Warm Up Sydney Saturday 2023

111 competitors gathered at Harold Park Community Hall as Sydney, New South Wales, Australia staged Warm Up Sydney Saturday 2023 on July 15, 2023. Across eight fast-paced rounds and four official events, the cubing competition became an arena for a sharp regional contest at the top of the standings. While local Australian speedcubing stars defended home territory across multiple formats, international contenders added pressure to every round, producing tight finishes and relentless pacing on the timing mats throughout the single-day schedule.

The premier 3x3x3 Cube event drew a massive field of 109 competitors through three rigorous rounds of solving. Bryan Eng emerged on top of the 3x3 results, capturing victory with a blistering 7.38 winning average and recording the best single of the event at 5.55 seconds. Fellow Australian rival Sora Sato pushed the pace all the way to the final solves, securing second place with an 8.22 average, while Matthew Karl Reyes claimed the third step of the Rubik's Cube podium with an 8.93 average in a high-caliber showcase of domestic talent.

The duel between Eng and Sato expanded across multiple tables throughout the day. In the 2x2x2 Cube, 95 entrants battled through two rounds, where Eng once again took top honours with an electric 1.83 winning average and a best single of 1.78. Sato stayed right on his heels, earning second place with a 2.15 average, while Jad Smith took third place with a 3.40 mark. The discipline also saw a cascade of official records established throughout the brackets, as Eng, Sato, Daniel Wang, Thomas Pierroz of Switzerland, Jad Smith, Jeff Miao of China, Kent Thomson, Matthew Cook, Nathan Adams, and Noah Smith each posted record marks across singles and averages.

Sato turned the tables in 3x3x3 One-Handed, claiming a decisive victory in the two-round event that featured 54 competitors. Sato locked in first place with a 13.59 winning average and delivered the event best single of 13.25. Eng followed closely in second with an average of 13.76, while Daniel Wang took third place at 14.87. The result capped an intense head-to-head exchange between the two Australian frontrunners, demonstrating their mastery across standard two-handed and single-handed speed cubing disciplines.

Eng secured his third title of the meet in the 4x4x4 Cube, leading another 54-competitor bracket in a single decisive round. Eng set the standard with a winning average of 30.59 and the best single time of 28.89. Matthew Cook claimed the runner-up spot for Australia with an average of 35.70, while Jeff Miao of China broke onto the podium in third place with a 36.97 average. Across all four events at the competition, Australia took 11 of the 12 available podium places, with Miao capturing the lone international podium result.

Beyond the fight for titles, the WCA competition offered meaningful personal breakthroughs across the roster. Finn McGhee took on three events and delivered a 64.9 percent improvement on his 2x2x2 Cube personal best with a time of 4.99 seconds, while also logging his first ever attempt at 4x4x4 Cube in 1:49.78 to finish 44th. Blair Zhang cut his 2x2x2 Cube best by 55.7 percent down to 2.74 seconds across two entered events. Felix Rohloff tackled four events, slicing 47.9 percent off his 4x4x4 Cube personal best to record 55.97 and finishing 23rd, alongside a 29.3 percent drop on 2x2x2 Cube to 3.66 and a 9.6 percent improvement on one-handed solving at 22.31.

First-time event entries provided further highlights throughout the afternoon. Zoe Wong took on four events, making her first ever attempt at 2x2x2 Cube with a 3.55 and her first ever attempt at 3x3x3 One-Handed with 22.23, which earned her a 15th-place finish, alongside an 11.4 percent personal best drop in 4x4x4 Cube to 49.29. Zachary Alexander Dang entered four disciplines, recording his first ever attempt at 4x4x4 Cube in 58.14 for 24th place, a first one-handed attempt of 27.67, and a 17.2 percent improvement on his 3x3x3 Cube best to 9.85. Hansen Ma entered four events, posting his first one-handed attempt at 27.64, a 27.6 percent improvement on 2x2x2 Cube to 2.86, and an 11th-place finish in 3x3x3 Cube with a 10 percent personal best drop to 9.14. Terence Wang made his first ever attempt at 4x4x4 Cube in 1:41.57, while lowering his 3x3x3 Cube mark by 24.2 percent to 13.99 and his 2x2x2 Cube time by 18.3 percent to 5.52. Jason Wu made his first ever attempts at 3x3x3 One-Handed in 1:07.40 and 2x2x2 Cube in 16.17, while improving his 3x3x3 Cube mark by 21.1 percent to 35.51.

Warm Up Sydney Saturday 2023 delivered intense regional battles and widespread personal progression across every puzzle category. From Eng collecting three event crowns to Sato breaking through with one-handed gold, the gathering proved how vibrant the circuit remains across Sydney. As the season progresses toward upcoming challenges, the depth of talent on display confirmed that both seasoned champions and emerging solvers are consistently raising their standards.