Estcubes Open 2026

A total of 37 competitors gathered at the Tallinn University of Applied Sciences on January 17 and 18, generating an atmosphere defined by rapid growth across 17 rounds of action. The Estcubes Open 2026 brought together talent from across the region to test their preparation across nine distinct events. Throughout the two-day schedule, the focus remained fixed on individual breakthroughs as athletes repeatedly lowered their official benchmarks, demonstrating how months of deliberate practice translate onto the official stage at the start of the 2026 speedcubing season.

The premier 3x3x3 Cube event drew a tournament-high 36 competitors through three demanding stages of competition. Kaur Tuule of Estonia set the pace during the final, securing first place with a stellar 6.77 winning average alongside a blistering single solve of 4.76 seconds. Finland's Vincent von Schantz claimed the second step on the podium with an average of 7.59, while Roberts Dreijers of Latvia took third place with an average of 8.51. The official 3x3 results underscored the high standard of regional talent battling for tenths of a second in Tallinn, Estonia.

Kaur Tuule added another title in the 4x4x4 Cube, posting a winning average of 30.80 seconds and a round-best single of 25.76. Fellow Estonian Remo Pihel finished in second place with an average of 33.44, while Maksim Zemtšihhin placed third in 38.63. Tuule continued his strong showing across multiple formats throughout the WCA competition, demonstrating exceptional versatility by taking second place in both Megaminx with an average of 57.75 and 3x3x3 One-Handed with an average of 14.13, in addition to third place in the 5x5x5 Cube.

Remo Pihel proved equally dominant in the shorter formats and larger hardware, capturing three separate victories over the course of the weekend. Pihel won the 2x2x2 Cube with an average of 2.59 seconds, besting Vincent von Schantz at 2.97 and Kristiāns Pietkuns at 3.51. Pihel then secured the Pyraminx title with an average of 2.85 seconds and went on to claim the 5x5x5 Cube title with a mark of 1:04.60. Pihel also added runner-up finishes in Skewb at 5.00 seconds and Clock with an average of 6.89.

Beyond the top steps of the podium, significant time drops highlighted the weekend as competitors made monumental leaps past their previous records. Martin Tiik delivered one of the steepest progressions of the entire meet, dropping his Skewb personal best by 64.5 percent down to 3.91 seconds, alongside a 3x3x3 Cube personal best of 19.01 seconds that improved on his previous mark by 55 percent, while also logging a first official 2x2x2 Cube attempt of 4.48. Johannes Kilgi slashed his Skewb best by 64.5 percent to 5.66 seconds, improved his 2x2x2 Cube mark by 37.6 percent to 4.21 seconds, and cut his Pyraminx single down to 7.44 seconds. Herman Kilgi took on Clock for the first time with a 20.70 effort, while simultaneously trimming 45 percent off his 2x2x2 Cube best to reach 6.82 seconds and improving his Pyraminx time by 39.4 percent to 10.75.

First-time event entries and sharp time reductions continued down the order as athletes embraced broader disciplines. Klaus Nellis expanded his competitive repertoire by taking on three new puzzles, logging a first 4x4x4 Cube attempt of 1:41.02, a first Pyraminx result of 13.08, and a first Clock single of 19.29. Leonid Leo Shumeiko tackled seven events, highlighted by first official attempts in Megaminx at 2:37.32, Clock at 13.83, and the 4x4x4 Cube in 2:04.76. Hugo Hendrik Vinnal made a first attempt at Pyraminx with a swift 5.64 single, while lowering his 2x2x2 Cube best to 8.55 and his 3x3x3 Cube mark to 31.51. Villem Jaagosild advanced to an eighth-place finish in the 3x3x3 Cube with a personal best of 8.97 seconds and improved his Skewb record by 33 percent to 3.68, while Evor Klausen dropped his 3x3x3 Cube personal best by 31.1 percent to 19.34 seconds.

The specialized puzzles produced tense individual battles across single-round and multi-round formats. In Clock, Oliver Pällo captured victory with an average of 4.21 seconds, finishing ahead of Remo Pihel and Ukraine's Ivan Berestovoi, who recorded a third-place average of 7.64. In Megaminx, Latvia's Kristiāns Pietkuns took top honors with an average of 50.97 seconds and a best single of 45.88. Markus Sild delivered a winning performance in Skewb, securing the title with an average of 4.78 seconds, while Vincent von Schantz took gold in 3x3x3 One-Handed with an average of 12.17 seconds.

Across the entire program, host nation Estonia led the medal distribution with 16 podium places, followed by Latvia with six, Finland with four, and Ukraine with one. The classic Rubik's Cube and its many variations tested tactical control and speed cubing dexterity at every turn. As Estcubes Open 2026 concluded in Tallinn, the extensive list of personal bests and expanded event repertoires confirmed that the competitive field is moving forward with tremendous momentum into the upcoming calendar of regional fixtures.