Waterloo Mini Blindfolded 2026

LianCheng Guo delivered the defining performance of the weekend by stopping the clock at 46.85 seconds in the 3x3x3 Blindfolded final. Solved entirely without sight after a brief memorisation phase, the sub-minute execution stood out as the fastest single across the entire schedule. That decisive turn in the single-round contest propelled Guo to the top of the podium, capturing the gold medal on a focused day of non-visual competition.

Held at the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada on June 20, 2026, Waterloo Mini Blindfolded 2026 brought together seven competitors for an intensive showcase. Speedcubing across blindfolded events strips away peripheral distractions and demands absolute mental precision. Across three events and three total rounds, the gathering tested recall and technical execution under strict competitive regulations in an intimate tournament environment.

The 3x3 results in the blindfolded category reflected a deep Canadian field contesting every fraction of a second. Following Guo, Joshua Wright earned the second spot on the podium with a successful single of 1:15.68. Tin Huang rounded out the top three by registering a time of 1:31.09, completing a clean sweep of the podium places by Canadian solvers in the event.

Beyond the podium finishes, the competition offered a stage for personal progression and milestone breakthroughs across the field. Rayan Beig took to the table for his eleventh career tournament and delivered a successful 4:38.87 solve, marking his first ever attempt at 3x3x3 Blindfolded in a sanctioned environment on his way to a fifth-place finish. William Shen also ventured into the event for the first time, logging a time of 4:31.75 across his attempts to secure a fourth-place overall standing.

That same commitment to execution was mirrored across the roster. Silvia Zheng delivered a standout personal best in 3x3x3 Blindfolded with a completion of 11:05.00, improving upon her previous best of 13:12.00 by sixteen percent to finish in sixth place. Meanwhile, veteran competitor Sarah Strong brought her experience of 190 career tournaments to the venue, taking on the single event schedule and finishing seventh with her registered efforts.

The larger puzzle events shifted focus to the formidable challenges of big cube memory. Joshua Wright stepped up as the sole entrant for both 4x4x4 Blindfolded and 5x5x5 Blindfolded. Navigating the immense piece counts of the complex Rubik's Cube variations requires tracking internal centers, wings, and multiple parity states without visual confirmation throughout the solve.

In the 4x4x4 Blindfolded event, Wright finished with an uncompleted attempt to take first place in the classification. The exacting demands of the discipline mean a single misplaced piece invalidates the entire solve, yet taking on the 4x4x4 without sight remains one of the boldest undertakings in any cubing competition.

The subsequent 5x5x5 Blindfolded round presented an even higher barrier of complexity. Wright concluded the single round with a DNF result to finish first in the bracket, having tackled the vast memorisation workload inherent to the event. The ambitious attempt closed out a demanding schedule of big cube solving.

With all rounds completed on June 20, Waterloo Mini Blindfolded 2026 closed its books as a focused WCA competition that celebrated the mental discipline of non-visual speed cubing. From Guo securing gold under the forty-seven-second mark to solvers navigating their first blindfolded attempts, the day in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada highlighted the quiet intensity defining modern blindfolded disciplines.