WAB Grade 12 student Tjeard van Oort had never entered a Rubik's puzzle competition before. That was until he competed against 1,000 of the fastest and most skilled players in Asia.

A normal Rubik's cube is a popular game, widely regarded as one of the most difficult puzzles to solve, in which players try to coordinate nine colored panels on each side of a cube. Tjeard learned strategies and speed by practicing solving the puzzles on his own, watching videos online and reading books. But in October, he was racing to solve puzzles against the top performers in this region of the world, many of whom train with advisors and coaches.

"As it was a large competition, it did add a lot of stress when I was getting ready to solve, and actually being up on the stage was pretty nerve wracking," he said. "But I think it went quite well, as it was the first one I ever attended."

Tjeard completed the 3x3 puzzle in an average of 19 seconds (s), the 2x2 in an average of 7s, and the pyramix in 10s, with a best time of 6s. And things should only get faster from here. He says he plans to continue practicing and join more competitions.

Read more about the Asian Championships and other Rubik's puzzle competitions.