Ljubljana Blind Open 2024

A stunning 32 out of 33 cubes solved blindfolded in under an hour set the tone for an intense weekend of technical speedcubing. Inside the historic setting of the Lisztov inštitut in Ljubljana, Slovenia, competitors gathered on January 27 and January 28 for Ljubljana Blind Open 2024. The venue offered a focused atmosphere tailored for events requiring deep concentration, where thirty solvers from across the region met to test their memory and precision. Across seven challenging events and twelve scheduled rounds, the quiet room saw both masterclasses in blindfolded solving and frantic big-cube turns.

The competition spotlight fell squarely on Bálint Csengő of Hungary and Thomas Strasser of Austria, who split the majority of the weekend titles. Csengő was a dominant force across both sighted and blind events, collecting four individual gold medals. In the 6x6x6 Cube final, Csengő posted a winning average of 1:42.38 with a best single of 1:36.37, finishing ahead of Marcel Ručigaj of Slovenia and Szabolcs Szántai of Hungary. He followed that performance in the 7x7x7 Cube, taking first place with an average of 2:46.74, while Strasser took second in 3:01.93 and Szántai captured third.

Blindfolded disciplines formed the heart of this WCA competition, requiring competitors to commit scrambled puzzles entirely to memory before donning blindfolds. Thomas Strasser delivered a benchmark performance in 3x3x3 Multi-Blind, securing 32 points out of 33 attempted cubes in 56 minutes and 20 seconds. Csengő claimed the runner-up spot with 27 out of 32 in 59:47, while Simon Praschl earned third place by solving 29 out of 36 in exactly one hour. Strasser also took the title in the standard 3x3x3 Blindfolded event, posting a winning single of 19.97 seconds ahead of Csengő and Praschl.

Csengő extended his command to the larger blindfolded puzzles, which rank among the most demanding formats in speed cubing. In the 4x4x4 Blindfolded event, he claimed victory with a single time of 2:34.84, finishing ahead of Praschl and Strasser. The 5x5x5 Blindfolded contest yielded another gold for Csengő, who logged a winning time of 5:53.27. Martin Fröhlich secured second place with a mark of 7:44.20, while István Kocza took third in 12:32.00, rounding out an impressive demonstration of complex spatial recall.

The twelve-sided Megaminx provided an exciting shift in pace, with local Slovenian solvers excelling on home turf. Matic Omulec captured the event title with a winning average of 48.37 seconds and a best single of 44.93. Csengő finished close behind in second place with an average of 50.95, while Matej Bolta claimed third on the podium with a 52.92 average. The event showcased rapid turn rates and pattern recognition, contrasting sharply with the silent, stationary memorisation phases seen elsewhere throughout the weekend.

Away from the top steps of the podium, several solvers achieved significant milestones that went far beyond the main results table. Anton Kokalj Pezzano delivered the most dramatic improvement of the tournament, slashing his Megaminx personal best to 1:29.93, a massive 47.7 percent drop from his previous best of 2:51.97, while also setting a new mark of 4:39.83 in the 7x7x7 Cube and finishing 16th in 3x3x3 Multi-Blind across five entered events. Giacomo Schiava completed his first ever official attempt at 5x5x5 Blindfolded in 19:50.00 for a 6th place finish, while reducing his 4x4x4 Blindfolded personal best by 25.7 percent to 6:51.66 and cutting his 3x3x3 Blindfolded best by 13 percent to 58.42 seconds.

Other competitors also made substantial strides across the weekend schedule. Miha Korenjak tackled five events, recording his first ever official 6x6x6 Cube attempt at 6:31.55, improving his 7x7x7 Cube best by 18.5 percent to 7:43.26, and lowering his Megaminx mark by 4.5 percent to 1:57.95. Marko Obradović logged his first official 7x7x7 Cube attempt with a time of 5:34.33, improved his 6x6x6 Cube best by 15.8 percent to 4:07.68, and cut his Megaminx personal best by 10.8 percent to 1:20.56. Ágoston Török dropped his 6x6x6 Cube personal best by 14.9 percent down to 3:17.74 and improved his 7x7x7 Cube mark by 6.9 percent to 5:11.25, while Jernej Omulec bettered his 7x7x7 Cube personal best by 4.1 percent to 5:17.13.

