Estonian Open 2023

Kaur Tuule turned in a blazing 7.51 winning average on the 3x3x3 Cube to capture the headline title at Estonian Open 2023, setting the standard across three rounds of high-level solving. The 58-player flagship event concluded with Mikus Lembergs from Latvia securing second place with an 8.33 average and Switzerland competitor Alwin Rölz rounding out the podium in third at 8.42. Tuule also posted the fastest single time of the event at 6.77, delivering the weekend's defining moment on the main stage.

The two-day speedcubing gathering took place on September 23–24, 2023, at Tallinn University of Applied Sciences in Tallinn, Estonia. A field of 61 competitors tackled a comprehensive slate of 12 official events spanning 24 rounds of play. Beyond the final results, the weekend served as a vivid demonstration of how fast up-and-coming talent is developing across the Baltic region and wider European circuit, with newcomers and improving regulars carving out significant time drops across multiple formats.

While Tuule ruled the premier Rubik's Cube final, Alwin Rölz mounted a remarkable multi-event campaign across the schedule. The Swiss competitor collected five individual titles over the two days, winning the 4x4x4 Cube with a 29.00 average, the 5x5x5 Cube in 54.00, and Megaminx in 51.96. Rölz also claimed first place in 3x3x3 One-Handed with an average of 12.49, holding off Tuule's 14.89, and topped Pyraminx with a decisive 2.93 mark ahead of Estonian finalist Remo Pihel's 3.65.

Shorter puzzles delivered equally brisk racing throughout the schedule. Latvia's Roberts Dreijers secured top honours on the 2x2x2 Cube with a winning average of 1.87 and a best single solve of 1.14, while Rölz took second at 2.39 and Tuule placed third at 2.54. Dreijers proved just as adept on complex mechanisms, taking first place in Square-1 with an 11.89 average. Estonian competitors took charge in the remaining rotation events, as Remo Pihel captured Skewb with a 3.75 average and Oliver Pällo paced the Clock field with a 4.41 average.

Away from the top steps of the podium, the deeper story of the cubing competition lived in the massive progression shown by developing competitors. Alex Jankowsky delivered one of the weekend's sharpest breakthroughs by recording a 3x3x3 Cube personal best of 32.52, improving by 60.9 percent over his previous 1:23.14 mark, while also posting an 11.68 in his first ever attempt at 2x2x2 Cube. Henry Valdmann trimmed his Pyraminx personal best to 4.99 from an earlier 11.84, an improvement of 57.9 percent, alongside taking on six total events. Amarin Ouk tackled eight different events, setting a Pyraminx personal best of 5.26 to go 53.6 percent faster than his previous 11.34, while logging a first ever attempt at Clock in 41.98 and a first ever attempt at Square-1 in 54.31. Oto Malki slashed his Skewb mark by 51 percent with an 8.08 personal best, completed his first ever attempt at 2x2x2 Cube in 4.84, and improved his 3x3 results to 16.26.

First-time entrants and expanding event repertoires continued to transform the scorecards across both days. Veikko Juhani Heikinpoika Härkönen entered his first WCA competition and took on seven disciplines, posting an 11.86 in his first ever attempt at 3x3x3 Cube and a 2.76 in his first ever attempt at 2x2x2 Cube. Alexander Druzbin registered a 6.18 personal best in Pyraminx to go 37.4 percent faster, improved his 3x3x3 Cube best to 16.11, and completed a first ever attempt at Square-1 in 1:10.56. Sebastian Tempel entered seven events, securing an 8.86 personal best in Pyraminx for a 35.8 percent reduction, alongside a first ever attempt at 3x3x3 One-Handed in 45.47 and a first ever attempt at Square-1 in 46.32. Pärtel Enok also stepped up across seven disciplines, achieving a best finish of 12th in 3x3x3 Blindfolded, logging a first ever attempt at 5x5x5 Cube in 2:13.56, and setting a 4x4x4 Cube personal best of 58.72.

The specialised disciplines rewarded intense focus and alternate solving techniques. Remo Pihel claimed his second victory of the weekend in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves, finding an efficient single solution of 27 turns to lead a field of 23 solvers. In 3x3x3 Blindfolded, Finnish competitor Timo Norrkniivilä captured first place with a single time of 25.06, navigating the memorisation and execution phases to finish well ahead of Mikus Lembergs at 42.41 and Andrei Solntsev at 1:03.52.

Across the entire medal count, host nation Estonia led the standings with 14 podium positions, followed by Switzerland with 10, Latvia with 8, Finland with 5, and the United Kingdom earning 1 courtesy of Jaidon Adams' third-place 53.31 in Megaminx. The high-paced speed cubing showcased at Estonian Open 2023 highlighted how rapidly rising solvers are transforming their baseline times and broadening their technical versatility across every official puzzle format.