Bratislava Autumn 2023

The competition hall inside Stavebná fakulta STU hummed with steady activity across the December 2 to December 3 weekend. Tables were lined with timing mats, display screens, and rows of puzzles awaiting inspection as sixty-five contenders gathered in Bratislava, Slovakia. This lively speedcubing gathering brought together specialists from multiple nations for twenty rounds spanning ten official disciplines. Every competitor faced the tension of precision solving under tournament conditions, where minor misalignments or brief hesitations could instantly alter the standings of a major cubing competition.

In the mean-of-three events, the margin for error vanished entirely. Big cubes like the 6x6x6 Cube and 7x7x7 Cube demand prolonged stamina and consistent execution, as competitors receive no discarded worst result. A single lockup or careless parity error permanently impacts the entire average. Igor Tarasov mastered this format at Bratislava Autumn 2023, capturing the 6x6x6 Cube title with a 1:52.31 mean of three and a best single of 1:46.85. Thomas Strasser took second place at 1:52.87, while Szabolcs Szántai finished third with 1:56.37.

Tarasov reinforced his mastery over the largest puzzles by securing top honors in the 7x7x7 Cube. He completed his mean of three with a winning mark of 2:53.23 and a best single solve of 2:44.08. Szabolcs Szántai earned the runner-up spot on the podium with a 3:08.79 mean, while Matthias Schegers rounded out the top three with 3:12.45. Tarasov extended his dominant weekend beyond the big cubes by also winning the Megaminx event, finishing with a 40.98 average ahead of Jakub Drobný at 46.69 and Szántai at 58.35.

The traditional 3x3x3 Cube contest delivered sharp battles across three competitive rounds for sixty-three entrants. Alexey Tsvetkov claimed victory with a 6.82 final average, bolstered by a 6.21 single solve. Alwin Federsel took the silver position with an average of 7.36, while Benedek Zimányi completed the podium with an 8.17 mark. These official 3x3 results capped off a weekend of intense speed cubing, where the classic Rubik's Cube drew the largest contingent of the tournament.

Tsvetkov also earned top finishes in two other fast-paced disciplines across the weekend. In the 2x2x2 Cube final, he took first place with a 1.77 average, edging out Simon Praschl who averaged 2.00 and András Orbán who posted 2.16. Tsvetkov added a victory in the Pyraminx event by posting a winning average of 2.04 and a single of 1.51 across three rounds. Meanwhile, Vojtěch Grohmann earned the Skewb title with an impressive 2.52 average, and Jakub Drobný won the 5x5x5 Cube with a 1:02.30 average.

Beyond the championship podiums, Bratislava Autumn 2023 saw incredible personal milestones. Maximilián Belačič took on four events, making his first ever attempt at Skewb with an 8.73 while dropping his 2x2x2 Cube personal best to 5.44, which was 66.3 percent faster than his previous 16.13. Vasil Hriešik Dias Brabo tackled five events, recording his first Skewb solve at 10.74, cutting his Pyraminx personal best by 53 percent down to 3.94, and improving his 4x4x4 Cube mark to 1:40.81. Adam Goda tried both Skewb and Pyraminx for the first time, logging 16.02 and 12.30 respectively, while trimming his 2x2x2 Cube best by 29.9 percent to 2.82. Ján Juščák recorded a 7.66 in his first Pyraminx attempt, dropped his 4x4x4 Cube best by 36 percent to 58.45 to claim thirty-fifth place, and reduced his Skewb best to 5.76.

Other competitors delivered equally memorable breakthroughs across the event schedule. Karol Ľupták entered six disciplines, making first career attempts in Skewb at 7.71, Megaminx at 2:57.12, and 4x4x4 Cube at 1:02.08 on his way to thirty-eighth place. Šimon Doubek made his first official attempt at the 7x7x7 Cube with a 5:06.99 mark for an eleventh-place finish, while cutting his 6x6x6 Cube time by 20.9 percent to 2:49.16 and his 3x3x3 Cube best to 10.23. Matej Kladivík posted a 5.61 in his first official 2x2x2 Cube solve and trimmed his 4x4x4 Cube mark by 24.2 percent to 1:45.06. Martin Baláž took on six events, dropping his 2x2x2 Cube best by 44.1 percent to 5.74, his Pyraminx best by 36.4 percent to 7.10, and his 4x4x4 Cube best by 23 percent to 2:01.53.

Mental discipline was on full display in the 3x3x3 Blindfolded competition, where competitors must fully memorize the puzzle before solving without sight. Thomas Strasser claimed victory with a 31.64 average and a best single of 24.87, leading Simon Praschl who averaged 29.82 and Šimon Borovský at 56.86. Strasser also took the title in the 4x4x4 Cube with a 30.26 average, finishing ahead of Tsvetkov at 31.11 and Tarasov at 33.17.

Across two intense days of official play, this WCA competition distributed twenty-nine podium places among competitors from Austria, Hungary, Russia, Ukraine, Slovakia, and Belgium. The 2023 edition highlighted both seasoned excellence at the top of the standings and remarkable individual growth across every round. As the equipment was packed away at Bratislava Autumn 2023, the community left behind a weekend defined by razor-thin margins, demanding formats, and memorable personal breakthroughs.

Alexey Tsvetkov predviedol bleskové vystúpenie v kategórii 2x2x2 Cube, kde vo finále dosiahol víťazný priemer 1.77 sekundy a najlepší jednotlivý čas 1.19 sekundy. Tento výkon nastavil tón celého víkendu, počas ktorého sa v hlavnom meste stretli priaznivci rýchlostného skladania. Dvojdňové podujatie Bratislava Autumn 2023 prebiehalo od 2. do 3. decembra 2023 a prilákalo celkovo 65 súťažiacich, ktorí súperili v desiatich disciplínach rozdelených do dvadsiatich kôl.

