Tokyo FMC Spring 2025

Inside the halls of the venue in Ota, Tokyo, Japan, the typical rapid clatter of plastic was replaced by quiet concentration and the steady turning of puzzle layers. Solvers sat hunched over sheets of paper with pens in hand, analyzing scrambled positions and mapping out sequences turn by turn. The deliberate, methodical nature of Fewest Moves solving defined the atmosphere as competitors gathered for a single-discipline gathering in the capital city on May 17, 2025.

The tournament focused entirely on the art of efficiency, bringing together 23 competitors across 2 rounds of dedicated 3x3x3 Fewest Moves play. Unlike standard fast-paced formats, this specialized discipline tests a solver ability to construct the shortest valid sequence of moves within a strict time limit. This dedicated cubing competition provided a rare spotlight for specialists who dedicate their practice to algorithmic optimization rather than raw turning speed.

When the final scores were tallied at Tokyo FMC Spring 2025, Yiwei Liu representing China secured the top spot on the podium. Liu produced a winning average of 21.33 across the three attempts of the final round, backed by a tournament-best single solve of 19 moves. That single stood out as the lowest move count recorded across the entire day, demonstrating remarkable efficiency in identifying concise solutions under tournament pressure.

The podium battle remained tight until the final notations were submitted. Takumi Tamura of Japan earned second place with an average of 21.67, finishing just fractions of a move behind the top mark. Shuto Ueno, also representing Japan, completed the podium in third place with a solid 22.00 average, ensuring host nation contenders took two of the three top positions in this highly competitive WCA competition field.

Beyond the podium, the deeper field produced exceptional breakthroughs that reflected months of dedicated study and preparation. Rintaro Koide achieved one of the most remarkable gains of the event, finishing in 8th place with a personal best single of 20 moves, cutting 35.5 percent off a previous record of 31. Kai Yamamoto also delivered a major leap, taking 11th place while posting a personal best of 23 moves to improve by 23.3 percent over an earlier mark of 30. Kazuhiko Kusano finished in 12th place, logging a personal best of 25 moves that was 13.8 percent faster than a prior record of 29.

The progress continued through the ranks as other dedicated competitors advanced their personal baselines. Shota Wakabayashi secured 4th place overall, recording a personal best single of 20 moves to improve by 9.1 percent from a previous best of 22. Yuki Sako locked in 5th place in the standings with a personal best of 21 moves, shaving 4.5 percent off an earlier best of 22. Meanwhile, Toshiaki Ishikura took on the discipline and achieved a best finish of 13th place, adding another solid chapter to an active career.

The single-discipline format highlighted how diverse modern speedcubing has become beyond traditional speed trials. While most speed cubing gatherings emphasize pure execution speed across various puzzle shapes, an FMC meet strips the challenge down to pure theory, spatial reasoning, and move economy on the classic Rubik's Cube. Every attempt requires a deep understanding of blockbuilding, corner-edge relationships, and insertion cancellations.

With specialized 3x3 results delivering world-class efficiency, the 2025 gathering in Ota demonstrated the exceptional depth of Fewest Moves talent in the region. The day concluded with solvers comparing written solutions, sharing technique variations, and analyzing missed cancellations. As the community looks ahead to future meets on the calendar, the standard set at Tokyo FMC Spring 2025 reaffirms that the pursuit of the shortest path remains one of the most compelling disciplines in the sport.

23名の競技者が東京都大田区の馬込区民センターに集結し、2025年5月17日に開催されたTokyo FMC Spring 2025で知略の限りを尽くした。スピードキューブおよびルービックキューブ愛好者たちが注目するこのWCA competitionには、日本国内のみならず、中国、台湾、アメリカといった遠方の国や地域からも熱心なキューバーが長い距離を移動して参戦した。

今大会は3x3x3 Fewest Moves（最少手数競技）の単一競技のみで競われ、全2ラウンドを通じて極限まで短い手数を追求する濃密な戦いが繰り広げられた。遠方からの参加者を含め、限られた思考時間の中で手数を削り落とす高度な技術が会場全体で披露された。

頂点に立ったのは中国から参戦したYiwei Liu (刘伊玮)であった。Yiwei Liu (刘伊玮)は単発19手という極めて優れた記録を叩き出し、平均21.33手をマークして見事に優勝を果たした。国際的な舞台で培われた鋭い手順構築が遺憾なく発揮された形となった。

表彰台争いも非常にハイレベルな接戦となった。日本のTakumi Tamura (田村匠)が平均21.67手で2位に入り、同じく日本のShuto Ueno (上野柊斗)が平均22.00手を記録して3位に続いた。わずか1手にも満たない僅差の中で順位が分かれる、非常に緊迫した表彰台争いとなった。

表彰台の外でも各選手が確かな成果を残している。Takumi Kawazoe (川添匠)は自己ベストを従来の38手から32手へと縮めて15.8パーセントの短縮を果たし、14位フィニッシュを飾った。Takumi Kato (加藤匠)も自己ベストを32手から31手へと更新して3.1パーセント短縮し、16位となった。Yuto Morishita (森下優斗)は今大会で7位という自己最高順位を記録している。

さらに、Hajime Miyazaki (宮崎朔)は総合6位という上位フィニッシュを記録した。歴戦のTomohiro Kobayashi (小林知広)は9位に入り、Takuma Shirahase (白波瀬拓磨)は17位で今大会を終えている。個々の競技者が積み上げてきた探求の成果がしっかりと盤面に刻まれていた。

今大会では多数の単発および平均記録が公認記録として残された。アメリカから訪れたJackson Warley (USA)は単発26手を記録し、台湾から参戦したHan Wu (吳翰)も単発40手、平均48.67手を刻んだ。遠路はるばる東京の地へ足を運んだ選手たちの奮闘が光る一日となった。

Tokyo FMC Spring 2025は、純粋に手数のみを追求する奥深い競技の魅力を存分に示した。Ota, Tokyo, Japanの地で生み出された数々の好記録と選手たちの挑戦は、今後のルービックキューブ競技会シーンへと確かに受け継がれていく。