FMC Ukraine-Poland I 2026

Scattered tables across Multiple cities, XE sat quietly under bright lights on May 31, 2026, covered in paper, pens, and scrambled puzzles. Competitors in different locations turned their cubes slowly in hand, writing down candidate sequences and working through complex rotations during sixty minutes of silent calculation. Rather than the frantic turning common to typical Rubik's Cube stages, this discipline demands methodical evaluation and sharp concentration. The opening attempts set an intense, measured tone for a dedicated day of competition.

The multi-venue gathering known as FMC Ukraine-Poland I 2026 brought together a focused field of 12 competitors taking on two full rounds. Every entrant shared a single objective: finding the absolute shortest path to solve the puzzle within the standard time limit. Across the venues, newcomers and seasoned solvers alike embraced the intellectual rigour of the discipline, making the cubing competition an exceptional showcase of deep analysis and precision.

At the top of the standings, Krzysztof Pietrusiak from Poland delivered a masterclass across the rounds. Pietrusiak secured first place in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves with a winning average of 21.33 moves, backed by the best single attempt of the entire weekend at 21 moves. That performance established the gold standard across the multi-location tournament, ensuring Poland claimed a spot atop the final medal table.

The battle for the remaining podium spots remained exceedingly tight throughout the final round. Yurii Riabov (Юрій Рябов) representing Ukraine earned the second-place finish with a calculated average of 22.33 moves. Jan Riedl of the Czech Republic matched that exact mark with a 22.33 average of his own to secure third place. With Poland, Ukraine, and the Czech Republic each claiming one podium position, the final rankings reflected remarkable balance across national borders.

While the top of the table commanded attention, individual milestones and breakthrough performances told an equally compelling story across the field. Antoni Szcześniak of Poland delivered one of the weekend's standout achievements, recording a personal best of 34 moves in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves, an improvement of 12.8 percent over his previous best of 39 moves, on his way to a 9th-place finish in his sole event of the weekend. Fellow Polish competitor Radomił Baran navigated the two-round challenge to capture a 4th-place finish, taking on 1 event here.

Modest Podzolkin of Ukraine also put together a strong run through the field, locking down a 5th-place finish across the event. Przemysław Rogalski of Poland completed the tournament with a 6th-place finish in 3x3x3 Fewest Moves, while Roman Ostapenko (Роман Остапенко) of Ukraine secured a 7th-place finish in the 1 event entered here. Radosław Opoka of Poland achieved an 8th-place finish, and Robert Ślesicki of Poland earned a 10th-place finish, demonstrating steady persistence throughout both rounds.

The structure of this WCA competition placed pure algorithmic efficiency at the centre of the stage. The 3x3 results in Fewest Moves rely on entirely different strategies than standard speed cubing, forcing participants to map out edge orientations, blockbuilding paths, and corner commutators without the safety net of high-speed turning. Each move must be accounted for on official submission sheets, leaving zero margin for clerical or logical errors.

With 12 competitors pushing their analytical limits across 2 rounds, FMC Ukraine-Poland I 2026 demonstrated the universal appeal of FMC inside the speedcubing community in 2026. The coordinated effort across Multiple cities, XE delivered both elite scores and meaningful personal milestones for the entire field. As the day concluded, participants packed away their pens and scratch paper, concluding a productive and closely contested edition of FMC Ukraine-Poland I 2026.