Priestory, ktoré poskytla Stavebná fakulta STU v meste Bratislava, Slovakia, hostili súboje v klasických aj netradičných disciplínach. Klasická Rubikova kocka 3x3x3 Cube bola hlavným ťahákom s účasťou 63 pretekárov v troch kolách. Alexey Tsvetkov ovládol aj túto kráľovskú kategóriu, keď vo finále zaznamenal víťazný priemer 6.82 sekundy a najrýchlejší jednotlivý pokus mal hodnotu 6.21 sekundy. Na druhom mieste skončil Alwin Federsel s priemerom 7.36 sekundy a tretiu priečku obsadil Benedek Zimányi s výsledkom 8.17 sekundy.

Na pódiu v kategórii 2x2x2 Cube doplnili Tsvetkova ďalší poprední pretekári. Druhé miesto si vybojoval Simon Praschl s finálovým priemerom 2.00 sekundy a tretiu pozíciu obsadil András Orbán s časom 2.16 sekundy. V tejto disciplíne nastúpilo až 61 účastníkov. Tsvetkov si k dvom triumfom v rýchlych kockách pripísal aj tretie prvenstvo víkendu, keď zvíťazil v disciplíne Pyraminx s víťazným priemerom 2.04 sekundy a najlepším časom 1.51 sekundy medzi 41 súťažiacimi.

Stredné a veľké kocky priniesli ďalšie dramatické súboje. V kategórii 4x4x4 Cube zvíťazil Thomas Strasser s víťazným priemerom 30.26 sekundy a najlepším pokusom 28.30 sekundy pred Tsvetkovom a Igorom Tarasovom. Slovenský zástupca Jakub Drobný triumfoval v 5x5x5 Cube, kde dosiahol víťazný priemer 1:02.30 a najrýchlejší čas 56.82 sekundy. Igor Tarasov dominoval vo zvyšných veľkých kockách aj na dvanásťstene, keď vyhral 6x6x6 Cube s priemerom 1:52.31, 7x7x7 Cube s časom 2:53.23 a Megaminx s priemerom 40.98 sekundy.

V disciplíne Skewb si víťazstvo pripísal Vojtěch Grohmann s priemerom 2.52 sekundy medzi 40 účastníkmi. Skladanie poslepiačky 3x3x3 Blindfolded, ktoré preverilo pamäť a orientáciu dvadsiatich súťažiacich, ovládol Thomas Strasser s priemerom 31.64 sekundy a najlepším časom 24.87 sekundy, pričom domáci pretekár Šimon Borovský obsadil tretie miesto s časom 56.86 sekundy. Celkovo v medailovom hodnotení dominovali pretekári z Rakúska so 7 umiestneniami na pódiu, nasledovaní Maďarskom so 6 pódiovými umiestneniami.

Každá WCA súťaž ponúka aj pozoruhodné osobné príbehy a výrazné zlepšenia pretekárov v poli. Filip Štelbaský absolvoval plný program 10 disciplín a v 3x3x3 Blindfolded zaznamenal osobný rekord 3:05.24, čo predstavovalo zlepšenie o 56.6 percenta, pričom v Megaminxe zrýchlil o 18.7 percenta na 1:23.32 a v disciplíne Pyraminx na 4.59 sekundy. Tomáš Janák nastúpil do šiestich kategórií, zaznamenal prvý štart v disciplíne Skewb za 7.55 sekundy, zlepšil si maximum v 3x3x3 Cube o 27.5 percenta na 24.92 sekundy a v 4x4x4 Cube o 25.2 percenta na 1:26.50. Peter Kredátus sa predstavil v siedmich disciplínach a posunul svoje časy v 2x2x2 Cube o 29.6 percenta na 4.66 sekundy, v Megaminxe o 26.3 percenta na 2:35.46 a v 4x4x4 Cube na 1:45.03. Julian Ostadal posunul svoj rekord v disciplíne Pyraminx o 32.1 percenta na 6.23 sekundy a v 3x3x3 Cube na 9.36 sekundy.

Víkend priniesol dôležité míľniky aj pre nových pretekárov, pre ktorých to bola prvá oficiálna skúsenosť. Benjamín Rehák absolvoval sedem disciplín, pričom v disciplíne Pyraminx zaznamenal čas 11.14 sekundy, v kategórii Skewb 17.05 sekundy a v 3x3x3 Cube 31.47 sekundy. Matúš Krupička absolvoval štyri disciplíny s debutovými časmi 26.02 sekundy v 3x3x3 Cube, 13.60 sekundy v kategórii Skewb a 12.13 sekundy v disciplíne Pyraminx. Božidar Gregor zaznamenal prvé časy 15.98 sekundy v 2x2x2 Cube, 30.76 sekundy v 3x3x3 Cube a 2:21.45 v 4x4x4 Cube, zatiaľ čo Vratko Klčo dokončil svoje prvé pokusy v 3x3x3 Cube za 40.12 sekundy a v 2x2x2 Cube za 9.54 sekundy.

Moderný speedcubing v regióne ukázal svoju šírku a kvalitu počas celého decembrového víkendu. Podujatie Bratislava Autumn 2023 úspešne uzavrelo jesennú časť kalendára a ponúklo pretekárom ideálnu príležitosť otestovať svoju formu pred nadchádzajúcou sezónou na domácej aj medzinárodnej scéne.