Novo Mesto Open 2024

Seventy-seven competitors gathered across May 11 and May 12 for the Novo Mesto Open 2024, filling the hall at Osnovna šola Bršljin for an action-packed weekend of speedcubing. The schedule packed 23 rounds across 10 official events into two days in Novo Mesto, Slovenia. For many in the room, stepping up to the timer at a WCA competition brought a mix of fresh nerves and high focus, setting an energetic tone from the opening scrambles of the morning.

The main event spotlight fell on the classic 3x3x3 Cube, where 72 solvers contested three tense rounds. Austria's Alwin Federsel captured the title with a winning average of 7.35 seconds, anchored by a best single of 5.67 seconds. Alexey Tsvetkov took the runner-up position with a 7.66 average, while Bálint Csengő of Hungary completed the podium in third place at 8.04. The 3x3 results capped an impressive showing at the tournament, highlighting top-tier European talent in the 2024 season.

Alwin Federsel was not finished with just one victory, also claiming the 2x2x2 Cube crown with a razor-thin margin. His winning average of 1.93 edged out Alexey Tsvetkov, who finished second with a 1.95 average, while Gergely Novotni secured third place with 2.60. Over three rounds of 2x2 solving among 68 competitors, both Federsel and Tsvetkov delivered sub-two-second averages to keep the top of the standings exceptionally tight.

Gergely Novotni delivered an extraordinary multi-puzzle showcase across the weekend, winning five separate disciplines. The Hungarian standout swept the big cubes, claiming first place in 4x4x4 Cube with a 28.59 average ahead of Jakov Srečković at 31.62 and Bálint Csengő at 32.19. Novotni continued his winning run in 5x5x5 Cube with a 56.06 average, took 6x6x6 Cube in 1:41.98, and capped the marathon solves by winning 7x7x7 Cube with an average of 2:44.56. He also conquered the twelve-sided Megaminx, averaging 39.88 to finish ahead of Markus Otten and Matic Omulec.

Away from the top of the standings, the heart of the cubing competition unfolded through personal breakthroughs and bold first attempts. Nik Sušnik delivered some of the weekend's largest leaps, improving his 2x2x2 Cube personal best by 56 percent down to 4.32 seconds, dropping his 3x3x3 Rubik's Cube best by 32 percent to 27.85 seconds, and posting an 11.03 in his first ever attempt at Skewb. Gal Zalokar also made massive gains, cutting his 2x2x2 Cube personal best by 36 percent to 11.36 seconds across four events, alongside debut marks of 14.98 in Skewb and 24.45 in Clock. Marin Grgić took on eight events, securing a 22nd place finish in 3x3x3 while dropping his Skewb personal best by 38.6 percent to 8.82 and trimming his 3x3x3 single to 10.19 seconds, alongside a 32.21 debut in Square-1.

Expanding into new formats proved to be a defining theme for several experienced competitors as well. Julijan Virag tackled seven disciplines during the weekend, logging first ever attempts in Megaminx at 3:54.24, Square-1 at 2:23.50, and Clock at 41.23, while earning a 33rd place finish in 2x2x2. Izak Lepej took on six events to finish 16th in 3x3x3, establishing baseline marks with debut times of 2:39.58 in 5x5x5 Cube, 2:09.83 in Megaminx, and a 2.62 single in 2x2x2. Matej Poljanšek entered seven events at the venue, improving his Megaminx personal best by 20.3 percent to 2:41.62 while recording first official marks in Square-1 at 1:29.02 and Skewb at 8.82.

The non-cubic and specialty events delivered tight contests throughout the schedule. Jakov Srečković of Croatia captured the Clock title with a winning average of 5.84 seconds, besting Slovenia's Tajda Horvat at 6.85 and Filip Premužić at 7.08. In Square-1, Bálint Csengő secured victory with an average of 14.90 seconds and a single of 12.16 across two rounds. Jakob Kitak gave the home supporters a first-place finish in Skewb, putting together a 2.95 average to top a field of 51 competitors.

Across the two days of speed cubing, Hungary led the overall medal count with 12 podium finishes, followed by Croatia with five and host nation Slovenia with four. From the opening rounds to the final podium presentations, the Novo Mesto Open 2024 celebrated both world-class consistency and individual milestones. With 77 competitors pushing their limits across 10 distinct events, the weekend demonstrated the growing depth and enthusiasm of the regional speedcubing community.

77 tekmovalcev se je 11. in 12. maja 2024 zbralo v prostorih Osnovne šole Bršljin, kjer je potekalo tekmovanje Novo Mesto Open 2024. V hitrostnem reševanju mehanskih ugank, kjer slepo reševanje zahteva popolno zbranost, natančno pomnjenje položaja vseh ploskev in popolno vizualizacijo v mislih, so tekmovalci pokazali izjemen fokus skozi 23 tekmovalnih krogov v 10 različnih disciplinah. Vzdušje v mestu Novo Mesto, Slovenia je ponudilo razburljive boje za vsako stotinko sekunde v celotnem vikendu.

