Nordic & Swedish Championship 2026

Nineteen point six seven moves. That was the European record average achieved by Adam Marcellus Kelly, claiming the Fewest Moves title at the Nordic & Swedish Championship 2026. While modern speedcubing relies on rapid finger execution, the Fewest Moves event offers a stark contrast. Competitors are handed a scrambled puzzle, a pen, and paper, and given an hour to devise the shortest possible solution. This cerebral challenge transformed a section of the IFU Arena in Uppsala, Sweden, into a silent examination room between May 1 and May 3. Amid the energy typical of a bustling cubing competition, Kelly demonstrated spatial reasoning to secure victory with a best single attempt of nineteen moves.

The Fewest Moves event yielded a cascade of national records alongside the continental benchmark set by Kelly. Theodor Nordstrand claimed second place while setting a Swedish national record single of eighteen moves and an average of twenty one flat. Jan Bentlage and Niklas Aasen Eliasson tied for third place, with Eliasson establishing a Norwegian national record average of twenty one point three three. Adam Bermingham secured an Irish national record single of twenty two moves. This event proved that speed cubing encompasses methodical logic just as much as rapid turning, showcasing incredible mental endurance at an officially sanctioned WCA competition.

When attention turned back to the fast paced stage, the traditional Rubik's Cube event delivered intense drama. The closely watched 3x3 results saw Kim Roger Haraldsen edge out the competition with a winning average of six point seven eight seconds, highlighted by a blistering best single of five point nine nine seconds. Vincent von Schantz finished a mere one hundredth of a second behind, establishing a Finnish national record average of six point seven nine seconds to claim silver. Herman Westerlund Kalland secured the bronze. Three hundred twenty eight competitors entered the flagship puzzle category at the competition, navigating through four highly competitive rounds.

Memory disciplines brought another layer of complexity to the weekend, requiring solvers to memorize complex letter schemes and execute their solutions blindfolded without a single peek. Martin Vædele Egdal secured victory in the standard blindfolded event with an average of twenty point three zero seconds. Daniel Wallin finished second there but dominated the larger blindfolded categories. Wallin took first place in both the four by four and five by five blindfolded events, logging a four minute and eight second single in the latter. Eskil Munthe rounded out the podiums in multiple blindfolded categories, demonstrating the immense focus required to succeed without relying on visual feedback.

Larger puzzle formats witnessed a total rewrite of the official record books during the weekend. Finnish competitor Lauri Korhonen orchestrated a spectacular campaign, securing national record averages in both the five by five and six by six events. Korhonen claimed the six by six title with an average of one minute and twenty six seconds. Arvid Ahlstrand emerged victorious in the seven by seven final with a Swedish national record average of two minutes and seven seconds, while Christian Lacle set a Togolese national record average of six minutes and fourteen seconds.

Short format disciplines tested the absolute limits of human reaction time, as competitors raced to complete solves in fractions of a second. Aarni Salakari conquered the Clock event with a winning average of two point nine two seconds. Emanuel Schelin triumphed in the two by two cube with a rapid one point one eight second average. Emil Alpsten took gold in the Pyraminx event with a two point one eight second average, while Frank Lindblom claimed the Skewb title. In the Megaminx category, William Jensen won with a winning average of thirty four point seven three seconds.

Across all seventeen events and thirty five rounds of intense competition, the geographic diversity of the participant pool was on full display. Sweden collected twenty podium placements overall, defending their home turf brilliantly throughout the competition. Finland followed with ten medals, while Denmark and Norway claimed eight and seven respective spots on the leaderboards. Representatives from the United Kingdom and Germany also managed to break into the top three standings. The three hundred thirty five participants who gathered for the Nordic & Swedish Championship 2026 delivered an unforgettable weekend of puzzle solving logic and remarkable dexterity to round out the 2026 season.