Competitions · United States

Lakewood Newcomers 2025

Lakewood, Washington · 22 March 2025 · 4 events · 130 competitors · 98 personal bests

Matty Hiroto Inaba won three of the four events (3×3, 4×4, 3×3 one-handed) and the closest final was the 3×3 one-handed, won by Matty Hiroto Inaba by 0.33 seconds. 130 competitors produced 98 personal bests, 38 of which still stand today, and 33 people held a competitor card for the first time.

The moment

The day's biggest improvement

Alex Matalobos took a 3×3 one-handed single of 1:57.23 down to 44.56, 62 percent better in one day.

Three wins

Matty Hiroto Inaba — 3×3, 4×4, 3×3 one-handed

0.33s

closest final — 3×3 one-handed, Matty Hiroto Inaba over Sameer Aggarwal

personal bests set on the day

Winners & podiums

Event	Winner	Single	Average
3×3	Matty Hiroto Inaba	4.83	5.35
2×2	Sameer Aggarwal	1.40	1.65
4×4	Matty Hiroto Inaba	23.69	24.51
3×3 one-handed	Matty Hiroto Inaba	10.11	10.90

The PB harvest

98 set · 38 still standing

Henry Spear — 2×2 single 1.50: into the top 2.2% of the event's history.
Henry Spear — 3×3 one-handed single 14.55: into the top 7.2% of the event's history.
Mason Jung — 2×2 single 2.56: into the top 9.5% of the event's history.
Ishaan Bansal — 3×3 one-handed single 15.87: into the top 9.9% of the event's history.
Daniel Jean-Soo Rhee — 3×3 single 11.04: into the top 10.6% of the event's history.
Jadon Starkey — 3×3 single 11.31: into the top 11.5% of the event's history.
Alex Chen — 3×3 single 11.64: into the top 12.6% of the event's history.
Alex Matalobos — 2×2 single 3.12: into the top 15.6% of the event's history.

First-timers

33 people competed for the first time at this competition, joining the 28,483 people who made their debut in 2025. Start here explains what a first competition is like.

Records watch

No national, continental or world records were set at this competition. That is true of most competitions.

The field

130 competitors · 526 results · 4 events.

Solve this final yourself

how this works →

The 3×3 final here ran on one scramble group, so these five sequences are exactly what the finalists faced. Matty Hiroto Inaba won it with a 5.35 average. Hold your cube white centre up, green centre facing you, follow each sequence, and check against the pictures.

1D B2 D2 L' U2 R2 B2 D2 F2 L' D' B' R B' L2 B' R2 D' F' D
2L B' R U2 R' B2 D2 U2 R2 F2 U2 R' U' B L2 B2 R U' B2
3F' R' U2 R2 F2 L' F2 B R D' L' D' L' D2 R2 B2 D2
4R U R F' D' F R' B2 L U L2 F' U2 F2 L2 D2 R
5F2 R2 F2 U2 R' D2 L' U2 D' L D2 L2 U' F D L R B

solve 1

solve 2

solve 3

solve 4

solve 5

Race this final

Everyone who competed

130 competitors

Reading this page: a single is one solve's time · an average is the middle three of five solves, best and worst discarded · a PB is a personal best · a final is a competition's last round; its order decides the podium · a DNF (did not finish) is an attempt with no valid result: a popped piece, an unsolved face, an over-limit memorisation · every solve starts from a computer-generated scramble, the same for every competitor in a round.