Tokyo BLD Spring 2025

Fifty-one competitors gathered in Ota, Tokyo, Japan on May 10, 2025, to test their memory and precision across five rounds of intense blindfolded solving. Blindfolded Rubik's Cube disciplines demand complete recall under intense time pressure, where solvers study a scrambled puzzle, place a blindfold over their eyes, and execute their solution without visual feedback. For newcomers making their debut attempts at complex puzzles, taking the floor at an official WCA competition can be a daunting experience, yet the single-day gathering provided an ideal stage for ambitious memory solvers to test their limits.

Tokyo BLD Spring 2025 brought together 4 individual events spanning standard blindfolded challenges, big cubes, and the punishing endurance of multi-blind solving. Speedcubing in the blindfolded realm requires a completely different mindset than regular speed cubing, swapping purely visual reflexes for complex spatial mnemonics and tactile execution. The 51 participants contested 3x3x3 Blindfolded across two full rounds, alongside single rounds of 4x4x4 Blindfolded, 5x5x5 Blindfolded, and 3x3x3 Multi-Blind, showcasing the depth of talent across Tokyo and international delegations.

The spotlight shone brightest on Japanese standout Keita Hayakawa, who delivered a masterclass across the single-puzzle disciplines. In the 3x3x3 Blindfolded final, Hayakawa led the field of 45 competitors with a winning single of 17.78 seconds, finishing ahead of Will Cerne from the United States, who posted a 23.16 single, and Japan's Yuki Tsuneyoshi, who secured third place with 23.93. The 3x3 results at the top of the standings reflected elite execution, with Hayakawa standing as the sole competitor to break the twenty-second barrier during the final round of the competition.

Hayakawa expanded his dominance into the big-cube blindfolded events, capturing two additional gold medals. In 4x4x4 Blindfolded, Hayakawa paced the 27-person field with a winning single of 1:42.08, outpacing fellow countryman Naoto Kobayashi, who took silver in 2:14.74, and Yuki Yamamoto, who took bronze in 2:29.59. The grueling 5x5x5 Blindfolded event saw Hayakawa complete his golden triple with a time of 4:44.39 among 20 entrants. Kobayashi secured his second silver of the day at 5:41.83, while Yamamoto claimed another third-place finish with a 5:46.19 single.

In 3x3x3 Multi-Blind, India's Shivam Bansal put on a commanding display, solving 35 out of 35 cubes within 53:40 to capture the victory among 32 competitors. The flawless run gave Bansal top honors over a competitive field. Naoto Kobayashi added another medal to his collection by placing second with 34 out of 38 cubes in 56:23, while Shiori Yanai completed the podium in third place after successfully solving 28 of 33 cubes in 58:13. Across the entire cubing competition, podium spots were distributed among Japan with ten, India with one, and the United States with one.

Beyond the podium battles, several solvers reached major personal milestones across the schedule. Qiuchi Sang entered one event and achieved a massive personal best in 3x3x3 Blindfolded with a 54.65 single, improving by 59.2 percent over their previous best mark of 2:14.08. Reon Matsui took on two events, cutting 42.9 percent off their previous best in 3x3x3 Blindfolded to register a new benchmark of 1:31.19, while also securing 12th place in 3x3x3 Multi-Blind with a clean 3 out of 3 cubes in 26:35. Yuto Date tackled all four events, earning a 9th-place finish in Multi-Blind with 6 out of 6 in 51:30, lowering their 3x3x3 Blindfolded best to 1:20.22, and completing their first ever attempt at 5x5x5 Blindfolded in 28:24.00.

The weekend also served as an arena for competitors expanding their repertoires into new disciplines. Yasuhira Yamaguchi entered three events, achieving an 8th-place finish in 3x3x3 Multi-Blind with a personal best of 8 out of 10 cubes in 49:02, and recorded a first ever attempt at 4x4x4 Blindfolded in 11:30.00. Torakazu Onota took on three events, posting their best finish of 13th in 4x4x4 Blindfolded on a first ever attempt of 11:51.00, alongside a debut Multi-Blind attempt of 6 out of 12 in exactly 1:00:00. Tomoki Koizumi contested three events and finished 14th in 4x4x4 Blindfolded with an opening attempt of 14:41.00, while also logging a first attempt in Multi-Blind of 2 out of 2 in 9:55.

