Tamar Valley Turning 2026

Inside Exeter Primary School, the rhythmic clack of turning plastic set the tone for an intense day of solving. Tables lined the hall as competitors inspected scrambled puzzles, testing spring tensions and checking fingertip grips before the timer started. The venue in Exeter, Tasmania, Australia hosted a focused gathering of twenty competitors on May 3, 2026, all chasing clean execution across eight fast-paced rounds. With six official events scheduled into a single day, the atmosphere demanded absolute precision from the opening scramble to the final podium finish.

The 3x3x3 One-Handed event stood out as a supreme test of manual dexterity and ergonomic control. Solvers must maneuver all six faces of the puzzle using just five fingers, relying heavily on pinky-finger flicks, index-finger drags, and table-free stability to sustain rapid turning. Without the balance of a second hand, every move requires careful wrist positioning and seamless transition between algorithm stages. In a format where small lockups cost whole seconds, one-handed speedcubing rewards patience, fingertip strength, and fluid turning habits.

Jode Brewster delivered a clinic in single-handed solving, taking the 3x3x3 One-Handed title with a dominant 12.37 winning average. Brewster separated himself from the pack by posting a blistering 8.71 best single along the way. Veer Liu Dogra secured second place with an average of 22.72, while Richard Albert Li earned third on a mark of 24.83. Brewster established control early in the single-round contest, making the complex ergonomics look effortless and setting the benchmark for the rest of the weekend.

Beyond the one-handed discipline, Brewster continued to dominate the main classic events at Tamar Valley Turning 2026. In the 3x3x3 Cube event, Brewster topped two competitive rounds to secure victory with a 7.42 final average, supported by a 6.50 single. Richard Albert Li claimed the second spot on the podium with an 8.93 average, while Veer Liu Dogra finished third at 9.07. The 3x3 results confirmed Brewster as the standard-bearer across the classic Rubik's Cube categories, keeping his turning swift and steady under the competition spotlights.

Brewster added two more gold finishes to his tally in the shorter and specialty formats. In the 2x2x2 Cube, Brewster took first place with a 2.49 winning average and a 1.71 single, edging out Veer Liu Dogra at 2.77 and Aathi Vijayalayan at 3.15. Returning to the table for Square-1, Brewster secured another victory with a 10.30 average and a single of 6.45. Veer Liu Dogra took second with 23.74, while Brad Deegan placed third with 43.08, completing another sweep of top honors for Brewster.

The deeper rounds of the tournament showed immense progress from solvers testing their skills across diverse disciplines. Peter Flight delivered one of the steepest drops of the day, logging a 3x3x3 One-Handed personal best of 54.67, which was 47.1 percent faster than his previous best, alongside a 28.7 percent improvement in 2x2x2 Cube with a 7.44 mark and his first ever attempt at Square-1 at 59.87. Isaac Nichols chopped 40.2 percent off his Megaminx mark with a 2:25.67 personal best, cut 26.6 percent off his Clock best with a 20.44, and posted a 1:02.82 in his first ever attempt at Square-1. Harry Thomas improved his 3x3x3 Cube best by 21.6 percent down to 11.16 and shaved 17.6 percent off his 2x2x2 Cube mark with a 3.97, taking 9th place in 3x3x3 Cube.

New milestones continued across the floor as Sam Langerak tackled six events, finishing 5th in the 3x3x3 Cube while recording a first ever attempt at Square-1 in 1:34.72, a first ever attempt at 3x3x3 One-Handed in 27.22, and a first ever attempt at Megaminx in 2:45.30. Joey Cavanagh dropped 7.2 percent off his Megaminx best to reach 2:12.14 on his way to 5th in one-handed. Anthony Rochester set personal bests of 2:15.85 in Megaminx and 31.04 in Square-1, finishing 5th in the latter. First-time WCA competition appearances were highlighted by Jonty Edwards, who logged a 46.04 in 3x3x3 Cube, 2:27.41 in one-handed, and 15.87 in 2x2x2 Cube, while fellow debutant William Bonser registered marks of 1:18.67 in 3x3x3 Cube and 12.42 in 2x2x2 Cube.

Veer Liu Dogra emerged as the champion across the remaining mechanical puzzles, demonstrating superb range in Clock and Megaminx. In the two-round Clock event, Dogra captured the title with a 4.42 average and a 2.75 single, leading Lena Buonaccorsi at 7.92 and Brewster at 8.26. Dogra also claimed the top spot in Megaminx with a 50.05 average and a 47.12 single, narrowly beating Brewster who posted 51.02, while Louis Kershaw took third in 1:29.78. Dogra stood on the podium in five separate disciplines throughout the schedule.

The single-day program wrapped up as a triumph of Australian speed cubing talent, with all eighteen podium positions claimed by local solvers. The cubing competition showcased everything from high-level one-handed technique to landmark individual breakthroughs across the Tamar Valley. As the organizers concluded Tamar Valley Turning 2026, the performances across Exeter Primary School reinforced the depth and dedication present across Tasmania as solvers look ahead to the next season of competition.