Glavna disciplina klasične Rubikove kocke tri krat tri je privabila 72 nastopajočih skozi tri kroge. Zmago je slavil Alwin Federsel iz Avstrije s povprečjem 7.35 v finalu ter najboljšim posamičnim časom 5.67. Drugo mesto je zasedel Alexey Tsvetkov s povprečjem 7.66, medtem ko je tretje mesto pripadlo madžarskemu tekmovalcu Bálintu Csengőju, ki je dosegel povprečje 8.04.

Alwin Federsel je blestel tudi v kategoriji dva krat dva, kjer je zmagal s povprečjem 1.93 in najhitrejšim poskusom 1.48. Alexey Tsvetkov je bil tik za njim na drugem mestu s povprečjem 1.95, tretje mesto pa je zasedel Gergely Novotni s časom 2.60. Ta WCA tekmovalni konec tedna je postregel z izjemno ostrim bojem prav pri manjših kockah.

Madžarski reprezentant Gergely Novotni je zaznamoval tekmovanje Novo Mesto Open 2024 z izjemno serijo zmag v večjih kockah in drugih zahtevnih disciplinah. Prvo mesto je osvojil v kategoriji štiri krat štiri s povprečjem 28.59, kjer je bil Jakov Srečković drugi z 31.62 in Bálint Csengő tretji z 32.19. Novotni je bil nepremagljiv tudi v kocki pet krat pet s povprečjem 56.06 pred Csengőjem s 57.46 in Aleksom Radovanovićem z 1:01.86.

Dominacija se je nadaljevala na velikih kockah, saj je Gergely Novotni zmagal v šest krat šest s povprečjem 1:41.98 pred Csengőjem (1:48.15) in Radovanovićem (1:51.24), ter v sedem krat sedem s časom 2:44.56 pred Radovanovićem (2:58.73) in Davidom Vujasićem (3:04.10). Novotni je slavil tudi v disciplini Megaminx s povprečjem 39.88, kjer sta stopničke dopolnila Markus Otten (46.69) in slovenski predstavnik Matic Omulec (47.37).

Za rezultatskimi tabelami se skrivajo navdihujoči dosežki posameznikov, ki vztrajno izboljšujejo svoje čase. Jakob Sojar Voglar je v Novem mestu nastopil v treh disciplinah, zabeležil svoj prvi uradni poskus v disciplini Skewb s časom 28.41 ter postavil nova osebna rekorda v dveh disciplinah: v kocki dva krat dva je s časom 25.88 prejšnji dosežek popravil za 42.4 odstotka, pri tri krat tri pa z 1:22.82 dosegel 18.1 odstotka boljši čas. Urh Remic se je preizkusil v štirih disciplinah, zabeležil 28. mesto pri tri krat tri, premierni nastop v Skewbu z 10.85 ter dva osebna rekorda z 3.72 pri dva krat dva (37.9 odstotka hitreje) in 11.85 pri tri krat tri (26.2 odstotka hitreje). Simon Mars je tekmoval v kar osmih disciplinah, prvič uspešno zabeležil čas v kocki pet krat pet z 2:17.06 in Square-1 s 54.64 ter postavil nov osebni rekord v disciplini Skewb z rezultatom 4.71, kar je 21.6 odstotka hitreje od prejšnjega.

Tinej Zapušek se je podal v štiri discipline in uspešno opravil svoja prva nastopa v kocki štiri krat štiri s časom 2:00.87 ter Skewbu z 9.61, hkrati pa pri tri krat tri izboljšal osebno znamko za 9.9 odstotka na 30.38. Nik Pevec je nastopil v treh disciplinah, prvič zabeležil uradna časa v Skewbu z 20.79 in v kocki dva krat dva s 5.22 ter pri tri krat tri postavil nov osebni rekord 20.38 (10.2 odstotka boljše). Tilen Kaluža je v dveh disciplinah dosegel svoj prvi rezultat pri dva krat dva s 6.77 ter izboljšal svoj najboljši čas pri tri krat tri na 24.38, kar je 33.8 odstotka hitreje kot prej.

V posebnih disciplinah je slovenski uspeh dopolnil Jakob Kitak z zmago na Skewbu s povprečjem 2.95, v konkurenci 51 tekmovalcev. Pri uri Clock je slavil Jakov Srečković s povprečjem 5.84 pred domačo tekmovalko Tajdo Horvat (6.85) in Filipom Premužićem (7.08). V disciplini Square-1 je zmagal Bálint Csengő s povprečjem 14.90 med 30 nastopajočimi.

Po skupnem številu uvrstitev na zmagovalni oder je bila najuspešnejša Madžarska z 12 uvrstitvami, Hrvaška jih je zbrala 5, Slovenija 4, Rusija in Srbija po 3 ter Avstrija 2. Uspešno izpeljano tekmovanje Novo Mesto Open 2024 je ponovno potrdilo visoko raven organizacije tovrstnih dogodkov, kjer speedcubing združuje tekmovalno ostrino, matematično natančnost in osebne mejnike.