UVG Cubing 2026

Twenty podium spots belonged entirely to Guatemala across seven events, setting a commanding tone for UVG Cubing 2026. Held on June 20, 2026, at Universidad del Valle de Guatemala Campus Central in Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala, the single-day gathering saw local talent fill nearly every top tier. With 59 competitors contending across nine rounds, the host nation swept the podiums in five separate disciplines, establishing an overwhelming presence from the morning rounds straight through to the evening finals.

At the forefront of the Guatemalan charge was Shalóm Melquisedec Batz Rodríguez, who mounted an extraordinary campaign by capturing five individual titles. The centerpiece came in the classic 3x3x3 Rubik's Cube, where Rodríguez earned victory with a 7.45 average across two rounds, narrowly edging compatriot Jose Pablo Morales Gomez at 7.50, while Brian Bernabé Bolaños Arreaga took third with 8.76. The battle for the main 3x3 results proved to be the closest finish of the tournament.

Rodríguez was far from done, leaving an unmistakable mark across the bigger puzzles and side events. In the 4x4x4 Cube, he delivered a championship average of 30.09 while writing his name in the record books with a Guatemalan national record single of 23.90. Bolaños Arreaga secured second place with a 30.45 average, ahead of Morales Gomez in third at 37.23, completing another all-Guatemalan podium.

The sweep continued into the 5x5x5 Cube, where Rodríguez captured top honors in 58.44 seconds, again leading Bolaños Arreaga in second at 1:00.93 and Natalia Sosa in third at 1:08.08. Transitioning to different mechanisms at UVG Cubing 2026, Rodríguez took the Skewb crown with an average of 4.86, flanked by Brayan Emanuel Escobedo Mendóza at 6.38 and Daniel Baeza at 6.50. He then claimed his fifth victory in Pyraminx with a 4.06 average, ahead of Baeza at 4.19 and El Salvador's Samuel Cuellar Ramirez at 4.78.

Beyond the multi-event victories, blindfolded solving and specialty puzzles provided high drama. In the 4x4x4 Blindfolded event, which requires precise memorisation before executing turns without sight, Daniel Baeza stood alone. Baeza secured a dual national record performance for Guatemala, setting a new national record single of 3:58.86 and a national record average of 4:38.57, while fellow competitors Samuel Cuellar Ramirez, Shalóm Melquisedec Batz Rodríguez, and Estheban Heredia recorded DNFs. In Square-1, Luis Hadriel López Jocón claimed the title with an average of 15.46, followed by Baeza at 24.29 and Rodríguez at 24.48.

Away from the title clashes, individual progress defined the day on the competition floor. Elisa Fernanda Pérez Catalán delivered one of the most remarkable leaps of the tournament, taking 12th place in Square-1 with a personal best of 1:17.18, cutting 80.1 percent off her previous mark. Edgar Fernando Villegas Bardales sliced 51 percent off his 3x3x3 Cube standard down to 22.87. Tin-Yi Lin took on four events, highlighted by a 16th-place finish in Skewb with a 7.98 personal best, alongside a 39.5 percent drop in Pyraminx to 7.74 and a 1:11.04 in 4x4x4 Cube. Oliver André Garcia Pinzón entered three events, registering his first ever attempt at 4x4x4 Cube at 54.22 while improving his 3x3x3 Cube time by 18.8 percent to 9.79.

That forward momentum was mirrored across the field by veterans and newcomers alike. Engel Josue Morales Cruz tackled five events at UVG Cubing 2026, logging his first ever attempt at 5x5x5 Cube in 1:49.36 and improving his Skewb personal best by 32.4 percent to 4.64. Cristian Javier López also took on his first ever attempt at 5x5x5 Cube with a 1:59.04 mark, finishing 15th, while trimming his 4x4x4 Cube time to 1:13.23. Carlos David Rosales Alas earned 16th place in the 3x3x3 Cube with a 10.94 personal best, an improvement of 30.3 percent. Jefferson Antonio Morales Cruz completed four disciplines, highlighted by a 7th-place finish in 3x3x3 Cube, his first ever attempt at 5x5x5 Cube in 1:53.53, and personal bests of 5.45 in Pyraminx and 38.39 in 4x4x4 Cube.

For speedcubing enthusiasts, this speed cubing showcase highlighted both high-tier technical mastery and widespread personal development. First-time participants also stepped up, with Felipe Armando Yalibat Yoj, Juan Andres Yllescas Lopez, Sara Martínez Rodríguez, and Damian Campos all logging their initial official solves across multiple formats. From the sharp turns of the smaller puzzles to the intricate layers of larger cubes, every competitor found their moment to shine.

With 20 podium places claimed by Guatemalan competitors and two secured by El Salvador, UVG Cubing 2026 highlighted the immense depth present in the region. As the final marks were certified in the WCA competition database, the event in Ciudad de Guatemala closed the 2026 mid-year calendar on a high note, setting a formidable standard for regional cubing competition going into future seasons.