Croatian Championship 2025

The sports hall at Osnovna skola Dragutina Tadijanovica in Petrinja, Croatia filled with the familiar snap of turning plastic on October 4 and October 5 as competitors settled into their stations. Score sheets rested beside the timers, judges stepped into place, and the room buzzed with the focused rhythm of a major autumn gathering. Holding a key slot on the 2025 calendar, the Croatian Championship 2025 brought 73 competitors together to battle across 14 events and 22 rounds, testing months of practice against top-tier regional talent.

Across the two-day cubing competition, the classic Rubik's Cube drew a field of 70 entrants, making it the most heavily contested discipline of the weekend. Alexey Tsvetkov delivered an exceptional sequence of solves in the final round of the 3x3x3 Cube, recording a winning average of 6.23 alongside a best single solve of 5.02. The standout 3x3 results anchored a commanding performance across multiple formats, establishing Tsvetkov as one of the standout figures of the tournament.

Tsvetkov continued his dominance in the short-format and side categories, claiming victories across four additional disciplines. In the 2x2x2 Cube, Tsvetkov took first place with a 1.33 winning average and a 1.17 single. Pyraminx yielded another title with a 1.94 average, finishing ahead of Oskar Vidicek who averaged 2.95 and Milan Vincent Andric who logged 2.99. Tsvetkov added top finishes in Clock with a 4.15 average to best Konstantin Jaehne and Gregor Mikic, and won 3x3x3 One-Handed with a 10.36 average ahead of Marcel Rucigaj and David Vujasic.

The big cube categories belonged decisively to Oskar Vidicek, who assembled an impressive list of victories throughout the WCA competition. Vidicek captured the 4x4x4 Cube crown with a 30.18 winning average, narrowly holding off Jakov Sreckovic at 30.81 and David Vujasic at 33.25. Vidicek then added the 5x5x5 Cube title with a 55.93 average over Serafim Weiss and Vujasic, before securing first place in Megaminx with an average of 38.99 and a single of 33.85.

Vidicek extended his supremacy in the largest puzzles, taking the 6x6x6 Cube in 1:39.53 ahead of Vujasic and Weiss, and wrapping up the 7x7x7 Cube with a 2:33.79 average over Vujasic and Weiss once more. In blindfolded solving, where memorisation and execution meet under a blindfold, Jakov Sreckovic captured the 3x3x3 Blindfolded victory with a 17.84 single, beating out Jaehne and Rucigaj. Konstantin Jaehne earned first in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves with 28 moves, while Roko Mihael Ivic took Skewb with a 3.31 average and Vedran Stefulj won Square-1 with a 12.57 average.

Beyond the podium battles, deep personal progress defined the speedcubing community in Petrinja. Gregor Duras delivered one of the weekend's sharpest drops, cutting his 3x3x3 Cube personal best by 47 percent down to 13.35 seconds, while also making a first career attempt at the 4x4x4 Cube with a time of 1:38.42. Julian Waltl tackled 10 events, slicing 39.7 percent off his previous 5x5x5 Cube mark to finish in 3:00.23, while trimming his 2x2x2 Cube mark by 17.5 percent to 2.69 and his 3x3x3 Cube best by 15.3 percent to 14.58. Petar Kudelic improved his 2x2x2 Cube best by 36.4 percent to 5.95 seconds across five entered events, while also posting a first attempt in 3x3x3 One-Handed at 58.17 and a first Skewb attempt at 10.67.

Hugo Krizan took on 12 events, achieving a 10th-place finish in Skewb, logging a first 7x7x7 Cube attempt of 6:07.19, and improving personal bests in 3x3x3 Cube to 10.87, 21.6 percent faster, and 3x3x3 One-Handed to 28.69, 17.2 percent faster. Nikolas Akhapkin registered for 11 disciplines, finishing 17th in 6x6x6 Cube with a first attempt of 3:17.86, recording a first 7x7x7 Cube try of 6:28.02, and improving his 4x4x4 Cube best to 43.17. Toni Sekula took on 11 events, taking 5th in Skewb with a first attempt of 3.95, and recording initial marks of 14.82 in Square-1 and 36 in Fewest Moves. Viktor Pucovic entered seven events, logging a 36th place in Megaminx with an initial 2:33.59, a first Clock attempt of 33.10, and a 6.49 Pyraminx personal best. Roko Goles stepped up across seven events, earning 35th in 3x3x3 One-Handed with an initial 34.26, while adding first attempts in 4x4x4 Cube at 1:38.74 and Clock at 59.04.

The overall medal distribution reflected strong international depth alongside home-nation strength, as competitors representing Slovenia and Croatia secured 14 podium positions each, followed by Russia and Germany with six apiece, the United States with two, and Ukraine with one. As the final rounds wrapped up and equipment was packed away, the speed cubing tournament offered an extensive look at form and progress across every tier of the field. The Croatian Championship 2025 marked a memorable chapter in the competitive year, providing both title benchmarks and personal milestones that will resonate into the next season.

U dvorani Osnovne škole Dragutina Tadijanovića u Petrinji, Jakov Srečković ostvario je najupečatljiviji rezultat vikenda u disciplini 3x3x3 Blindfolded. Za slaganje kocke s povezom na očima potrebna je apsolutna memorijska priprema i savršena koncentracija prije samog početka okretanja. Srečković je svoj pobjednički pojedinačni pokušaj završio za nevjerojatnih 17.84 sekundi, ostavivši iza sebe konkurenciju u kojoj je Konstantin Jaehne zauzeo drugo mjesto s vremenom 48.85, a Marcel Ručigaj treće s 51.75 sekundi. Bio je to vrhunac subotnjeg i nedjeljnog programa u kojem su se mjerile stotinke sekunde u potpunom fokusu.