The final medal count reflected strong representation from central European delegations, with Hungary capturing ten podium places, Austria earning eight, and host nation Slovenia securing three. From classic Rubik's Cube blindfolded solving to the mechanical endurance of the largest cubes, the schedule tested every facet of solver capability. The precise 3x3 results in the blind rounds highlighted the razor-thin margins separating top international competitors in modern speedcubing.

As the equipment was packed away at the Lisztov inštitut, Ljubljana Blind Open 2024 concluded having demonstrated exceptional technical prowess and personal milestones across the board. The 2024 season in the region opened on high competitive ground, with solvers leaving Ljubljana with new personal marks and memorable achievements.

Trideset tekmovalcev se je med 27. in 28. januarjem zbralo v Lisztovem inštitutu v prestolnici na dogodku Ljubljana Blind Open 2024. V dveh tekmovalnih dneh se je odvilo dvanajst krogov v sedmih različnih disciplinah, kjer so bili v ospredju predvsem zahtevni izzivi z zaprtimi očmi ter večje kocke. To tekmovanje v hitrostnem reševanju je ponudilo izjemno raven zbranosti, saj je vsak tekmovalec moral pokazati popoln nadzor nad prostorom in spominom, pri čemer so rezultati v uradni bazi World Cube Association potrdili izjemno visoko raven znanja.

Bálint Csengő je zaznamoval vikend z izjemno bero zmag in uvrstitev na zmagovalni oder. Madžarski tekmovalec je dominiral v disciplini 6x6x6 Cube, kjer je slavil s povprečjem 1:42.38 in najboljšim posameznim časom 1:36.37 v konkurenci štiriindvajsetih tekmovalcev. Prav tako je bil nepremagljiv pri 7x7x7 Cube z zmagovalnim povprečjem 2:46.74 in najboljšim poskusom 2:36.69. Njegov uspeh se je nadaljeval tudi pri sestavljanju na slepo, saj je zmagal v disciplini 4x4x4 Blindfolded s časom 2:34.84 ter v 5x5x5 Blindfolded z rezultatom 5:53.27.

Pri kraljevski disciplini reševanja klasične Rubikove kocke z zaprtimi očmi je blestel Thomas Strasser. Avstrijski tekmovalec je v disciplini 3x3x3 Blindfolded dosegel zmagovalni posamezni čas 19.97, medtem ko je Bálint Csengő zasedel drugo mesto s časom 21.51, tretji pa je bil Simon Praschl s časom 22.26. Thomas Strasser je svojo prevlado potrdil tudi v izjemno naporni preizkušnji 3x3x3 Multi-Blind, kjer je uspešno rešil 32 od 33 kock v času 56:20. Drugi je bil znova Csengő z rezultatom 27/32 v času 59:47, tretje mesto pa je z 29/36 v natanko eni uri osvojil Simon Praschl.

Domače občinstvo je razveselil Matic Omulec, ki je osvojil prvo mesto v disciplini Megaminx. V dveh krogih med enaindvajsetimi tekmovalci je zabeležil zmagovalno povprečje 48.37 ter najboljši posamezni čas 44.93. Na stopničkah sta se mu pridružila drugouvrščeni Bálint Csengő s časom 50.95 in tretjeuvrščeni Slovenec Matej Bolta s časom 52.92. Slovenski uspeh je dopolnil tudi Marcel Ručigaj, ki si je pri 6x6x6 Cube priboril drugo mesto s povprečjem 2:01.42, takoj za Csengőjem in pred Madžarom Szabolcsom Szántaijem, ki je dosegel 2:03.36.

