Johnson took the top spot with an average of 57.08 seconds, backed by a best single of 50.04 seconds. Carter Kucala followed closely with a 59.44 second average, while Zennan Zuiker secured third place with a time of 1:10.45. The event tested stamina and pattern recognition across 35 competitors in a direct final format.

As the schedule progressed toward midday, the focus shifted to technical dexterity in 3x3x3 One-Handed. Johnson once again led the field of 37 entrants, logging an average of 10.39 seconds and a tournament-best single of 9.03 seconds. Kucala earned another runner-up finish with a 14.65 second average, while Cale Schoon rounded out the podium in third at 16.14 seconds, demonstrating sharp execution under tight one-handed constraints.

The afternoon introduced fast mechanical rotation in the Skewb tournament, featuring 42 competitors across three elimination rounds. Kucala captured the title with a swift 2.61 second average, also producing a rapid 1.60 second single. Schoon took second place with an average of 3.41 seconds, edging out Johnson, who claimed third place with a 3.50 second mark in the final round.

Precision mechanics took over next in Clock, where Adam Schwenn delivered a winning average of 4.93 seconds across two rounds of play, punctuated by a best single of 4.23 seconds. Charles Bois earned the silver step on the podium with a 5.17 second average, while Max McGill placed third with a mark of 6.43 seconds among a competitive lineup of 34 puzzle solvers.

Beyond the championship races, individual breakthroughs defined the tournament floor throughout the day. Ryker Armstrong secured notable progress across multiple disciplines, dropping his Skewb personal best to 5.49 seconds, which was 63.7 percent faster than his previous best, alongside a Clock mark of 9.06 seconds that was 47.2 percent quicker, and a 5x5x5 time of 1:52.21, a 46.3 percent improvement. Jonah Travis Dutton tackled the 5x5x5 Cube for the first time with a 2:18.36, while trimming his 3x3x3 One-Handed personal best to 23.28 seconds, an improvement of 45.2 percent, and notching a 10.70 second best in the main event. Ethan Wood lowered his Skewb personal best to 4.08 seconds, 38.9 percent faster than before, while Noah Pingel recorded a Clock personal best of 6.19 seconds and completed his first ever attempt in 3x3x3 One-Handed at 29.34 seconds.

The roster also featured impressive debuts and expanding event repertoires from several dedicated solvers. Emrys Fardi-Turkmani entered their first Rubik's Cube gathering, taking on five separate events and posting a 16.97 second single in the 3x3x3 Cube, a 6.45 in Skewb, and a 1:02.82 in 3x3x3 One-Handed. Bennett Luth also took part in their first official speedcubing event, completing four events including an initial 3x3x3 mark of 25.11 seconds and a 5x5x5 time of 3:38.37. Samuel Simon took on four disciplines, logging first-time marks in Skewb at 8.80 seconds, 5x5x5 at 2:57.92, and One-Handed at 29.28 seconds. Evan Beck contested five events, making first-time appearances in Skewb at 8.55 seconds, 5x5x5 Cube at 1:41.75, and One-Handed at 30.28 seconds.

The day culminated with the three rounds of the standard 3x3x3 Cube, generating intense interest for the main 3x3 results. Johnson wrapped up his campaign by taking the final with an average of 6.62 seconds and a best single solve of 5.86 seconds. Kucala earned second place with a 7.79 second average, and Schoon completed the podium with an 8.68 second result in the 54-competitor bracket.

Closing out the weekend timeline at Quad Cities Saturday 2025, the tournament demonstrated the breadth of the regional speed cubing community in 2025. With 15 podium places distributed among home competitors and personal benchmarks achieved across every event tier, Quad Cities Saturday 2025 concluded a vibrant chapter of cubing competition in Illinois.