Solving in Sale 2025

The floor at Catholic College Sale was a hub of constant activity across three full days of competition. Scramblers shuttled plastic puzzles under protective covers, timers beeped in steady sequence, and judges stood ready beside long rows of competition tables. With 79 competitors taking part in Sale, Victoria, Australia from April 11 to April 13, the atmosphere had all the hallmarks of a major speedcubing gathering. The program offered a complete test across twelve different disciplines, running twenty total rounds in an intense display of competitive Rubik's Cube solving.

Veteran competitors quickly found their rhythm, demonstrating classic control and precision across the larger puzzles and classic formats. Feliks Zemdegs put on a commanding clinic in the big cube categories, securing two major victories across the weekend. In the 4x4x4 Cube, Zemdegs locked down first place with a winning average of 24.72 seconds, backed by a best single of 22.18 seconds, finishing ahead of Firstian Fushada at 26.57 and Riley Dexter at 27.42. Zemdegs then doubled his title tally in the 5x5x5 Cube, averaging 46.07 seconds to edge out Fushada's 46.18 in a thrilling head-to-head battle, with Dexter taking third at 52.08.

The flagship 3x3x3 Cube event drew 78 competitors across three rounds, culminating in an electrifying final round duel. Riley Dexter captured top honours with a winning average of 6.50 seconds and a best single solve of 5.34 seconds. Zemdegs pushed Dexter right to the wire, taking second place with an average of 6.56 seconds, while Phoenix Patterson took third place with a 7.10 average. These standout 3x3 results highlighted the caliber of solving at Solving in Sale 2025, where experience and composure decided the podium places under intense match conditions.

Dexter continued his strong run in the 3x3x3 One-Handed event, taking another gold medal with an average of 10.98 seconds and a single of 8.54 across two rounds of play. Zemdegs claimed his third podium of the weekend by taking second place with an 11.44 average, followed by Tommy Kiprillis in third at 12.19. In the shorter sprint events, Phoenix Patterson claimed the 2x2x2 Cube title with an average of 1.48 seconds and a blisteringly quick single of 0.74 seconds, finishing just ahead of Roman Rudakov at 1.55 and Andy Gong at 1.59. Rudakov had his own moment at the top, winning the Skewb event with an average of 2.98 seconds.

The tournament also featured remarkable demonstrations of memory and specialty puzzle solving. Firstian Fushada enjoyed a prolific weekend, winning the Megaminx with an average of 38.26 seconds, taking the 3x3x3 Fewest Moves title with a single of 24, and winning the 3x3x3 Blindfolded final with a single of 20.97 seconds ahead of Tam Quan and Michael Tripodi. In the 3x3x3 Multi-Blind event, Tripodi delivered a masterclass in spatial recall, successfully resolving 38 out of 41 cubes in a time of 56:37. Auric Cui rounded out the specialty events by winning Square-1 with an 8.48 average, while Emmet Hobbs claimed the Pyraminx crown with a 2.16 average.

Beyond the top steps of the podium, the weekend yielded enormous personal progress for many competitors throughout the ranks. Hugo Monk recorded an impressive 69.4 percent reduction on his Skewb personal best, lowering his mark to 4.22 seconds, alongside a personal best of 11.99 in the 3x3x3 Cube. Luka Monk took on four events, setting a 2x2x2 Cube personal best of 4.99 seconds which shaved 57.2 percent off his previous benchmark, while also logging his first ever tournament attempts at Skewb with 16.24 and Pyraminx with 12.38. Clay Matthews achieved a 53.6 percent improvement on his 2x2x2 Cube best with an 11.16, alongside first attempts at Skewb in 20.04 and 4x4x4 Cube in 2:10.32.

The broader field continued to push into new territory across multiple categories. Jasper Warner entered ten events, securing a 51.5 percent drop on his Skewb personal best to 2.66 seconds, alongside a 1:03.71 in 4x4x4 Cube and 2:54.77 in 5x5x5 Cube. Timothy O'Hanlon improved his Skewb personal best by 50.9 percent to 5.34 seconds, cut his 2x2x2 Cube mark by 43.5 percent to 2.30 seconds, and posted his first ever 4x4x4 Cube result with 1:34.35. Lachlan Tucker took on eight events, cutting 31.7 percent off his Pyraminx best down to 8.64 seconds, while making debut attempts at 3x3x3 One-Handed with 1:02.05 and Skewb with 28.33. Santiago Castro dropped 27.5 percent off his 3x3x3 Cube best with a 13.72, while Josiah Levchenko entered eleven events, setting personal bests of 3.82 in Skewb and 2.48 in Pyraminx while posting 43 in his first 3x3x3 Fewest Moves attempt.

Across every bracket, Solving in Sale 2025 demonstrated the breadth and depth of the Australian speed cubing scene. Competitors from Australia took home 29 podium placements, joined by eight podium finishes from Indonesia in an action-packed, multi-day WCA competition. As another vibrant cubing competition concluded for 2025, the balance of seasoned veteran execution and massive personal progress across the roster left an enduring mark on Sale.