Single-solve personal records were also established by Gregor Billing with a 1:49.01, Junichi Mori with a 2:14.72, Taku Yanai with a 34.98, and Takuma Mizuno with a 37.41 in the 3x3x3 Blindfolded event. Across every round, solvers navigated the unique mental hurdles of blindfolded execution, turning hours of practice into official results. As the curtain fell on Tokyo BLD Spring 2025 at the Iriarai Syukaishitsu venue, the combination of dominant championship performances and bold debuts set an inspiring tone for memory solving across the region.

2025年5月10日にOta, Tokyo, Japanの入新井集会室で開催されたTokyo BLD Spring 2025では、目隠し競技のスペシャリストたちによる圧巻の試技が繰り広げられました。その中心に立った早川慶太（Keita Hayakawa）は、3x3x3 Blindfoldedの決勝で17.78という卓越した単発記録をマークし、大会の主役に躍り出ました。

今大会には合計51名のエントリーがあり、全4種目・5ラウンドにわたって高水準な争いが行われました。記憶力と正確な手順実行が問われる目隠し部門に特化したWCA公認大会として、ルービックキューブ愛好家やスピードキュービングの競技者たちが一堂に会し、静寂の中で熱戦を展開しました。

早川慶太（Keita Hayakawa）の勢いは3x3x3にとどまらず、ビッグキューブの目隠し種目でも他を圧倒しました。4x4x4 Blindfoldedでは単発1:42.08を叩き出して快勝し、2位の小林直登（Naoto Kobayashi）の2:14.74、3位の山本祐輝（Yuki Yamamoto）の2:29.59を引き離して頂点に立ちました。

さらに5x5x5 Blindfoldedにおいても、早川慶太（Keita Hayakawa）は4:44.39の好タイムを記録して優勝を果たしました。ここでも小林直登（Naoto Kobayashi）が5:41.83で2位、山本祐輝（Yuki Yamamoto）が5:46.19で3位に入り、難度の高い5x5x5の舞台で表彰台を占める結果となりました。

多数のキューブを記憶して解く3x3x3 Multi-Blindでは、Shivam Bansalが35個中35個すべてを53:40で揃えきるパーフェクトな試技を披露して見事に優勝を飾りました。2位には34/38を56:23で記録した小林直登（Naoto Kobayashi）、3位には28/33を58:13で揃えたShiori Yanaiが続きました。

上位争いの陰で、多くの競技者が自己ベスト更新や新たな挑戦で確かな足跡を残しました。Tomoaki Sakuma（佐久間智章）は4x4x4 Blindfoldedで従来の13:44.00から36.8パーセント短縮する8:40.96の自己新をマークし、3x3x3 Blindfoldedでも9位に入りました。Kento Hirai（平井健斗）は3x3x3 Blindfoldedで21.5パーセント更新となる1:29.47を樹立し、Masashi Kurasawa（倉澤将司）も同種目で13.7パーセント短縮の2:16.01を記録して4x4x4 Blindfoldedで15位に入りました。

新たな種目に踏み出した挑戦者たちも健闘を見せました。Ryuichi Hayase（早瀬龍一）は3x3x3 Multi-Blindへ初挑戦して5/10を56:16で記録し、Yu-Wen Lin（林煜文）も3x3x3 Blindfoldedへの初挑戦で4:02.64を残しました。Kanako Eguchi（江口佳奈子）は3x3x3 Blindfoldedで33.27、3x3x3 Multi-Blindで5/7を27:19とし、両種目で自己ベストを塗り替えました。

3x3x3 Blindfoldedでは2位に23.16のWill Cerne、3位に23.93のYuki Tsuneyoshi（恒吉優紀）が入り、表彰台争いを盛り上げました。総勢51名の選手が挑んだTokyo BLD Spring 2025は、トップ層の盤石な強さと初挑戦者たちの着実な成長が交錯する充実したキュービング大会となりました。