UCLA Spring 2025

The competition hall at UCLA filled with the rhythmic click of rotating plastic on April 20, 2025, as 181 competitors gathered in Los Angeles, California, USA. Across 12 rounds of intense puzzle solving, timers flashed and official judges hovered over mat tables. The bustling campus environment provided an electric stage for a full day of speedcubing action, drawing solvers from across the region to test their preparation across five distinct disciplines.

Nancy Liu rose to the occasion in the flagship 3x3x3 Cube event, delivering a standout performance before the home crowd. Traversing four demanding rounds featuring 179 competitors, Liu secured top honors with a tournament-winning average of 7.21 seconds and a personal best single of 5.82 seconds. The final 3x3 results confirmed Liu atop the podium, edging out Elijah Brown, who took second place with a 7.59 average, while Mulun Yin claimed third place with a mark of 7.99.

Mulun Yin of China found victory earlier in the day on the 4x4x4 Cube, leading a field of 117 entrants across two rounds. Yin captured first place with an average of 27.02 seconds along with a sharp single solve of 25.51. Dan Tran earned second place with a 28.13 average, followed closely by Benjamin Wei in third at 28.46 seconds in a fiercely contested final round.

In the 5x5x5 Cube, Kate Grahame delivered an exceptional series of solves to take the title among 80 competitors. Grahame posted a winning average of 48.53 seconds and the event single of 47.41 seconds. Benjamin Wei claimed his second podium of the weekend by finishing as runner-up with a 52.47 average, while Dan Tran secured third place with a 53.17 average.

One-handed solving brought its own technical drama to the tables, where Richard Jiankun Peng of China emerged victorious among 93 solvers. Peng registered a winning average of 11.03 seconds and a best single of 10.40 seconds in the 3x3x3 One-Handed final. Anto Kam of Hong Kong took the silver step with an 11.93 average, and Matthew Arca rounded out the podium in third with a 12.93 mark.

The 12-sided Megaminx rounded out the slate of events with 77 competitors taking on the complex geometry over two rounds. Jack Flynn Stewart captured first place with a winning average of 42.93 seconds and a leading single of 41.75. Shiloh D'Espyne took second place with a 43.67 average, while Benjamin Wei earned his third podium finish of the day by claiming third place with a 46.31 average.

Away from the podium battles, several solvers achieved major milestones across multiple disciplines. AJ Pajevski contested five events and took a massive leap in 3x3x3 One-Handed, recording a personal best of 28.70 seconds that was 68.3 percent faster than before. Tarun Jagadish completed five events, placing 16th in 3x3x3 One-Handed, trying Megaminx for the first time with a 2:49.34, and dropping their 5x5x5 Cube mark to 1:24.07, an improvement of 52.7 percent. Leon Lai improved their 3x3x3 One-Handed best by 50.6 percent to 32.90 seconds while logging a first 4x4x4 Cube attempt at 2:14.78. Daniel Khoroshchak took on five events, registering a 5x5x5 Cube best of 1:44.50 that cut their prior benchmark by 48.4 percent.

New event debuts defined the progress for many other dedicated solvers on the floor. Brandon Cong tackled five events, achieving an 18th-place finish in 3x3x3 One-Handed with a 14.82 personal best that was 31.9 percent faster, while making initial attempts in 5x5x5 Cube at 1:39.96 and Megaminx at 2:02.66. Nicholas Skylar lowered their Rubik's Cube best by 46.6 percent to 14.89 seconds and logged a first 4x4x4 Cube time of 1:13.05. Jacob Salvanera recorded a 22.5 percent drop in the 3x3x3 Cube to 7.78 seconds alongside first attempts in 4x4x4 Cube at 43.22 and one-handed at 18.79. Riel Gonzalez took on five events, charting official debuts in 3x3x3 One-Handed at 49.97, 4x4x4 Cube at 1:49.65, and 5x5x5 Cube at 3:56.41.

This speed cubing showcase highlighted both elite consistency and individual growth across Southern California. With competitors representing the USA, China, and Hong Kong earning top honors, the WCA competition demonstrated a high standard of play. UCLA Spring 2025 concluded as a memorable cubing competition, setting a high standard for all participating solvers as they look ahead to future stops on the competitive calendar.