Trois-Rivières 2024

A blistering 1.14 single and a tournament-winning 1.41 average from William Lavoie on the 2x2x2 Cube set an electric tone at Trois-Rivières 2024. Held at the Centre social, local HC-1000 in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada on October 19, 2024, the one-day gathering showcased forty-three competitors pushing their personal limits across eight distinct disciplines. The event proved how rapidly emerging talent is accelerating through the ranks, turning routine pairings into nail-biting showdowns across eleven intense rounds of competition.

The 2024 cubing competition brought an impressive variety of hardware to the tables, ranging from the classic Rubik's Cube to intricate rotating puzzles. Darshan Bhavanasi produced a masterclass across multiple formats, earning podium places in every event he entered and collecting four victories. Bhavanasi topped the 3x3x3 Cube with a 7.96 average and a best single of 7.37, while also clinching wins in 4x4x4 Cube with 33.49, 5x5x5 Cube with 1:01.61, and Square-1 with 14.59.

The 3x3 results in the premier event demonstrated the tight margins separating the top tier of speedcubing athletes. Darshan Bhavanasi narrowly held off Maxence Leboeuf, who secured the runner-up spot with an 8.08 average. William Lavoie rounded out the 3x3x3 podium with a 10.31 mark after battling through two competitive rounds of forty-one entrants. Leboeuf would find his own gold earlier in the day, dominating the Pyraminx event with a rapid 2.32 average and a 1.83 best single.

Elsewhere on the floor, specialist disciplines pushed dexterity to the limit. In Clock, Jack Chicoine took the top step of the podium across two rounds of twenty-three competitors, logging an impressive 5.40 average alongside a 4.18 single to edge out Gabrielle Morasse at 5.85. The 3x3x3 Blindfolded division delivered precision problem solving without visual feedback, where Elliott Kobelansky claimed victory with an 18.38 average and a best single solve of 17.71, well ahead of Antoine Riverin at 1:48.19.

Beyond the championship trophies, this WCA competition revealed massive leaps forward from competitors across the field. Félix Gaudet tackled all eight events on the schedule, achieving a Clock personal best of 9.86 that was 52.1 percent faster than their prior mark of 20.57, while also logging their first ever attempts in Pyraminx with 4.40 and 2x2x2 Cube with 4.96. Émile Turcotte registered six events, setting a Pyraminx personal best of 7.26 which cut 36.8 percent off their previous 11.49 record, alongside first attempts in 5x5x5 Cube at 3:11.69 and 4x4x4 Cube at 1:40.16. Antoine Villemaire improved their Square-1 personal best to 19.19, a 26.2 percent drop, while Zack Létourneau achieved a 2x2x2 Cube personal best of 3.98, shaving 24.8 percent off their former 5.29 time.

The momentum continued as Jacob De Carufel lowered their Pyraminx mark by 22.1 percent to 10.08 and recorded a 17.72 in 3x3x3 Cube alongside a first 4x4x4 Cube attempt of 2:32.73. Frédéric Legaré dropped their 4x4x4 Cube time by 21.4 percent to 2:29.70 and trimmed their 2x2x2 Cube mark by 14.8 percent to 7.53. Alexis Dufour advanced their 4x4x4 Cube best by 19.8 percent down to 1:01.57 and posted a 9.31 in 3x3x3 Cube. First-time participant Jose Francisco Cruz De Jesus took on four events, setting debut benchmarks with a 32.00 in Square-1 for a ninth-place finish, a 1:02.26 in 4x4x4 Cube, and a 1:42.32 in 5x5x5 Cube.

The depth of skill in speed cubing was mirrored in the broader podium count, where Canadian athletes claimed sixteen total top-three spots alongside eight for India. In the 5x5x5 Cube, Maxence Leboeuf secured second behind Bhavanasi with 1:05.21, followed by Rémi Chrétien in third at 1:22.37. The 4x4x4 Cube saw Leboeuf take silver with 36.28 and Jack Chicoine capture bronze with 43.21, illustrating the consistent standard maintained by Quebec competitors across the heavier puzzles.

Closing out the program, the 2x2x2 Cube podium saw William Lavoie finish ahead of Darshan Bhavanasi at 1.87 and Maxence Leboeuf at 2.23. The brisk pace and high success rate across every category highlighted how much ground up-and-coming solvers have gained throughout the season. Trois-Rivières 2024 concluded as a definitive showcase of local progress, technical mastery, and rapid development across the entire Canadian speedcubing community.