Scarborough Fall B 2023

A single hundredth of a second stood between silver and bronze in the 2x2x2 Cube final at the Chinese Cultural Centre Of Greater Toronto. Matthew Lee secured the runner-up spot with a 2.59 average, edging Stanley Wang at 2.60 in a breathless showdown on November 19, 2023. At the top of that podium, Arhaan Sareen captured the event title with a winning mark of 2.30, but the razor-thin margin directly behind him set the tone for an intensely contested single-day speedcubing meet.

Scarborough Fall B 2023 brought together 132 competitors in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada for eight rounds of action across three official disciplines. Speed cubing fans watched closely as athletes vied for honors in classic Rubik's Cube solving, the sprint-oriented 2x2x2 Cube, and the technically demanding one-handed format. Every stage of the cubing competition delivered high stakes, but none proved tighter than the battle across the podium positions where tenths and hundredths decided the final hierarchy.

The 3x3x3 Cube contest stood as the largest event of the weekend, drawing 130 competitors through four rigorous rounds of play. When the final round concluded, Morgan Yeh earned the gold medal with a winning average of 7.06, backed by the round's best single time of 5.97 seconds. Stanley Wang chased closely to claim second place with a 7.34 average, while Matthew Lee completed the podium in third place at 7.87, rounding out a blistering set of 3x3 results.

The 3x3x3 One-Handed event tested 67 competitors across two rounds of play, demanding immense dexterity and finger strength. Matthew Lee emerged on top of the standings, capturing the event victory with a 10.77 average and a best single solve of 9.93 seconds. Stanley Wang took his third podium placing of the meet by taking second place with an 11.73 average, while Roan Paone earned third place with a mark of 12.26 to finalize the medal sweep for Canada.

Behind the top tier of podium finishers, several athletes delivered remarkable breakthroughs away from the brightest spotlight. Jeremy Xi tackled 3 events and achieved his first ever attempt at 3x3x3 One-Handed with a 21.97, while improving his 3x3x3 Cube personal best to 9.19, which was 42.5 percent faster than his prior standard. Keane Nguyen entered 3 events, earned a 13th-place finish in one-handed, and set a new 3x3x3 One-Handed personal best of 13.02, eclipsing his previous mark by 40.3 percent. Ishaan Mistry also took on 3 events, logging a first ever attempt in one-handed at 1:43.94 alongside an 8.29 personal best in 2x2x2 Cube, an improvement of 39.3 percent.

Other competitors marked major milestones across multiple events throughout the day. Cole Bannerman took on 3 events and improved his 2x2x2 Cube personal best to 2.48, which was 35.8 percent faster than before, while cutting his one-handed best to 30.44. Ben Kraemer logged his first ever attempt at 2x2x2 Cube with an 8.92 and trimmed his 3x3x3 Cube personal best to 25.19, representing a 33.1 percent drop. Booker Cruise entered 3 events, recorded a first ever attempt at one-handed at 1:15.01, and lowered his 2x2x2 Cube mark to 5.27, a 29.1 percent improvement. Marcus Ong reached 12th place in one-handed with a first attempt of 15.76, while Felix Haas made his first one-handed attempt at 28.70 and shaved 18.6 percent off his 3x3x3 Cube time to hit 7.64.

The shorter format in the 2x2x2 Cube saw plenty of rapid marks across its two rounds of competition. Arhaan Sareen produced a best single of 1.60 on his way to the top of the podium, holding off Matthew Lee and Stanley Wang in that thrilling three-way finish. With ninety-seven competitors entering the event, consistency across all five solves proved essential to survive the opening stage and make an impact in the championship round.

The action at Scarborough Fall B 2023 wrapped up with Canadian competitors claiming all nine podium spots awarded across the three events. As another fast-paced WCA competition concludes, the community leaves the Chinese Cultural Centre Of Greater Toronto with new personal milestones and memories of one of the tightest podium finishes of the season.