Springfield Summer Open 2023

Inside the Northview Center in Springfield, Missouri, USA, the rhythmic clack of plastic on plastic filled the room as timers recorded fractions of a second. The Springfield Summer Open 2023 brought together a packed field of 104 competitors on August 26, 2023, each stepping up to the mats across seven distinct disciplines. Tensions peaked during the late afternoon as the final round of the classic Rubik's Cube got underway, where the top seeds traded fast times on the final solves to decide the overall championship.

The 3x3 results came down to the absolute wire between two of the weekend's most consistent solvers. Kevin Reyes-Velazquez captured first place with a winning average of 8.36 seconds across the final round, having also posted the round's best single of 7.53 seconds. He narrowly edged out Jake Maddox, who claimed second place with a mark of 8.40 seconds, just four hundredths of a second behind. Zachary Walden rounded out the podium in third place with an average of 9.20 seconds, concluding a dramatic three-round battle.

Kevin Reyes-Velazquez was not finished with just one title at the Springfield Summer Open 2023. In the 4x4x4 Cube, which drew 63 entrants over two rounds, he secured another gold medal by producing a winning average of 36.41 seconds and a best single solve of 35.14 seconds. Zachary Walden took the second spot on the podium at 37.43 seconds, while Katie Hinkley earned third place with a 38.32 average, keeping the pressure high throughout the second-round contest.

Jake Maddox put together a dominant run in the shorter formats across the single-day schedule. In the 2x2x2 Cube, Maddox took top honors with an average of 2.52 seconds after notching a best single of 1.87 seconds across two rounds. Kevin Reyes-Velazquez followed closely in second place at 3.05 seconds, and Zachary Johnson earned third with a 3.20 average. Maddox then doubled his title count in Skewb, where he topped a 73-competitor bracket with an average of 5.20 seconds and a best single of 2.94, outperforming Dominic Brungardt and Charlie Fussell.

Zachary Walden also enjoyed a multi-win outing at this WCA competition, demonstrating mastery in both one-handed and big-cube formats. Walden took the 3x3x3 One-Handed crown with an average of 17.07 seconds and a best single of 14.40 seconds, holding off Gabriel Coleman and Zachary Johnson. Later on the table, Walden secured his second victory of the day in the 5x5x5 Cube, averaging 1:07.24 with a single solve of 1:01.25 to finish ahead of Kevin Reyes-Velazquez and Katie Hinkley.

Away from the top of the podium, several solvers reached personal milestones across multiple disciplines. Tommy Behnke entered six events and cut his 3x3x3 One-Handed personal best down to 32.34 seconds, an improvement of 36 percent, while taking his first ever attempts at Skewb with an 8.36 and 5x5x5 Cube with a 2:13.32. Kyle Solomon recorded a personal best of 27.73 seconds in 3x3x3 One-Handed, 39.1 percent faster than before, alongside a 26.8 percent drop in 2x2x2 Cube to 3.91 and a first attempt at 5x5x5 Cube in 2:58.77. Cooper Gilliam knocked 42.4 percent off his 3x3x3 Cube personal best with an 11.24, chopped his Skewb mark by 45 percent down to 5.19, and completed his first 3x3x3 One-Handed attempt in 42.93.

Other competitors took on entirely new puzzles at the Springfield Summer Open 2023 with strong debuts. Spencer Espinoza dropped his Skewb best by 45.5 percent to 10.02 seconds and tackled 3x3x3 One-Handed for the first time, logging 58.42. Harper Parnell made a first official run in 3x3x3 One-Handed at 44.68, tried Skewb for the first time with a 12.27, and improved his 3x3x3 Cube best by 35.1 percent to 14.88. Bennett Dearing took on six events, placing fourth in 2x2x2 Cube while posting first-ever marks in 4x4x4 Cube at 1:04.01, Skewb at 8.79, and 5x5x5 Cube at 3:27.47. Noah Kennard cut his 4x4x4 Cube record by 34.7 percent to 1:25.25 while making maiden runs in 3x3x3 One-Handed and 5x5x5 Cube, and Shawn Doyle lowered his 4x4x4 Cube personal best to 1:50.97 while tackling Skewb and One-Handed debuts.

The 3x3x3 Blindfolded event provided a test of memory and composure, where Sawyer Rudisill secured victory with a single solve of 1:09.68 among the 12 entrants. Kayden Yang captured second place with a successful 6:47.42 solve, followed by Andy Yang in third place at 7:50.88. Across all twelve rounds and seven events, competitors from across the United States swept all 21 available podium places during the speed cubing gathering.

With 104 entrants tackling everything from rapid sprints to deep-focus blindfolded solves, the cubing competition showcased depth across every bracket. The Springfield Summer Open 2023 demonstrated the intensity of high-level speedcubing in the region, leaving competitors with new personal benchmarks to carry forward into the rest of the 2023 season.