RUBIK’S CUBE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP WON BY AMERICAN MAX PARK

I certainly wouldn’t have imagined that, over forty years later, it would continue to entertain and perplex puzzle-solvers

The 2017 Rubik’s Cube World Championship, held at the Dock Pullman, Paris, from Thursday 13 July to Sunday 16 July, which has been won by speedcuber Max Park from San Diego, CA, with a blistering solving average of 6.85 seconds.

On a dramatic final day of competition, the American surpassed the score of Seung Hyuk Nahm of Korea by a mere 0.17 seconds. Third place was taken by a second American, Lucas Etter, with an average solve time of 7.24 seconds.

The top ten speedcubing competitors were all within two seconds of each other, as shown below:

Ordered by name, best single solve (seconds), average solve time (seconds) and nationality.

1 Max Park --- 5.87 --- 6.85 --- United States
2 Seung Hyuk Nahm --- 6.40 --- 7.02 --- Korea
3 Lucas Etter --- 6.23 --- 7.24 --- United States
4 Feliks Zemdegs --- 6.55 --- 7.28 --- Australia
5 Bill Wang --- 6.18 --- 7.55 --- Canada
6 Alexandre Carlier --- 5.91 --- 7.57 --- France
7 Patrick Ponce --- 5.47 --- 7.62 --- United States
8 Mats Valk --- 6.06 --- 7.92 --- Netherlands
9 Yi-Fan Wu --- 7.53 --- 8.34 --- Taiwan
10 Kevin Gerhardt --- 7.35 --- 8.67 --- Germany

Meanwhile, the inaugural Rubik’s Nations Cup, which saw national teams of three cubers competing in relay, was won by Germany, with three Rubik’s Cubes solved in a jaw-dropping 25.71 seconds.

Over one thousand competitors from 67 countries attended the Rubik’s Cube World Championship.

With a field over twice as large as the 2015 World Championship in Sao Paolo, Brazil, and all of the world’s best speedcubers in attendance, the 2017 Rubik’s Cube World Championship is the biggest-ever celebration of the iconic toy.

The competition’s rules mean that entrants solve the Rubik’s Cube five times. The fastest and slowest attempts are removed and an average time is taken so the competitor with the fastest single solve does not always win.

Ernő Rubik, 73, the Hungarian creator of the iconic Rubik’s Cube, attended the event, and said, “In what some people call a digital world, it’s refreshing to see that the Rubik’s Cube continues to capture the imagination of people of all ages and cultures.

“When I first designed the Rubik’s Cube as a professor of architecture in Budapest, I simply wanted to encourage my pupils to think about spatial relationships. I certainly wouldn’t have imagined that, over forty years later, it would continue to entertain and perplex puzzle-solvers.

“Something about the Rubik’s Cube has piqued the curiosity of a second generation of cube lovers, for whom the quest for speed is never-ending.”

Since its international launch in 1980, an estimated 400 million Rubik’s Cubes have been sold, making it the world’s most popular toy.

To find out more about Rubik’s Cube, visit the website at https://www.rubiks.com/, Twitter feed @RubiksOnline or official Facebook page.

HIGHLIGHTS OF FRIDAY 14 JULY AT THE RUBIK’S CUBE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_MtG3UxWAA

HIGHLIGHTS OF SATURDAY 15 JULY AT THE RUBIK’S CUBE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiMcBKg3J5k

HIGHLIGHTS OF SUNDAY 16 JULY AT THE RUBIK’S CUBE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (featuring Ernő Rubik): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnJ_BUCSSHo


ENDS

High-res imagery and footage from the 2017 Rubik’s Cube World Championship are available to journalists. We would be delighted to organise interviews with Chrisi Trussell, spokeswoman for Rubik’s Brand Ltd, and members of the speedcubing community where available.

Media information provided by Famous Publicity. For more information please contact the team at 03333 442 341 or George Murdoch at george@famouspublicity.com, Adam Betteridge at adam@famouspublicity.com or Tina Fotherby at tina@famouspublicity.com.