Take Your Time Sydney 2025

Eighty-six competitors stepped up to the solving tables at Kogarah High School as Take Your Time Sydney 2025 delivered an intense weekend of official speedcubing action. Running across October 11 and October 12, the gathering welcomed both seasoned athletes and newcomers testing their nerve across seven distinct events and eight rounds. For those taking their initial steps into an official cubing competition, the environment offered a direct taste of the focus required beneath the competition lighting in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

The 2025 program placed a heavy emphasis on larger twisty puzzles, moving well beyond traditional Rubik's Cube setups to test endurance and technical mastery. Across two packed days, participants managed the pressure of timed attempts while navigating unfamiliar competition protocols. Every single attempt mattered, whether an athlete was contending for silverware or aiming to post an official baseline in their very first WCA competition experience.

At the sharp end of the results, Bryan Eng and Sora Sato engaged in a remarkable battle across multiple formats. Eng captured top honours in 3x3x3 One-Handed with an average of 10.01 seconds and a best single of 9.60 seconds, finishing ahead of Sato at 12.05 and Caden Liu at 14.70. Eng then showcased his command of the massive NxN layers, taking first place in the 6x6x6 Cube with a winning average of 1:41.37 and the 7x7x7 Cube with an average of 2:33.41.

Sato countered with commanding victories in the middle-tier large puzzles at Take Your Time Sydney 2025. In the 4x4x4 Cube, Sato posted a winning average of 28.11 seconds to edge Eng's 28.46 and Zak Kenny's 30.34, while also claiming the single round's best single of 23.55. Sato repeated that success in the 5x5x5 Cube, winning with an average of 48.93 seconds over Eng's 54.42 and Daniel Wang's 59.09, further demonstrating the exceptional standards of Australian speed cubing.

Beyond the standard cubic events, Edward Rust earned the Megaminx title with a composed average of 36.96 seconds, leading Jason Panagiotidis at 50.54 and Finn Trass of New Zealand at 53.04. The Clock tournament, which was the only event on the schedule to feature two rounds of play, saw Kristian Trubajic secure victory with a 4.50 average in the final, holding off Elias Chong at 5.08 and Nathan Liu at 5.63.

Away from the podiums, the heart of the gathering was found in the sheer volume of personal breakthroughs and new milestones. Nicholas Weir delivered one of the weekend's biggest leaps, recording a 5x5x5 Cube personal best of 2:18.91 to finish 45.9 percent faster than his previous best of 4:16.55, alongside his first ever attempt at 6x6x6 Cube of 4:37.80. Taal Bernal took on four events and lowered their Clock mark by 45.5 percent with a personal best of 25.13, down from 46.09, while logging a first ever attempt at 4x4x4 Cube in 1:53.47. Frederick Mayer achieved a Clock personal best of 13.91, slashing 40.4 percent off his previous 23.34 mark, alongside a first 7x7x7 Cube attempt of 8:54.96. Noah Sippel cut 30.8 percent off his 5x5x5 Cube best with a time of 1:54.54 and posted his first 6x6x6 Cube effort of 3:25.53.

The appetite for expanding into demanding disciplines was visible throughout the field. Bram de Laat tackled seven events at the venue, earning a best finish of 29th in 7x7x7 Cube with a first ever attempt of 6:15.61, while also logging his first Clock attempt of 16.85. Jacob Chamberlain contested six events, achieving a 14th-place best finish in Megaminx behind a first ever attempt of 1:13.72, in addition to a first 6x6x6 Cube effort of 2:51.39. Vitaliy Orlov completed all seven events on offer, securing 18th place in 7x7x7 Cube with an opening mark of 4:53.18 and registering a first Clock try of 20.10. Daniel Shen also entered seven events, securing 9th in Clock while logging a first 4x4x4 Cube attempt of 1:07.29.

By the time the final scores were entered at Take Your Time Sydney 2025, Australian solvers had captured 20 podium places alongside one podium finish for New Zealand. While spectators frequently check traditional 3x3 results to evaluate overall depth, this competition highlighted the skill demanded across one-handed and big-cube formats. The weekend proved that stepping onto the competition floor for the first time remains the most essential milestone in the sport.

As the equipment was packed away at Kogarah High School, the 86 competitors left with fresh official times, significant personal milestones, and a clear measure of their progress heading into future tournament seasons.