UCD Cube Days 2024

Ciarán Beahan delivered the defining performance of the weekend at University College Dublin, claiming the premier 3x3x3 Cube title with a sharp 7.28 average and a best single of 6.31 seconds. The tournament hall inside the university was packed across April 13 and April 14, 2024, hosting 120 competitors for a massive two-day program. With 18 rounds contested across ten distinct disciplines, the Dublin venue served as a bustling hub of competitive energy from the very first solves on Saturday morning to the final podium presentations on Sunday evening.

The gathering marked a major WCA competition on the Irish calendar, drawing competitors from near and far to Dublin, Ireland. The classic Rubik's Cube drew a field of 113 entrants, leading through three intense rounds of speed cubing action. In the final round, Beahan held off CJ Furey, who finished second with a 7.80 average, while Richard Madden secured third place right behind at 7.83. The 3x3 results capped a weekend of precise turning and tight margins at the top of the standings.

Beyond his main event triumph, Beahan doubled his gold tally at UCD Cube Days 2024 by dominating the 5x5x5 Cube. Across two rounds among 59 entrants, he secured victory with a 41.47 average and an event-best single of 38.54. Max Kwok U Sam took second place with an average of 1:03.75, while Richard Madden took third with 1:06.83. Madden remained a constant presence near the top of the scoreboards throughout the weekend, collecting podium spots across multiple distinct puzzles.

The shorter formats brought blistering speeds to the venue tables. Kalin Doherty captured the 2x2x2 Cube title with an average of 2.15 seconds, narrowly outpacing Lucas Patrick Dowling at 2.28 and Madden at 2.70. Doherty also posted the fastest single of the event at 1.45 seconds. In Skewb, William Carey led a 69-person field with a winning 2.57 average and a 2.00 single. Miłosz Andzel took top honours in Pyraminx with a 3.57 average, edging out Madden's 3.88 and Dowling's 3.92 in a tightly contested final round.

Specialist categories added considerable variety to the competition schedule. Jack Corr mastered Clock with a 4.32 average, fending off Namuun Natsagdorj at 4.42 and Onome Brownly-Otiede at 5.63. In Megaminx, Prabhav Rajaram Nayak took victory with an impressive 38.45 average, finishing ahead of Rory Menary at 44.54 and Max Kwok U Sam at 54.89. Square-1 saw Richard Madden claim gold with a 10.57 average and a single of 8.89 seconds, converting his consistent form into a first-place finish.

Beyond the podium finishes, UCD Cube Days 2024 showcased remarkable personal milestones throughout the order of play. Sergey Malyshev produced one of the most drastic gains of the weekend, lowering his Clock personal best to 10.92 seconds, which was 77.5 percent faster than his previous record of 48.64, alongside taking a ninth-place finish in 3x3x3 Cube. Tadhg Beckett took on eight events and logged a 50.2 percent drop in 3x3x3 Blindfolded with a 1:32.96 mark while recording a first ever attempt at Clock in 17.98. Caleb Gallo completed his first ever attempts in Square-1 at 25.60 and Clock at 11.15, whilst taking 19th place in Square-1 and slashing his Pyraminx personal best by 49.4 percent down to 4.00 seconds. Rian McDermott took on eight disciplines, posting a Square-1 personal best of 41.80, a 48.4 percent improvement, and logging first ever attempts in 5x5x5 Cube at 3:22.44 and Clock at 34.88.

Other competitors similarly made substantial inroads across multiple puzzle types over the two days. Ollie Bacon recorded first ever attempts in Skewb with 15.63 and Clock with 12.53, while carving 42.5 percent off his Pyraminx personal best to finish at 6.67. Rory Pappas registered a Clock debut of 13.90, alongside a 39 percent improvement in Pyraminx to 4.75 and a 36.9 percent jump in 3x3x3 Cube down to 14.93. Leon Eoín Bailey completed a full schedule of ten events, taking ninth in Clock, putting up a first ever 5x5x5 Cube attempt of 2:43.81, and recording personal bests of 5.27 in Pyraminx and 55.52 in Square-1. Nathan Flood entered four events, posting his first ever attempt at Skewb in 13.59 while slicing his 2x2x2 Cube personal best by 35 percent down to 5.43 seconds.

Memory and spatial mastery took centre stage in the blindfolded events. In 3x3x3 Blindfolded, Simon Kelly solved his cube without sight in 49.95 seconds to take the title, leading Max Kwok U Sam at 1:20.92 and James McCambridge at 1:17.89. McCambridge returned to the tables for a standout showing in 3x3x3 Multi-Blind, securing first place by solving 13 out of 18 cubes within a time limit of 57:41, ahead of Namuun Natsagdorj with 6 out of 6 in 33:48 and Max Kwok U Sam with 7 out of 8 in 40:28.

By the conclusion of UCD Cube Days 2024, Irish solvers had secured 23 podium places, with visiting competitors from Macau, Mongolia, and India capturing seven top-three finishes between them. The successful completion of 18 rounds across two intensive days demonstrated the depth of the local speedcubing scene. As equipment was packed away at University College Dublin, the tournament cemented itself as a benchmark cubing competition in the region for the 2024 season.