Xi'an Cherry Blossom 2024

Inside the Xi'an Guangcheng Hotel, the atmosphere hummed with focused energy as rows of tournament timers clicked continuously. Spectators and participants gathered closely around the main staging area to watch hands fly across multi-colored faces, while practice tables across the hall stayed fully occupied throughout the day. The bustling spring atmosphere set the stage for an intense single-day gathering as 191 competitors assembled to test their skills across 11 rounds of action in five distinct disciplines.

The one-day WCA competition took place on April 5, 2024, bringing rapid turnarounds and high excitement to Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. Speedcubing enthusiasts arrived eager to capitalize on the fast conditions, with many looking to take massive chunks off their previous official marks. Across the five featured events, competitors showed sharp focus, translating countless hours of practice into remarkable progress on the tournament floor.

The classic Rubik's Cube brought the largest field of the meeting, drawing 189 competitors through three rigorous rounds. Xuanyi Geng captured top honors in the 3x3x3 Cube with a stunning winning average of 5.48 seconds, bolstered by the competition's best single solve of 5.02 seconds. Qixian Cao secured second place with a 5.71 average, while Bofan Zhang stepped onto the podium in third with a 6.01 average, rounding out an elite display of 3x3 results.

Away from the top of the podium, the heart of the tournament was defined by sweeping personal milestones and major leaps forward. Yizhuo Gao delivered one of the most remarkable transformations of the meeting across four events, logging a first ever attempt at Skewb of 4.41 seconds on the way to a 16th-place finish. Gao also shattered prior benchmarks by posting a 2x2x2 Cube personal best of 3.74 seconds, which was 76.5 percent faster than a previous best of 15.92, alongside a 3x3x3 Cube personal best of 12.73 seconds that improved by 73.2 percent over an earlier 47.44 mark. Murong Du tackled three disciplines and made a first ever attempt at the 2x2x2 Cube with a 3.03 single, while taking a Pyraminx personal best down to 3.69 seconds for a 58.2 percent improvement and dropping a 3x3x3 Cube personal best by 50.4 percent to 21.16 seconds.

The surge of breakthroughs continued as Dianliang Cao took on four separate events, recording a first ever attempt at Skewb of 22.50 seconds and a first ever attempt at 2x2x2 Cube of 16.48 seconds, while lowering a 3x3x3 Cube personal best to 20.20 seconds to run 50 percent faster than a prior mark of 40.44. Zhengyu Li also competed across four disciplines, opening with a first ever attempt at Pyraminx of 5.26 seconds and a first ever attempt at Skewb of 7.52 seconds, supplemented by a 2x2x2 Cube personal best of 2.78 seconds that improved by 36.5 percent. Baicheng Chen registered a first ever attempt at Pyraminx of 7.29 seconds and a first ever attempt at 2x2x2 Cube of 4.10 seconds across three events, alongside a 3x3x3 Cube personal best of 13.13 seconds that eclipsed a previous 19.39 by 32.3 percent. Yutong Fei entered four events and achieved a 9th-place finish in the 2x2x2 Cube, delivering a first ever attempt at Pyraminx of 6.44 seconds, a first ever attempt at 2x2x2 Cube of 1.87 seconds, and a first ever attempt at Skewb of 5.00 seconds.

The 2x2x2 Cube event drew a deep field of 146 competitors across two stages of speed cubing. Bofan Zhang claimed victory with a blisteringly fast 1.49 average and a best single solve of 1.17 seconds. Ziyu Ye claimed the second spot on the podium with a 1.59 average, while Like Li took third with 1.85 seconds, completing an exceptionally quick final round.

Pyraminx solvers also delivered rapid times over two rounds with 108 competitors taking part. Like Li earned the title with a tournament-winning average of 1.81 seconds, supported by a 1.36 single solve. Shengze Tang finished right behind in second place with an average of 1.90 seconds, and Lingkun Jiang took third with an average of 2.01 seconds.

The side events provided dynamic variety to the schedule, featuring both the rapid corner-turning of the Skewb and the complex geometry of the Megaminx. Shengze Tang topped an 88-competitor Skewb bracket with an average of 2.56 seconds and a best single of 1.87, leading Qi Zhou in second at 3.05 and Ziyu Ye in third at 3.26. In the Megaminx, Ziyu Wu dominated the 47-competitor field by winning with a sub-30 average of 29.09 seconds and a 27.44 single, finishing comfortably ahead of Dongzhe Li at 41.28 and Nachuan Sun at 41.48.

