Welcome Back Hong Kong 2024

Ivan Li Ka Leong set the benchmark at Welcome Back Hong Kong 2024 by claiming the headline 3x3x3 Cube title with an exceptional 7.32 average and a round-best single of 5.86. The landmark speedcubing gathering in Hong Kong, Hong Kong on March 31, 2024, brought 147 competitors to The Wave for a packed schedule of 12 rounds across six official disciplines. Li ensured his dominance went beyond the main event by delivering commanding performances throughout the single-day cubing competition, putting his stamp on the entire weekend program.

Li secured his second major gold in the 4x4x4 Cube, putting together a winning average of 26.60 alongside a tournament-best single of 21.66. His nearest rival in the final, Yi-Fan Wu of Taiwan, locked up second place with a 27.90 average, while Hong Kong contender Andy Mok Man Cheuk grabbed third place with a 29.48 mark. Li was untouchable on the big cube, establishing clear distance over the rest of the 83 entrants and completing an impressive double championship at this World Cube Association tournament.

In the flagship 3x3x3 Cube final, the race for podium places behind Li stayed tight through every solve. China standout Yitang Zhang posted a 7.78 average to take second position on the podium, edging out Tian Ying Xi of Hong Kong, who secured third place with an average of 7.82. The classic Rubik's Cube division drew 145 competitors through two fierce rounds, making Li's triumph at the top of the 3x3 results a definitive statement of control over the largest bracket of the meet.

The 2x2x2 Cube saw Yang Pin Xiu take top honors among a field of 102 competitors, assembling a crisp 2.17 winning average with a 1.80 best single. Hong Kong swept the 2x2x2 podium as Chan Yau Hoi claimed the silver medal with a 2.42 average and Timothy Kong Wing Sum picked up the bronze with 2.59. The sprint event featured high-tempo solving across both rounds, setting a fast standard early in the day.

The spotlight shone brightly on competitors expanding their repertoire across multiple events. Lam Seon Zi entered six events and made enormous strides on the stopwatch, logging a 4x4x4 Cube personal best of 44.10, which improved on a prior 1:35.96 by 54 percent. Lam also lowered their Skewb personal best to 3.74, a 49 percent improvement over their earlier 7.33, while completing a first official Clock attempt in 12.03. Cheng Wai Kit took on six events across the schedule, recording maiden official attempts in Clock at 14.47, 3x3x3 One-Handed at 28.41, and Skewb at 16.84.

Other competitors took on fresh challenges on the competition stage. Sung Siwoo entered five events, marking first attempts in Skewb at 2.93, 2x2x2 Cube at 2.34, and 3x3x3 One-Handed at 19.58, on the way to a 12th-place finish in 2x2x2. Kaiyan Ren entered five events, recording initial attempts in 3x3x3 One-Handed at 57.70, Skewb at 9.59, and 4x4x4 Cube at 1:16.52. Tsiang Wei Yan made first attempts at Skewb in 6.01, Clock in 11.50, and 3x3x3 One-Handed in 17.45 across five events. Tsui Chun Yin entered four disciplines, booking maiden marks in 2x2x2 Cube at 4.83, 3x3x3 One-Handed at 33.65, and 4x4x4 Cube at 59.42.

The one-handed event produced tight competition as Zehan Xue of China earned victory with a 12.69 winning average and a single of 9.67 across two rounds with 73 entrants. Andy Mok Man Cheuk finished second with an average of 12.97, followed closely by Taiwan competitor Yi-Fan Wu at 13.04. In the Clock event, Matthew Advani led the 51-person field to win gold for Hong Kong with a 4.62 average and 3.59 single, ahead of Andy Mok Man Cheuk at 5.26 and Haoxu Ye of China at 5.79.

Skewb concluded with Tianze Xu of China winning first place via a 3.38 average and 2.57 single across two rounds of 53 competitors. Henry Tang Kun Chung took silver for Hong Kong with 3.74, while Shek Ho Hin placed third with 4.05. Across the entire weekend, Hong Kong led the medal count with 12 podium spots, alongside four for China and two for Taiwan, capping a thrilling WCA competition that celebrated speed cubing mastery and versatile problem-solving across all six disciplines at Welcome Back Hong Kong 2024.

