UPEC Open 2025

Pablo Sebastián Flores Peralta provided one of the weekend standout moments by locking down a swift 2.89 single and a 3.40 average in the 2x2x2 Cube preliminary stages before securing the final title with a 3.56 mark. That sharp execution set the tone for an action-packed weekend of speedcubing at the Universidad Politecnica Estatal del Carchi. Across two intense days on December 6 and December 7, UPEC Open 2025 brought together 29 competitors for a demanding schedule of 16 events and 20 rounds of high-pressure puzzle solving in Tulcan, Ecuador.

The 3x3x3 Cube served as the centerpiece attraction of the gathering, drawing 26 contenders through three complete rounds. Sebastián Mateo España Chango delivered a consistent series of solves in the final to take top honors with a winning average of 11.84, complemented by a round-best 11.16 single. In the broader 3x3 results, the field demonstrated sharp turning and deep preparation, proving how far the local standard of Rubik's Cube solving has advanced during the 2025 season.

Pablo Sebastián Flores Peralta assembled an extraordinary multievent campaign, claiming five distinct event titles over the course of the tournament. Beyond his victory in the 2x2x2 Cube, he topped the standings in the 4x4x4 Cube with a 42.25 average, steered through the Clock event to win in 5.91 seconds, mastered Megaminx with a mark of 1:13.80, and secured first place in Square-1 in 15.32 seconds. He also added a win in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves with a single of 41 turns, underlining his broad puzzle repertoire across the weekend.

Luis Fernando Aldás Cuestas matched that multievent versatility by securing five championship victories of his own, with a distinct emphasis on blindfolded and precision disciplines. He captured first place in 3x3x3 One-Handed with an average of 22.91 seconds and took Skewb with a 5.64 mark. In the memory events, Aldás Cuestas won the 3x3x3 Blindfolded with a best single of 1:35.06, completed the 4x4x4 Blindfolded in 7:46.40, and solved 11 out of 12 puzzles during 3x3x3 Multi-Blind in a time of 41:01.

In the larger cube formats, Ariel Vacacela established control across the heavier hardware. Vacacela won the 5x5x5 Cube final with a steady average of 1:16.29, took top honors in the 6x6x6 Cube in 2:41.94, and closed out the big-cube roster by winning the 7x7x7 Cube with a 4:07.91 average. The Pyraminx final proved equally sharp, where Ivan Alexander Bonilla Morales took the gold with an average of 5.88 seconds, finishing ahead of Aldás Cuestas and Flores Peralta.

Away from the top steps of the podium, huge leaps in personal capability defined the tournament atmosphere. Carlos Gael Cabrera del Hierro logged four events at the venue, taking 14th in 4x4x4 Cube, posting his first ever official Pyraminx solve of 7.84 seconds, and dropping his 3x3x3 Cube personal best to 22.25 seconds, which was 55.2 percent faster than his prior mark, alongside a 20.2 percent drop in 2x2x2 Cube to 7.11 seconds. Matías Nicolás Herrera Cueva recorded his first official 4x4x4 Cube solve in 1:41.79 while cutting his 2x2x2 Cube time by 28.6 percent to 3.69 seconds and his 3x3x3 Cube best by 10.5 percent to 14.79 seconds. Jeremy Gabriel Cuayal Narvaez sliced his 3x3x3 Cube benchmark by 38.8 percent down to 14.82 seconds. Alexander Morillo contested six disciplines, capturing 4th in Clock with a debut attempt of 18.79 seconds and setting a 3x3x3 One-Handed personal best of 23.47 seconds.

Longtime competitors and newcomers alike found major breakthroughs across the schedule. Jean Carlos Echeverría Jácome took on ten events, achieving 5th place in 6x6x6 Cube with a personal record of 4:19.98 that stood 21.8 percent faster than his previous best, alongside a 18.9 percent improvement in 5x5x5 Cube to 1:41.52. Thomas Emiliano Valle Cabrera took on five events and secured 8th in Clock while dropping his 3x3x3 Cube personal record to 27.92 seconds. Jhosen Alejandro Aguilar Bastidas made his first WCA competition appearance, tackling three events with debut marks of 1:50.37 in 4x4x4 Cube, 8.86 in 2x2x2 Cube, and 25.24 in 3x3x3 Cube. Jeremy Andrés Loor Freire also marked his debut at this cubing competition, recording initial marks of 21.71 in 2x2x2 Cube and 32.84 in Pyraminx.

The weekend concluded with Ecuadorian competitors securing all 48 podium spots awarded across the 16 contested events. The rapid pace of the rounds and the broad spread of personal bests illustrated the dedication across the local speed cubing community in Tulcan. With every round accounted for and new personal benchmarks established across every discipline, UPEC Open 2025 demonstrated the rising technical baseline of the region as competitors prepare for the next wave of tournament action.