2026 Method Development Competition I

[Michael Wimberly]

@yes cubing @Michael𒐫 @Fred When would you guys like the deadline to be? (Can be a range, just wondering how long you guys need for this)

I would personally say 4-6 weeks

 

[CrossPetrus]

Hey guys! How have the methods been going?

 

[Fred]

Hey guys! How have the methods been going?

I got stuck and then accidentally made a 4x4 method instead. I have an idea to get unstuck though.

 

[PhanPhuocan]

Is it possible for me to create a variation of an existing method?

 

[CrossPetrus]

Is it possible for me to create a variation of an existing method?

It can be based off of another method, but it has to be its own method. If you want to join I’ll let you since there hasn’t been any progress on submissions yet.

 

[Michael Wimberly]

I haven't really made much progress because I'm very busy rn
But I do have a start

 

[Michael Wimberly]

I have a quick update, I've already started timing solves with my method. I am at the point where I'm able to do it, but I just need to fix some minor issues and polish it up a bit.

 

[Michael Wimberly]

Yesterday I somehow accidentally re-invented Petrus
I'm back on track now tho thankfully

 

[Michael Wimberly]

@CrossPetrus Is it okay if I post what I have for my method in here today? Because it's done, and I have a comp coming up this weekend and I need to focus on that.

 

[Michael Wimberly]

I got stuck and then accidentally made a 4x4 method instead. I have an idea to get unstuck though.

Non-cubers when you *accidentally* figure out how to solve a 4x4

 

[CrossPetrus]

@CrossPetrus Is it okay if I post what I have for my method in here today? Because it's done, and I have a comp coming up this weekend and I need to focus on that.

Sure.

 

[Michael Wimberly]

Here's my method

I don't have a name for it yet.

Just as a disclaimer, this method is not meant for beginners.

Step 1: Block-building

So for this step you're gonna do all of F2L without the last pair using block building for a lower move count.
Here's an easy way to think about it:
1. Make a 1x2x2 block oriented to the correct centers.
2. Expand that into a 2x2x2 block by adding an edge piece.
3. Expand the 2x2x2 block into a 2x2x3 block.
4. Add 1 more f2l pair and then add the last cross piece to finish this step.

Step 2: EO-Pair

In this step, you do EO and pair up the last f2l pair. This can be done intuitively. The F2L pair doesn't need to be solved into its slot.

Step 3: Winter Variation

This step is quite simple, you just do winter variation for the last pair and OLL.

Step 4: PLL

This step is also quite self-explanatory, just do PLL to finish off the solve.


Alternate methods for the last layer

If you want to, you could just insert the last pair after EO and do either ZBLL or OLL/PLL, but ZBLL has too many algs and OLL/PLL has less algs but is slightly slower than using the main method.