Cyprus Nationals 2025

Ben Baron put on an overwhelming display of versatility over the December 27 to December 28 weekend, capturing ten separate gold medals at Cyprus Nationals 2025. Held at the American Academy Larnaca in Larnaca, Cyprus, the gathering welcomed 42 competitors across 14 events and 19 rounds of high-stakes speedcubing. Baron set the tone across the schedule, locking up titles in classic formats, big cubes, side events, and specialised disciplines. His run began with unmatched consistency and peaked during the marquee finals, making the 2025 gathering a clinic in multi-event mastery.

The opening action on Saturday immediately established a rapid pace across the tables. In 3x3x3 Fewest Moves, Baron earned victory by discovering a tidy 21-move solution across the 24-person field. The large-cube events then took centre stage, where Israel swept the podium steps in 4x4x4 Cube. Baron took the win with a 30.66 average and a 25.12 single, fending off Mark Sander at 32.61 and Roy Tamir at 32.93. Baron continued his streak in 5x5x5 Cube, averaging 54.54 to lead Sander at 1:00.39 and Panagiotis Ioakeimidis of Greece at 1:01.92.

The weekend also featured standout performances from other division leaders who broke up the sweep. Guy Zarian secured the Square-1 title with a 9.34 average and a 7.42 single, besting Baron at 11.94 and Sander at 15.06. In 6x6x6 Cube, Roy Tamir delivered a composed series of solves to win with a 1:44.12 average, holding off Sander at 1:47.82 and Michael Eleftheriades of Cyprus at 1:51.67. Meanwhile, Clock delivered crisp execution as Ivan Valov posted a winning 3.73 average ahead of 32 challengers, backed by a quick 3.37 single.

As the schedule rolled deeper into the weekend, side events generated further momentum on the stage. Baron picked up another pair of golds in Pyraminx and Skewb, posting winning averages of 3.27 and 2.65 respectively. In the Pyraminx final, Tamir took second with 3.88 and Sander claimed third with 3.90. Over at the 7x7x7 Cube tables, Baron registered a 2:28.11 winning average with a 2:18.76 single, while Tamir placed second with 2:39.47 and Ioakeimidis took third at 2:49.79. Baron also secured Megaminx in 41.04 and claimed the 3x3x3 Blindfolded win with a 17.86 single.

Beyond the championship battles, the cubing competition served as a launchpad for remarkable individual progression throughout the field. Marina Eleni Ioannou took on seven events, cutting her Clock personal best by 51.9 percent to 13.38 while recording her first official Pyraminx solve of 10.47. Kseniia Kuchaeva tackled nine events, clocking a 12.50 Clock personal best that was 31.4 percent faster than before and attempting 5x5x5 Cube for the first time with a 2:29.49. Nefeli Petsa trimmed 33.7 percent off her Megaminx personal record down to 2:17.67, alongside a 19.06 personal best in 3x3x3 Cube. Furkan Yuksel completed his first attempt at 3x3x3 Fewest Moves with a count of 67, also improving his Clock best by 25.5 percent to 13.72.

That same drive was evident across every tier of the standings as newcomers and seasoned hands pushed their limits. Stelios Antoniou took on ten events, logging his first official Clock time of 34.03 and dropping his Skewb best by 25.3 percent to 8.93. Nicholas Lombardo improved his Clock mark by 34.2 percent to 25.80 and shaved 25.8 percent off his 3x3x3 One-Handed time to finish in 27.43. Alexandros Riris entered twelve events, lowering his 3x3x3 One-Handed personal best by 29.4 percent to 28.43. Meanwhile, Alexandros Koudounas took part in his first WCA competition, competing in nine events, earning 7th place in 3x3x3 Blindfolded, and posting a 59.48 in his first 4x4x4 Cube attempt.

The 2x2x2 Cube rounds provided lightning-fast drama across two rounds of speed cubing. Mark Sander claimed the title with an average of 1.77 and a single of 1.73 in an event contested by 38 competitors. The discipline also generated notable regional records throughout the field, with Guy Zarian logging a 3.38 single and 4.33 average, Levi Krassenstein posting a 2.74 single and 3.54 average, Theoharis Delidis notching a 2.61 single and 3.40 average, and Inbar Segal recording a 2.85 single alongside a 3.77 average.

Sunday culminated with the premier events that closed out Cyprus Nationals 2025. In 3x3x3 One-Handed, Baron logged an 11.98 winning average, joined on the podium by Amit Schori at 14.40 and Sander at 14.46. The final Rubik's Cube championship round wrapped up the festival, where Baron secured the 3x3 results summit with a 7.31 average and a 6.41 single. Roman Zakoulov of Cyprus secured second place with an 8.11 average, and Zénó Vitale of Hungary took third in 8.40, bringing an eventful weekend in Larnaca to a memorable close.