Ekibastuz Open 2024

Seventeen competitors gathered at Dom Druzhby on May 12, 2024, generating a packed schedule of ten rounds across eight events in Ekibastuz, Kazakhstan. The single-day WCA competition brought intense action to the tables, where competitors from across Kazakhstan contested titles in every classic discipline. Leading the weekend with relentless pace, Damir Zhanataev captured five separate victories, while Daniyal Suleimen secured three wins of his own, leaving every gold medal split between two standout performers in an emphatic showcase of regional speedcubing.

The 2x2x2 Cube served as the tournament benchmark for explosive pace, producing a continuous series of rapid marks across two complete rounds. Damir Zhanataev took the overall victory in the event with a 3.13 winning average, highlighted by a sharp 2.51 single in the final. His opening round was equally potent, where he recorded a 2.46 single and a 4.39 average. Daniyal Suleimen followed closely to secure second place with a 4.26 average after setting a 3.71 single in the first round, while Nikita Kolpakov earned third place with a 4.45 final mark.

Beyond the podium positions, the 2x2x2 Cube saw quick times through every tier of the bracket. Nikita Kolpakov posted the fastest single of the entire event with a 2.90 alongside a 3.68 average in the preliminaries. Alisher Isagaliev advanced through the rounds behind a 4.11 single and a 4.73 average, while Kudaybergen Tleulin notched a 3.24 single and a 6.13 average. Azamat Seitbekov recorded a 3.49 single and a 6.54 average, and Aldiyar Mussin completed the rush of fast opening-round marks with a 3.42 single and a 6.60 average.

In the marquee 3x3x3 Cube, Damir Zhanataev delivered consistent execution to head the 3x3 results across a field of 15 competitors. Zhanataev captured the title with a tournament-best average of 8.83, having earlier posted the fastest single solve of the competition at 7.21 seconds. Daniyal Suleimen secured the runner-up spot with an average of 9.22, while Nikita Kolpakov rounded out the podium in 9.40 seconds, cementing a fiercely contested battle on the standard Rubik's Cube.

The larger puzzles saw Zhanataev continue his dominant run across the tables. In the 4x4x4 Cube, he claimed first place with a 36.65 average and a 33.76 single, besting Nikita Kolpakov who posted 40.10 and Daniyal Suleimen who took third in 41.56. Zhanataev then captured the 5x5x5 Cube title with a 1:09.90 average and a 1:03.61 single. Suleimen finished second at 1:11.09, while Asar Toleu locked down third place with a 1:14.82 average, rounding out the heavy puzzle program.

Away from the top steps of the podium, several participants made substantial progress across their respective events. Aldiyar Mussin took on all eight events on the schedule, achieving a 3.42 single in 2x2x2 Cube that was 42.5 percent faster than his previous best, alongside a 4:36.39 mark in 5x5x5 Cube that improved by 15.3 percent. Kudaybergen Tleulin entered seven events, slashing his 2x2x2 Cube best to 3.24 for a 38.2 percent improvement, while making his first ever attempts at Megaminx with 3:19.72 and 5x5x5 Cube with 4:55.33, finishing 5th overall in 2x2x2 Cube. Aidyn Boranbay tackled eight events, improving his Skewb best by 25.2 percent with a 12.82 single and logging his first attempts at Clock in 38.86 and 5x5x5 Cube in 5:01.44. Vitaliy Avargin logged seven events, cutting 24.1 percent off his Megaminx mark with a 5:23.10 and trimming his Clock best by 17 percent to 43.05.

Debut appearances brought fresh energy to the floor as newcomers tackled official solves for the first time. Ibragim Nurumov entered five events at his first WCA competition, securing 6th place in 2x2x2 Cube while posting debut attempts of 12.13 in Pyraminx, 22.93 in Skewb, and 2:38.43 in 4x4x4 Cube. Ildar Nigmatullin also made his competition debut across four events, finishing 9th in Skewb with a 17.71 attempt and recording debut marks of 1:05.34 in 3x3x3 Cube and 9.25 in 2x2x2 Cube. Maksim Drobyshev took on five events, earning 8th place in Clock while logging first official attempts in Pyraminx at 11.42, Clock at 49.52, and Skewb at 15.09. Anuar Gabit focused on the main event, finishing 7th in 3x3x3 Cube during a dedicated speed cubing performance.

Daniyal Suleimen earned his own collection of titles across the side events, leading the Clock discipline with a 7.64 winning average and a 5.91 single over Nikita Kolpakov at 8.89 and Damir Zhanataev at 10.19. In Megaminx, Suleimen took top honours with a 46.90 average and a 40.54 single, finishing ahead of Azamat Seitbekov at 1:11.84 and Zhanataev at 1:12.71. Suleimen added a third gold in Skewb with a 5.36 average, edging out Kolpakov by two hundredths of a second at 5.38, while Alisher Isagaliev took third in 6.29.

Zhanataev collected his fifth victory in Pyraminx, averaging 5.09 with a 4.09 single to top Nikita Kolpakov at 5.95 and Daniyal Suleimen at 6.87. Across every category, competitors from Kazakhstan swept all twenty-four podium places available throughout the day. Ekibastuz Open 2024 concluded having demonstrated sharp competitive depth and wide multi-event proficiency, giving the region plenty of positive momentum as the cubing competition calendar looks forward to the next season.