UTM Speedcubing Open 2023

Seventy-six competitors gathered on May 13, 2023, turning Universiti Teknologi Malaysia into a battleground of stamina and fingertip control. Across eight events and ten fast-paced rounds, the UTM Speedcubing Open 2023 brought high-stakes speedcubing action to Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia. The demanding schedule asked solvers to pivot between rapid bursts of speed and prolonged sessions of intense concentration, with the largest puzzles on the slate demanding exceptional physical and mental stamina from every finalist.

The big-cube events placed massive endurance demands on the field, requiring hundreds of precise turns without a lapse in focus. In the 5x5x5 Cube, Lim Hung delivered a clinical performance across forty-two competitors to take first place with a 48.94 average and a best single of 46.78. Anyu Zhang secured second with a 51.71 average, while Daryl Tan Hong An earned third at 52.30. The heavyweight 7x7x7 Cube presented an even steeper test of grit, where Lim Hung captured another title with a 1:56.49 winning average, staying ahead of Anyu Zhang in second at 2:03.09 and Daryl Tan Hong An in third at 2:12.96.

Daryl Tan Hong An showcased his own big-cube prowess in the 6x6x6 Cube, taking victory among twenty-seven competitors with a blistering 1:29.26 average and a 1:26.96 single. Anyu Zhang took second with a 1:32.50 average, followed by Ivan Lew Yi Wen in third at 1:38.51. In the 4x4x4 Cube, Daryl Tan Hong An added another gold to his tally by averaging 27.98 to lead fifty-five competitors. Isaac Wong Chang Man followed in second place with a 30.44 average, and Ang Chin Xiang took third with a 31.85 mark.

The traditional Rubik's Cube brought out the largest lineup of the weekend, as seventy-four competitors navigated three rounds of 3x3 results. Isaac Wong Chang Man claimed the premier title with a winning average of 7.91, paired with the event's best single of 6.75. Daryl Tan Hong An finished runner-up with an 8.13 average, while Ng Jia Quan rounded out the podium in third at 8.69. The classic three-layered puzzle maintained its high standard throughout the day in Johor Bahru.

Beyond the podium battles, several competitors achieved remarkable milestones away from the spotlight. Amir Al-Hakim Bin Suhaimi produced a stunning leap in 3x3x3 Blindfolded, logging a personal best of 39.68 that was 75.3 percent faster than his prior 2:40.97 mark on his way to fourth place. Mason Zhou delivered a huge personal best in Clock with a 15.67 average, improving 66.9 percent from 47.30, while also setting personal bests of 53.43 in 4x4x4 Cube and 2:03.73 in 5x5x5 Cube. Naufaldy Bambang Wicaksono cut 43 percent off his 5x5x5 Cube best down to 1:16.79, dropped his 6x6x6 Cube mark by 36.3 percent to 3:39.02, and logged a first ever attempt at 7x7x7 Cube with a 6:19.74 result. Andy Tan Jie Lek shaved 37.2 percent off his 6x6x6 Cube personal best with a 2:20.32, posted a first ever attempt at 4x4x4 Cube of 33.09, and placed 11th in 7x7x7 Cube with a debut 3:36.50 attempt.

Other dedicated solvers embraced heavy event schedules and stepped up to new formats for the first time. Daniel Ng competed in six events, finishing 8th in Square-1 with a personal best of 15.59, while improving his 6x6x6 Cube best by 21.2 percent to 1:55.79 and recording his first ever attempt at 3x3x3 Blindfolded in 2:33.92. Karenjit Singh Gill took on all eight events, finishing 6th in Clock while logging a first ever attempt at Square-1 in 18.83, 7x7x7 Cube in 3:53.32, and 3x3x3 Blindfolded in 3:07.32. Muhd Adam Nizam entered six events, finishing 16th in 3x3x3 Blindfolded with a debut single of 4:23.49 and logging a first ever attempt at Clock of 19.62. Joon Tian Yee also tackled six events, placing 17th in Square-1 while notching first career attempts in 4x4x4 Cube at 55.30, 5x5x5 Cube at 1:55.37, and 6x6x6 Cube at 3:36.36.

