Stevenage September 2023

George Scholey claimed victory in the classic Rubik's Cube final at Stevenage September 2023, delivering a 7.79 second winning average to secure the premier title of the weekend. Across four intense rounds involving a field of 178 entrants, Scholey held off determined domestic challengers in the 3x3 results, with Eli Jay averaging 7.93 seconds for second place and Sean Moran taking third with an 8.01 second mark. Scholey also logged the fastest single solve of the event at 6.68 seconds.

Held across September 16 and September 17 at The Forum in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, the speedcubing gathering brought together 192 competitors across nine events and 18 rounds. Rivalries flared throughout the venue as top UK solvers fought across short puzzles, big cubes, and specialised disciplines. In total, United Kingdom competitors captured 25 podium places, while international competitors from Sweden and the Netherlands picked up one podium place each, highlighting the sharp standard of play at this WCA competition.

Daniel Partridge matched Scholey stride for stride in overall hardware collection, securing gold across multiple categories. In the 2x2x2 Cube, Partridge captured first place with an average of 1.61 seconds and a best single solve of 1.09 seconds, leading a tight podium ahead of Luan Philippe Da Silva and Noah Calderon-Kamata. Partridge followed that triumph with another first-place finish in Pyraminx, averaging 3.31 seconds to narrowly outpace Sweden's Bo Forsell at 3.38 seconds and Nathan Olano at 3.50 seconds.

Scholey demonstrated his command on bigger hardware in the 4x4x4 Cube, posting a winning average of 31.38 seconds with a single solve of 30.01 seconds. Fabio Schwandt followed closely in second place at 35.06 seconds, edging past Partridge, who claimed third place with a 35.07 second average. Schwandt reversed the tables in the Skewb event, taking the top spot with a 3.02 second average ahead of Scholey's 3.15 second average and Eli Jay's 4.52 second mark.

Beyond the finals tables, personal benchmarks tumbled throughout the weekend as solvers made significant progress across a variety of disciplines. Ethan Li tackled eight events at Stevenage September 2023, logging his first official attempts in Megaminx with a 2:37.16, 5x5x5 Cube with a 1:59.18, and 3x3x3 One-Handed with a 28.57. Maverick Chiu recorded a 75.9 percent personal best improvement in Pyraminx with a time of 7.90 seconds, down from 32.74, while also posting first-time marks of 36.94 seconds in 3x3x3 One-Handed and 9.73 seconds in Skewb. Harry Green improved his Skewb best by 63.6 percent down to 9.79 seconds and made first official attempts in 2x2x2 Cube with 11.36 and Pyraminx with 21.88. Joseph Seaton brought his 2x2x2 Cube time down by 43.9 percent to 3.20 seconds, chopped 30.6 percent off his Pyraminx mark to reach 5.59 seconds, and registered his first 4x4x4 Cube attempt at 1:50.38.

The progress continued across the venue as Freddie Stone achieved a 2x2x2 Cube personal best of 1.74 seconds, 30.7 percent faster than before, while posting his first official attempts in Megaminx with 2:40.91 and 5x5x5 Cube with 2:59.98. Connor Gunthorpe reduced his 2x2x2 Cube mark by 48.5 percent to 2.53 seconds and posted his first official Megaminx solve at 2:12.50. Mahmoud Antar recorded a 2x2x2 Cube personal best of 2.17 seconds, a 44.2 percent drop, while taking his first 4x4x4 Cube attempt at 1:47.13. Lee Yat Nam cut 52.6 percent from his previous best on the 2x2x2 Cube to hit 2.84 seconds, improved his Pyraminx time by 47.3 percent to 5.52 seconds, and dropped his 3x3x3 Cube best by 37.9 percent down to 12.80 seconds.

Specialised solving brackets added further variety to the cubing competition schedule. Joseph Briggs stood atop the podium in 3x3x3 One-Handed, recording a winning average of 11.51 seconds to finish ahead of Sean Moran and George Scholey. In Megaminx, Sean Moran produced a 34.82 second winning average and a single of 32.18 seconds to win the single-round event over a field of 62 entrants. The 5x5x5 Cube saw Eli Jay capture the title with an average of 52.27 seconds, staying ahead of Schwandt and Partridge.

The 3x3x3 Blindfolded discipline, an event demanding pure memorisation before execution, concluded with Ben Stokes securing gold on the strength of a 29.05 second single solve. Adam Devere placed second with a 40.90 single, while Daniel Partridge rounded out the top three at 38.40 seconds. As speed cubing action concluded at The Forum, the results reflected an intense contest among the region's elite and emerging talents alike in 2023.