Kolla Big & Blind 2026

One minute and 44.68 seconds was all Michael Eleftheriades needed to tame the 6x6x6 Cube single in Limassol, Cyprus, setting the tone for an exhausting display of stamina. Kolla Big & Blind 2026 brought 26 competitors together at Kolla on August 1, 2026, for a single-day test of mental grit and turning discipline. Big cubes demand exceptional physical endurance, forcing solvers to track dozens of moving parts across layered mechanisms without losing their pace or concentration. Eleftheriades delivered a masterclass across the largest hardware, setting a blisteringly quick pace that defined the entire competition.

The 7x7x7 Cube pushed that endurance even further, testing competitors across long, punishing solves where even a minor lockup can derail a run. Eleftheriades captured the title with a winning average of 2:58.20 and a best single of 2:52.69 across the eight-person field, claiming a national record average for Cyprus. Sotiris Kkaras took second place with a 4:16.93 average, while Marios Kasparis secured third at 4:27.17. In the 6x6x6 Cube, Eleftheriades also took top honors with a 1:52.96 winning average alongside his national record single, again leading Kkaras in second at 2:29.19 and Kasparis in third at 2:51.46.

Beyond the sheer physical demand of the big cubes, Kolla Big & Blind 2026 featured high-stakes blindfolded events where pure memory took over. Solving without sight requires athletes to encode piece orientations and locations into memory before executing algorithms purely on touch and spatial recall. Sotiris Kkaras conquered the 3x3x3 Blindfolded event with a winning single of 1:08.43, ahead of Giorgos Tryfonidis in second with 2:11.20 and Sweden competitor Björn Moberg in third with 3:28.03. In 3x3x3 Multi-Blind, Kkaras set a national record single by solving 4 out of 6 cubes in 46:43, finishing as the only competitor to secure a successful result among six contenders.

The traditional 3x3x3 Cube brought full fields and three intense rounds of speed cubing action. Sotiris Kkaras proved unmatched, taking victory with a national record winning average of 7.95 and a round-best single of 6.39. Michael Eleftheriades claimed second on the podium with an 11.80 average, while Constantinos Kapelos took third in 12.52. These 3x3 results capped a dominant performance across short and long formats for Cyprus, whose competitors earned 17 total podium places across the weekend alongside two for Greece and two for Sweden.

In the 3x3x3 Fewest Moves contest, competitors tackled efficiency rather than raw turning speed, analyzing scrambles on paper to find optimal solutions. Michael Eleftheriades took first place with a national record single of 33 moves, outlasting 13 competitors in the single-round event. Giorgos Tryfonidis followed closely in second place with 35 moves, while Pantos Pantos of Greece took third on 37 moves. The strategic event offered a stark contrast to the physical rush of the big cubes, rounding out six events and eight rounds of competition.

Away from the podium battles, several competitors achieved remarkable milestones across their individual journeys at this WCA competition. Christos Christofi delivered a massive leap forward in the 3x3x3 Cube, recording a personal best single of 30.44 seconds to finish 63.6 percent faster than their prior mark of 1:23.53. Andreas Michaelides also unlocked substantial progress on the classic Rubik's Cube, dropping their personal best by 27.4 percent down to 12.71 seconds from 17.50. Kirill Prigoda recorded an 11.7 percent improvement with a 12.26 personal best to place fifth in 3x3x3 Cube, while also completing a first ever attempt at 3x3x3 Fewest Moves with 69 moves.

Other solvers expanded their event repertoires and made notable competition debuts at the venue in Limassol. Stelios Antoniou completed their first ever attempt at 3x3x3 Fewest Moves with a count of 54 to finish fifth. Kseniia Kuchaeva took on three separate events, earning sixth place in 3x3x3 Cube with a personal best of 12.35 seconds, a 3.1 percent improvement. Ignatios Papathemistokleous took on four events, setting a 6x6x6 Cube personal best of 5:30.55 and placing seventh in 7x7x7 Cube. Debutants also left their mark, with George Lefconikiatis recording a 20.06 single and Jonah Solomon Papagapiou Bloomfield posting a 21.22 single in their very first official appearances.

The collective performances across big cubes, blindfolded disciplines, and speed events highlighted the depth of local speedcubing talent in 2026. Kolla Big & Blind 2026 brought endurance and precision together under one roof, establishing national marks while giving new competitors a venue to test their skills. As the cubing competition schedule moves forward into future seasons, the achievements set at Kolla remain a compelling benchmark of focus and stamina across Cyprus.