Tassie Summer 2023

Fifty-eight competitors gathered on January 8, 2023, turning Kingston Beach Hall into a showcase of manual dexterity and rapid algorithmic execution. Across nine rounds and five events, the cubing competition delivered intense races against the clock. Speed cubing demands acute spatial foresight, efficient turning economy, and seamless lookahead under timer pressure. At Tassie Summer 2023, solvers from across Australia and abroad met in Kingston, Tasmania, Australia, to test their form and chase personal milestones across a packed one-day schedule.

The 3x3x3 Cube event drew 57 competitors through three stages of competition, creating the most fiercely contested podium of the tournament. United Kingdom competitor Chris Mills captured top honors with a winning average of 6.42 seconds alongside a round-best single solve of 6.20 seconds. Mills held off strong domestic opposition in the final round to secure the flagship title. Australian standout Jode Brewster earned second place with a 6.76 average, while Arisandra Soo rounded out the top three by posting a 7.95 average. The 3x3 results underlined the exceptional depth at the top end of the field.

Short-format puzzles provided instant fireworks, with Jode Brewster seizing the victory in the 2x2x2 Cube. Brewster put together a rapid 1.62 winning average across two rounds, also posting the fastest single solve of the event at 1.47 seconds. Mills followed in second position with an average of 2.55 seconds, while Leeah Gard-Spaulding secured third place on the podium with a 3.16 mark. The snappy solves and high turn speeds made the 2x2 bracket one of the most volatile segments of the entire day.

Mills expanded his championship haul with comprehensive victories across multiple alternative formats. In the Pyraminx, Mills claimed first place with a 3.05 average and a best single of 2.13 seconds across two rounds, finishing ahead of Brewster with 4.88 and Gard-Spaulding with 6.23. The twelve-sided Megaminx event saw Mills finish atop the standings again, recording a 42.32 average and a 40.44 single to hold off Soo with 45.60 and Brewster with 49.14. Alex Butera broke through in the Clock event, taking the win with an 8.18 average and 6.75 single ahead of Mills with 8.57 and Brewster with 8.58.

Beyond the championship podiums, Tassie Summer 2023 featured tremendous individual progress from competitors chasing fresh benchmarks. Ethan Lavulo achieved a massive breakthrough in the Rubik's Cube, recording a personal best single of 12.29 seconds to improve on a previous mark of 35.21 by 65.1 percent and finish ninth. Christopher MacGregor Guy cut his 2x2x2 Cube single down to 7.85 seconds from 15.42 for a 49.1 percent improvement, while also lowering his 3x3x3 Cube best to 30.03 seconds and his Pyraminx best to 14.20. George Gross posted personal bests across three disciplines, cutting his 2x2x2 Cube single to 2.45 seconds by 48.2 percent, his 3x3x3 Cube time to 12.56 by 40.9 percent, and his Pyraminx single to 6.24. Esther Woodcock dropped her Pyraminx mark to 16.97 seconds, 46.3 percent faster than her prior best, and tackled Clock for the first time with a 36.06 single.

The depth of progress continued across the venue as competitors expanded their event repertoires. Ezra Hansard entered all five events, securing fifth place in Pyraminx while lowering his 2x2x2 Cube best to 3.03 seconds by 42.3 percent, his Megaminx mark to 2:02.27 by 36.2 percent, and logging a first Clock single of 24.20. Runtao Guo tackled three disciplines, delivering first attempts at Pyraminx with 7.61 seconds and 2x2x2 Cube with 5.17 seconds alongside a 21.48 personal best in the 3x3x3 Cube that improved by 39.1 percent. Jazmin Pate lowered her Clock personal best by 55 percent down to 18.68 seconds and reached tenth place, while Dougie Turner tackled five events, achieving sixth place in 2x2x2 Cube with a 2.53 single that marked a 34.5 percent improvement and completing first attempts in Pyraminx at 9.88 and Megaminx at 2:46.74.

Debut appearances brought additional energy to the tables as new competitors completed their first official World Cube Association fixtures. Seth Cowley took on four events, logging debut marks of 17.32 on 2x2x2 Cube, 56.41 on 3x3x3 Cube, 15.88 on Pyraminx, and a twentieth-place finish in Megaminx. Callum Turner made his official debut across three events, recording single times of 6.30 in 2x2x2 Cube, 27.74 in 3x3x3 Cube, and 21.45 in Pyraminx. Lucas Rossington also completed his maiden WCA competition with times of 5.96 in 2x2x2 Cube, 28.08 in 3x3x3 Cube, and 19.73 in Pyraminx, while Max Morton rounded out four events with debuts in 2x2x2 Cube at 5.37, Pyraminx at 11.49, and Megaminx at 2:56.89.

When all nine rounds concluded, the podium distribution reflected a total of ten top-three finishes for Australia and five for the United Kingdom. Chris Mills finished on all five podiums, while Jode Brewster earned hardware in four separate disciplines. The speedcubing action in Kingston provided a rich mix of experienced tournament leadership and rising local talent across every category. Tassie Summer 2023 closed out the summer weekend having delivered memorable head-to-head battles and a strong slate of personal achievements across all five featured puzzles.