SacCubing XVII 2024

A razor-thin margin of twenty-six hundredths of a second decided the premier event of the weekend in Northern California. In the final round of the 3x3x3 Cube at SacCubing XVII 2024, Micah Yeo captured the title with a winning average of 7.80 seconds, narrowly edging runner-up Caleb Yao (姚英華), who registered an 8.06 mark across the five-solve set. Zerui Cheng (程泽睿) claimed third place on the podium with an 8.47 average, rounding out an exceptionally tight battle atop the leaderboard. The 3x3 results served as the dramatic focal point of a packed schedule that brought together dozens of skilled solvers.

Held on May 18, 2024, at the La Sierra Community Center in Carmichael, California, USA, the gathering drew 95 competitors who tackled 13 distinct events across 18 total rounds. Speedcubing enthusiasts travelled to the venue to test their dexterity and pattern recognition across puzzles of every shape and scale. The one-day cubing competition demanded rapid turnaround times, with participants transitioning smoothly between short sprints and longer strategic solves throughout the morning and afternoon sessions.

The 2x2x2 Cube featured its own intense battle for the top spot, where Dean Jacob Adamo Susskind emerged victorious by nineteen hundredths of a second. Susskind locked in a winning average of 2.31 seconds, holding off Owen Vaughan who took second place with a 2.50 average. Sebastian Stone secured third place on the podium with a 2.63 mark. Susskind also recorded the event's best single solve with a 1.35 effort, showcasing remarkable finger speed on the two-layer puzzle during the two-round contest that featured 59 competitors.

Beyond his narrow victory in the traditional Rubik's Cube final, Yeo demonstrated his versatility by taking top honours in the 3x3x3 One-Handed event. He posted a winning average of 14.65 seconds, accompanied by a best single of 11.22 seconds, to outpace 26 competitors across two competitive rounds. Meanwhile, Dan Pastushkov collected a double victory in the large cube category, claiming first place in 4x4x4 Cube with a 29.38 winning average and securing the 6x6x6 Cube title with a time of 2:12.91 ahead of Jeremy Benik and Graham Siggins.

Away from the top steps of the podium, several competitors achieved remarkable milestones across their individual schedules at SacCubing XVII 2024. Joshua Mohanraj delivered a substantial breakthrough, lowering his 3x3x3 Cube personal best to 29.40 seconds, a 60.6 percent improvement over his prior 1:14.55 mark, while also recording his first ever attempts at both Pyraminx and 2x2x2 Cube. Yike Zhou (周奕珂) made a first ever attempt at 3x3x3 One-Handed with a 25.51 time, tackled Pyraminx for the first time with a 9.57 result, and dropped their 2x2x2 Cube personal best by 59.9 percent down to 2.44 seconds. Charles McElvany cut his 3x3x3 One-Handed personal best by 57 percent to 36.28 seconds and logged a first ever attempt at Clock with 11.40. Ben Lemon similarly made significant strides, trimming 55.5 percent from his 2x2x2 Cube mark to reach 4.65 seconds and registering his first ever attempt at Skewb with a 6.82 time.

The progress continued across various disciplines for other dedicated entrants. Isaiah De La Rosby sliced 50.5 percent off his Clock mark to post a 13.04 personal best while also completing a first ever attempt at Skewb. Ezekiel Edwards James Erickson improved his 2x2x2 Cube personal best by 46.6 percent to 4.92 seconds after logging a first ever attempt at Pyraminx with a 13.00 solve. Taha Fatakdawala chopped 40.9 percent from his 3x3x3 One-Handed record down to 34.06 seconds alongside a first ever attempt at Skewb. Dylan James D. Santos achieved a 5th place best finish in Skewb with a first ever attempt of 7.76 seconds while cutting his 3x3x3 Cube mark by 30.3 percent to 13.51 seconds. These personal triumphs reflected the deep commitment shared across the entire hall.

Specialist events added further intrigue to the programme. Nico Harper (李有為) assembled an impressive pair of victories, capturing the 5x5x5 Cube title with a 57.80 average and taking first place in Megaminx with a 37.37 mark. In the Clock event, Jaidon Poraminthara Lin (เจเดิ้น ปรมินทร์ หลิน) earned gold with a sharp 4.30 average, besting Calvin Nielson and Chris Martin. Nielson later earned top honours in Square-1 by delivering an 8.19 winning average, while Sebastian Stone secured the Pyraminx crown with a 2.45 average.

In the 3x3x3 Blindfolded division, Graham Siggins navigated the inspection and execution phases without sight to claim victory with a single solve of 20.84 seconds, finishing ahead of David Karalli (داود قراعلي) and Jason Ostdiek. International representation reached the podium as Richard Jay S. Apagar of the Philippines won the 7x7x7 Cube with a 3:22.39 average, outpacing Jeremy Benik and Owen Vaughan. Susskind added another gold to his tally by winning Skewb with a 4.01 average over Nolan Yiu and Karthik Nagineni.

The action-packed day concluded with the United States and the Philippines sharing all 39 podium placements across the 13 contested formats. As the floor cleared at the La Sierra Community Center, SacCubing XVII 2024 left competitors with memorable personal bests and razor-sharp showdowns that will set the tone for upcoming speed cubing meets throughout the region. Solvers departed Carmichael with validated progress in hand, already anticipating the competitive trials awaiting them in the next WCA competition.