Welcome to Wellington 2024

The Knox Church hall was filled with the rhythmic click of turning plastic and the hum of focused concentration as competitors gathered on March 30, 2024. Across the tables, 61 speedcubers prepared their puzzles for a rigorous schedule of 11 rounds. The venue hosted four official disciplines, giving both newcomers and seasoned entrants an intense day of Rubik's Cube action in Wellington, New Zealand. From the first warm-up turns to the final showdowns, the atmosphere was defined by high-level speed cubing.

When the final standings were tallied, the host nation had achieved total dominance on home soil. Competitors representing New Zealand captured all 12 available podium positions across the tournament. Every single top-three finish in the four disciplines went to Kiwi solvers, underscoring the deep talent pool present at Welcome to Wellington 2024. The sweep was led primarily by two standout competitors who divided the gold medals equally between them.

Matthew Yang delivered a commanding performance in the marquee event, taking first place in the 3x3x3 Cube with a winning average of 7.62 seconds. The competition drew 60 entrants to the classic puzzle across three full rounds of play. Yang also registered the fastest single solve of the entire event with a sharp 6.95. Jack Maddigan secured second place with an average of 9.47, while Jack McDougall followed closely in third at 9.59, completing a strong set of 3x3 results.

Yang added a second gold medal to his tally in the 4x4x4 Cube, which featured 37 competitors across two rounds. He navigated the larger puzzle to post a winning average of 34.90 seconds and logged the event's best single solve at 31.87. Jack McDougall took the silver medal with an average of 36.82, and Alex Asbery rounded out the podium in third place with a mark of 39.38.

While Yang took the two larger cubes, Jack McDougall proved unbeatable on the sprint events. In the 2x2x2 Cube, McDougall topped a 52-player field over three rounds by producing a winning average of 1.75 seconds, highlighted by a best single of 1.35. Yang took second place with an average of 2.16, while Zachary Doblas claimed third place on the podium with 2.56. McDougall carried that sharp form directly into the Pyraminx, winning the 39-competitor discipline with an average of 3.90 seconds. Luke Deane-Freeman took second with 4.22, edging Dylan Himmelfarb who secured third in 4.25.

Beyond the championship battles, Welcome to Wellington 2024 served as a platform for substantial personal progress across the roster. Oscar Welton-Rosie produced a major drop in the 2x2x2 Cube, lowering his personal best to 2.78 seconds, which was 60.4 percent faster than his prior 7.02 mark. Elijah Raumati logged a 2x2x2 Cube personal best of 3.52 seconds, improving by 48.2 percent, while also taking his first ever attempt at 4x4x4 Cube with a 1:37.74 and his first Pyraminx solve at 9.04. Christian De Jesus Jr. improved his Pyraminx best to 5.64 seconds by 40.3 percent, entered 4 events, earned an 8th-place finish in 2x2x2 Cube, and recorded his first ever attempt at 4x4x4 Cube in 1:13.85. Alex Wither cut his Pyraminx personal best to 9.30 seconds, an improvement of 38 percent.

Significant gains continued through the brackets of the cubing competition. Maxwell de Jardine shaved 30.5 percent off his Pyraminx personal best down to 5.05 seconds while taking on 4 events and earning 13th place. Advaith Konteram Kadavath Nechinathil completed his first ever attempt at 2x2x2 Cube in 4.73 seconds and lowered his 3x3x3 Cube best to 11.56, finishing 17th. George Patrick Counsell Stephens took part in his first WCA competition, recording his first ever attempt at 3x3x3 Cube in 22.18 seconds, 2x2x2 Cube in 7.79, and Pyraminx in 11.94. Hunter Li also completed his first WCA competition, logging his first ever attempt at 2x2x2 Cube in 9.24 seconds, Pyraminx in 15.54, and 4x4x4 Cube in 1:57.05.

The one-day WCA competition concluded with a clean sweep across all four disciplines, leaving local speedcubers with remarkable personal milestones and trophies. Welcome to Wellington 2024 demonstrated both the sharp execution of its multi-event champions and the broad progress of its developing solvers as the regional circuit continues.