By the time the final awards were distributed, every podium position across all five events belonged to competitors representing China. The intense action of Xi'an Cherry Blossom 2024 proved that dedication and steady practice continue to drive personal growth across every level of the sport. As the cubing competition wrapped up in Shaanxi, competitors left with valuable experience and an impressive tally of newly set personal records to build upon.

在陕西省西安市的西安光成大酒店内，比赛现场的计时器跳动与魔方转动的清脆声响此起彼伏。魔方赛事不仅有手速爆发的争分夺秒，也有考验空间构想与策略布局的深度比拼，这种极速冲刺与静心推演的鲜明对比在赛场展现得淋漓尽致。2024年4月5日，Xi'an Cherry Blossom 2024在这里正式打响，吸引了来自各地的魔方爱好者齐聚古都展开角逐。

本次Xi'an Cherry Blossom 2024共吸引了191名选手参与5个项目的比拼，在11轮精彩对决中诞生了多项优异成绩。作为重头戏的三阶魔方项目共有189人出战，历经三轮激战。最终选手Xuanyi Geng (耿暄一)凭借稳定的发挥，以5.48秒的平均成绩夺得三阶冠军，其最快单次成绩达到了5.02秒。

在竞争激烈的二阶魔方项目中，共有146名选手参赛。Bofan Zhang (张博藩)在两轮比拼中展现出强大的实力，以1.49秒的优异平均成绩问鼎冠军，其单次最快成绩为1.17秒。同项目的竞争同样焦灼，Ziyu Ye (叶梓渝)以1.59秒的平均成绩位居次席，Like Li (李李可)则以1.85秒收获第三名。

除了常规立方体项目，异形魔方的较量同样看点十足。在金字塔魔方赛场，共有108名选手展开角逐，Like Li (李李可)以1.81秒的平均成绩斩获金牌，最快单次达到1.36秒。斜方魔方共有88人出战，Shengze Tang (唐圣泽)以2.56秒的平均成绩力拔头筹，并在该项目拿下1.87秒的单次最快发挥。

十二轴的五魔方项目共有47名选手参与角逐，复杂的结构对还原手法提出了极高要求。Ziyu Wu (吴子钰)在该项目中技高一筹，以29.09秒的均速夺冠，同时创下了27.44秒的最快单次。Dongzhe Li (李东哲)和Nachuan Sun (孙纳川)分别以41.28秒和41.48秒的成绩位列五魔方领奖台的第二和第三位。

赛场上不仅有领奖台上的高光时刻，许多选手在不同项目中实现着个人的突破。Yunxuan Xie (谢昀轩)参加了4个项目，在斜方魔方完成生涯首秀并拿下9.32秒，同时二阶单次成绩由7.64秒提升至3.39秒提高幅度达55.6%，金字塔成绩也由9.51秒提升至4.74秒提速50.2%。Muchun Yu (余慕淳)迎来了金字塔与斜方的首次尝试，分别取得7.29秒和4.36秒，二阶单次达到3.94秒相比原先的5.23秒提速24.7%。Jun Cao (曹骏)参与了5个项目并在五魔方完成首秀取得1:05.59获得第16名，金字塔单次由8.35秒提升至4.58秒提速45.1%，二阶成绩则进步至5.49秒提速13.1%。

同样带来亮眼发挥的还有Keyang Zhao (赵柯炀)，在参加的4个项目中将斜方成绩由31.31秒大幅缩短至7.80秒提速达75.1%，金字塔单次由10.04秒进步至6.11秒提速39.1%，二阶单次亦提升至4.16秒。Xiaozhu Guo (郭晓宁)在斜方迎来首秀并取得7.32秒，三阶单次由25.62秒刷新至14.39秒提速43.8%，二阶单次由3.84秒提升至2.31秒提速39.8%。Zeyu Liu (刘泽宇)完成斜方首秀获得8.64秒，金字塔单次由12.68秒提升至7.44秒提速41.3%，二阶单次则由5.76秒进步至5.12秒。

经过一整天密集的赛程，Xi'an Cherry Blossom 2024在古城圆满收官。来自中国各地的选手们在西安留下了亮眼的成绩单与个人突破。这场在Xi'an, Shaanxi, China举办的WCA比赛展现了魔方运动的多元魅力与不断超越的竞速精神，选手们也将带着赛场收获投入到接下来的训练与挑战中。