Jāņi Kārķos 2024

A single move was all that separated the podium contenders in the 3x3x3 Fewest Moves contest, establishing the razor-thin margins that defined high-level drama across the weekend. Lithuania standout Mantas Urbanavičius took the victory with a count of 33 moves, holding off Latvia competitor Vladislavs Baranovs at 36 and Roberts Dreijers at 38. That close finish set an exacting standard for the entire gathering, proving that even a single rotational choice could rearrange the podium standings across several competitive disciplines.

Held on June 15, 2024, at the Kārķu tautas nams venue in Kārķi, Latvia, Jāņi Kārķos 2024 brought together a dedicated field of 25 competitors. The official WCA competition presented 9 events spanning 13 total rounds of high-intensity solving. Enthusiasts traveling to Kārķi took on everything from quick sprint puzzles to grueling big cubes, making the one-day schedule an exhaustive test of speedcubing stamina across multiple formats.

Urbanavičius proved to be the central force of the competition, securing first-place finishes in seven of the nine events staged. In the classic Rubik's Cube category, his 3x3 results stood above the rest with a 7.29 winning average across two rounds, punctuated by the fastest single of the day at 5.17 seconds. Second place went to Rūdolfs Vīnkalns with a 9.56 average, while Tomas Jankauskas took third at 10.03 seconds.

The one-handed discipline saw another showcase from Urbanavičius, who recorded a 12.72 average and a 10.23 single to claim the title. Jankauskas secured the runner-up spot with an average of 15.68 seconds, followed closely by Vīnkalns in third with a mark of 16.54. Urbanavičius extended his control over the table by winning the 4x4x4 Cube in 30.84 seconds, the 5x5x5 Cube in 55.04 seconds, the 6x6x6 Cube in 1:45.98, and the 7x7x7 Cube with a final average of 2:45.29.

Latvian competitors produced their own golden highlight in the fast-paced 2x2x2 Cube event. Roberts Dreijers captured first place with an impressive 1.96 average, outperforming Urbanavičius, who took second with 3.30, and Vīnkalns in third at 3.66. Dreijers posted a personal single of 1.44 during the two rounds. The 3x3x3 Blindfolded division delivered dramatic solves requiring pure memorisation, where Kasparas Lienys took top honors with a successful 1:13.97 single, followed by Jānis Zirnis at 1:22.91 and Dreijers taking third place in 2:16.10.

Beyond the podium battles, several competitors achieved remarkable milestones away from the top spots. Toms Edvards Vucens delivered one of the weekend highlights by cutting his 3x3x3 Blindfolded personal best down to 2:54.36, a 48.1 percent improvement over his prior standard of 5:36.25, while also lowering his 5x5x5 Cube best to 2:18.64. Emanuels Stupelis produced a 35.2 percent improvement on his 4x4x4 Cube mark with a time of 1:33.04 and took eighth place in the 2x2x2 Cube. Teo Niklāvs Mitenbergs trimmed 22.4 percent off his 3x3x3 One-Handed time down to 17.36 seconds, and Oskars Piebalgs improved his one-handed best by 19.7 percent to 31.67 while competing in five events.

First-time achievements also marked a memorable Saturday for emerging solvers at the cubing competition. Yeskendir Kenzhebolat completed his first official attempts in three separate events, recording 1:00.41 in the 4x4x4 Cube, 2:39.65 in the 5x5x5 Cube, and 27.48 in 3x3x3 One-Handed. Marks Fridmans improved his blindfolded single by 15.5 percent to 3:12.90 to finish fourth in the event, and Mike Vidrik Rätsep took on nine events, lowering his 7x7x7 Cube personal best by 14.1 percent to 7:48.56. Stians Skudra completed his first WCA competition by logging official results across three events, including a 34.85 single on the 3x3x3 Cube.

Overall, host nation Latvia secured 16 total podium positions across the schedule, while Lithuanian competitors earned 11 podium spots. With 25 participants pushing their personal boundaries across 13 rounds, the speed cubing gathering in Kārķi offered a complete showcase of technique, focus, and rapid execution across every size of puzzle.

The successful conclusion of Jāņi Kārķos 2024 demonstrated the depth of Baltic puzzle solving, celebrating both seasoned winners and competitors marking new personal standards. As the regional season progresses, the performances registered in Kārķi establish high benchmarks for upcoming meetings on the official calendar.