Quad Cities Sunday 2025

The tables inside the Fairmount Community Center filled early as solvers gathered for a full day of focused problem-solving. Across the room, participants compared hardware, shared lubrication techniques, and traded practice scrambles between scheduled rounds. The atmosphere throughout the venue highlighted the social side of the sport, where competitors routinely pause to review each other solutions and discuss alternate approaches to niche events. Quad Cities Sunday 2025 offered an intentionally focused schedule built around secondary puzzles and analytical formats, giving attendees plenty of time to connect away from the standard main-stage pressure.

Held on November 23, 2025, in Davenport, Iowa, USA, this WCA competition brought together a compact field of 16 competitors across six rounds of play. While standard Rubik's Cube speedcubing tournaments often focus primarily on baseline speed, this single-day meeting elevated four distinct disciplines that reward deep mechanical control, spatial awareness, and careful calculation. The roster included Square-1, Megaminx, 3x3x3 Fewest Moves, and 4x4x4 Blindfolded. Participants embraced the communal energy, cheering through quiet memorisation periods and gathering around score sheets to inspect complex solution notations.

Square-1 action saw a total of 15 competitors across two rounds of play. Brian Johnson captured the title with a winning average of 6.68 seconds in the final, powered by a tournament-best single of 5.60 seconds. Carter Kucala secured the second spot on the podium with an average of 9.55 seconds, while Elon Perng finished third with a mark of 14.54 seconds. The dynamic puzzle, known for its changing physical shape during turns, provided fast-paced head-to-head racing that engaged the entire hall as finalists traded rapid sequences.

The twelve-sided Megaminx event provided another highlight for Brian Johnson, who completed a double victory on the day. Over two rounds of competition involving 11 entrants, Johnson posted a winning final average of 47.34 seconds alongside a best single solve of 40.24 seconds. Carter Kucala earned another silver-medal finish with a solid average of 53.45 seconds, and Miles Greco completed the podium trio in third place with a 58.96-second result. The extended turning sequences kept judges and spectators closely watching each stage of the star-shaped puzzle.

A major story of the weekend unfolded through individual personal milestones that the final standings do not fully reveal. Noah Pingel took on three events at Quad Cities Sunday 2025, delivering a first ever official attempt in Megaminx at 3:30.53, a first ever attempt in Square-1 at 25.81 seconds, and a first ever 3x3x3 Fewest Moves attempt of 53 moves, which led to an 11th-place finish. Eliott Warren entered two events and achieved a Square-1 personal best of 26.03 seconds, improving by 9.9 percent from an earlier mark of 28.90 seconds. Simon Poldi competed across three events, recording a best finish of 7th in Fewest Moves.

Other dedicated solvers logged significant personal gains throughout the afternoon. Adam Schwenn contested three events, earning a 5th-place finish in Square-1, a Fewest Moves personal best of 46 moves, an 8.8 percent improvement in Square-1 with a personal best of 11.79 seconds down from 12.93, and a Megaminx personal best of 1:17.59, which cut 15.6 percent off a prior 1:31.95 best. Charles Bois took on three events, placing 4th in Square-1 and securing a Megaminx personal best of 1:11.85, a 6.9 percent reduction from 1:17.19. Lucas Stambaugh rounded out three events with a 6th-place finish in Fewest Moves.

The 3x3x3 Fewest Moves discipline brought 11 competitors together for a quiet, highly technical contest of strategic efficiency rather than hand speed. Evan Brown claimed victory with an exceptional winning average of 20.67 moves, supported by an event-best single solve of 19 moves. The battle for runner-up honors concluded in a rare tie, as both Carter Kucala and Brian Johnson recorded identical averages of 22.33 moves and matching single solves of 21 moves. Even without standard speed cubing rounds, the efficiency charts drew broad interest across the room, offering analytical fans an alternative look beyond conventional 3x3 results.

Blindfolded solving on larger puzzles demands total concentration and flawless memorisation, and the 4x4x4 Blindfolded event closed out the program with high stakes. Five competitors stepped up to attempt the grueling discipline. Carter Kucala took first place with a single solve of 3:06.10, leading the field as the only competitor to post a successful time in the top tier alongside Luke Selle, who finished second with a time of 6:57.76. Ezra Lauritzson, Miles Greco, and Alexander Wheeler shared third-place podium honors following an unforgiving round.

By the time the final scores were submitted, Quad Cities Sunday 2025 had demonstrated the strength of specialist events in bringing the regional community together. Solvers packed up their gear after an active day of side events, shared advice, and collaborative post-solve analysis across Davenport and the wider Quad Cities region. With 14 total podium places filled by competitors from the United States, the single-day gathering concluded as a celebration of puzzle diversity and camaraderie heading into the next competitive season.