Wide Bay Cubing 2026

A mere seven-hundredths of a second decided the most electrifying battle of the weekend as Malaysia’s Joshua Ban edged Australia’s Kyle Jones to claim the Pyraminx crown. Ban posted a winning average of 3.60 seconds across the final round to narrowly beat out Jones, who recorded a 3.67 average, while Daniel McCorkell completed the podium in 4.26 seconds. It was a dramatic showcase of precision under immense pressure, setting the tone for an action-packed weekend of high-calibre speedcubing in coastal Queensland.

The drama unfolded at Wide Bay Cubing 2026, held on April 18 and 19, 2026, at the Christian Youth Camp Pialba (Campialba) in Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia. The two-day cubing competition gathered a diverse field of 35 competitors contesting 19 rounds across nine separate official events. Enthusiasts and spectators witnessed blistering times on the classic Rubik's Cube alongside larger big cubes, specialized twisty puzzles, and memory challenges.

Hayden Ng (吳宇晞) proved to be the standout performer across the classic formats, securing three major victories across the weekend. In the premier 3x3x3 Cube event, which drew 34 competitors through three tense rounds of competition, Ng captured first place with a stellar 7.30 winning average and an event-best single solve of 6.87. Elijah La Porte took the runner-up spot with an average of 7.57 seconds, just ahead of Matthew Ban, who secured third place with a 7.99 average in the final 3x3 results.

Ng carried that same sharp form directly into the big cube divisions, asserting dominance in both four-layer and five-layer categories. In the 4x4x4 Cube, Ng took top honours with an average of 27.61 seconds and a best single solve of 26.67, finishing ahead of Jay Kapoor at 31.03 seconds and Jamie Otsu at 33.70 seconds. Ng completed the treble in the 5x5x5 Cube, clocking a winning mark of 49.22 seconds, with Kapoor again taking second place in 53.01 seconds and Otsu finishing third in 53.55 seconds.

Elijah La Porte delivered a memorable weekend of his own by collecting dual titles across the short-format and dexterity events. La Porte claimed victory in the 2x2x2 Cube with an average of 2.13 seconds, besting Joshua Ban at 2.33 seconds and Matthew Ban at 2.84 seconds. In the 3x3x3 One-Handed competition, La Porte stood clear at the top of the podium with a 9.62 winning average and a single of 7.30 seconds, leading Jay Kapoor with 11.54 seconds and Matthew Ban with 12.83 seconds.

The technical and side events provided additional highlights, showcasing extraordinary skill and versatility. Connor Theodore took the Skewb title with an average of 4.25 seconds, narrowly outpacing Elijah La Porte at 4.35 seconds and Alexander Tronoff at 5.34 seconds. Kyle Jones claimed victory in Clock with an average of 4.57 seconds and a best single of 3.09 seconds. In the blindfolded discipline, which requires competitors to memorize the puzzle before donning a blindfold, Daniel Choi won the 3x3x3 Blindfolded title with a single of 1:10.40, ahead of Shen Flindell at 1:19.43 and Jamie Otsu at 1:24.44.

Away from the top steps of the podium, several competitors achieved remarkable milestones across their events. Blake Aiken took on eight events and slashed their Pyraminx personal best to 3.99 seconds, an improvement of 51.3 percent, while also logging a first official 5x5x5 Cube solve of 3:51.82 and a Clock debut of 22.02. Andrew Robinson reduced their 3x3x3 Cube mark by 43.2 percent to 17.54 seconds and chopped 32.8 percent off their 4x4x4 Cube best to 1:18.99. Suzie White dropped their Skewb best by 42.5 percent to 10.56 seconds and achieved a 36.1 percent drop in 4x4x4 Cube to 2:23.86, alongside a first 3x3x3 One-Handed attempt of 1:27.99. Timothy McCorkell lowered their Pyraminx personal best by 33.9 percent to 11.04 seconds and entered Clock for the first time with a 30.41 solve.

The spirit of individual progress continued as Hayden Maré registered a 30.6 percent cut in the 3x3x3 Cube to 29.01 seconds and made their first 2x2x2 Cube attempt in 6.37 seconds. Connor Sharpe tackled all nine events on the schedule, achieving a fifth-place finish in 3x3x3 Blindfolded, dropping their Pyraminx mark by 37.4 percent to 2.56 seconds, and securing a Clock best of 4.31 seconds. Debutants also made their mark, with Oliver Northey completing their first WCA competition across three events, logging a 32.02 solve in 3x3x3 Cube and a 1:31.61 effort in 3x3x3 One-Handed. Arjun Kamath also made their debut, recording first marks in 3x3x3 Cube at 26.87 seconds, 2x2x2 Cube at 6.23 seconds, and Pyraminx at 10.57 seconds.

With 22 podium places secured by Australian competitors and five by Malaysian entrants, the speed cubing gathering proved to be a vibrant display of regional talent. From nail-biting finishes decided by mere fractions of a second to personal milestones achieved across nine different puzzle disciplines, Wide Bay Cubing 2026 concluded as a resounding celebration of competitive solving.