Dvodnevni turnir održan od 4. do 5. listopada okupio je ukupno 73 natjecatelja koji su se borili kroz 14 disciplina i 22 natjecateljska kruga. Natjecanje pod nazivom Croatian Championship 2025 pretvorilo je Petrinju u središte gdje se demonstrirao vrhunski speedcubing. Domaći i inozemni natjecatelji testirali su svoje vještine na raznim slagalicama, od klasične kocke do piramidalnih i višeslojnih izazova. Cijeli vikend ponudio je niz iznimno napetih nadmetanja u kojima su nijanse odlučivale o plasmanu na pobjedničko postolje.

Glavna disciplina, klasična Rubikova kocka formata 3x3x3, pripala je Alexeyu Tsvetkovu koji je u finalu nakon tri kruga slavio s pobjedničkim prosjekom od 6.23 sekundi te najboljim pojedinačnim slaganjem od 5.02 sekundi među 70 natjecatelja. Tsvetkov je dominirao i u ostalim brzim formatima, osvojivši zlato u 2x2x2 Cube s prosjekom 1.33 sekundi, zatim u disciplini Pyraminx s prosjekom 1.94 ispred Oskara Vidičeka i Milana Vincenta Andrica, te u Clocku s prosjekom 4.15 i 3x3x3 One-Handed s prosjekom 10.36 sekundi.

Slovenski predstavnik Oskar Vidiček briljirao je u kategorijama većih slagalica, odnijevši pobjedu u 4x4x4 Cube s prosjekom 30.18 sekundi ispred Jakova Srečkovića koji je zabilježio 30.81 i Davida Vujasića s 33.25 sekundi. Vidiček je potom bio najbrži i u 5x5x5 Cube s prosjekom 55.93 sekundi, Megaminxu s rezultatom 38.99, 6x6x6 Cube s prosjekom 1:39.53 te u najvećoj kocki 7x7x7 Cube s vremenom 2:33.79 sekundi. Njegova izvedba u maratonskim formatima bila je jedno od glavnih obilježja ovog natjecateljskog vikenda.

U disciplini Skewb pobjedu je odnio Roko Mihael Ivić s prosjekom od 3.31 sekundi, dok je Square-1 osvojio Vedran Štefulj s prosjekom 12.57 i najboljim pojedinačnim vremenom od 7.64 sekundi. Strateška disciplina 3x3x3 Fewest Moves pripala je Konstantinu Jaehneu s 28 poteza u jednom pokušaju među 25 prijavljenih natjecatelja. Tablica postolja na kraju je pokazala veliku izjednačenost, pri čemu su predstavnici Slovenije i Hrvatske osvojili po 14 odličja, dok su natjecatelji iz Rusije i Njemačke uzeli po šest.

Izvan same borbe za medalje, ovo natjecanje u slaganju kocke donijelo je fantastična osobna postignuća i napretke. Bruno Ivančić nastupio je u čak 13 disciplina, ostvarivši 6. mjesto u 5x5x5 Cube uz osobni rekord 1:08.91 koji je 3.1 posto brži od prijašnjeg, popravio je svoj rezultat u 7x7x7 Cube na 3:47.06 što je poboljšanje od 31.2 posto te upisao svoj prvi pokušaj u 3x3x3 Fewest Moves s 51 potezom. Luka Šimić je na svoja četiri nastupa zabilježio golemi napredak u Pyraminxu s 9.16 sekundi što je 28.1 posto brže od starog rezultata, u Square-1 je s 32.91 bio 24.9 posto brži, a u 4x4x4 Cube popravio se za 19.9 posto na 1:28.89.

Odlične nastupe zabilježili su i ostali natjecatelji koji su hrabro isprobavali nove discipline i rušili vlastite granice. Petar Toni Lučev nastupio je na četiri događaja, debitirao u Megaminxu s 1:18.56 osvojivši 19. mjesto, te popravio rekorde u Skewbu na 12.53 sekundi i u 3x3x3 Cube na 21.35 sekundi. Lidija Erdelez uspješno je odradila svoj prvi pokušaj u 4x4x4 Cube s 2:34.12 te popravila vremena u 3x3x3 Cube za 20.3 posto na 43.75 i Skewbu na 14.43 sekundi. Svoje prvo WCA natjecanje upisali su Sven Stjelja nastupivši u četiri discipline uz vremena 19.27 u 2x2x2 Cube, 19.26 u Pyraminxu i 36.33 u 3x3x3 Cube, zatim Petar Radović s 9.75 u 3x3x3 Cube, Tin Šušnjar s 20.82 u 3x3x3 Cube te Gita Vitturi s vremenom 1:02.20 u istoj disciplini.

Ovogodišnji Croatian Championship 2025 ponudio je iznimnu razinu organizacije i visoku kvalitetu nastupa u svim dobnim i tehničkim kategorijama. Od nevjerojatne mirnoće u disciplinama na slijepo do munjevitih finala u manjim formatima, Petrinja i dvorana Osnovne škole Dragutina Tadijanovića ispratile su uspješan sportski događaj koji označava snažan zalet za nadolazeće izazove nove sezone.