在Hong Kong, Hong Kong的The Wave賽場內，魔術方塊轉動的清脆聲響與計時器的按鍵聲此起彼落。作為2024年賽季第一季度的重要一戰，這場於2024-03-31舉行的WCA competition吸引了多方目光，選手們在春季賽程的關鍵節點齊聚一堂，爭奪年度各項目的排位與榮譽。賽場座無虛席，計時墊前專注的目光交織成這場速度極限戰役的序幕。

本次Welcome Back Hong Kong 2024共設有6個項目、進行了12輪比拼，吸引了147名選手參賽。在壓軸進行的三階魔方（3x3x3 Cube）項目中，共有145名選手角逐兩輪賽事。Ivan Li Ka Leong (李嘉亮)展現強大統治力，在決賽中以7.32秒的平均成績勇奪冠軍，並刷出5.86秒的全場最快單次成績。來自中國的Yitang Zhang (张艺棠)以7.78秒獲得亞軍，Tian Ying Xi (田盈汐)則以7.82秒拿下季軍。

四階魔方（4x4x4 Cube）項目同樣是Ivan Li Ka Leong (李嘉亮)的天下。在83名選手的兩輪激烈角逐中，他憑藉26.60秒的平均成績與21.66秒的單次成績強勢登頂，加冕本屆賽事的雙冠王。Yi-Fan Wu (吳亦凡)以27.90秒的平均成績奪得亞軍，Andy Mok Man Cheuk (莫文卓)以29.48秒收穫季軍。

在講求單手協調的三階單手（3x3x3 One-Handed）項目中，Zehan Xue (薛泽韩)在73名選手中脫穎而出，以12.69秒的平均成績和9.67秒的最快單次奪冠。Andy Mok Man Cheuk (莫文卓)以12.97秒緊隨其後獲得亞軍，Yi-Fan Wu (吳亦凡)以13.04秒取得季軍。

在賽事成績單之外，諸多選手在賽場上迎來了亮眼的個人突破。Aditya Cho Girish在生涯第4場賽事中出戰5個項目，首次嘗試魔錶即拿到20.03秒，並在斜轉項目以5.31秒刷新個人最好成績，比原先的13.01秒快了59.2%，四階魔方亦以1:17.35大幅提升29%。Kim Siheon (김시헌)迎來生涯第5場賽事，首次挑戰斜轉拿到6.66秒，三階單手首秀繳出25.32秒，二階魔方則以4.41秒刷新個人紀錄，進步23.7%。Hayden Pan Tsun Pui (潘浚培)在生涯第4場比賽中出戰3項，四階魔方首秀錄得40.13秒，三階魔方成績提升48.4%達到7.84秒，二階魔方也以2.62秒大幅進步40.3%。

突破的腳步在賽場各個角落延續。Junhe Liao (廖俊和)在生涯第38場賽事中報名5個項目，魔錶首次嘗試拿到13.29秒，三階單手首秀拿到22.65秒，三階魔方則以9.67秒刷新個人最佳成績，進步15.5%。Ling Hei Nok (凌希諾)生涯第13次參賽並出戰5項，斜轉首秀交出4.39秒，三階單手首次嘗試錄得34.81秒，三階魔方以10.88秒提升19.3%。Cheng Yat Lai (鄭日禮)在生涯第7場賽事參加3個項目，四階魔方首秀為1:07.44，三階單手首次嘗試錄得33.69秒，三階魔方個人最好成績進步17.9%至13.62秒。

其他項目方面，在102人角逐的二階魔方（2x2x2 Cube）中，Yang Pin Xiu (楊品修)以2.17秒的平均成績摘金，Chan Yau Hoi (陳佑愷)以2.42秒獲得亞軍，Timothy Kong Wing Sum (江永琛)以2.59秒位列季軍。斜轉（Skewb）項目中，Tianze Xu (徐天泽)以3.38秒的平均成績奪冠，Henry Tang Kun Chung (鄧貫中)以3.74秒獲得亞軍，Shek Ho Hin (石灝軒)以4.05秒拿下季軍。魔錶（Clock）項目則由Matthew Advani (歐卓禮)以4.62秒奪冠，Andy Mok Man Cheuk (莫文卓)以5.26秒獲得亞軍，Haoxu Ye (叶浩煦)以5.79秒獲得季軍。

隨著各項頒獎圓滿結束，Welcome Back Hong Kong 2024在熱烈的競逐氣氛中落幕。在地區獎牌分佈上，香港代表共攬獲12個領獎台席位，中國大陸代表獲得4席，中華台北代表獲得2席。這場speedcubing盛宴為春季賽程寫下了精彩的一章，選手們在各個項目累積的寶貴經驗，也為接下來的賽季征程奠定了扎實基礎。