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The Middle Three
Competitions → New Zealand → Palmerston North 2016

Competitions · New Zealand

Palmerston North 2016

Palmerston North · 25 September 2016 · 14 events · 55 competitors · 88 personal bests

Tom Nelson won four of the 14 events (3×3 blindfolded, 4×4 blindfolded, 5×5 blindfolded) and the closest final was the 2×2, won by Tim Xie by 0.05 seconds. 55 competitors produced 88 personal bests, 14 of which still stand today, and 15 people held a competitor card for the first time.

The moment

A continental record

Tom Nelson set the 5×5 blindfolded single continental record: 7:04.64.

Four wins
Tom Nelson — 3×3 blindfolded, 4×4 blindfolded, 5×5 blindfolded, 3×3 Multi-Blind
0.05s
closest final — 2×2, Tim Xie over Tom Nelson
88
personal bests set on the day

Winners & podiums

EventWinnerSingleAverage
3×3Mukund Karthik10.6711.96
2×2Tim Xie4.034.64
4×4Alex Asbery42.5645.28
5×5Mukund Karthik1:28.491:29.47
6×6James Macdiarmid3:39.103:45.40
7×7Aneurin Hunt5:12.965:19.30
3×3 blindfoldedTom Nelson48.05—
3×3 one-handedMukund Karthik16.4018.52
MegaminxChristian Houghton1:12.191:13.81
PyraminxTom Stanton-Barnett5.546.20
SkewbEthan Pan4.698.28
4×4 blindfoldedTom Nelson3:08.14—
5×5 blindfoldedTom Nelson7:04.64—
3×3 Multi-BlindTom Nelson20 of 28 cubes · 1:00:00—

The PB harvest

88 set · 14 still standing
  • Mukund Karthik — Pyraminx single 4.57: into the top 10.6% of the event's history.
  • Logan Fulton — 2×2 single 3.21: into the top 16.7% of the event's history.
  • Harry Rees-Thomas — 3×3 single 14.76: into the top 23.6% of the event's history.
  • Keone Shelley-Lyons — 2×2 single 3.86: into the top 24.7% of the event's history.
  • Bruce Zhang — 2×2 single 4.42: into the top 31.9% of the event's history.
  • Harry Rees-Thomas — 4×4 single 57.08: into the top 33.2% of the event's history.
  • Luke Boutwell — 2×2 single 4.69: into the top 35.4% of the event's history.
  • Nik Bartlett — Pyraminx single 8.64: into the top 41.7% of the event's history.

First-timers

15 people competed for the first time at this competition, joining the 17,946 people who made their debut in 2016. Start here explains what a first competition is like.

Records watch

6 regional records were set at this competition.

The field

55 competitors · 316 results · 14 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. Mukund Karthik won it with a 11.96 average. Hold your cube white centre up, green centre facing you, follow each sequence, and check against the pictures.

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

solve 1

solve 2

solve 3

solve 4

solve 5

Race this final

Everyone who competed

55 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.