Michael Tripodi wins blindfolded title at niche Narre Warren meet

Michael Tripodi’s 17.96-second 3x3x3 Blindfolded single topped a Narre Warren meet built to spotlight exactly that kind of solving. Side N Blind Narre Warren 2026 drew 41 competitors to Foundation Learning Centre in Melbourne’s southeast and made its identity clear from the start: no 3x3x3 event at all, just blind, side, and niche disciplines for specialists.

The June 13-14 competition carried a competitor cap of 80 and a base registration fee of A$38, a setup that pointed to a deliberately small, specialist-friendly field rather than a mass-entry open. The schedule concentrated the blindfolded finals on Saturday evening, with 4x4 Blindfolded, 5x5 Blindfolded, 3x3x3 Blindfolded, 3x3x3 Multi-Blind, and a final 3x3x3 Blindfolded round packed into the same stretch of the weekend.

Tripodi’s win came ahead of Firstian Fushada, who finished second in 19.05, and Swami Srinivasan, who took third in 31.16. Tripodi also showed the depth that makes blind specialists stand out in this kind of field, posting a 1:26.80 4x4 Blindfolded single, a 4:16.51 5x5 Blindfolded single, and a 34/41 result in 3x3x3 Multi-Blind. That range gave the meet more than one headline, but the 3x3 blind final still served as the centerpiece.

The rest of the podiums underlined how sharply the event leaned into specialist formats. Firstian Fushada also turned in a 1:20.30 average in 6x6 and a 2:04.15 average in 7x7, while Jayden McNeill won Fewest Moves with a 21.67 average-equivalent result and Auric Cui took Square-1 with an 8.21 average. With organisers listed as Speedcubing Australia and Swami Srinivasan, and delegates including Junqi Feng, Myles Jarman, Patrick Kleverlaan, and Srinivasan, the event had the official structure of a full WCA meet without abandoning its niche focus.

That specialist identity was not new to Narre Warren. Side N Blind Narre Warren 2024 also skipped 3x3x3 and used the same Foundation Learning Centre venue, showing that Melbourne’s blind and side-event scene already has enough depth to support a repeat format. Tripodi’s own profile fits that picture too: the Australian has completed 70 competitions and owns personal bests of 17.29 in 3x3x3 Blindfolded, 1:22.75 in 4x4 Blindfolded, and 3:10.28 in 5x5 Blindfolded, which makes his Narre Warren result part of a larger specialist résumé rather than a one-off surge.