Vegas Cubing Cup Spring 2025

Inside the event space at The Orleans Hotel & Casino, the rhythmic clatter of plastic pieces turning at breakneck speed filled the air. Tables were lined with Stackmat timers, inspection pads, and a diverse range of twisting puzzles ready for action. For many among the 104 competitors gathered in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, the single-day gathering on May 3, 2025, represented a significant milestone: stepping out of personal practice spaces and onto the competition stage. From early morning check-in through the final rounds, the atmosphere remained focused and energetic across all eleven scheduled rounds.

The official WCA competition gave several solvers their first taste of tournament pressure alongside seasoned veterans. Walking into a bustling cubing competition for the first time brings a distinct rush, from managing the strict fifteen-second inspection window to keeping nerves steady under the watchful eye of a judge. Whether tackling the standard Rubik's Cube or branching into complex specialty puzzles, first-time participants found an encouraging environment to post official times and establish their personal benchmarks in the official World Cube Association database.

Across the schedule, individual progress took center stage as several athletes delivered breakthrough personal milestones. Joey Abacherli entered five events and recorded a 3x3x3 One-Handed personal best of 27.16 seconds, cutting 59.9 percent off their previous mark, alongside a first ever attempt at Square-1 of 33.39 seconds and a 22nd-place finish. Stellar Dieter took on five disciplines, securing a first ever attempt at Square-1 in 1:39.87 and dropping their 3x3x3 One-Handed personal best to 46.73 seconds, which was 46.2 percent faster than before. Tyler Hendrickson also registered five events, logging a first ever attempt at 4x4x4 Cube of 1:09.28 and a 3x3x3 One-Handed personal best of 27.88 seconds, an improvement of 46.1 percent. Meanwhile, Caden Hallam participated in three events, logged a first ever attempt at 4x4x4 Cube of 2:21.49, and notched a 3x3x3 Cube personal best of 22.81 seconds, improving by 60.8 percent.

The spirit of expansion was evident throughout the roster as solvers took on unfamiliar formats. Waldo Isaac Hernadez Gonzalez tackled five events, logged a first ever attempt at 4x4x4 Cube of 1:24.23, and set a 3x3x3 One-Handed personal best of 21.94 seconds, cutting 51 percent off their previous best while also improving their 3x3x3 Cube best to 12.69 seconds. William Yanke tried a first ever attempt at 2x2x2 Cube with an 11.21 single and registered a 3x3x3 Cube personal best of 49.62 seconds, which was 33.3 percent faster. Alexander Lizardo contested six events, logging a first ever attempt at 3x3x3 Blindfolded of 3:15.80 and setting a 3x3x3 One-Handed personal best of 13.29 seconds, 43.6 percent faster than before. Clarke Helland made this their first WCA competition, recording a first ever attempt at 3x3x3 Cube of 20.32 seconds and a first ever attempt at 2x2x2 Cube of 8.13 seconds.

When the championship rounds got underway, the battle for podium spots delivered exceptional speed cubing across all six disciplines. In the 3x3x3 Cube final, which drew 102 competitors across three rounds, Max Park captured the top spot with a winning average of 5.60 seconds and a round-leading single of 4.97 seconds. Jeremy Bulambot took second place with a 6.75 average, while Dominic Shoji secured third place with an 8.22 average. The headline 3x3 results capped an impressive display of technical mastery on the classic puzzle.

Max Park added two more titles to his tournament haul, dominating both the 4x4x4 Cube and 3x3x3 One-Handed events. In the 4x4x4 Cube, Park secured victory with a 20.27 winning average and a best single of 16.56 seconds, finishing ahead of Jeremy Bulambot with 27.89 seconds and Dan Tran with 30.32 seconds. In the 3x3x3 One-Handed competition, Park prevailed again with an average of 9.08 seconds and a single of 8.68. Bulambot finished in second place with an 11.03 average, and Tran took third place with an average of 13.38 seconds.

The shorter formats and specialty puzzles produced equally competitive finishes. In the 2x2x2 Cube, Jeremy Bulambot claimed first place with an average of 1.76 seconds and a fast single of 1.56, narrowly edging out Dominic Shoji, who finished second with an average of 1.90 seconds, and Dan Tran, who finished third with 2.20 seconds. In the Square-1 event, Zack Rubio captured the title with a winning average of 13.73 seconds, holding off Shiloh D'Espyne at 13.93 seconds and Bulambot at 15.51 seconds.

Memory and spatial mastery took the spotlight in the 3x3x3 Blindfolded event, where competitors must memorize the scrambled state before donning a blindfold to complete the solve. Abhimanyu Singhal won the event with a best single of 1:34.90, leading the field ahead of Jaden Thompson, who took second place in 1:49.74, and Luke Satko, who finished third with a time of 2:05.47.

The action-packed day concluded with eighteen podium places awarded across the six events, all earned by solvers representing the United States. From first-time competitors logging their very first official attempts to seasoned champions setting rapid winning marks, Vegas Cubing Cup Spring 2025 showcased the full breadth of the speedcubing community and provided a memorable benchmark for every competitor heading into the remainder of the season.