UCLA PBQ 2023

Inside UCLA Franz Hall, the competition floor buzzed with focused energy as solvers settled in for an intense lineup of non-traditional challenges. The schedule put aside the standard speed events in favor of a demanding mix of memory and efficiency puzzles, filling the venue with rows of sleep masks, stopwatches, and paper sheets. Competitors examined scrambled layers, memorized piece trajectories, and wrote out algorithms under timed conditions. On December 2, 2023, the gathering brought together 22 competitors in Los Angeles, California, USA, to test their mastery across five distinct disciplines.

Across the five events and six rounds, the gathering highlighted the wide spectrum of speedcubing formats. Solvers moved from the pure memorization of standard blindfolded solving to the stamina required for big-cube blind events, navigating the massive puzzle variety that defines specialty cubing. With multi-cube arrays spread across desks and strategic notation drafted for efficiency, the day showed how much depth exists beyond conventional speed cubing disciplines at a focused WCA competition.

Graham Siggins delivered an exceptional performance across the blindfolded categories, capturing first place in three separate events. In 3x3x3 Blindfolded, which drew 20 competitors across two rounds, Siggins secured victory with a top single of 19.79 seconds. Neel Gore took the second step on the podium with a single time of 23.44 seconds, while Kyeongmin Choi (최경민) took third place with a time of 32.30 seconds. Siggins had also established a single of 19.40 and an average of 22.04 earlier during the event.

The larger blindfolded challenges demonstrated even greater technical difficulty. In 4x4x4 Blindfolded, Graham Siggins led the 15-competitor field with a winning single time of 1:37.72, ahead of Anthony Lauro, who finished second in 3:15.99, and Neel Gore, who earned third in 3:58.82. Siggins then closed out his sweep of the category by taking top honors in 5x5x5 Blindfolded, recording a single mark of 3:41.41 among 11 contenders. Elijah Brown secured second place in 27:02.00, while Kate Grahame rounded out the top three with a solve of 28:39.00.

In 3x3x3 Multi-Blind, Anthony Lauro topped the field of 18 competitors by successfully resolving 14 out of 16 cubes within a time of 49:37. Kate Grahame earned the second podium position with an 8 out of 9 result in 53:40, while Kyeongmin Choi (최경민) took third place by securing 12 out of 17 cubes in 56:00. The classic Rubik's Cube was also tackled from an analytical angle in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves, where Kyeongmin Choi (최경민) took the title with a winning average of 22.33 moves and a best single of 21, leading Elijah Brown at 33.00 and Ryan Morrison at 34.67.

Behind the podium battles, several participants logged outstanding milestones and personal triumphs across new formats. Dylan Trueblood entered five events, earning a best finish of 4th place in 5x5x5 Blindfolded, logging a first ever attempt at 3x3x3 Fewest Moves with 46 moves, a first ever attempt at 4x4x4 Blindfolded in 13:25.00, and a 3x3x3 Blindfolded personal best of 2:59.60 that improved on their previous mark by 41.3 percent. Vsevolod Rozanov (Всеволод Розанов) took on three events, finishing 9th in 3x3x3 Multi-Blind with a first ever attempt of 3 out of 3 in 22:57, and cut their 3x3x3 Blindfolded personal best by 38.5 percent down to 4:19.73. Liv Coverdale tackled three events, finishing 6th in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves with a first ever attempt of 51 moves and recording a first ever attempt at 3x3x3 Multi-Blind with 2 out of 2 in 11:34.

The progression continued through several other individual achievements across the floor. Alex Lehman took on four events, securing a best finish of 7th in 4x4x4 Blindfolded with a first ever attempt of 27:19.00, registering a first ever attempt at 3x3x3 Multi-Blind of 3 out of 3 in 27:35, and lowering their 3x3x3 Fewest Moves personal best by 7.7 percent to 36 moves. Nate Minkevich finished 4th in 3x3x3 Blindfolded and matched that 7.7 percent improvement with a 36-move personal best in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves. Luke Meszar competed in five events, taking 4th in 3x3x3 Multi-Blind with a 7 out of 8 solve in 37:46 that proved 3.1 percent faster than their prior record. Wilson Li (李超雄) and Ryan Fong both contested five events and earned 4th-place finishes in 5x5x5 Blindfolded.

The overall medal tally reflected 12 podium positions for the United States and three for Korea, closing out a high-caliber weekend of blindfolded solving and move optimization. The 3x3 results across the specialized formats underscored how much dedication competitors bring to technical problem-solving. As UCLA PBQ 2023 concluded in Los Angeles, the event stood as a celebration of mental discipline and puzzle variety that will inspire competitors heading into the next competitive season.