Specialty events tested an entirely different set of technical mechanics. The blindfolded event required pure memorisation and flawless execution, where Theodore Chan took the 3x3x3 Blindfolded victory with a fast 17.60 single. Yifan Wang placed second with 20.44, and Ng Jia Quan earned third in 40.16. In Square-1, Ng Jia Quan topped the field with an 8.48 average, followed by Lim Hung at 10.75 and Aaron Ariff at 11.56. Clock saw Jervis Yeo capture first place in 6.32, edging Michael at 6.36 and Lim Hung at 6.89.

By the time the single-day cubing competition drew to a close, Malaysia led the overall podium tally with 10 places, followed by Singapore with 9, China with 4, and Indonesia with 1. The UTM Speedcubing Open 2023 demonstrated the rich talent present across Southeast Asia in every category of speed cubing. With major milestones and personal bests spread across all eight events, this WCA competition set a rigorous benchmark for solvers preparing for their next test on the competitive stage.

Pusingan akhir acara Kiub Rubik 3x3x3 di Universiti Teknologi Malaysia menyaksikan saingan paling mendebarkan apabila Isaac Wong Chang Man berjaya merangkul kejuaraan utama dengan purata kemenangan 7.91 saat. Isaac mengatasi Daryl Tan Hong An yang menamatkan saingan di tempat kedua dengan purata 8.13 saat, manakala Ng Jia Quan memastikan wakil tuan rumah berada di atas podium pada tempat ketiga dengan catatan 8.69 saat. Kemenangan tipis ini menonjolkan kejituan penyelesaian pada pusingan penentu bagi menobatkan pemenang dalam kelompok 74 peserta acara utama tersebut.

Kejohanan UTM Speedcubing Open 2023 yang berlangsung pada 13 Mei 2023 di Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia menghimpunkan seramai 76 peserta dari pelbagai negara. Pertandingan speedcubing ini mempertandingkan sejumlah 8 acara merangkumi 10 pusingan sepanjang satu hari jadual penganjuran yang padat. Gelanggang pertandingan di universiti berkenaan mempamerkan pelbagai kategori penyelesaian kiub dari teka-teki pantas tangan biasa, kategori blindfolded, hingga ke kiub bersaiz besar.

Daryl Tan Hong An membuktikan kehebatannya dalam kategori kiub sederhana dan besar dengan meraih dua kemenangan bermakna. Beliau menjuarai kategori 4x4x4 Cube dengan purata kemenangan 27.98 saat dan catatan terpantas 24.59 saat, menewaskan Isaac Wong Chang Man yang mencatat 30.44 saat dan Ang Chin Xiang dengan 31.85 saat. Daryl seterusnya menambah koleksi kejuaraan dalam acara 6x6x6 Cube menerusi catatan purata 1:29.26 dan masa terbaik 1:26.96, mendahului Anyu Zhang di tempat kedua dan Ivan Lew Yi Wen di tempat ketiga.

Dalam acara 5x5x5 Cube dan 7x7x7 Cube, jaguh tempatan Lim Hung mempamerkan aksi dominan di hadapan peminat sukan kiub. Beliau mengungguli acara 5x5x5 Cube dengan purata kemenangan 48.94 saat mengatasi Anyu Zhang yang mencatat 51.71 saat dan Daryl Tan Hong An dengan 52.30 saat. Lim Hung kemudiannya mengesahkan status pendahulu bagi kiub paling besar dengan memenangi acara 7x7x7 Cube melalui purata masa 1:56.49 dan penyelesaian terbaik 1:51.14, sekali lagi menjarakkan diri daripada saingan Anyu Zhang.

