Salem Cubikon 2025

Elijah Rain Phelps turned in a commanding display of precision at the Derry-Salem Elks Club, capturing three separate titles to headline Salem Cubikon 2025. Across eleven packed rounds on May 24, 2025, a total of 81 competitors gathered in Salem, New Hampshire, USA to test their skills in six official events. Phelps set the standard in the specialist categories, collecting victories in Clock, Pyraminx, and Square-1 during an action-packed Saturday of high-stakes Rubik's Cube racing.

The single-day schedule moved swiftly from morning qualification groups to afternoon finals. The morning sessions featured early rounds of the classic 3x3x3 Cube, where 77 competitors battled for advancement, alongside opening rounds in 3x3x3 One-Handed and Pyraminx. In the Pyraminx final, Phelps delivered a winning average of 3.02 seconds, backed by a lightning single of 2.03. Saisabari Ramesh finished in second place with a 3.92 average, narrowly edging Will Russo who took third with 3.95 seconds.

In the Clock event, Phelps maintained momentum by putting up a winning average of 4.51 seconds and a top single of 3.79. Ramesh secured another silver finish with a 5.61 average, while Chris Chi claimed third place in 5.67 seconds. Phelps added a third championship in Square-1, winning the two-round event with a 6.95 average and a 5.77 best single. Chi took second step on the Square-1 podium with an 8.43 average, followed by Ramesh in third with a mark of 10.41 seconds.

Big cubes brought intense focus to the midday roster as 36 solvers contested the 5x5x5 Cube. Aidan McKenzie took the 5x5x5 title with a steady 57.92 average and a best single solve of 56.51 seconds. Chi earned second place with a time of 1:02.01, while Phelps capped off a versatile day by capturing third place with a 1:04.30 average. McKenzie’s sub-minute consistency provided one of the day’s most impressive mechanical showcases.

Julian Kim, the founder and developer of Speedcubing.app, entered all six disciplines on the schedule and came away with three personal bests. Kim posted a career-best mark in 5x5x5 Cube, finishing 15th with an average of 1:50.70 and a single of 1:40.38. He followed up with another personal best in 3x3x3 One-Handed, placing 15th with a 25.01 average and an 18.08 single. Kim also secured 10th in Pyraminx with a 5.99 average, 12th in Clock at 10.48, 14th in Square-1 at 26.75, and recorded a personal best average of 16.39 with a 10.59 single to finish 31st in the main event.

Away from the top steps of the podium, several solvers achieved massive personal breakthroughs throughout Salem Cubikon 2025. Dhruv Sandeep Patil had a remarkable day, cutting his Pyraminx personal best by 60.5 percent down to 4.82 seconds, trimming his 3x3x3 time by 15 percent to 22.51 seconds, and logging his first official 3x3x3 One-Handed attempt at 1:08.41. Lucas Zielfelder improved his Square-1 best by 49.5 percent to 10.28 seconds, while setting fresh personal bests in One-Handed with 22.68 and 5x5x5 with 1:34.50. Timotheus Kim sped up his Pyraminx mark by 39.2 percent to 4.01 seconds and took 9th place in Clock after trying the puzzle for the first time with an 8.20 single. Ganak Gopinath lowered his 3x3x3 personal best by 29.6 percent to 21.49 seconds and posted a Clock mark of 33.90 in his event debut.

First-time attempts and tournament debuts enriched the competitive atmosphere across the venue. Noah Angelis carved 26.4 percent off his 3x3x3 personal best down to 14.85 seconds while making maiden stage attempts in Pyraminx with 13.01 and Clock with 21.88. Isaac Peterson took on all six disciplines, recording first attempts in Clock with 17.56, Square-1 with 40.86, and 5x5x5 with 2:57.78. Elias Acevedo tackled his first WCA competition with opening times across Clock, Pyraminx, and 3x3x3. Noah Mazza dropped his Pyraminx personal best by 24.8 percent to 11.28 seconds and logged his first One-Handed result with a 1:12.18 solve.

The afternoon closed with the final stages of the two-handed and one-handed events. Charles Amarello showed total mastery in the 3x3x3 One-Handed final, taking first place with a 12.60 average and a single of 10.78 seconds, finishing ahead of Chi in second at 13.97 and China’s Yancheng Liu in third at 14.23. Amarello then returned to capture the tournament’s flagship 3x3x3 Cube title, securing the victory with a 7.82 winning average and a 7.42 single. Chris Yeager took second in 8.35 seconds, and McKenzie finished third with an 8.56 average.

The concluding 3x3 results brought a thrilling end to the speedcubing festivities at the Derry-Salem Elks Club. Across all six events, United States competitors captured 17 podium positions, alongside one podium finish for China. With diverse puzzles, breakthrough individual milestones, and sharp finals racing, Salem Cubikon 2025 delivered an outstanding showcase of speed cubing excellence in New England as the 2025 regional circuit marches forward.

As competitors packed their gear and compared personal marks, the energy of Salem Cubikon 2025 highlighted the depth of local and visiting talent. From the first rounds of the morning to the decisive moves of the final solves, the cubing competition celebrated technical mastery and community spirit in equal measure, setting a high competitive benchmark for upcoming fixtures across the calendar.