The Weekend Preview: July 24-26, 2026
Highlighting competitions from around the world of speedcubing.
Hawaii holds its first state championship, Ireland crowns its national champions, and two same-day Chinese competitions split several of the world’s fastest 3x3 solvers.
Welcome back to the Speedcuber’s Digest Weekend Preview, where we look ahead at the potential storylines going into the weekend.
Hawaii Championship 2026
Hawaii Championship 2026 takes place July 24-26 in ʻEwa Beach, Hawaii, at Honouliuli Middle School.
The competition is the first Hawaii State Championship, creating a new title race for the island’s local speedcubing community. Competitors from anywhere may attend and win events overall, but only eligible Hawaii residents can become state champions.
That creates the familiar split between the overall results and the championship standings. A visiting competitor could control an event while the highest-placing eligible resident claims the first Hawaii title.
The schedule includes the full official WCA event list across three days, along with Face Turning Octahedron as an additional unofficial event. Friday is focused on Fewest Moves and the longer blindfolded events, Saturday features 3x3 and several shorter events, and Sunday closes with big cubes, Clock, Megaminx, Square-1, and the remaining blindfolded events.
The championship may not have the same international depth as some of the weekend’s larger competitions, but its importance is local. Every event will produce a first Hawaii state champion, giving the competition a place in the region’s speedcubing history from its opening round.
Rubik’s Irish Championship 2026
Rubik’s Irish Championship 2026 takes place July 24-26 in Waterford, Ireland, at SETU Arena.
The 3x3 national title race is led by CJ Furey, who enters as the top-ranked Irish competitor with a 6.12 average. Ciarán Beahan follows at 6.40, with Cillian Hainbach at 6.61.
Furey is also the defending champion. At Rubik’s Irish Championship 2025, he won 3x3 with a 7.03 average, finishing ahead of Hainbach’s 7.22 and Beahan’s 7.23.
The championship’s advancement rules are designed to keep the title race visible even if international competitors move ahead in the overall standings. Six Irish competitors are guaranteed places in the 3x3 final, alongside the six fastest remaining competitors from any region.
Stephanie Rose Martin is another major Irish name to watch after recently recording a 25.93 Megaminx average, setting a female world record and moving to fourth in the world overall.
Fewest Moves was already handled separately through the Irish Championship FMC competition, meaning this weekend will crown the remaining national champions.
With the defending 3x3 podium returning, a close race between Furey, Beahan, and Hainbach, and several record-level specialists across the schedule, Waterford should produce one of the weekend’s strongest national championship storylines.
Jiajiang Open and Wuhu Open 2026
Two Chinese competitions take place on July 25, splitting many of the country’s top 3x3 competitors between Jiajiang Open 2026 and Wuhu Open 2026.
Jiajiang Open takes place in Leshan, Sichuan, at Emeishan Yue Garden Hotel. The field is led by Xuanyi Geng, whose 3.71 average remains the second-fastest in the world. Zhaokun Li follows at 4.34, with Qixian Cao at 4.68, Yize Dong at 4.73, and Hansen Yu at 4.97.
Wuhu Open brings the other half of the record watch. Yiheng Wang enters with his 3.51 world record average, followed by Yufang Du at 4.36, Yi Shen at 4.61, and Ruihang Xu at 4.78.
The parallel schedule means the fastest Chinese solvers will not all meet in one final. Instead, the weekend could produce two separate sub-five battles, with results from each competition reshaping the global rankings at the same time.
Between Hawaii’s first state titles, Ireland’s national championship, and two record-ready Chinese fields competing simultaneously, the weekend offers three very different versions of championship pressure.