Warm Up Seattle PBQ 2025

Five podium finishes across three demanding events defined a dominant showing for host-nation solvers in Lynnwood, Washington, USA. The single-day WCA competition, held at the Lynnwood Event Center on June 27, 2025, brought together an elite group of 25 competitors for Warm Up Seattle PBQ 2025. Across five rounds of blindfolded solving, competitors tackled complex memory challenges that pushed focus to the absolute limit. The American contingent led the international field in top-three placements, securing multiple titles and podium spots against seasoned rivals from Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, France, and beyond.

The 4x4x4 Blindfolded event served as a major showcase for the United States, topped by Stanley Chapel in an extraordinary display of speed and accuracy. Chapel secured the victory over two rounds with a winning average of 1:02.29, complemented by a blazing best single solve of 1:00.08. Ryan Eckersley of the United Kingdom followed on the podium with a 1:38.69 average, while Michael Tripodi of Australia captured third place with an average of 1:44.42. Chapel was the only solver in the 19-person field to break the sub-70-second threshold across all attempts, cementing his place at the summit of big-cube blindfolded solving.

American success continued in the 5x5x5 Blindfolded event, where precision proved to be the ultimate separator among twelve competitors. Ethan Davis clinched the victory for the United States by delivering a winning single time of 9:28.07, standing alone as the only competitor to record a successful solve in the final round. Behind Davis, four contenders shared second-place standing due to incomplete final attempts, including Michael Tripodi, Ryan Eckersley, Maxime Madrzyk of France, and Stanley Chapel. The demanding nature of five-layer blindfolded solving requires flawless memorisation and execution, making a clean attempt under competition conditions rare and decisive.

In the 3x3x3 Multi-Blind event, New Zealand standout James Macdiarmid delivered a commanding performance to claim the title, solving 47 out of 54 cubes in a time of 59:51. The event, which challenges competitors to memorise and solve multiple Rubik's Cube puzzles without sight within an hour, featured 21 entrants. Behind Macdiarmid, American solvers took the remaining spots on the podium. Stanley Chapel achieved a flawless 33 out of 33 cubes in 41:21 to claim second, while Ethan Davis took third place by successfully resolving 37 of 41 cubes in 1:00:04, continuing the strong home-nation sweep of podium honors.

Beyond the podium positions, Warm Up Seattle PBQ 2025 offered remarkable personal achievements that the final rankings do not always reveal. Mihir A. Rai of the United States delivered one of the weekend's biggest breakthroughs, shaving significant time in 5x5x5 Blindfolded with a new personal best of 20:19.00, an improvement of 15.8% from a previous best of 24:07.00, alongside taking 9th in 3x3x3 Multi-Blind with a personal best of 10/10 in 54:53. Tuval Stone of Israel also showed sharp progress, securing 6th in 4x4x4 Blindfolded with a new personal best of 6:53.50, which cut 3.3% off a prior mark of 7:07.63 across three entered events.

Other competitors across the international roster also logged standout milestones. Andrey Zhukov of Russia achieved a personal best of 6/9 in 57:52 to take 12th in 3x3x3 Multi-Blind. DaYeong Kim of Korea entered the multi-blind discipline and secured 13th place, while Kris Lim of the United Kingdom tackled two events to record a top finish of 14th in multi-blind. Ole Nikolai Gjerset of Norway placed 15th in multi-blind, Rex Kotovich of Canada reached 16th across two events, and Rue Clippinger of the United States completed two events with a top placing of 17th. These grounded efforts highlighted depth across the entire roster.

The specialized focus of the cubing competition created a distinct atmosphere within the regional speedcubing circuit. Operating under official World Cube Association standards, competitors bypassed standard speed cubing events to devote their full concentration to memory-heavy disciplines. While followers of traditional speed solving often look toward standard 3x3 results, blindfolded solving represents a unique discipline that tests spatial reasoning and algorithmic mastery. The Lynnwood Event Center provided a quiet, focused venue suited to the high mental demands of long-form memorisation.

As Warm Up Seattle PBQ 2025 concluded its five rounds, the United States concluded the day with five total podium finishes, while Australia and the United Kingdom secured two apiece, and New Zealand and France earned one each. With international contenders pushing technical limits across multi-blind and big-cube blindfolded events, the 2025 gathering in Lynnwood reinforced the enduring appeal of mental puzzle sports, leaving competitors ready for the challenges that lie ahead in the competitive season.