Sioux City Sunday 2023

Sixty-six competitors gathered on July 23, 2023, for a dense day of tournament action at the Stoney Creek Hotel. The single-day speedcubing schedule in Sioux City, Iowa, USA packed seven events across thirteen rounds of intense solving. Contenders faced off in everything from traditional twisty puzzles to large-scale challenges and memory trials. The tournament hall witnessed rapid turnarounds from the morning heats to late-afternoon finals, delivering top-tier performances throughout the competition.

The morning opened with deep qualification rounds in the primary events as solvers looked to secure their spots in the afternoon eliminations. A field of 65 took to the tables for the standard Rubik's Cube, navigating the first of three rounds required to reach the title stage. Simultaneously, 63 entrants began their campaigns in the 2x2x2 Cube, cycling through high-speed solves that set an electric tempo for the remainder of the tournament schedule.

Midday brought long-form tests alongside specialized twisty puzzles. In the 7x7x7 Cube, Carter Kucala captured top honors with a winning average of 2:50.61 and the round's best single of 2:39.76, edging Carter Bitz who finished with a 2:51.69 average, while Zeke Mackay locked up third in 3:01.08. Mackay returned to the podium in the 4x4x4 Cube, claiming the title with an average of 28.74 and a single of 27.05, staying ahead of Bitz at 29.20 and Brian Johnson at 29.88.

Beyond the top podium steps, the Sioux City Sunday 2023 lineup provided a stage for breakthrough milestones across the roster. Sara Abozena delivered major drops across multiple disciplines, cutting her 2x2x2 Cube personal best by 45.8 percent down to 13.35, dropping her 3x3x3 Cube time by 32.1 percent to 48.58, and improving her Skewb mark by 27.7 percent to 12.36. William Nommensen similarly surged, taking 43.1 percent off his 3x3x3 Cube best with a 16.80 and shaving 37.4 percent in the 2x2x2 Cube to hit 4.16. Ethan Nicholson posted a 2x2x2 Cube personal best of 6.72 to gain a 39 percent improvement, while Enness Abozena took 33.9 percent off their Skewb best with a 7.60 and 30.1 percent off in 3x3x3 Cube to finish in 30.34.

New event entries brought further excitement as competitors tested their capabilities in uncharted formats. Fletcher Perry tackled six events on the day, logging a 22nd-place finish in 7x7x7 Cube alongside first-time marks of 1:05.29 in 4x4x4 Cube, 1:11.47 in Square-1, and 7.43 in Skewb. Zalman Grossbaum took on six disciplines, earning 9th place in the 3x3x3 Cube while recording first attempts of 4:40.24 in the 7x7x7 Cube, 15.32 in Square-1, and 6.09 in Skewb. Liam Weigel entered five events, taking 11th in 3x3x3 Blindfolded with a maiden time of 5:03.73 and clocking 16.84 in his first Skewb attempt, while Sam Troxel logged his first marks in Square-1 at 32.68, 7x7x7 Cube at 5:28.59, and 2x2x2 Cube at 4.30.

Specialty disciplines rounded out the afternoon push with technical mastery on full display. In the 3x3x3 Blindfolded event, Will Cerne secured victory with a best single of 17.47, navigating the memorization and blind execution phase cleanly to lead Carter Kucala at 22.48 and Zeke Mackay at 42.64. In Square-1, Kucala earned another gold with a 7.41 winning average and 5.99 single, keeping Brian Johnson at 7.89 and Mackay at 9.99 in second and third place.

The 2x2x2 Cube final provided exceptionally tight turnarounds, where Brian Johnson took the victory with a 1.94 winning average and a 1.43 best single. Brody Lassner secured second place with a 2.22 average, while Zeke Mackay reached the podium once again with a 2.44 mark. Kucala then picked up yet another win in Skewb, recording an average of 1.99 and a best single of 1.63, outperforming Johnson who averaged 2.58 and Simon Kellum who finished on 2.82.

The day concluded with the decisive 3x3 results in the main event final. Carter Kucala sealed his fourth title of the gathering, claiming first place with a 7.11 winning average and the best single of the event at 5.77. Brian Johnson followed closely in second with an average of 7.34, while Simon Kellum captured third on 7.41. The United States swept all 21 podium places across the board, bringing the speed cubing action in Iowa to a thrilling finish as competitors concluded another memorable WCA competition at Sioux City Sunday 2023.