World Rubik's Cube Championship 2017

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World Rubik's Cube
Championship 2017
Location: Paris, France
Date(s): 2017 July 13–16
Preceded by: WC2015
Succeeded by: WC2019

World Rubik's Cube Championship 2017 (usually called World Championship 2017, abbreviated to WC2017) was a speedcubing World Championship held at Les Docks de Paris, in Paris, France on July 13-16, 2017.

Max Park won the 3x3 final with an average time of 6.85 seconds. Seung Hyuk Nahm finished second and Lucas Etter finished third. The fastest single 3x3 solve of the competition was 5.47 seconds by Patrick Ponce. There was also a flurry of excitement after round 1 of the 3x3 event when Kian Mansour, a notable Roux method user, finished top with an average time of 6.86 seconds.

Despite being a pre-tournament favourite in many events, and setting six world records early on, Feliks Zemdegs only won two titles. He also finished fourth in the 3x3 speedsolving - the first time he failed to finish on the podium. He did however win his first 7x7 world title - completing his set of titles for all of the main cubes.

Competition

The tournament took place at Les Docks de Paris - a large conference centre on the River Seine. In terms of the number of competitors, this was the largest world championship yet. A total of 1055 competitors were registered for the tournament from 67 countries. 197 competitors were from France.

For the first time the tournament took place over four days. Thursday began with the first round of 3x3 With Feet followed by first rounds of Fewest Moves, MultiBlind, 6x6, 7x7, Clock, and Megaminx. Finals that day consisted of 3x3 With Feet, 4x4 Blindfolded, and Fewest Moves. Friday kicked-off with first rounds of 5x5, Square-1, Skewb, and 4x4. Finals on Friday consisted of 5x5 Blindfolded, 6x6, Megaminx, 7x7, and Clock. Saturday saw the remaining first rounds: 2x2, 3x3, 3x3 One-handed, Pyraminx, and 3x3 Blindfolded. The only final that day was the final MultiBlind attempt. The Nations Cup took place on Saturday evening (8 to 10 pm). Sunday saw the remaining second-rounds/semi-finals. The afternoon saw the finals of the Square-1, Skewb, 5x5, Pyraminx, 3x3 Blindfolded, 4x4, 3x3 One-handed, 2x2, and 3x3. The 3x3 final took place between 4 and 5 pm, and the winner's ceremonies began at 5:10pm.[1]

The winner of the 3x3 Speedsolve won €3000. The winners of the other events won between €250 and €800.[2]

Events

Big cubes

Feliks Zemdegs completely dominated the first round of the 6x6 and 7x7 events on Thursday, setting world record singles and averages. Similarly he set single and average 5x5 records on Friday in the second round. He went on to win the 5x5 and 7x7 finals. However Kevin Hays managed to hold on to his 6x6 title, even getting a double parity on his final and deciding solve.

3x3x3

Kian Mansour led the first round of the 3x3 with a 6.86 average. This was the best performance by a Roux Method user in any tournament. However a couple of bad solves in the second round saw him fail to reach the final. The final round shocked many as Feliks Zemdegs, the world record holder for 3x3 single and average finished fourth - the first time he failed to finish on the podium. Seung Hyuk Nahm had an accidental timer reset during his first solve leading to a DNF, however the time had been a fast one (low 6 seconds) and if recorded could have helped win him the tournament. In the end the final was won by Max Park (he had just won the US Nationals a week earlier) with an average time of 6.85 seconds. Seung Hyuk Nahm finished second and Lucas Etter finished third.

Winners

World Records Set

  • 6x6 average of 1:27.79 by Feliks Zemdegs (First Round)
  • 6x6 single of 1:20.03 by Feliks Zemdegs (First Round)
  • 7x7 average of 2:15.07 by Feliks Zemdegs (First Round)
  • 7x7 single of 2:06.73 by Feliks Zemdegs (First Round)
  • 5x5 average of 46.24 by Feliks Zemdegs (Second Round)
  • 5x5 single of 38.52 by Feliks Zemdegs (Second Round)
  • Pyraminx average of 2.04 by Drew Brads (Final)
  • One-Handed average of 10.31 by Max Park (Final)

Unofficial events

Nations Cup

The tournament saw an inaugural Rubik's Nations Cup on Saturday evening. It featured teams made up of three cubers all from the same country. The members on each team solved one 3x3x3 cube one after the other with special timers recording individual times and total team time. Two teams battled at a same run, with the winning team proceeding to next round. As an experimental format, it was an unofficial event, with times not recorded in the WCA database. Seventy-two teams took part, with some countries providing multiple teams. A special Nations Cup cube was provided to all competitors, designed by Gans but with the Rubik's Brand. The tournament saw the Germany 1 team beating Canada 1 in the semifinal, and Australia 1 beating USA 1 in the other semifinal. Germany 1 (Sebastian Weyer, Philipp Weyer, Cornelius Dieckmann) won the final.

Media

External Links

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