Beralih kepada cerita di luar kelompok pemenang utama, pentas ini menjadi ruang pencapaian terbaik peribadi yang sangat bermakna bagi ramai peserta. Lee Wei Zhe membuat kemajuan besar dengan menurunkan rekod peribadi 4x4x4 Cube miliknya sebanyak 38.9 peratus kepada 1:19.93, di samping memotong catatan 3x3x3 Cube kepada 20.52 saat iaitu 24.3 peratus lebih laju. Tan Ye Ren menamatkan saingan di tempat ke-21 dalam acara Clock menerusi percubaan pertamanya dengan masa 16.28 saat, selain memperbaiki catatan 3x3x3 Cube miliknya sebanyak 22.1 peratus kepada 13.68 saat. Garett Lim JiaQing turut mencuba acara Clock buat kali pertama dengan catatan 22.31 saat dan memperbaharui masa terbaik 4x4x4 Cube kepada 1:25.88 iaitu peningkatan sebanyak 13.2 peratus. Raghunandhan Kumaran pula menyertai 2 acara termasuk percubaan sulung dalam 4x4x4 Cube dengan catatan 1:12.25 serta mengurangkan masa 3x3x3 Cube sebanyak 9.9 peratus kepada 13.32 saat.

Penganjuran ini juga menyaksikan penampilan sulung bagi beberapa pendatang baharu yang menyertai kejohanan WCA buat kali pertama. Alson Ting bertanding dalam 4 acara dan berjaya meraih tempat ke-5 dalam 3x3x3 Blindfolded dengan masa 43.32 saat, di samping menyudahkan percubaan rasmi pertamanya dalam 3x3x3 Cube pada 14.95 saat dan 4x4x4 Cube pada 52.91 saat. Loh Yi Cong mengambil bahagian dalam 4 acara berbeza dan menduduki tempat ke-8 dalam 3x3x3 Blindfolded, selain mencatat 14.16 saat dalam 3x3x3 Cube, 57.17 saat dalam 4x4x4 Cube, serta 1:34.19 dalam 5x5x5 Cube. Muhd Hasif Daiyan Bin Mohd Khairul menyahut cabaran 5 acara dengan penamat terbaik di tempat ke-25 dalam 7x7x7 Cube serta mencatat 15.32 saat bagi 3x3x3 Cube, 1:38.45 bagi 4x4x4 Cube dan 2:59.98 bagi 5x5x5 Cube. Kua Ming Heng melengkapkan kemunculan pertamanya dalam 3 acara dengan catatan 17.07 saat dalam 3x3x3 Cube, 1:08.52 dalam 4x4x4 Cube dan meraih tempat ke-37 dalam 5x5x5 Cube menerusi masa 2:09.64.

Acara sampingan lain turut menampilkan persaingan yang tidak kurang hebatnya di meja pertandingan. Acara 3x3x3 Blindfolded memerlukan daya ingatan serta fokus penuh ditjuarai oleh Theodore Chan dengan masa tunggal terbaik 17.60 saat, mendahului Yifan Wang pada 20.44 saat dan Ng Jia Quan pada 40.16 saat. Bagi acara Clock, Jervis Yeo muncul juara dengan purata 6.32 saat, hanya mengatasi Michael yang menamatkan saingan pada 6.36 saat manakala Lim Hung menyusul dengan 6.89 saat. Dalam kategori Square-1, Ng Jia Quan mempamerkan kelajuan cemerlang untuk menang menerusi purata 8.48 saat, meninggalkan Lim Hung di tempat kedua dan Aaron Ariff di tempat ketiga.

Secara keseluruhannya, UTM Speedcubing Open 2023 membuktikan kedudukan Johor Bahru sebagai salah satu gelanggang penting dalam kalendar pertandingan kiub serantau. Malaysia mengetuai kedudukan podium dengan kutipan 10 tempat, diikuti rapat oleh Singapura dengan 9 penamat podium, China dengan 4 tempat dan Indonesia dengan 1 tempat. Kejayaan penganjuran cubing competition edisi tahun 2023 ini meninggalkan catatan masa yang membanggakan buat semua peserta sebelum melangkah ke kejohanan musim berikutnya.