Reno Summer 2025

Paul Mahvi turned in one of the most dominant displays of the season at Reno Summer 2025, capturing gold across four separate events at the University of Nevada, Reno. His weekend was headlined by commanding victories in the 4x4x4 Cube, 5x5x5 Cube, 6x6x6 Cube, and 7x7x7 Cube, establishing complete authority over the big cube categories. Mahvi started his run by winning the 4x4x4 Cube with an average of 28.32 seconds and carried that momentum through the largest puzzles on the schedule, finishing the 7x7x7 Cube with a winning average of 2:25.67.

The two-day WCA competition ran from August 9 to August 10, 2025, drawing 38 competitors to Reno, Nevada, USA. Across 12 events and 22 rounds of action, competitors pushed the pace from short sprints to marathon solves. While Mahvi claimed the lion share of hardware in the larger puzzles, the weekend featured diverse winners across traditional speedcubing disciplines, offering plenty of drama from the opening heats through the finals.

In the flagship 3x3x3 Cube, Micah Yeo captured the title with a tournament-best winning average of 7.28 seconds over three rounds of competition. Yeo posted a top single of 6.37 seconds to lead a field of 36 competitors in the premier event. Fans tracking the classic Rubik's Cube battles saw intense showdowns throughout the preliminary phases, but Yeo maintained composure in the final to seal first place on the overall 3x3 results sheet.

The 2x2x2 Cube division produced a flurry of rapid attempts, where Kenji Gipson-Nahman secured victory with a 3.39 average after logging a 2.04 single. Gipson-Nahman later doubled his gold tally by taking the Megaminx title in 57.23 seconds. Behind him in the 2x2x2 final, Jason Ostdiek claimed second place with a 3.83 average, followed by Sabir Dhillon in third at 4.27 seconds. Ostdiek also excelled in 3x3x3 One-Handed, winning the event with a 12.03 average and a best single of 10.10 seconds.

Fast finishes highlighted the specialty events across Reno Summer 2025. Hrishikesh Kakati delivered a blistering performance to win the Pyraminx title, averaging 1.88 seconds with a best single of 1.44 seconds. In Clock, Sebastian Stone took top honours with an average of 3.76 seconds, edging out Sean Abutan who took second in 3.91 seconds. Michael Larsen claimed the Square-1 crown with a 13.24 average, while Naomi Solnick mastered the memory challenges of 3x3x3 Blindfolded, winning the event with a top single time of 45.35 seconds.

Away from the top steps of the podium, several competitors delivered massive personal milestones that reshaped their individual profiles. Kayden Norkunas tackled 11 events across the schedule, cutting their 3x3x3 One-Handed personal best down to 37.28 seconds, an improvement of 52.1 percent over their previous best, while making first career attempts in 6x6x6 Cube at 5:16.46 and Square-1 at 1:17.44. Moses Lee Rahimian dropped their 2x2x2 Cube mark by 59.8 percent to 3.08 seconds and took on Pyraminx for the first time with a 13.91. Cameron Shumate also made significant gains, lowering their 2x2x2 Cube personal best by 56.7 percent to 2.21 seconds and trying 3x3x3 One-Handed for the first time with a 53.61 mark.

The progress continued throughout the roster as Lorence Tsai logged a 2.16 in 2x2x2 Cube for a 41.6 percent improvement and completed a first official 5x5x5 Cube solve in 1:41.37. Ethan Lin chopped 41.7 percent off their Pyraminx best with an 8.40 and finished 5th in 2x2x2 Cube. Jeremy Polentz took on Clock for the first time with a 13.64 and improved their Pyraminx best by 36.1 percent to 6.36 seconds. Isaac Marks entered the 6x6x6 Cube for the first time with a 4:53.68 and improved their 5x5x5 Cube mark by 29.5 percent to 2:03.76. Lucas Benjamin Hyles took on 10 events, lowering their 2x2x2 Cube time by 24.5 percent to 3.27 seconds and their 5x5x5 Cube best by 20 percent to 2:46.14.

First-time entrants also made their mark in Nevada. Riaan Govind entered five events in their competition debut, recording initial marks of 9.20 in 2x2x2 Cube and 21.07 in 3x3x3 Cube. Sarah Slovick made their first official appearance across three events, posting an initial 3x3x3 Cube mark of 39.06 seconds alongside a 13.84 in Pyraminx. Xochilt Quetzally Pomposo Alarcon set initial standards across four events including Clock and Pyraminx, while Cayden Cheah completed a debut 3x3x3 Cube solve in 27.08 seconds.

With 33 podium places earned by competitors from the United States alongside international podium finishes for India and China, the cubing competition showcased high-level speed cubing across all 12 disciplines. The weekend demonstrated the depth of the regional community, from seasoned champions sweeping multiple categories to newcomers establishing their opening marks on the official tables at Reno Summer 2025.