Poleg boja za najvišja mesta na tekmovanju Ljubljana Blind Open 2024 je vikend prinesel vrsto osebnih mejnikov in premiernih nastopov, ki se skrivajo za uradnimi rezultati. Alessio Pandin iz Italije se je preizkusil v vseh sedmih disciplinah ter v 4x4x4 Blindfolded zasedel peto mesto z novim osebnim rekordom 6:11.26, kar je kar 19.2 odstotka hitreje od njegovega prejšnjega najboljšega časa 7:39.66, postavil pa je tudi nov osebni rekord 5:42.77 pri 7x7x7 Cube. Taiyo Berčič je uspešno opravil svoja sploh prva uradna poskusa pri kockah 6x6x6 Cube s časom 2:56.59 in 7x7x7 Cube s časom 4:26.91, ob tem pa popravil svoj osebni rekord na Megaminxu za 10.4 odstotka na 1:28.56.

Podobno uspešni so bili tudi drugi vztrajni udeleženci, ki so stopili na tekmovalni oder. Serafim Weiß iz Nemčije je zabeležil peto mesto pri 6x6x6 Cube ter dosegel nova osebna rekorda pri Megaminxu s časom 2:34.18, kar je 9.5 odstotka boljše od prejšnjega rezultata, in pri 7x7x7 Cube s časom 3:06.79, kar je 4.6-odstotno izboljšanje. Gregor Mikic je uspešno zabeležil svoj prvi uradni poskus pri 6x6x6 Cube s časom 5:32.51 ter izboljšal svoj dosežek na Megaminxu za 3.5 odstotka na 2:11.51. Philippe Schwartz iz Luksemburga je nastopil v štirih disciplinah in dosegel osmo mesto v 5x5x5 Blindfolded, medtem ko je Branko Kobal v dveh nastopih zabeležil petnajsto mesto v 3x3x3 Multi-Blind.

Pregled uvrstitev na zmagovalni oder kaže, da so madžarski predstavniki zbrali deset uvrstitev med najboljše tri, avstrijski osem, slovenski pa tri. V disciplini 7x7x7 Cube je Szabolcs Szántai zasedel tretje mesto s časom 3:02.81, medtem ko je bil Thomas Strasser drugi s 3:01.93. Pri 4x4x4 Blindfolded je Simon Praschl končal na drugem mestu s časom 3:49.74, Thomas Strasser pa je zasedel tretje mesto s časom 3:01.88. V naporni preizkušnji 5x5x5 Blindfolded sta se za Csengőjem zvrstila Martin Fröhlich s časom 7:44.20 in István Kocza z 12:32.00.

Tudi uradni pregled posebnih poskusov v 3x3x3 Blindfolded je postregel z vrsto zanimivih časov, saj so posamezne uspešne poskuse zabeležili Martin Fröhlich s časom 24.12, Šimon Borovský z 32.53, Matej Bolta s 53.72, Giacomo Schiava z 1:04.43 ter Tobias Peter z 1:14.17. Ljubljana Blind Open 2024 je tako v Lisztovem inštitutu ponudil izjemen vpogled v zbranost in natančnost, ki ju zahteva speedcubing na najvišji ravni. Ljubljana in leto 2024 sta s tem dogodkom znova dokazala privlačnost tovrstnih preizkušenj za domače in tuje tekmovalce.

Dvodnevno WCA tekmovanje se je zaključilo z bogato bero vrhunskih rezultatov in osebnih napredkov vseh nastopajočih. Ljubljana Blind Open 2024 je uspešno združil specialiste za reševanje na slepo in mojstre velikih kock v nepozabnem športnem vzdušju. Tekmovalci se po uspešnem vikendu v slovenski prestolnici že pripravljajo na prihodnje izzive v koledarju hitrostnega reševanja, kjer bodo znova lovili sekunde in nove mejnike.