San Lorenzo Off 2024

A single-round battle across eighty-seven seconds defined the endurance test at Sede Central UNACE. The 5x5x5 Cube demands exceptional stamina, forearm strength, and structural awareness across ninety-eight colored pieces. In that grueling test of big cube mastery, Kenji Julián Cáceres Matsumoto delivered a winning average of 1:27.89 and a round-best single of 1:20.72. Pedro Henrique de Jesus Silva claimed second place with a 1:37.95 average, while Gustavo Adolfo Ortega Gomez took third in 1:44.36, setting the tone for a relentless day of heavy-rotation solving.

The 2024 gathering at San Lorenzo Off 2024 assembled 25 competitors in San Lorenzo, Paraguay on December 1, 2024, challenging them across six distinct events and ten intense rounds. San Lorenzo, Paraguay served as the backdrop for this WCA competition, where multi-layered puzzles required competitors to maintain focus through complex layer reductions. The big cubes always test hand conditioning, as the physical drag of larger mechanisms turns each solve into an athletic sequence of uninterrupted finger-tricks and deep spatial calculation.

Kenji Julián Cáceres Matsumoto carried his commanding rhythm straight into the 4x4x4 Cube, another event where mechanical friction and parity algorithms test a solver under pressure. He captured the victory with a 37.70 average and an event-leading single of 31.00. Pedro Henrique de Jesus Silva secured another silver finish with a 51.77 mark, while Damian Britez Etcheverry rounded out the podium at 1:06.52. Matsumoto proved unmatched across the larger hardware, demonstrating the physical consistency required for top-tier cubing competition.

The traditional 3x3x3 Cube contest, universally recognized as the classic Rubik's Cube, featured 25 competitors battling through three full rounds. Matsumoto led the pack once more, securing gold with a 7.31 winning average and a 6.73 best single. Martin Alejandro Benítez López earned second place with a 10.54 average, followed by Joshua Giesbrecht in third at 12.98. These 3x3 results underlined Matsumoto's total control across both standard and heavy-piece puzzles throughout the entire tournament program.

The speed cubing talent continued to shine in the 2x2x2 Cube and 3x3x3 One-Handed events. In the short-form puzzle, Matsumoto took the top spot with a 2.42 average, followed by Damian Britez Etcheverry at 3.93 and Angel Daniel Gonzalez Gonzalez at 4.03. In the one-handed division, Matsumoto clocked a 13.61 average to defeat Pedro Henrique de Jesus Silva, who logged 19.56, and Angel Daniel Gonzalez Gonzalez, who took third in 25.67. The lone non-Matsumoto title went to Gustavo Adolfo Ortega Gomez, who conquered Square-1 with a winning average of 16.30 ahead of Damian Britez Etcheverry and Joshua Giesbrecht.

Beyond the podium chases, several speedcubing athletes logged massive personal improvements across the day. Diego Andres Ferreira Cuellar had a stellar weekend across four events, slashing his 4x4x4 Cube personal best to 1:22.63, an improvement of 51.8 percent, alongside a 38.5 percent drop on 2x2x2 Cube with a 4.28 single. Andrés Gaete Ledesma delivered a standout 20.18 personal best in 3x3x3 One-Handed, cutting 23.5 percent off his previous benchmark, while making his first ever attempt at Square-1 with a 27.89 single and taking fourth overall. Leonardo Ezequiel González González improved his 2x2x2 Cube personal best by 23.4 percent to 5.86, and Leandro Ayala dropped his 3x3x3 Cube best to 12.20, an improvement of 21.3 percent.

Other dedicated competitors made significant strides of their own. Carlos Santiago Fariña Vera competed in five events, securing a 10.70 personal best on the 3x3x3 Cube to finish fourth and posting a 1:44.21 mark in 5x5x5 Cube. Oliver Brítez advanced to sixth place in the 3x3x3 Cube final while recording a personal best of 11.69, a 7 percent improvement. First-time appearances added energy to the floor, as Piero Santino González Aguirre tackled his first WCA competition with opening marks of 18.93 on 2x2x2 Cube and 50.17 on 3x3x3 Cube, while Marcelo Adrian Leiton Cabral completed his first official competition with a 28.23 solve on the 3x3x3 Cube.

When the final timers clicked at Sede Central UNACE, the medal distribution reflected international talent, with Paraguay securing 13 podium spots, Brazil capturing 3, and Venezuela taking 2. San Lorenzo Off 2024 demonstrated how physical endurance on the larger cubes and sharp dexterity on the shorter formats come together across ten competitive rounds. Solvers left the floor with valuable experience, personal records, and fresh momentum as they look forward to their next season.