Latvijas Čempionāts 2025

Three minutes, seven seconds and five hundredths of a second was all Poland's Mikołaj Molski needed on average to solve the massive 7x7x7 Cube, setting the tone for a weekend defined by heavy-duty endurance. Held from December 5 to December 7, 2025, in Sigulda, Latvia, at the Siguldas Valsts Ģimnāzija venue, the tournament brought together 40 competitors for a demanding 31 rounds across 16 different disciplines. Solving larger NxN puzzles in a tournament setting requires immense stamina, physical speed, and relentless mental focus as the layers multiply and turning fatigue builds up over multiple elimination rounds.

The big-cube events delivered standout performances from the opening heats to the finals. In the 5x5x5 Cube, Mikus Lembergs took top honours for the host nation with a winning average of 1:03.61 and a single of 59.85, edging out Mikołaj Molski who finished second at 1:05.60 and Roberts Dreijers in third at 1:07.40. Molski answered back in the largest standard formats, capturing first place in the 6x6x6 Cube with a 1:58.97 average and a 1:57.03 single, before sealing the 7x7x7 Cube victory with his 3:07.05 average and 3:01.90 single.

The 4x4x4 Cube contest proved equally fierce at Latvijas Čempionāts 2025, where Roberts Dreijers topped a field of 28 competitors by recording a winning average of 33.44 and a best single of 31.64. Molski took second place on the podium with a 35.60 average, while Lithuania's Vilius Ribinskas secured third place with 37.71. Managing such large puzzles under tournament pressure requires steady turning and exceptional lookahead, traits that both Dreijers and Molski displayed across every stage of the weekend.

Beyond the heavy plastic, the classic 3x3x3 Rubik's Cube brought 37 entrants to the tables across three rounds of play. The 3x3 results culminated in another victory for Roberts Dreijers, who posted a decisive winning average of 8.48 alongside a single solve of 7.67. Vilius Ribinskas followed closely in the silver medal position at 8.88, while Mikus Lembergs took bronze with a 9.37 average. Dreijers also added a third title to his weekend haul by prevailing in Square-1 with a 12.11 winning average and an 11.40 best single.

Away from the top steps of the podium, the open rounds showed impressive milestones throughout the roster. Eliass Perts tackled eight disciplines, registering a first ever attempt at Megaminx of 3:35.95 while shaving 40.7% off their previous mark in 2x2x2 Cube with a 3.17 personal best. Raivo Rodrigo Heidemanis took on nine events, finishing 11th in 7x7x7 Cube and improving their 2x2x2 Cube personal best by 39.7% to 1.70. Tristan Vekman dropped their Pyraminx mark by 40.2% to 5.79 across six events, and Andrejs Gavrilovs cut their 4x4x4 Cube best by 33.7% down to 1:15.13.

The progression continued with Oskars Piebalgs, who entered 11 events, earned a 12th place finish in 2x2x2 Cube, and improved their Square-1 personal best by 32.6% to 21.05. Sergey Maksimov took on four events, carving 28.1% off their Pyraminx best with a 5.46 solve and dropping their 3x3x3 Cube time by 27.7% to 14.87. First-time participants made their mark on the scoresheets as well; Gusts Vasips completed four events at their first WCA competition, including a first ever attempt at 5x5x5 Cube of 5:04.55, while Kha Thien Y Do debuted with two events, putting up a 13.06 single in 3x3x3 Cube.

Specialty categories and side events kept the pace brisk throughout the schedule. Oskars Kaminskis enjoyed a double triumph, winning the 2x2x2 Cube in 2.66 seconds ahead of Dreijers at 2.79 and Lembergs at 2.81, before capturing the Skewb final with a 3.85 average. Frederiks Rūdolfs Kronbergs led the 3x3x3 One-Handed event with a 14.11 average, outperforming Kristiāns Pietkuns at 16.19 and Lembergs at 16.28. In Clock, Mihails Teļkijevs took first place with a 4.82 average, while Rūdolfs Vīnkalns won Megaminx with a 45.54 average.

Memory and sightless execution rounded out the weekend with several demanding disciplines. In 3x3x3 Multi-Blind, Vilius Ribinskas successfully solved 9 out of 9 cubes in a time of 46:21. Mikus Lembergs dominated the remaining blind events, winning 3x3x3 Blindfolded with a 1:10.22 average, 4x4x4 Blindfolded with a 6:07.25 single over Ribinskas at 9:31.88 and Jānis Zirnis at 10:24.00, and 5x5x5 Blindfolded with an 11:14.00 single.

The three days of speed cubing at Latvijas Čempionāts 2025 concluded with host nation Latvia amassing 36 total podium places, joined on the leaderboards by Lithuania with 12, Poland with 5, and France with 1. From the sheer physical grind of the large cubes to rapid short-format sprints, this speedcubing competition showcased depth across the Baltic region as competitors look ahead to the next cubing competition on the calendar.