Battle for Belgrade 2026

Inside the halls of the Mathematical Grammar School, the rhythmic clack of plastic mechanism and the soft thump of hands landing on timing mats echoed continuously throughout the final weekend of January. Fifty-seven competitors assembled across twenty rounds of intense play, watching the digital displays closely as judges prepared each scramble. The venue in Belgrade, Serbia provided an exacting environment where every turn of a face mattered, and nowhere was the tension higher than during the final rounds that decided podium places on the very last attempts.

The premier 3x3x3 Cube event came down to an electric finish in the third round. Alexey Tsvetkov locked in the title with a winning average of 6.20 seconds, anchored by a best single solve of 6.05 seconds. Jensen Belen-Brown of Canada pushed the pace relentlessly to take second place with a 7.35 average, while Serbia's own Aleksandar D. Siljanoski secured third on the podium with an 8.92 mark. The classic Rubik's Cube contest drew 54 entrants, and the tight margins at the top set the tone for a memorable speedcubing showdown.

Tsvetkov's victory in the main event was only one chapter of a dominant showing across the weekend. He collected top honors in seven different disciplines, displaying remarkable consistency across varied puzzles. In the 2x2x2 Cube, Tsvetkov registered a winning average of 1.19 seconds and a tournament-best single of 0.73, holding off Belen-Brown's 1.89 and Riccardo Fiumefreddo's 2.10. Tsvetkov also claimed the Skewb title with a 2.88 average, Pyraminx with 1.67, 3x3x3 One-Handed with an 8.88 mark, and Clock with a 4.12 average ahead of Slovenia's Gregor Mikic at 4.45.

The mid-sized and large cubes delivered gripping contests of their own. In the 4x4x4 Cube, Tsvetkov posted a 29.67 winning average, outlasting Siljanoski's 32.67 and Aleksa Radovanović's 33.39. Siljanoski answered back in the 5x5x5 Cube, putting together a 58.58 average with a best single of 52.73 to seize the win over Bogdan Čumić at 1:06.23 and Bulgaria's Ognian Baruh at 1:06.80. In the 6x6x6 Cube, Radovanović captured the title with a 1:58.20 average, narrowly edging Siljanoski's 1:58.73 in a thrilling race between Serbian specialists.

Away from the top of the podium, the depth of progress across the field highlighted the true spirit of the WCA competition. Petar Marjanović delivered major breakthroughs across six events, dropping his Skewb mark to 6.26 seconds, an improvement of 65.3 percent, while slashing his 3x3x3 One-Handed time by 54.6 percent to 49.85 and trimming his 4x4x4 time by 28.5 percent to 1:31.41. Lav Novakovic made a first official attempt at Clock with a 10.67 result, complemented by a 30.8 percent improvement on 4x4x4 Cube to 1:11.86 and a 4.07 Pyraminx personal best, which was 24.6 percent faster than before.

Multiple other competitors took on fresh challenges throughout the tournament. Vasilije Laketić entered nine events, recording his first official attempts in Skewb at 20.23 seconds, 5x5x5 Cube at 2:37.49, and 3x3x3 One-Handed at 29.42, alongside a 13th-place finish in 3x3x3. Mario Gulevski logged a 37.83 first attempt in one-handed solving while cutting his 3x3x3 time by 27.8 percent to 16.84. Jovan Lakić logged first attempts in 2x2x2 with 8.09 and Pyraminx with 9.64, alongside a 14.2 percent drop to 21.64 in 3x3x3. Pavle Trbović posted debuts in 2x2x2 at 6.34 and 4x4x4 at 2:02.23, while Ana Stamenković completed a Clock debut in 17.71 and improved her Pyraminx mark by 28.9 percent to 12.98. Martin Alan Marinković also debuted on Clock in 29.61 and improved his one-handed time by 24.8 percent to 36.26.

Specialist disciplines also provided compelling moments of focus and technique. In 3x3x3 Blindfolded, where memorization before donning a blindfold is essential, Ognian Baruh took victory with a single time of 1:34.11, finishing ahead of Vuk Nešić at 1:51.35 and Nikolas Baxevanis at 4:28.98. The Megaminx event saw Bogdan Čumić secure first place with a 41.30 average, while Jensen Belen-Brown took top spot in Square-1 with a 13.04 average, adding to the Canadian's multi-podium tally across the meet.

Host nation competitors achieved strong representation across all twelve disciplines, accumulating 11 podium positions in total. Russia earned seven podiums, Bulgaria gathered six, Canada collected five, Greece took four, and Slovenia secured one. From the rapid turns of speed cubing newcomers to the seasoned veterans battling down to the final solves, Battle for Belgrade 2026 delivered an exceptional showcase of skill. As the 2026 cubing competition season moves forward, the standout marks and personal milestones established at the Mathematical Grammar School set an inspiring standard for the year ahead.

