The fiendish Rubik's Cube may be as synonymous with the 1980s as bad perms, mulleted footballers and Culture Club but, unlike those short-lived sensations, its popularity has endured. Last year alone, some seven million cubes were sold across the world.

Speedcubing began as an internet phenomenon and served to re-introduce the fiendish mysteries of the Rubik’s Cube to a new generation of players. By 2003, popularity was such that the Rubik’s World Championships returned after a 21-year sabbatical. They now take place once every two years with competitors from all over the world battling for glory in 17 categories.

Find out more at the official speedcubing website

Unfortunately for Hungarian speedcuber Matyas Kuti, there was to be no fairytale triumph on home soil in the 3x3x3 event (in which competitors have to solve the traditional six-sided Rubik’s with nine tiles on each side in the fastest possible time). Victory went to Japan’s Yu Nakajima who defeated all-comers with an astounding average solving time of 12.46 seconds, more than half a second better than his closest challengers Andrew Kang, Mitsuki Gunji and Jean Pons.

Watch: Rubik's speedcubers in action

Nakajima’s average winning time is still almost three seconds shy of the official Cube completion world record. In May 2007, Thibaut Jacquinot solved a Rubik’s Cube in just 9.86 seconds. In Budapest, the closest any competitor got to this landmark was a time of 10.59 seconds posted by Britain’s fastest speedcuber Dan Harris.

The 2007 world championships also featured a series of unusual and timed Rubik’s Cube challenges. Over 100 enthusiasts battled across a range of fiendish categories including solving the Cube using just one hand, being blindfolded or using their feet.