Restart Caracas 2026

A razor-thin margin of two tenths of a second decided the premier event of the weekend as Leandro Paredes held off Bernardo Torres to claim the 3x3x3 Cube title. In a gripping final round where every turn of the classic Rubik's Cube mattered down to the hundredth of a second, Paredes secured victory with an average of 8.63 seconds against the 8.83 posted by Torres. Paredes also logged the fastest single solve of the event at 7.19 seconds, setting the benchmark for the entire field of thirty-eight competitors.

The one-day gathering brought thirty-nine competitors together at the CC Plaza Las Américas II in Caracas, Miranda, Venezuela on April 12, 2026. Restart Caracas 2026 featured six distinct events and eight rounds of intense play, drawing enthusiasts from across the capital region to participate in the official WCA competition. Venezuelan solvers filled every single podium step across the slate, highlighting the depth of local talent in the sport.

Beyond his 3x3x3 victory, Leandro Paredes enjoyed a commanding presence across multiple disciplines throughout the competition. In the 2x2x2 Cube, Paredes captured first place with an extraordinary 2.17 second average, powered by a blistering 1.60 single. Leónidas Peña claimed second place with a 3.11 average, while Torres rounded out the podium in third place at 3.77. Peña had also finished third in the main event, posting a 9.76 average to consolidate his position among the country's top solvers.

Paredes collected his third gold medal of the weekend in the Clock event, executing rapid mechanical adjustments to finish on top with a 6.34 second average and a best single of 5.07. Christopher Dael Duarte Ramirez chased closely behind to secure second place with a 6.77 average, while Fabián Villavicencio took third place with 9.87. Across the entire meet, the multi-event versatility of the front-runners kept the leaderboards shifting from one discipline to the next.

In other disciplines, Bernardo Torres delivered an exceptional performance in the 4x4x4 Cube, winning the event with a 30.68 average and the fastest single of 29.08. Paredes took the runner-up position with an average of 36.13, followed by Leónidas Peña in third place at 39.21. In the Skewb division, Fabián Villavicencio captured first place with a 4.36 average, overcoming Luis Felipe Palacios Peña at 5.19 and Victor Wu at 5.67. Miguel González topped the Pyraminx standings with a winning average of 3.48, besting Rafael Rojas at 4.17 and Paredes at 4.50.

Away from the top of the podium, several competitors achieved remarkable milestones across their individual schedules. Jorge Adrián Rivodo Guada took on five events, scoring a personal best of 4.24 seconds in Pyraminx to finish 67.7 percent faster than his previous mark, reducing his Skewb personal best by 39.1 percent to 14.53, and logging his first official 4x4x4 Cube attempt at 2:25.10. Samuel Andrés Pirela Calderón also completed four events, achieving a Pyraminx personal best of 5.97 that improved his mark by 37.9 percent, dropping his 4x4x4 Cube best by 25.9 percent to 1:01.25, and recording a first official Skewb attempt of 12.47 to earn tenth place.

Notable progress continued across the order as Maximo Rafael Carpio Suárez posted a 13.43 personal best in 3x3x3 Cube to improve by 30 percent, lowered his Pyraminx best to 4.57, and made his first 4x4x4 Cube attempt at 1:30.57. María Fernanda Castillo Lima cut 48.5 percent off her Pyraminx best with a 7.89 single, dropped her 2x2x2 Cube best by 36.6 percent to 5.69, and took 24.3 percent off her 3x3x3 Cube best with 23.05. Isaac Castellanos improved his 3x3x3 Cube best by 23.4 percent to 13.10, Derek Gael Bello Blanco logged his first 4x4x4 Cube attempt at 1:33.98, Sabrina Kumi Diaz Joves completed her first Pyraminx attempt at 11.78, and Rodolfo Andres Panitz Sanchez lowered his 2x2x2 Cube mark by 40.2 percent to 5.57.

The official speed cubing schedule offered intense action across all eight rounds, keeping judges and runners active at CC Plaza Las Américas II. Debutants also made their mark on the WCA stage, with Noah Sebastian Brito Ramos, Gabriel González, and Sofía Delvalle Barazarte Manzanilla all completing their first official 3x3x3 Cube solves. The tournament demonstrated how a single day of focused speedcubing can generate personal bests across all experience levels.

With eighteen podium positions earned across six categories, Restart Caracas 2026 proved to be a vibrant display of precision and composure under pressure in Caracas. The official 3x3 results underlined the exceptional standard at the top of the Venezuelan ranking tables, while the wide range of secondary puzzles offered every competitor an avenue to test their practice against the clock. As the year 2026 continues, the stage is set for these competitors to carry their momentum forward into the next cubing competition.