Speedy Southport 2024

Seven distinct disciplines and 18 intense rounds brought 155 puzzle enthusiasts together at the Southport Community Centre on November 16–17. Staged in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, the weekend showed off the full spectrum of modern speedcubing, turning the spotlight onto demanding side events alongside the classic puzzles. With deep fields across multi-layered challenges, competitors pushed the boundaries of efficiency in a major WCA competition that tested memory, spatial control, and turning velocity across two full days in 2024.

The specialised events delivered some of the weekend's sharpest battles, highlighted by the intricate geometry of the Megaminx and the massive scale of the 7x7x7 Cube. In Megaminx, Jamie Otsu navigated the 12-sided puzzle with unmatched precision, recording a tournament-best single of 32.95 seconds on the way to winning the final with an average of 38.33 seconds. Yibo Wang pushed closely with a 39.33 average for second, while Charlie Eggins secured third place averaging 50.47 across the two rounds.

On the largest hardware of the weekend, Hayden Ng proved dominant in the 7x7x7 Cube. Ng produced a blisteringly fast single of 2:05.23 before sealing first place with a 2:11.19 winning average across the two rounds. Jode Brewster took the runner-up position with an average of 2:39.05, and Jamie Otsu rounded out the podium places in 2:50.53. Ng continued to demonstrate technical excellence on the shape-shifting Square-1, capturing the title with an average of 8.24 seconds and a best single of 6.44, edging Benjamin Warry at 9.04 and Brewster at 10.15.

Speedy Southport 2024 also highlighted the exceptional versatility of Jode Brewster, who claimed three separate event victories over the course of the schedule. In 3x3x3 One-Handed, Brewster managed an 8.40 single and a 10.20 winning average across three rounds, leading Yibo Wang who averaged 11.13 and Elijah La Porte who finished third at 11.72. Brewster followed up in the 5x5x5 Cube, clocking a 45.49 single and taking the crown with a 50.60 average ahead of Wang at 51.03 and Ng at 53.16.

Brewster completed his trio of victories in a razor-thin Skewb final where hundredths of a second separated the top contenders. Brewster claimed first place with an average of 4.01 seconds, holding off Benjamin Warry who finished just one hundredth behind at 4.02 seconds, while Elijah La Porte took third place with a 4.07 average. Across all these diverse events at Speedy Southport 2024, the specialists proved how technical mastery outside standard puzzles defines high-level speed cubing.

Away from the top of the podiums, the cubing competition saw significant personal breakthroughs from solvers tackling new events and setting massive personal bests. Ian Chen entered five events and recorded a Skewb personal best of 7.12 seconds, trimming 64.7 percent off his previous benchmark, while also registering his first official attempts in Megaminx at 2:18.44 and 5x5x5 Cube at 2:29.79. William Cormack took on five events, improving his 3x3x3 One-Handed time by 49.9 percent to 34.39 seconds, cutting his Skewb mark by 29.1 percent to 6.35, and logging a first Megaminx mark of 2:16.12. Vivaan Ambika Kambam registered a 46.1 percent drop in 3x3x3 One-Handed to 26.21 seconds, adding first official attempts in Megaminx at 1:58.07 and Skewb at 5.89. Lachlan Stevens lowered his 3x3x3 personal best by 38.7 percent to 20.76 seconds while recording inaugural marks in Megaminx at 3:01.68 and One-Handed at 50.18.

The drive to expand repertoires continued throughout the roster of competitors. Junyul Lee posted a 36.6 percent improvement on the classic puzzle down to 26.61 seconds while completing first attempts in 3x3x3 One-Handed at 1:54.09 and Skewb at 13.37. Nadia Hou lowered her Skewb standard by 34.6 percent to 8.50 seconds and logged first attempts in Square-1 at 37.88 and One-Handed at 26.34. Marcus Kerr entered six events, dropping his Megaminx mark by 32.7 percent to 1:39.00 while posting first tries in Square-1 at 26.22 and 5x5x5 Cube at 2:56.98. Christopher Luo also took on six events across the weekend, logging first official attempts in Skewb at 12.14, 5x5x5 Cube at 2:48.48, and 3x3x3 One-Handed at 39.97.

The weekend concluded with four rounds of the classic Rubik's Cube, where Toby Seufert delivered a composed performance to secure the main title. Seufert posted a weekend-best single of 5.07 seconds and captured the 3x3 results crown with a winning average of 6.28 seconds. Yibo Wang took second place with a 6.58 average, while Jode Brewster finished third at 6.62 seconds, adding to a medal haul that contributed to Australia securing 17 podium places alongside 4 for China.

With 154 solvers taking part in the flagship event alone, Speedy Southport 2024 wrapped up as a comprehensive showcase of talent. From the complex twists of the big cubes to the fast rotations of the side events, the gathering at the Southport Community Centre highlighted the depth of competitive skill across the region.