UCSD Winter 2024

Max Park delivered a breathtaking 5.28 winning average in the 3x3x3 Cube final, highlighted by a rapid 4.81 best single to punctuate a dominant run at the tables. The single-day tournament took place on January 7, 2024, bringing together a vibrant field of 168 competitors to UC San Diego in San Diego, California, USA. Across five official events and 10 competitive rounds, the gathering highlighted rapid progression throughout the field alongside elite consistency at the top of the standings.

The 2024 cubing competition served as a showcase of individual milestones from the very opening rounds through to the late podium battles. Beyond the headline victories, solvers across all experience levels pushed their personal limits, dropping career marks significantly on the tournament stages. Organised under World Cube Association regulations, the schedule offered a challenging mix of rotational dexterity, from the swift turns of the smaller cubes to the strategic pacing required for larger hardware.

In the marquee 3x3 results, Park stood atop a podium that featured a deep battle across three stages of rounds. Nancy Liu secured second place overall with a sharp 7.07 final average, while Kyeongmin Choi claimed third place with a mark of 7.38. The classic Rubik's Cube drew a massive turnout of 167 entrants, setting the tone for a competitive atmosphere where every split second mattered through the preliminary brackets into the final bracket.

Nancy Liu captured top honours in the 2x2x2 Cube event, navigating two rounds among 130 competitors to seal victory with a 1.80 average and an outstanding 0.99 single. Kyeongmin Choi finished in second place with a 1.82 average after logging an earlier 1.14 single and a 1.73 average during the event. Joel Kim took third place on the podium with a 2.27 average, capping off a blistering contest where numerous competitors established new benchmarks.

The underlying narrative of UCSD Winter 2024 emerged through huge personal leaps and courageous debuts across the scorecards. Daniel Weeks achieved a massive breakthrough in the 2x2x2 Cube, trimming his personal best down to 2.15 seconds, an improvement of 45.8 percent over his prior mark of 3.97, while also logging his first ever attempt at 4x4x4 Cube in 1:07.41 and a 3x3x3 Cube best of 16.53. Mark Liu similarly accelerated his times, recording a 2x2x2 Cube personal best of 3.96 that was 43 percent faster than his earlier 6.95, while making his first ever attempt at 3x3x3 One-Handed in 47.99 and a first 4x4x4 Cube attempt of 1:45.56. Andrés Garduño Cárdenas shaved 37.8 percent off his 3x3x3 Cube record with a 12.46 personal best compared to his previous 20.02, alongside a first 3x3x3 One-Handed attempt of 34.58. Kai Dalton improved his 3x3x3 One-Handed mark by 32.8 percent down to 1:01.64 from 1:31.75, and posted a first 4x4x4 Cube attempt of 1:51.30.

Further down the results sheet, progress remained the defining theme across multiple disciplines. Alex McKinley lowered his 2x2x2 Cube personal best to 4.21, a 29.7 percent drop from 5.99, while adding a first ever attempt at 4x4x4 Cube in 1:16.17. Terrence Sebastian cut 26.5 percent from his 2x2x2 Cube mark with a new best of 3.78 down from 5.14, accompanied by a first 3x3x3 One-Handed attempt of 38.99. Yousof Ahmed dropped his 3x3x3 Cube best by 25 percent down to 23.60 from 31.47, also completing his first ever attempt at 4x4x4 Cube in 2:56.50. Alejandro Vega tackled five events, making his first ever attempt at 6x6x6 Cube in 8:43.95 for a 43rd-place finish, a first 3x3x3 One-Handed attempt of 3:12.66, and cutting 24.4 percent off his 4x4x4 Cube personal best to hit 1:39.54.

Big cubes and specialty formats also delivered commanding performances at UCSD Winter 2024. In the 4x4x4 Cube event, Park earned first place with an average of 22.26 and a best single of 19.70 across two rounds of 99 competitors, finishing ahead of Mulun Yin in second with 29.02 and Dan Tran in third with 29.73. The 3x3x3 One-Handed event saw Park claim another victory with an 8.90 average and an 8.54 single, followed on the podium by Henry Helmuth with 12.29 and Kavin Tangtartharakul with 12.42 out of 96 entrants.

The 6x6x6 Cube closed out the multi-layered schedule with 44 solvers tackling the big puzzle in a single round. Park secured his fourth gold of the competition with a winning average of 1:07.82 and a single of 1:05.54, while Dan Tran claimed the silver medal spot in 1:42.72 and Kyeongmin Choi took the bronze in 1:54.30. In total, United States competitors collected 11 podium spots, South Korea earned 3, and China secured 1.

The energy across the speedcubing community throughout the day proved that progress is measured in many ways at a WCA competition. Whether reaching the top of the podium or cutting significant fractions of a second off previous marks, the speed cubing spirit was on full display at UC San Diego. Solvers departed the venue with new personal records in hand and their sights firmly set on the next competitive tests on the calendar.