Tassie Summer 2025

The Claremont War Memorial Hall was filled with steady turning and table mats ready for action over the January 4 to January 5 weekend as forty-five competitors gathered for Tassie Summer 2025. Across seventeen rounds of play, the Hobart, Tasmania, Australia venue served as the focal point for rapid solves and tight showdowns. Solvers of all experience levels tested themselves across twelve separate events, setting the tone for the 2025 competitive calendar.

The fastest events on the schedule took centre stage, delivering intense battles where hundredths of a second decided the standings. In the 2x2x2 Cube, New Zealand standout Chris Mills secured top honours by posting a decisive winning average of 2.07 seconds across two rounds of play. Alex Butera of Australia finished second with a 2.23 average, followed closely by Australian compatriot Jode Brewster at 2.25 seconds. Mills also claimed the best single of the event with a 1.36 effort.

The classic Rubik's Cube main event saw Mills extend his speedcubing supremacy over three full rounds. Delivering a winning average of 6.39 seconds alongside the fastest single of the tournament at 5.46 seconds, Mills remained untouchable at the top of the standings. Brewster finished as the runner-up with an average of 7.77 seconds, while Tommas Austin-Milne secured the third podium step with an 8.78 average. The 3x3 results confirmed Mills as the standout sprinter of the entire weekend.

Beyond the traditional three-layered puzzle, Mills racked up victories across the mid-sized hardware and side events. He captured the 4x4x4 Cube with a 27.46 average, defeating Brewster's 28.39, and took the 3x3x3 One-Handed title with a 12.27 average over Brewster's 12.80. In Skewb, Mills topped thirty-one competitors with an average of 3.29 seconds, and he added another gold in Megaminx by recording an average of 43.21 seconds, cementing a remarkable run at Tassie Summer 2025.

The broader weekend program offered plenty of variety, with Brewster mounting a strong challenge across several technical categories. Brewster captured first place in the 5x5x5 Cube with a 56.45 average, edging Mills who finished on 57.93. Brewster also won Square-1 with an 8.68 average and took the 3x3x3 Multi-Blind with a perfect 3 of 3 points in 9 minutes and 43 seconds. Elsewhere, Alex Butera secured the Clock title with a 4.26 average, Emmet Hobbs won Pyraminx averaging 2.56, and Anthony Rochester took 3x3x3 Blindfolded with a 58.27 single.

Away from the top steps of the podium, personal breakthroughs highlighted the spirit of the speed cubing weekend. Kate Gross delivered a standout performance in Pyraminx, taking her personal best down to 10.63 seconds, which was 45.8 percent faster than her previous mark. Adrienne Morton improved across multiple disciplines, dropping her 2x2x2 Cube best to 19.82 seconds by 38.8 percent and lowering her 3x3x3 Cube best to 1:17.91 by 29 percent. William Larsen tackled ten events, improving his Clock best to 20.40 seconds by 35.2 percent and registering his first ever attempt at 5x5x5 Cube in 2:32.63. Henry Lovett achieved a 17.09 personal best in the 3x3x3 Cube, cutting his previous mark by 37.8 percent.

Several competitors embraced brand-new challenges and broad schedules at Tassie Summer 2025. Willow Deegan contested nine events, posting a Clock personal best of 16.30 seconds that was 34.9 percent faster alongside a first ever attempt at 5x5x5 Cube in 2:58.73. George Gross entered ten events, securing an eighth-place finish in 3x3x3 One-Handed with a personal best of 20.90 seconds and logging a first ever attempt at Square-1 with 1:24.43. Malachi Davis recorded a 4x4x4 Cube personal best of 1:56.69, which was 24 percent faster, alongside a first ever attempt at Megaminx in 4:48.29. First-time participant Kaveesha Rodrigo took on seven events, recording a first ever attempt at 3x3x3 Cube in 33.69 seconds.

By the time the final awards were distributed, Australian competitors had collected twenty-six podium places, while New Zealand entrants secured ten. As a welcoming cubing competition that drew both seasoned champions and fresh faces to Claremont War Memorial Hall, Tassie Summer 2025 provided high-calibre racing and demonstrated the steady growth of the local scene. The performances registered at this WCA competition set a high bar for the region as competitors look ahead to the next fixtures on the calendar.