Tačno 54 takmičara stala su na startnu liniju u glavnoj disciplini, a kroz 20 rundi i 12 različitih disciplina tokom dva dana viđeno je vrhunsko slaganje u Beogradu. Zvanično WCA takmičenje Battle for Belgrade 2026 održano je 24. i 25. januara u prostoru koji je obezbedila Matematička gimnazija. Ukupno 57 takmičara borilo se za odličja, a najbrže discipline donele su izuzetne rezultate na tabeli, privlačeći veliku pažnju ljubitelja ove veštine u gradu Beograd, Srbija.

Brzinske discipline 2x2x2 i 3x3x3 donele su neverovatan tempo i prikaz vrhunske kontrole prstiju pod pritiskom štoperice. Alexey Tsvetkov je briljirao u obe kategorije, demonstrirajući izuzetnu formu tokom celog vikenda. U disciplini 2x2x2 Cube trijumfovao je sa prosekom od 1.19 sekundi, dok je njegov najbolji pojedinačni pokušaj iznosio munjevitih 0.73 sekunde. Iza njega na postolju su se našli Jensen Belen-Brown sa prosekom 1.89 i Riccardo Fiumefreddo sa 2.10 sekundi.

Klasična Rubikova kocka donela je jednako uzbudljivo finale u tri runde, gde je Alexey Tsvetkov ponovo bio bez premca. Sa pobedničkim prosekom od 6.20 sekundi i najboljim pojedinačnim slaganjem od 6.05 sekundi u finalu, osigurao je zlatnu medalju. Jensen Belen-Brown je osvojio drugo mesto sa prosekom 7.35, dok je domaći predstavnik Aleksandar D. Siljanoski stigao do treće pozicije sa prosekom od 8.92 sekunde.

Pored dve najbrže discipline, Alexey Tsvetkov je osvojio prva mesta i u nizu drugih formata tokom programa takmičenja. Pobedio je u Pyraminxu sa prosekom 1.67, u 4x4x4 Cube gde je zabeležio prosek 29.67 ispred Aleksandra D. Siljanoskog sa 32.67 i Alekse Radovanovića sa 33.39 sekundi, kao i u Skewbu sa prosekom 2.88 sekundi. Njegov niz nastavljen je u 3x3x3 One-Handed sa prosekom 8.88 i Clocku sa 4.12 sekundi.

Ipak, lokalni takmičari su uzeli važne pobede u zahtevnijim formatima gde je potrebno više poteza i složenija memorizacija. Aleksandar D. Siljanoski bio je najbolji u 5x5x5 Cube sa prosekom 58.58 sekundi, pobedivši Bogdana Čumića sa 1:06.23. U disciplini 6x6x6 Cube slavio je Aleksa Radovanović sa 1:58.20 ispred Siljanoskog koji je ostvario 1:58.73. Bogdan Čumić je pobedio na Megaminxu sa 41.30, Jensen Belen-Brown u Square-1 sa 13.04, dok je Ognian Baruh osvojio 3x3x3 Blindfolded sa pojedinačnim vremenom 1:34.11.

Iza borbi za medalje, takmičenje Battle for Belgrade 2026 ponudilo je sjajne pojedinačne priče i ogroman napredak takmičara van podijuma. Shmelev Leonid je u svojoj drugoj WCA avanturi popravio lični rekord u 4x4x4 na 1:39.35, što je 49.3 posto brže od prethodnog, dok je u 3x3x3 spustio vreme na 15.32 sekunde. Viktor Vujović je zabeležio 23.81 sekundu na 2x2x2, poboljšavši svoje vreme za čak 48.4 posto, dok je na trojci postavio lični rekord od 1:02.76. Luka Petrov je odradio sedam disciplina, napravio svoj prvi pokušaj na 5x5x5 sa 4:22.20, poboljšao Skewb za 19.2 posto na 10.19 i jednoručno slaganje na 36.02 sekunde. Pavle Kovačević je bio peti na slepom slaganju i zabeležio ogroman napredak na Clocku od 45.3 posto sa vremenom 26.37 sekundi, uz novi lični rekord na Skewbu od 7.20 sekundi.

Posebnu pažnju privukli su i takmičari koji su na ovom turniru upisali svoje prve zvanične nastupe u karijeri. Ramazan Shakirov je na svom debitantskom takmičenju nastupio u četiri discipline i zabeležio peto mesto na slepom slaganju, uz prve zabeležene rezultate od 2:08.99 u jednoručnom slaganju, 27.92 na trojci i 14.07 na dvojci. Marko Ljubić je uspešno postavio svoje prve rezultate od 9.61 na 2x2x2 i 35.07 na 3x3x3. Nikola Duvnjak je otvorio takmičarski put sa 21.20 na kocki 3x3x3 i 8.41 na 2x2x2, dok je Marko Mitrović svoj debi krunisao rezultatom 25.13 na trojci.

Kada se podvuče crta pod događaje u prestonici, brzinsko slaganje kocki donelo je mnoštvo sjajnih trka i uzbudljivih rezultata na tabeli. Domaćin Srbija predvodio je bilans sa 11 osvojenih podijuma, ispred Rusije sa 7, Bugarske sa 6 i Kanade sa 5 postolja. Uspešno završeni Battle for Belgrade 2026 postavio je visoke standarde u organizaciji i pružio odličnu uvertiru za nastavak sezone u regionu.