Washtenaw Qualifiers 2024

Krish Shah-Nathwani survived four gruelling rounds of 3x3x3 Cube competition to secure victory with an 8.05 winning average, posting a best single of 6.74 against a packed lineup of 100 solvers. Held from May 24 to May 26 at the Morris J. Lawrence Building in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA, the Washtenaw Qualifiers 2024 tested the endurance of every participant. Across a mammoth schedule of 17 events and 30 separate rounds, reaching even a single final round required absolute consistency. The depth across the board showed immediately in the headline 3x3 results, where Chris Chi took second on an 8.48 average and Kate Grahame claimed third with an 8.51 mark.

The 2024 speedcubing weekend featured 103 competitors, turning every round of the classic Rubik's Cube and secondary puzzles into a tense battle for progression. In the 2x2x2 Cube, an enormous bracket of 93 starters was narrowed across three rounds before Sujan Feist dominated the final. Feist posted an exceptional winning average of 1.24 and a best single of 1.05 to claim first place. Grahame followed in second with a 1.90 average, while Shah-Nathwani capped an impressive multi-event showing by locking up third place with a 2.06 average.

Stanley Chapel produced an astonishing multi-event performance across the three days of action. Chapel swept four different categories, taking top honours in the 4x4x4 Cube with a 28.47 average and winning 3x3x3 One-Handed on a 12.80 average with an 11.71 single. He proved equally versatile on side puzzles, capturing the Pyraminx title in a rapid 2.30 average to edge out runner-up Micah David Theis at 2.32, before adding a Skewb victory with a 3.89 average. In the 4x4x4 Cube podium race, Noah Swor secured second in 31.90, while Grahame placed third in 33.47.

Beyond two-handed speed cubing, Chapel extended his reach into memory events at Washtenaw Qualifiers 2024. He clinched first place in 3x3x3 Blindfolded with a 17.11 single and went on to win 4x4x4 Blindfolded by delivering an exceptional 1:09.97 single. In the four-layered blindfolded contest, Andrew Tao claimed second place with a time of 3:06.27, while Swor finished third in 3:11.56. Blindfolded solving demands intense focus and error-free execution, making Chapel's double blindfolded sweep all the more remarkable against experienced fields.

The heavy puzzle divisions belonged emphatically to Kate Grahame, who dominated the large cubes throughout the competition. Grahame collected three gold medals, capturing the 5x5x5 Cube in 52.94 ahead of Chapel's 54.44 and Nathan Chiem's 57.06. She went on to secure the 6x6x6 Cube title with a 1:27.68 average, beating Chiem's 1:42.80 and Swor's 1:50.28, before taking top honours in the 7x7x7 Cube with a 2:14.11 average. Chiem and Swor rounded out the 7x7x7 podium in second and third with marks of 2:30.07 and 2:56.05 respectively.

Away from the top steps of the podium, the sheer depth of this WCA competition brought standout milestones and massive personal breakthroughs. Andrew Lloyd took on four events and delivered enormous drops, cutting his 2x2x2 personal best to 3.64, which was 66.2 percent faster than his prior 10.77 mark, alongside a 3x3x3 One-Handed personal best of 26.99 that sliced 51.9 percent off his previous time. Isa Siddiqi entered six events and registered a Clock personal best of 26.62, representing a 61.8 percent improvement, while also logging a first career official Skewb attempt of 10.69. Colton Vermillion dropped his 2x2x2 best to 4.93, improving by 58.4 percent, while trying Clock and 4x4x4 for the first time with marks of 24.65 and 1:41.54.

The progress continued across a busy roster tackling demanding side events for the first time. Reese Bunker took on nine events, securing an eighth-place finish in 3x3x3 Multi-Blind with a flawless 3/3 in 16:31 on their first official attempt, while cutting their Square-1 personal best by 49.6 percent down to 25.35. Tristan Hotchkiss logged a first attempt at Skewb in 8.57 and slashed 40.3 percent off their 2x2x2 best with a 2.10 single. Jacob Conner tackled 12 events, recording first-time marks in Pyraminx at 12.01, 5x5x5 Cube at 1:35.42, and 2x2x2 Cube at 3.73. Caleb Gunawan took on 10 events, debuting on 6x6x6 with 4:54.96, while Naoyuki Saito registered 11 events, logging a 6x6x6 debut of 4:38.04 and a 33.6 percent Clock improvement to 10.37.

The specialist disciplines featured several other standout displays across the weekend. Noah Swor captured the Square-1 crown across three rounds with an 8.45 average and a 6.64 single. AJ Kamal topped the Megaminx standings on a 41.25 average, Reed W. Richardson took Clock in 3.34, and Owen Widdis won 3x3x3 Fewest Moves with a 22.67 mean. In the remaining blindfolded events, Andrew Tao won 3x3x3 Multi-Blind by solving 27 of 29 cubes in 59:23 and took 5x5x5 Blindfolded with an 11:17.00 single. United States competitors earned 46 podium positions, with Canada taking four and China taking one.

From opening rounds to finals, Washtenaw Qualifiers 2024 served as a rigorous showcase of talent and stamina. The demanding 30-round schedule pushed every competitor to their limits across every official puzzle format. As solvers look ahead to the next stage of the speedcubing season, the high standard set in Ann Arbor demonstrated just how difficult it has become to survive the qualifiers and reach the final table in modern cubing competition.