Texas Championship 2023

Dylan Miller delivered the defining performance of the weekend in Bryan, Texas, USA, capturing the marquee 3x3x3 Cube title with a scorching 6.17 winning average and a best single solve of 5.08. His decisive victory over four rounds of play set the tone for an action-packed tournament. Across December 2 to December 3, Texas Championship 2023 assembled 127 competitors at the Brazos County Expo Complex to contest 31 rounds across 16 different disciplines.

The 3x3 results formed the centerpiece of the classic Rubik's Cube category, where Kyle Santucci pushed hard to finish runner-up with an average of 6.74, while Ryan Pilat rounded out the podium in third at 7.46. With 122 competitors entering the main event alone, the standard remained exceptionally high through each progressive cut, showcasing experienced campaigners delivering under pressure at this major WCA competition.

Beyond the traditional three-layered puzzle, Pilat orchestrated a remarkably dominant multi-event campaign. The veteran speedcubing standout captured the 2x2x2 Cube crown with a 1.57 average, holding off Tucker Chamberlain and Siddharth Reddy. Pilat duplicated that winning formula in Pyraminx by posting a 2.60 average over two rounds, besting Ryan Bernardo and William Henry Ruppert V. To cap off an extraordinary weekend, Pilat also secured the 4x4x4 Blindfolded title with a single mark of 3:54.58, edging Joshua Gao and Leia Jiang.

Ray Bai proved equally unstoppable across the mid-range and big puzzle brackets. Bai swept the 4x4x4 Cube with a winning average of 29.42, took top honors in the 5x5x5 Cube at 51.29, and conquered the 6x6x6 Cube in 1:38.64. He added a fourth gold in 3x3x3 One-Handed with an average of 10.79. Bai also contributed to the podium in the 7x7x7 Cube, claiming second behind champion Vincent Chen, who clocked an impressive 2:49.87 average to seal the longest regular event.

While the top podium steps saw intense clashes among seasoned winners, several competitors pushed their own boundaries by tackling new puzzles and setting remarkable marks across the schedule. Graham Snell made huge strides on the 2x2x2 Cube by recording a personal best of 5.09, shaving 44.4 percent off his previous benchmark, while also registering his first ever attempts at Pyraminx in 9.92 and Skewb in 14.30. Noah Silva logged an equally stunning 41.6 percent drop in his 2x2x2 Cube personal best, lowering it to 3.20, while taking on his first ever attempts at 4x4x4 Cube in 1:39.47 and 5x5x5 Cube in 2:50.68.

A deep field of determined solvers expanded their repertoires across numerous categories. Samuel Snider entered 11 events and registered his best finish of 32nd in the 6x6x6 Cube alongside maiden official attempts in Skewb at 8.58, Square-1 at 1:01.31, and Megaminx at 3:15.92. Nathan Nguyen tackled nine events, highlighted by a sixth-place finish in Clock and first-time official attempts in 4x4x4 Cube at 37.83, 6x6x6 Cube at 2:33.68, and 3x3x3 Blindfolded at 4:01.49. Lucas Wood stepped up across eight events, logging first attempts in Skewb at 9.25, 4x4x4 Cube at 1:22.24, and 5x5x5 Cube at 2:42.77. Christian Nguyen took on six events with debut solves in 4x4x4 Cube at 57.68, Pyraminx at 10.99, and Skewb at 14.47, while William Zhan completed his first efforts in 2x2x2 Cube at 8.93, Square-1 at 37.57, and 4x4x4 Cube at 2:09.78. Gavin Woffenden similarly expanded his range across five events with initial marks in Pyraminx at 12.95, Skewb at 15.14, and 3x3x3 One-Handed at 1:03.30.

Specialty puzzle specialists also made significant marks across the schedule in 2023. Dylan Baumbach swept both the Clock and Square-1 events, averaging 4.56 on the dials and 6.17 on the shape-shifting Square-1. Lucas Kuczaj outpaced the field in Megaminx, capturing first place with a 33.81 average, while Riley Norrid prevailed in Skewb with a winning mark of 3.14 over two rounds.

The blindfolded categories demanded extreme precision and deep concentration from start to finish. Jeremy Sheng claimed victory in 3x3x3 Blindfolded by recording a winning single of 26.98 in the final, overcoming Joshua Gao and Fletcher Berry. Gao bounced back to win the 5x5x5 Blindfolded event with a 10:25.00 single solve. In the rigorous 3x3x3 Multi-Blind contest, Joel Brown Brisola executed a remarkable display by successfully resolving 32 out of 47 cubes within a time of 57:16.

With 48 podium spots secured by solvers from the United States, alongside two for Canada and one for Brazil, the cubing competition demonstrated exceptional depth throughout the weekend. From elite single solves to multi-category sweeps, Texas Championship 2023 highlighted the high standard of modern speed cubing as competitors prepare for the upcoming competitive season.