Feliks Zemdegs Wins 10th Australian 3x3 Title
Zemdegs edged David Epstein by 0.01 seconds in the final, extending a national championship run that began in 2011.
Feliks Zemdegs won 3x3 at Australian Nationals 2026, recording a 6.48 average to claim his 10th Australian national title in the event.
Zemdegs finished just 0.01 seconds ahead of David Epstein, whose 6.49 average earned second place. Riley Dexter completed the podium with a 6.90.
Final Podium
🥇 Feliks Zemdegs - 6.48
🥈 David Epstein - 6.49
🥉 Riley Dexter - 6.90
The final was decided by one of the smallest margins possible. Zemdegs recorded solves of 6.23, (5.93), (7.05), 6.93, and 6.29, while Epstein finished with 6.00, (7.46), 6.88, (4.92), and 6.59.
Epstein’s 4.92 was the fastest solve between the top two, but Zemdegs’ steadier set was enough to win by one hundredth of a second.
The result followed an unusually fast second round in which several younger Australian competitors moved ahead of both finalists. Caden Liu and Toby Seufert each recorded 5.92 averages, with Liu taking the top seed through the tiebreak. Phoenix Patterson and Epstein followed with matching 5.97 averages.
Charlie Eggins placed sixth in the round with a 6.47, while Zemdegs advanced in seventh at 6.56. None of the four competitors who broke six seconds in that round ultimately won the final, leaving the title to be decided by experience and execution under championship pressure.
Epstein entered the final following an already successful weekend. Earlier in the competition, he recorded a 9.26 One-Handed average to set a new Australian record, lowering his previous personal best by 0.85 seconds. Speedcuber’s Digest covered that result earlier in the championship.
For Zemdegs, the victory continues a national championship run stretching across multiple generations of Australian speedcubing.
He first won the Australian 3x3 title in 2011 and followed with victories in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2025, and now 2026. His latest championship gives him 10 titles across 15 years.
Zemdegs also successfully defended the title he won in 2025, when he recorded a 5.90 average to finish ahead of Riley Dexter and Toby Seufert.
The final did not contain the fastest averages of the weekend, but it delivered something more familiar: Zemdegs remaining composed in a close championship round and finding another way to win.