Santo Domingo Summer 2023

79 competitors converged on Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on August 26 and August 27, crossing borders and regions to test their speed. The Galeria 360 shopping complex hosted Santo Domingo Summer 2023, drawing participants from across the home nation as well as travelers representing Panama, Ukraine, and the United States. Across 12 events and 17 rounds of intense speedcubing, competitors brought their months of preparation to the tables in a celebration of precision and puzzle-solving technique.

The premier 3x3x3 Cube event drew a packed field of 76 competitors across three hard-fought rounds of classic Rubik's Cube solving. Cristian Samuel Carrasco Peña delivered the defining performance of the tournament, capturing first place with an outstanding 8.17 winning average and posting a tournament-best single solve of 7.02. Marco Jose Mercedes secured the runner-up position with a 10.97 final average, while Raimy Marte rounded out the podium in third place with an 11.08 mark. The elite 3x3 results demonstrated exceptional consistency across multiple rounds.

Amaury Miguel Caballero authored a remarkable multi-event campaign at Santo Domingo Summer 2023, sweeping three of the most complex disciplines on the schedule. Caballero claimed the 5x5x5 Cube title with a 1:12.43 average and a top single of 1:11.15 in a field of 16 solvers. He matched that precision on the twelve-sided Megaminx, taking victory with a 58.38 average ahead of Luis Felipe Villamil Gil at 1:24.25 and Henfry De Los Santos at 1:26.77. Caballero capped his dominant run by conquering the 6x6x6 Cube with a winning average of 2:21.13 and a single solve of 2:13.21.

Short-format disciplines generated rapid action at this WCA competition, led by Marco Jose Mercedes capturing the 2x2x2 Cube title. Mercedes recorded a winning average of 2.62 and a best single of 1.62 across two rounds, leading a podium that featured Cristian Samuel Carrasco Peña at 4.18 and Jesus Daniel Pache Bastardo at 4.34. Pache Bastardo answered with victory in 3x3x3 One-Handed, winning the two-round event with a 14.24 average and a blazing 10.02 single, besting Carrasco Peña who took second in 16.60 and Emil Francisco Solano Gil who took third in 18.22.

The specialty events highlighted broad versatility across the venue. Emil Francisco Solano Gil secured a double victory of his own, winning the Skewb final with a 6.28 average and taking the Square-1 title with a 12.78 average. Emanuele Romano Peguero claimed top honors in Pyraminx with a 7.90 average, while Henfry De Los Santos locked down the 4x4x4 Cube victory in 37.19. In blindfolded solving, which requires memorisation before solving without sight, Haylon Feliz Checo secured the 3x3x3 Blindfolded win with a best single of 2:17.26. Iván Artiles claimed the 3x3x3 Fewest Moves crown with a single solve of 42 moves.

Beyond the top steps of the podium, numerous competitors delivered breakthrough personal milestones on the Galeria 360 tables. Daniel Elías Bethancourt Gómez slashed his 4x4x4 Cube mark to 1:01.42, which was 49.5 percent faster than his prior standard, cut his 3x3x3 Cube best to 17.26, and made his first attempt at 3x3x3 One-Handed with a 23.41 single. Carlos José Abate Abud competed in seven disciplines, taking fifth in Skewb while improving his Megaminx mark to 1:58.95, a 43.4 percent jump, alongside his first attempts at Square-1 with 30.95 and 4x4x4 Cube with 1:02.91. Giancarlo Alvarez achieved an 8th-place finish in the 3x3x3 Cube, logged a 5.55 personal best in 2x2x2 Cube that was 52.4 percent faster, and registered his first one-handed solve at 49.01. Marcos Josías Antigua Lebrón tackled 10 separate events, setting massive personal bests in Skewb at 8.52, Pyraminx at 5.29, and Megaminx at 2:16.83.

First-time entrants and dedicated speed cubing travelers added tremendous depth to the weekend roster. Jamal David Adames Malena took part in their first official tournament, entering seven events, reaching 10th in Skewb, and logging initial marks of 15.82 in 3x3x3 Cube, 14.99 in Pyraminx, and 42.50 in One-Handed. Abdiel Then also made a competition debut across eight events, placing fifth in 3x3x3 Blindfolded while logging first attempts in 3x3x3 Cube at 20.46, 4x4x4 Cube at 1:41.66, and Megaminx at 5:53.99. Traveling competitor Andres Felipe Mendez Lopez from Panama contested five events, taking fifth in 4x4x4 Cube with personal records of 9.87 in 3x3x3 Cube and 29.74 in One-Handed. International entrant David Skrupskyi from Ukraine made their official debut across five events, recording initial times of 18.64 in 2x2x2 Cube, 32.12 in 3x3x3 Cube, and 3:38.56 in 4x4x4 Cube.

The 2023 edition concluded with local Dominican Republic competitors capturing 36 podium places, joined on the award rolls by the USA with one podium finish. From the technical depth of multi-phase rounds to the individual personal records established across every heat, this cubing competition reinforced Santo Domingo as a vibrant hub for the sport. Solvers and organizers departed the venue having completed an exhaustive slate of 17 rounds, carrying fresh milestones into the next season of play.