The Battle of Lexington Semiquincentennial 2025

Inside the Lexington Knights of Columbus hall, tables lined the floor as 95 competitors took their places for a packed weekend of speedcubing. The local venue in Lexington, Massachusetts, USA, provided a bustling backdrop across April 26 to April 27, where solving mats, timers, and score sheets set the rhythm for two full days of play. Across 13 distinct disciplines and 22 rounds of action, the cubing competition brought together seasoned contenders and fresh faces navigating a demanding schedule.

The 2025 program at The Battle of Lexington Semiquincentennial 2025 featured puzzles of all shapes and sizes, testing versatility across big cubes, side events, and classic formats. Curtis Chai delivered an exceptional series of performances across the weekend, claiming top honours in four separate events. Chai led the flagship 3x3x3 Cube contest, finishing with a winning average of 7.10 across three rounds of play, while securing a best single of 5.85 to lock down the primary 3x3 results against a 90-person field.

Chai continued to collect victories across the shorter formats and twisty variants. In the 2x2x2 Cube final, Chai took the win with a 1.61 average, finishing ahead of David Andron-Silva at 1.98 and Joshua Broderick Phillips at 2.11. Chai also topped the 4x4x4 Cube podium with a 28.45 average, holding off Parker Trager at 30.59 and Phillips at 31.32. A fourth title arrived in the Clock event, where Chai posted a winning average of 4.76 to lead Jacob Carubia at 5.66 and Sula Mareska at 6.32.

Parker Trager established command across the larger puzzles, securing three titles over the weekend. Trager took first place in the 6x6x6 Cube with an average of 1:53.09, ahead of Chai at 2:00.92 and Louis Truong at 2:01.69. In the 7x7x7 Cube, Trager recorded a winning average of 3:01.77, followed by Chris Chi at 3:10.29 and Will Russo at 3:15.74. Trager also captured top marks in 3x3x3 One-Handed with an 11.82 average and won the Skewb event with a mark of 2.96 across two rounds.

Elijah Rain Phelps claimed two event victories of his own, taking the 5x5x5 Cube with a 1:01.79 average to edge out Chai at 1:02.43 and Chi at 1:03.87, while also winning the Pyraminx with an average of 2.55. On the dodecahedral Megaminx, Kazakhstan competitor Daniyal Suleimen won the event with a 42.84 average, leading Phillips at 45.86 and Trager at 48.66. Bailing Hou captured the Square-1 title with an 8.78 average, and Will Russo won the 3x3x3 Blindfolded event with a single solve of 48.57.

Away from the top of the podium, several competitors logged major personal breakthroughs across the weekend. Kiaan Bhatt produced an enormous improvement in the classic Rubik's Cube, recording a personal best single of 31.56, which was 80.5 percent faster than their previous mark of 2:42.05. Johnny Glynn tackled four events and logged a 4.98 Pyraminx single, 78 percent faster than their previous best of 22.60, while also posting a 16.30 in the 3x3x3 Cube and attempting the 4x4x4 Cube for the first time with a 1:36.42 solve. Tariq Ali took on 11 events, taking 8th place in 3x3x3 Blindfolded with a personal best of 2:54.84 that was 62.4 percent faster than their prior mark, alongside debut attempts in 7x7x7 Cube at 4:10.81 and Skewb at 12.17.

New milestones continued across the floor as competitors expanded their event repertoires. Adam Siu competed in seven events, logging debut attempts in the 5x5x5 Cube with 1:26.48 and Megaminx with 1:52.10, while cutting their 4x4x4 Cube personal best by 58.8 percent down to 40.29. Aiden Weir improved their 2x2x2 Cube best to 4.32, a 54.9 percent drop, and posted first-time marks in Skewb with 11.80 and Pyraminx with 8.24. Lucas Zielfelder entered 10 events, finishing 18th in Megaminx with a first attempt of 1:20.82 while improving their Clock personal best to 14.96. First-time WCA competition appearances were highlighted by Joshua Infante, who took on seven events and posted a 29.65 3x3x3 Cube single, and Ivan Kamonye Mbui of Kenya, who placed 34th in 3x3x3 One-Handed with a 24.80 single.

The two days of speed cubing at The Battle of Lexington Semiquincentennial 2025 concluded with 37 podium spots earned by United States solvers alongside international podium finishes for Kazakhstan and Canada. From the early preliminary heats to the multi-event battles on Sunday afternoon, the Lexington gathering delivered an engaging showcase of competitive solving across all 13 scheduled disciplines.