ACA 11th Anniversary Baku 2026

Inside the halls of the STEAM İnnovasiya Mərkəzi, the focus of speedcubing shifted squarely to Baku, Azerbaijan, over the weekend of April 25 to April 26. Tables filled the venue as 31 competitors gathered across two full days of intense puzzle solving. The buzzing space provided a sharp, modern setting for the ACA 11th Anniversary Baku 2026, hosting 19 rounds across 11 official disciplines and delivering relentless action from the very first scrambles.

The premier 3x3x3 Cube event drew the largest field of the weekend, with all 31 entrants taking to the floor through three stages of competition. Turkey's Alim Jahangırov captured the title with a winning 3x3 results average of 8.75 seconds, backed by the best single of the round at 8.05 seconds. Fazil Quliyev secured the second spot on the podium with an 11.94 average, while Royal Shabanov locked in third place with a mark of 13.15 seconds in the decisive final round.

Jahangırov established a remarkable command over the broader program in Baku, collecting eight individual victories throughout the event. In the 2x2x2 Cube, he posted a winning average of 3.23 seconds to hold off Royal Shabanov and Huseyn Eyvazli, who each concluded the round on matching 4.30 averages. Jahangırov also triumphed in the Pyraminx with an average of 4.29 seconds, topped the 4x4x4 Cube standings with an average of 31.65 seconds, and paced the 3x3x3 One-Handed field by recording a 15.67 average across the final solves.

The big cube categories followed a similar path as Jahangırov expanded his sweep across the heavier rotations. He recorded a winning 1:06.33 average in the 5x5x5 Cube, finishing clear of Mirsəlim Şahbazov at 1:49.38 and Fazil Quliyev at 2:16.85. In the 6x6x6 Cube, Jahangırov completed his solve sequence with a winning average of 2:23.05, and later registered the best single in the 7x7x7 Cube at 6:20.37 among a field of five entrants taking on the largest Rubik's Cube variant of the tournament.

Beyond the multi-puzzle sweep, other specialists made decisive statements in Baku. Royal Shabanov earned top honors in Skewb with a 7.92 average, and followed it up by clinching the 3x3x3 Fewest Moves contest with a best single of 43 moves, edging out Huseyn Eyvazli by three turns. In the 3x3x3 Blindfolded event, where unassisted recall dictates every turn after memorization, Ömər Mustafazadə seized first place as the sole solver to register a time under three minutes, completing his winning single in 2:54.86 ahead of Mehemmed Hasanov.

Away from the top steps of the podium, significant progress surfaced across the tournament floor as competitors tackled steep personal goals. Camal Dədəverdiyev cut down his previous marks across multiple puzzles, taking on his first Skewb solve at 36.10 seconds, lowering his 3x3x3 Cube personal best by 52 percent down to 30.20 seconds, and advancing his Pyraminx best by 48.5 percent to 5.26 seconds. Cavad Cabbarlı tackled 7 events, setting a Skewb personal best of 5.99 seconds that shaved 55.2 percent from his previous standard while logging first attempts in 3x3x3 One-Handed and 5x5x5 Cube. Hamid Zeynalli made a 54.2 percent leap on Pyraminx to finish in 6.63 seconds, while Mələk Cəbrayıllı improved her 2x2x2 Cube best by 52.1 percent to 11.40 seconds alongside debuts in the 4x4x4 and 5x5x5 events.

The ambitious weekend continued for several others expanding their repertoires at this WCA competition. David Orucov contested 7 events, driving his 5x5x5 Cube best down by 48.2 percent to 2:27.12 and cutting 36.1 percent off his one-handed benchmark to reach 31.16 seconds. Əli Nəsirli secured fourth place in Pyraminx with a personal best of 3.62 seconds and achieved a 46.3 percent improvement in 2x2x2 Cube with a 1.83 single. Tunar Gadimli entered 6 events, placing fifth in 2x2x2 Cube while posting his first official times in 4x4x4 Cube, 3x3x3 One-Handed, and Skewb. Taking the competition floor for the very first time, Ayaz Mammadov entered 7 events and earned a fifth-place finish in 7x7x7 Cube.

The 2026 gathering underlined the steady growth of speed cubing in the region, bringing together experienced finalists and broad fields across specialized brackets. Host nation solvers accounted for 23 podium placements throughout the weekend, providing strong depth across the rounds. By the time the final timers stopped running at the ACA 11th Anniversary Baku 2026, the venue at STEAM İnnovasiya Mərkəzi had served as a fitting stage for high-caliber turning and substantial personal milestones.