Spark Melbourne February 2025

A mere six hundredths of a second decided the premier event in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, as David Epstein produced a magnificent 6.63 winning average to seize the 3x3x3 Cube title. In a gripping duel that went down to the decisive final turns against Riley Dexter, Epstein locked in the victory alongside a best single of 5.68. Dexter pushed the standard to the limit with a 6.69 runner-up average, while Feliks Zemdegs took third place with 6.91. The razor-thin margin capped an extraordinary weekend of speedcubing at Cru+ Coffee Roastery.

Held across February 22 to February 23, Spark Melbourne February 2025 brought together 126 competitors across 16 rounds of intense action. The two-day cubing competition featured seven distinct puzzles on the schedule, drawing top talent from across the region. Across every round, the standard of execution remained exceptionally high as competitors battled through multiple elimination stages in pursuit of podium places and personal milestones during the 2025 season.

While Epstein clinched the main event, the podium battles across the other events proved just as relentless. In the 2x2x2 Cube final, Riley Dexter turned the tables to claim top honours with an electric winning average of 1.58 and a single of 1.14. Feliks Zemdegs secured second place with 1.70, followed closely by Epstein in third at 1.81. Dexter, Epstein, Roman Rudakov, Phoenix Patterson, Jacob Joshi, Harry Forbes, Lukas Nguyen, Benjamin Kao, Andy Gong, and Nam Nguyen each registered standout marks across the three rounds of two-by-two action.

Feliks Zemdegs put together a commanding double victory across the larger puzzles. In the 4x4x4 Cube final, Zemdegs dominated the field of 65 competitors with a winning average of 22.27 and a best single of 21.05, finishing ahead of Dexter in second with 27.13 and Epstein in third with 27.65. Zemdegs returned to the top step in Megaminx, navigating the twelve-sided puzzle to an average of 38.10, narrowly besting Darcy Way who clocked 38.36 for second and Roman Rudakov in third with 40.82.

The specialised puzzles delivered further drama for the weekend results ledger. In Clock, Zayd Chaudhry took first place with a stellar 4.00 average, backed by a quick 3.04 single, holding off Alex Butera at 4.51 and Jacob Joshi at 4.99. Ziqi Ding mastered the Pyraminx final among 85 entrants, averaging 2.45 to edge Eli Panetta at 2.52 and William Herring at 2.69. Meanwhile, Tam Quan topped the 3x3x3 Blindfolded discipline, solving without sight in a single of 22.34 to lead Chaudhry and Butera.

Beyond the podium battles, several competitors achieved remarkable milestones across the board. Sam De Waal achieved significant breakthroughs across four events, logging a Pyraminx personal best of 4.37 to improve by 61.8 percent, cutting his 4x4x4 Cube mark by 45.2 percent to 1:19.52, and taking 25.4 percent off his classic Rubik's Cube time at 11.47. Jeff Xu took on seven events and recorded a 59.9 percent leap on 2x2x2 Cube down to 1.21, alongside personal bests of 31.67 in 4x4x4 Cube and 57.62 in Megaminx, while finishing seventh in blindfolded solving. Cohen Tan took 57.8 percent off his Pyraminx mark to record 15.91 and slashed his 3x3x3 time by 51.7 percent to 23.52. Ethan Yuran Niu dropped his 2x2x2 Cube best by 57.1 percent to 4.76.

Fresh milestones continued with Amelia Shaolin Chen improving her 3x3x3 personal best by 52.6 percent to 1:47.64. Jackson Ren Baker registered a first ever attempt at Pyraminx in 20.45 while taking 45 percent off his 2x2x2 Cube mark at 10.04 and 31.6 percent off his 3x3x3 best at 40.05. Zachary Sinclair Hall also logged a first ever attempt at Pyraminx with 15.12 and improved his 2x2x2 Cube time by 37.1 percent to 9.66. Ryan Deng tackled six events, recording a first ever attempt at Clock in 16.38 while securing personal bests of 4.92 in Pyraminx and 1:09.58 in 4x4x4 Cube.

The extensive weekend of speed cubing concluded having awarded 21 podium places, all earned by Australian competitors across seven disciplines. With nail-biting finishes across the 3x3 results and dramatic multi-puzzle showings throughout the venue, Spark Melbourne February 2025 delivered an unforgettable chapter of competitive puzzle solving. Competitors now look ahead to building upon their personal records and championship form as the calendar unfolds across the country.