Tassie Winter 2023

Inside Sorell Memorial Hall, the steady clatter of turning plastic echoed across the tables as fifty-one competitors gathered for a packed weekend of speed cubing. The winter atmosphere in Sorell, Tasmania, Australia set a focused tone across seventeen rounds of play from June 17 to June 18, 2023. Solvers adjusted their timers, warmed up their fingers, and inspected scrambled puzzles under the venue lights before diving into a demanding twelve-event schedule.

The single-handed discipline put pure mechanical efficiency on display, demanding fluid table stability, fingertrick dexterity, and rapid ergonomic adjustments. Solving a Rubik's Cube with only one hand leaves no room for hesitation, as standard two-handed grips give way to precise pinky flicks and index pulls. Jode Brewster mastered the technique completely, securing victory in 3x3x3 One-Handed with an average of 13.94 seconds and a best single of 12.72. Vietnam's Trần Đăng Quang earned second place with a 17.78 average, while Arisandra Soo claimed third with 20.50.

Brewster's one-handed victory was merely the beginning of an extraordinary campaign at Tassie Winter 2023. In the standard 3x3x3 Cube, which drew all fifty-one entrants through three intense rounds, Brewster secured the title with an average of 7.93 seconds and a top single of 7.12. Peri Le Dain followed in second place with an average of 9.00, and Soo took third with 9.20. The official 3x3 results capped a dominant showing across the traditional three-layered puzzle formats.

The shorter events yielded similarly decisive margins at this WCA competition. Brewster captured the 2x2x2 Cube title with an average of 3.30 seconds, holding off Darcy Andrikonis at 3.48 and Beren Fontana at 3.86. Brewster then added Pyraminx to the tally with a 4.08 average and won Skewb with a 4.69 average. These rapid rounds tested immediate recognition and explosive turning from the moment the timer started.

Stepping up to the larger twisty puzzles, Brewster maintained complete control of the podium across four separate divisions. In 4x4x4 Cube, Brewster won in 31.39 seconds ahead of Soo at 40.37 and Trần at 40.47. Brewster went on to claim the 5x5x5 Cube title in 56.64, the 6x6x6 Cube in 1:54.51, and the 7x7x7 Cube in 3:11.19. Fontana collected runner-up finishes in both the 5x5x5 and 6x6x6 events, while Le Dain added third-place honours in both big cube finals.

Away from the top steps, several competitors delivered massive breakthroughs across the weekend program. Lewis Tibballs entered four events and posted a standout 2x2x2 Cube personal best of 2.31 seconds, an improvement of 84.5 percent over his previous mark of 14.92, while also tackling his first ever attempts in 3x3x3 One-Handed with 1:57.49 and Skewb with 17.44. Mrish Parmar cut his 2x2x2 Cube mark down to 1.90 seconds, which was 77.1 percent faster than his prior best, and dropped his 3x3x3 Cube best by 49.3 percent to 16.31. Henry Midson slashed his Pyraminx personal best by 64.1 percent down to 3.97 seconds and finished ninth in Skewb with an initial attempt of 8.05. Mitchell J. Hills reached fifth place in 3x3x3 One-Handed with an opening effort of 23.29 seconds and improved his 2x2x2 Cube personal best to 3.90.

Other solvers embraced wide multi-discipline schedules at Tassie Winter 2023. Eli Taylor entered six events, finishing fourth in 2x2x2 Cube, logging a first 3x3x3 One-Handed attempt of 29.48 seconds, and taking his Skewb best down by 42.5 percent to 9.86. Malachi Davis tackled eight events, including maiden attempts in 4x4x4 Cube at 2:33.56, 3x3x3 One-Handed at 1:08.91, and Skewb at 18.81. Meg McGrath took on her first career WCA competition with six events, securing nineteenth place in 5x5x5 Cube and recording her first 3x3x3 Cube solve at 21.11. Raiden Williams also made his competition debut across four disciplines, posting an opening Pyraminx solve of 18.44 seconds.

The remaining events brought different champions into the spotlight as the schedule broadened beyond standard layers. Arisandra Soo earned victory in Megaminx, navigating the twelve-sided puzzle with an average of 45.92 seconds and a single of 42.67. In memory-based speedcubing, Anthony Rochester won the 3x3x3 Blindfolded title with a single of 44.17 seconds, ahead of Brewster at 1:17.92 and Patrick Kleverlaan at 1:57.91. Rochester also captured 3x3x3 Multi-Blind by solving 14 out of 19 cubes in 50 minutes and 21 seconds, while Dallas McNeil followed with 6 out of 6 in 40:34.

Across two full days, the cubing competition celebrated remarkable versatility and personal progression at Sorell Memorial Hall. Australian competitors took thirty-seven podium places alongside two earned by Vietnam. With nine individual event victories for Brewster and dozens of milestone solves across the field, Tassie Winter 2023 provided a memorable showcase of technique and dedication as the local circuit looks ahead to the next season.