Santa Barbara Winter 2025

Ninety competitors gathered at the First Presbyterian Church of Santa Barbara on January 4, 2025, setting the stage for an intense single-day cubing competition. Santa Barbara Winter 2025 featured six events spread across thirteen rounds of play, drawing talent from across the region and overseas. From big cubes to specialized side events, the schedule required stamina and rapid transitions between different puzzle formats throughout the day in Santa Barbara, California, USA.

The morning schedule opened with early heats across the larger puzzles, where Max Park wasted no time asserting his standard. In the 7x7x7 Cube, Park delivered a decisive victory with a winning average of 1:45.03 and a best single of 1:40.38 across two rounds. Brendyn Dunagan secured second place with an average of 2:14.92, while Paul Mahvi locked in third at 2:28.23. The 32 competitors in the field were treated to an early demonstration of elite speed cubing technique.

Park continued his commanding run as the schedule transitioned to 6x6x6 Cube. In another two-round battle among 32 competitors, Park captured first place with an average of 1:07.32 and a single of 1:06.75. Dunagan followed in second with an average of 1:28.18, and Mahvi joined them on the podium once more in third place with a mark of 1:34.09. The symmetry at the top of both large-cube events underlined the sharp form of the podium finishers early in the day.

Midday brought the side events into focus, shifting the puzzle geometry away from traditional layers. In Square-1, Brendyn Dunagan surged to the top of a 38-competitor field, taking the title with a 5.59 average and a single of 4.17. Kyeongmin Choi claimed second place with an average of 8.10, while Vinicius Shaw took third with 9.10. Choi bounced back immediately in the 46-person Megaminx event, winning the final with an average of 30.40 and a single of 28.07, ahead of Dunagan at 37.17 and Jack Flynn Stewart at 48.58.

Beneath the top podium battles, several under-the-radar competitors achieved significant milestones across the tournament floor. Nathaniel Duan delivered one of the steepest personal improvements of the day, cutting his 3x3x3 Cube best by 49.8 percent down to 16.05. Abraham Ramirez took on six separate events, recording his first official attempt at 7x7x7 Cube in 7:26.61, his first Megaminx attempt in 1:13.10, and a Square-1 personal best of 17.49 that was 31.8 percent faster than his previous mark. Felix Kurlat slashed his 7x7x7 Cube personal best by 32.1 percent to 4:38.10, while Albert Poghosyan registered his first official Square-1 solve at 14.99 and a 3x3x3 Cube personal best of 7.88.

First-time participants and multi-event entrants also made their presence felt throughout the afternoon rounds. Wesley Moon completed their first official WCA competition, logging initial marks in four events including a 25.63 in the 3x3x3 Cube and a 1:27.25 in Square-1. AJ Pajevski tackled four disciplines, recording a first 5x5x5 Cube solve of 4:16.88 and a first Square-1 result of 1:11.94. Sean Elijah Strahan posted a personal best of 15.55 in the main event alongside a first Megaminx effort of 2:23.80, and Tzu-yu Sun improved their 3x3x3 Cube mark by 31.1 percent to 17.73.

The competition advanced toward the late afternoon with the 5x5x5 Cube, where Park resumed his winning ways among 53 entrants. Park claimed his third title of the day with an average of 38.44 and a best single of 35.34. Dunagan earned his fourth podium finish of the meet by taking second with a 47.37 average, and Mahvi claimed another bronze position with an average of 50.14.

Santa Barbara Winter 2025 concluded with the showcase 3x3x3 Cube final, which featured 89 competitors across three rounds. Park sealed a four-event sweep by taking the title with a winning average of 5.88 and a fast single of 4.97. Dunagan captured second place on the podium with a 6.47 average, while Choi finished third with a 7.80 average. The final 3x3 results capped a full day of speedcubing excellence across every puzzle category.

With 14 podium places secured by competitors representing the United States, three by South Korea, and one by Brazil, the Rubik's Cube action in Santa Barbara delivered a memorable start to the 2025 season. The single-day program highlighted both the consistency of established champions and the rapid personal strides of emerging competitors.