Wellington Summer 2023

Dwyane Ramos put together a masterclass at Wellington East Girls College, capturing four separate titles including the premier 3x3x3 Cube crown with a blistering 6.64 winning average. The weekend brought high championship stakes across every bracket as 82 competitors converged for Wellington Summer 2023. Over two days from February 18 to February 19, the field took on 12 official events and 25 intense rounds of competition in Wellington, New Zealand. Across the board, podium spots were fiercely contested down to the final solves.

The 3x3 results in the main event highlighted the fierce rivalry at the top of the table. Ramos locked up the victory over Alexander Vujcich, who secured second place with a 7.71 average, while Jasper Murray completed the podium with an 8.15 average. Ramos also produced the single fastest time of the entire 3x3x3 Cube tournament with a 5.77 effort. The three rounds demanded absolute consistency from the 81 starters in the bracket, demonstrating the relentless focus required to triumph on the classic Rubik's Cube stage.

Beyond the standard puzzle, Ramos proved his versatility across distinct formats. In the 4x4x4 Cube, Ramos topped a 49-competitor field with a 29.40 final average and a round-best 26.15 single, again keeping Vujcich (31.33) and Murray (31.45) at bay. Ramos added victories in Skewb with a 3.70 average and Square-1 with an 11.59 average, alongside a runner-up finish in Clock with a 6.00 average and a third-place finish in Pyraminx at 3.77. In total, Ramos claimed six podium placements across the competition.

Alexander Vujcich matched the high standard by claiming two titles of his own at Wellington Summer 2023. Vujcich took first place in the 2x2x2 Cube with a rapid 2.20 average across three rounds, edging out Ramos (2.86) and Murray (2.89). Vujcich then led the Megaminx event, finishing with a 33.60 average and a 30.22 single to capture gold over 25 other competitors. Meanwhile, Jasper Murray earned victory in the 5x5x5 Cube, averaging 54.89 to top the 32-person bracket with a single of 50.60.

The smaller puzzles brought equally narrow margins. Liam Wadek secured the Clock title with a sharp 5.94 average, holding off Ramos by six hundredths of a second, while Jules Graham took third at 6.06. Graham then dominated the 66-person Pyraminx competition, capturing the gold medal with a 2.68 average to beat Oscar Hansen (3.67) and Ramos (3.77). Every final round proved how tight the margins can be when hardware, turn speed, and execution collide in high-pressure elimination stages.

The blindfolded categories demanded extreme precision and nerve. In 3x3x3 Blindfolded, Tom Nelson took top honours with a winning single solve of 28.64 seconds, finishing ahead of Jack McDougall (1:35.65) and Jack Maddigan (1:21.01). Nelson also took the 3x3x3 Multi-Blind title by successfully resolving 19 out of 32 puzzles in exactly 1:00:00. In the grueling 4x4x4 Blindfolded event, Aneurin Hunt emerged as the sole competitor to secure a successful time, recording an 8:53.14 single while four other finalists registered DNFs.

Away from the podium battles, several competitors achieved remarkable milestones across the weekend. Hugo Carter took on six events and delivered an extraordinary 53.2% improvement on his 5x5x5 Cube mark with a new personal best of 2:12.89, alongside a first Clock attempt of 11.93. Antoine Touzard improved his 2x2x2 Cube personal best by 64.7% down to 5.09 and completed his first 3x3x3 Cube event with a 32.22 single. Imran Quazi lowered his Pyraminx personal best by 43% to 6.67 while attempting the 4x4x4 Cube for the first time with a 1:29.40. Benjamin Kimber took fifth in 3x3x3 Blindfolded, improved his 2x2x2 Cube mark by 52.5% to 1.90, and shaved 34.2% off his Square-1 time with a 33.81.

Newer participants also made notable inroads into new disciplines at this WCA competition. Zack Aden completed his first speed cubing event schedule by tackling seven disciplines, including first-ever attempts in 4x4x4 Cube (1:56.30) and 5x5x5 Cube (4:03.93). Thomas Macmaster impressed in his debut tournament by taking 10th place in Skewb with a 5.34 single and logging a 16.77 single in the 3x3x3 Cube. Leroy Burns dropped his 2x2x2 Cube personal best by 35% to 3.40 and his 3x3x3 Cube mark by 28.7% to 14.60, while Riley Wicks reached 10th in 2x2x2 Cube and logged first-ever attempts in Megaminx (1:35.30) and Square-1 (38.41).

The full two days demonstrated the depth of the local community across standard and specialized disciplines. With 37 podium spots captured by New Zealand competitors and one by Singapore, the gathering proved to be a pivotal stop in the 2023 calendar. As the final puzzles were locked away, Wellington Summer 2023 stood as a benchmark for local speedcubing excellence, setting a competitive tone for the remainder of the season across all twelve official events.