Macedonia Open 2023

Forty seconds and fifty-eight hundredths of a second was all the time Biant Shkololli required to solve the Rubik's Cube without sight at Macedonia Open 2023. Blindfolded solving remains one of the purest tests in speedcubing, demanding intense memorisation of piece orientations and permutations before executing high-speed algorithms in total darkness. Shkololli secured the 3x3x3 Blindfolded victory with that 40.58 single, leaving Thomas Mako in second place at 1:52.20 and Aleksandar Arsovski in third at 2:21.63 in Skopje, North Macedonia.

The one-day WCA competition took place on May 6, 2023, gathering 59 competitors at OOU Gjorgjija Pulevski. Across 8 events and 14 separate rounds, the schedule moved from memory-driven blindfolded solving to high-tempo twisting puzzles. The host country claimed a total of 12 podium places throughout the competition, while Kosovo earned 7, Serbia captured 4, and Albania took 1.

Lir Ukaj delivered a dominant sequence of performances across the traditional cubic disciplines. In the 3x3x3 Cube event, which brought together the full 59-competitor field across three rounds of play, Ukaj clinched the title with a winning average of 7.26 seconds alongside a best single of 6.97. Matej Marčok took second place with an 8.69 average, while Gjorgji Cheshmedjievski completed the podium in third with a 9.04 mark in the final 3x3 results.

Ukaj added three more titles to his ledger before the day concluded. In 2x2x2 Cube, Ukaj posted a winning average of 2.83 to edge Cheshmedjievski at 3.81 and Marčok at 3.97. He then claimed the 4x4x4 Cube victory with a 33.43 average over Cheshmedjievski, who logged 34.51, and Aleksandar Dukleski, who finished third at 38.61. In 5x5x5 Cube, Ukaj prevailed with a 1:09.57 average, holding off Dukleski at 1:10.17 and Cheshmedjievski at 1:17.06.

The remaining events saw strong individual displays across varied puzzle styles. Gjorgji Cheshmedjievski secured two gold medals of his own, taking the Pyraminx title with a 4.70 average ahead of Ukaj at 5.14 and Marčok at 5.77, before prevailing in Skewb with a 4.57 average over Nikola Nichovski and Mateo Minoski. In 3x3x3 One-Handed, Matej Marčok earned the top step with a 13.47 average, followed by Ukaj at 15.73 and Darijan Saravinov at 16.45.

Away from the finals, personal breakthroughs defined the floor in this cubing competition. Jakov Grujovski achieved a massive 3x3x3 Cube personal best of 20.52 seconds, improving by 71.2 percent over his previous best of 1:11.22, while also taking on his first ever attempt at 2x2x2 Cube with a 6.57 single. David Arnaudov dropped his 3x3x3 Cube best by 55.3 percent down to 11.51 and cut his 4x4x4 Cube mark by 51.7 percent to 59.45. Filip Pavlovski made his first attempts at Pyraminx with an 8.98 and Skewb with a 12.30, while improving his 2x2x2 Cube personal best by 58.5 percent to 5.44. Benedek Scherman made a leap in 3x3x3 Cube, posting a 26.07 personal best that was 59.7 percent faster than his previous mark of 1:04.70.

Other competitors took on extensive event programmes and new challenges with equal resolve. Marin Baholli tackled 7 events, establishing a first ever attempt in 3x3x3 One-Handed of 30.46 while earning an 8.36 personal best in Pyraminx and a 2:01.65 best in 5x5x5 Cube. Jovan Dimitrovski completed his first ever attempt at 5x5x5 Cube in 2:22.16, his first 2x2x2 Cube attempt in 3.25, and reached 6th place in 3x3x3 Blindfolded. Maja Nikolovska made her first ever attempt at 3x3x3 Blindfolded with a time of 3:35.40 to claim 5th place, alongside a 12.09 personal best on the 3x3x3 Cube. Diana Kostadinova entered 7 events, making her first 5x5x5 Cube attempt in 2:34.97 and improving her Pyraminx personal best by 28.9 percent to 4.38.

First-time participants also established their presence during the speed cubing programme. Rade Jovcev contested 5 events in his first WCA competition, recording his first attempts at 4x4x4 Cube in 2:57.49, 5x5x5 Cube in 4:51.72, and 3x3x3 Cube in 42.05. Bojan Danilovski, Kron Salihu, and Rion Jashari similarly logged their official debuts across multiple events, bringing valuable depth to the tournament tables.

With fast averages, wide participation across 8 separate categories, and high-concentration blindfolded runs, Macedonia Open 2023 offered a complete showcase of speedcubing talent in Skopje. The blend of seasoned podium contenders and determined newer solvers provided a competitive benchmark for the year ahead.