South Dakota Playhouse 2025

Twenty-seven competitors assembled in Madison, South Dakota, USA on March 29, 2025, taking on sixteen rounds of intense speedcubing at the Dakota Prairie Playhouse. The single-day showdown brought a dense schedule of eight official events, drawing solvers from across the region to test their skills against the clock. Across every bracket, podium battles were tightly contested, delivering impressive times across both traditional twisting puzzles and specialty disciplines during South Dakota Playhouse 2025.

Chris Van Der Brink emerged as one of the defining forces of the competition, securing two outright victories and collecting podium finishes across several disciplines. In the Pyraminx final, Van Der Brink captured first place with an average of 4.00 seconds, powered by a sharp best single of 2.73. Ben Tibbetts followed in second place with a 4.96 average, while John Wheeler secured the third spot on the podium at 5.10 seconds.

Van Der Brink carried that winning momentum directly into the large cubes, claiming the 6x6x6 Cube title with a first-place average of 2:15.76 and a best single mark of 2:07.34. Chaeli Baker pushed hard in the nine-competitor field to finish second with a 2:20.79 average, while Ben Tibbetts secured another podium placement by taking third in 2:22.08. Baker then took top honours in the 7x7x7 Cube, posting a winning average of 3:19.90, ahead of Van Der Brink at 3:24.31 and Tibbetts at 3:37.09.

Ryan Schock delivered his own dominant performance across the mid-range puzzles, capturing two gold medals at South Dakota Playhouse 2025. In the 4x4x4 Cube, Schock topped nineteen competitors across three rounds, recording a winning average of 39.01 seconds alongside a single solve of 36.50. Van Der Brink collected second place with a 42.28 average, and Tibbetts stepped onto the podium once again with a third-place average of 43.30.

Schock doubled his title count in 3x3x3 One-Handed, claiming victory in the fourteen-competitor field with an average of 18.98 seconds and a best single of 18.08. Ben Tibbetts took the runner-up position in a razor-thin finish at 19.01 seconds, while Brooks David Anderson rounded out the top three in 21.18. Tibbetts then converted his consistent consistency into an outright victory in Megaminx, winning the two-round event with an average of 1:04.52 ahead of Francisco Garcia at 1:11.04 and Schock at 1:19.54.

Behind the headline trophies, individual breakthroughs defined the tournament floor throughout the weekend. Leonidas Vladimir Vaughn Holloman took on eight events, setting a 6x6x6 Cube personal best of 3:25.07 that was 52.3 percent faster than before, alongside first-ever official attempts in Megaminx at 3:09.91 and the 7x7x7 Cube at 5:58.11. Landon Dyck improved dramatically in Pyraminx with a 5.53 personal best, cutting 50.1 percent off previous marks, while logging a first attempt in 3x3x3 One-Handed at 28.94. Elijah Heilman knocked 42.2 percent off his Pyraminx best with a 4.70 single, and Alex Poitra dropped 38 percent in Pyraminx to record 9.99 while setting a 52.82 personal record on the 4x4x4 Cube.

Fresh faces also embraced major milestones on the competition stage. Augustus VonHaden registered a 32.1 percent personal best improvement in Pyraminx with an 11.85 single, in addition to making a first official attempt in Clock at 22.00. Henry Taylor achieved a 19.8 percent cut on 4x4x4 Cube with a 1:37.63 personal best and a 15.4 percent drop in one-handed solving at 44.08. Drake I. Scott logged a personal best of 54.08 on 4x4x4 Cube, an improvement of 12.2 percent, and made a first Clock attempt of 17.50. First-time WCA competition participant Vance Olson took on three events, logging a 24.24 solve in the classic cube and a 1:26.89 single in one-handed play.

Precision mechanics took centre stage in the Clock event, where Volodymyr Kapustianskyi registered a blistering winning average of 2.39 seconds, featuring a best single solve of 1.91. Ben Tibbetts claimed second place on the podium with a 4.13 average, while Chris Van Der Brink secured third place at 4.82 seconds. The tournament proved to be a vibrant display of speed cubing versatility across all age brackets and specialties.

The premier classic Rubik's Cube event capped the day with three rounds of high-calibre solving. Braik Hurm took the top step on the 3x3x3 Cube podium, posting a winning average of 9.38 seconds and an 8.73 best single. Ben Tibbetts finished second with a 10.17 average, and Ryan Schock took third with 10.73. The final 3x3 results concluded a memorable cubing competition, leaving South Dakota Playhouse 2025 in the books as a high-energy benchmark for the local community heading toward the next season.