Gibraltar Open 2025

Central Hall in Gibraltar, Gibraltar, United Kingdom, buzzed with continuous motion across July 26 and July 27 as tables filled with timers, mats, and rotating puzzles. Sitting right at the peak of the 2025 summer calendar, the gathering drew 52 competitors eager to test their form in a pivotal mid-season window. The venue hummed with the steady click of plastic and the quick reset of displays across 19 separate rounds of action. With nine official events scheduled over the two days, every competitor knew that sharp turnarounds and steady nerves would define the weekend.

The main event delivered a classic showdown in 3x3x3 Cube, where 51 competitors took part in a three-round battle that shaped the official 3x3 results. Marisa Revaliente Ruiz took the title with a winning average of 7.38 seconds, having also posted the fastest single of the contest at 7.03 seconds. Lorenzo Escobar Kraskouskaya secured second place with an average of 7.75 seconds, while Carlos Méndez García-Barroso rounded out the podium in third with an average of 7.85 seconds. The fast pace underscored how competitive this standard Rubik's Cube category remains this year.

Carlos Méndez García-Barroso stood out across multiple events throughout the cubing competition, capturing two individual victories and collecting top-three finishes across several disciplines. In Square-1, Méndez García-Barroso took first place with an 8.60 average, backed by a best single of 7.20 seconds, outlasting Daniel Gracia Ortiz who took second with 10.69 seconds and Rubén López de Juan in third at 12.61 seconds. Méndez García-Barroso followed that by taking the Skewb crown with a 3.24 average, finishing ahead of Fernando Sáez Lázaro at 3.41 seconds and Finland's Antto Pitkänen at 3.87 seconds.

The technical side of the speedcubing program featured a wide array of specialized formats, from side events to big cubes. In Clock, Jose Sánchez García secured victory with a 4.75 average and a best single of 4.17 seconds, while Antto Pitkänen took second with 6.09 seconds and Carlos Méndez García-Barroso grabbed third with 6.71 seconds. On the bigger cubes, Álvaro Aguilar Salobreña captured the 4x4x4 Cube title with a winning average of 32.88 seconds, edging Méndez García-Barroso at 33.00 seconds. In 5x5x5 Cube, Arttu Puttonen took top honors with a 1:05.02 average, beating out Lorenzo Escobar Kraskouskaya at 1:06.65.

Quick rotations and precise turns ruled the shorter puzzles during the speed cubing weekend. Miguel Ángel González-Herrero García earned the 2x2x2 Cube title with an average of 2.52 seconds, edging out Marisa Revaliente Ruiz who posted 2.76 seconds and Carlos Méndez García-Barroso who finished third at 2.91 seconds. In Pyraminx, Raúl Cuevas Castillo proved fastest with a 3.08 average and a best single of 2.61 seconds. Cuevas Castillo also mastered the mental challenge of 3x3x3 Blindfolded, where memorisation and execution without sight yielded a winning single of 58.36 seconds ahead of Josete Sánchez with 1:04.91.

Behind the headline podiums, the official WCA competition gave many competitors a platform to register massive breakthroughs across their events. Javonn King took on nine events and delivered a massive leap in 3x3x3 Blindfolded with a personal best of 2:21.01, shaving 62.2 percent off a previous best of 6:13.43, alongside a Square-1 personal best of 20.00 seconds. Dáshiel Francisco Pérez Hinderstein dropped 50.5 percent off a previous mark in 2x2x2 Cube with a new personal best of 1.48 seconds, while also trimming 35.6 percent in 4x4x4 Cube to finish in 55.06 seconds. Pablo Cabello Rodríguez cut his 5x5x5 Cube personal best down to 1:41.13, an improvement of 42.6 percent.

First-time attempts and expanding repertoires defined the weekend for several other participants. Carlos Saliba Bautista registered a personal best of 7.04 seconds in Skewb, 35.4 percent faster than before, alongside a Pyraminx personal best of 6.99 seconds. Adrián López Rojo tackled eight events and logged his first official attempts in 3x3x3 Blindfolded at 4:41.70, Square-1 at 27.32 seconds, and Skewb at 8.21 seconds. Blanca Piédrola Sánchez entered nine events, logging a Clock personal best of 11.79 seconds and taking on 3x3x3 Blindfolded for the first time with a time of 3:07.93. Ángel García Rodríguez made his first ever attempts in Clock at 52.93 seconds, Skewb at 42.39 seconds, and Pyraminx at 27.05 seconds. Meanwhile, Diego Vargas Gradella took part in his first official competition, posting first attempts of 4.44 seconds in 2x2x2 Cube, 36.99 seconds in Pyraminx, and 23.33 seconds in 3x3x3 Cube.

The overall medal counts reflected strong international representation, with Spain collecting 20 podium places and Finland capturing seven. Across the board, competitors traded fast times and pushed each other through two days of intense solves. When the final rounds concluded at Central Hall, Gibraltar Open 2025 had delivered memorable personal marks, intense final-round battles, and crucial season momentum for everyone who took to the solving stations.