Osijek Open 2025

Inside the halls of Ekonomski fakultet u Osijeku, the steady clatter of turning layers filled the air as 56 competitors gathered for a packed weekend of puzzles in Osijek, Croatia. Across February 22 and February 23, the venue hosted 19 separate rounds of action, bringing together dedicated solvers from across the region and beyond. It was a classic display of modern speedcubing, where seasoned champions rubbed shoulders with emerging talent on the official stage.

While tournament standings often celebrate gold medals, the real pulse of this cubing competition was found in the massive leaps made across personal records. For dozens of participants, the 2025 gathering served as a benchmark for personal progression, proving that months of practice away from the spotlight could translate into dramatic drops on the official timer across ten different events.

Under the bright lights of the stage, several competitors delivered standout breakthroughs that highlighted the depth of the field. Patrik Hostić slashed his Skewb personal best down to 6.54 seconds, an astonishing 58.9 percent improvement over his previous 15.93, while also recording a 19.43 personal best in the 3x3x3 Cube and finishing 12th in 3x3x3 Blindfolded across six events. Diego Milohanić entered three disciplines and trimmed 44.9 percent from his 2x2x2 Cube mark with a 2.55, alongside a 13.10 in the main event and 1:00.32 in the 4x4x4 Cube. Nikola Vuković improved his Skewb standard by 42.2 percent to 7.36 and brought his 3x3x3 single down to 18.98, while Vigo Pernar took on seven events, recording a 38 percent drop on Square-1 to reach 25.94 for a 16th-place finish, in addition to marks of 2.61 in 2x2x2 and 12.13 in 3x3x3.

The progress continued across the larger puzzles and debut attempts. Karlo Tretinjak took on six disciplines, dropping his Megaminx time by 33 percent to 1:54.07, slicing his 4x4x4 mark by 31.6 percent to 1:28.37, and logging his first official 5x5x5 Cube attempt at 3:27.71. Luka Hunjak improved his 2x2x2 best by 30.8 percent to 4.72, took his 5x5x5 time down to 3:51.36, and posted an 11.79 in his first ever Skewb appearance. Csaba Zsiborás tackled eight events, setting a 6x6x6 personal best of 2:41.61, registering a 4:02.81 in his first official 7x7x7 Cube solve, and securing 11th place. Leo Adžijević balanced seven categories, claiming 18th place in Square-1 with a debut 1:12.70, while recording first-time attempts in the 5x5x5 Cube at 3:27.78 and Skewb at 9.23.

The premier event brought heart-stopping tension as 55 competitors vied for the top spot on the traditional Rubik's Cube. The decisive final produced one of the closest 3x3 results of the season, with Dávid Szabó of Hungary capturing victory with a 7.65 average and a best single of 6.92. Gábor Slezák of Hungary pushed him to the limit, finishing just one hundredth of a second behind at 7.66, while Lir Ukaj of Kosovo secured the bronze medal with a 7.71 average.

Dávid Szabó doubled his gold medal haul by dominating the Skewb event, posting a winning average of 3.77 and a single of 3.04 across two rounds of play. Meanwhile, Finland's Niko Ronkainen showcased blistering speed in the 2x2x2 Cube, topping a 51-person field with a 2.26 final average after posting a best single of 1.71. Gábor Slezák took second on 2.41, with András Orbán taking third with a 2.67 average.

Big cubes and complex geometry belonged entirely to Gergely Novotni, who assembled an extraordinary five-gold campaign during Osijek Open 2025. Novotni swept the 4x4x4 Cube in 28.73, the 5x5x5 Cube in 51.41, the 6x6x6 Cube in 1:40.46, and the 7x7x7 Cube in 2:51.37, while also mastering the Megaminx with a 35.88 average. Croatia's David Vujasić mounted a formidable challenge across the big puzzles, taking second in 6x6x6, 7x7x7, and Megaminx, third in 5x5x5, and earning a gold medal of his own by winning Square-1 with a 15.61 average.

Specialty categories rounded out the busy schedule at this sanctioned WCA competition. In the 3x3x3 Blindfolded discipline, which demands flawless spatial memorisation and total focus without sight, Balázs Polyák of Hungary earned the victory with a 58.28 single solve. Dušan Zakelšek of Slovenia took second with a 1:06.46, while Croatia's Filip Bečić claimed third place with a 1:28.15 effort.

Across the two days of speed cubing, Hungary led the overall podium tallies with 14 top-three placements, followed by Croatia with seven and Slovenia with three. Osijek Open 2025 concluded having delivered remarkable individual breakthroughs alongside high-calibre elite solving, setting a high standard for competitors as they head back to training.

Pedeset i šest natjecatelja okupilo se u gradu na Dravi kako bi kroz devetnaest napetih rundi odmjerilo snage u deset disciplina. Dvodnevni raspored natjecanja Osijek Open 2025, održanog 22. i 23. veljače na Ekonomskom fakultetu u Osijeku, donio je iznimno visoke uloge u formatu eliminacijskih faza. Sudionici iz nekoliko europskih zemalja tražili su svoje najbolje rezultate, a borba za svaku stotinku sekunde došla je do punog izražaja već u uvodnim krugovima.

U klasičnoj disciplini 3x3x3 Cube, gdje se natjecalo 55 sudionika, pobjedu je odnio Dávid Szabó s prosjekom 7.65 i najboljim pojedinačnim slaganjem od 6.92 sekunde. Završnica je bila nevjerojatno tijesna jer je drugoplasirani Gábor Slezák ostvario prosjek 7.66, dok je Lir Ukaj zauzeo treće mjesto s prosjekom 7.71. Natjecanje u brzinskom slaganju poznatom kao speedcubing pružilo je publici u Osijeku vrhunsku demonstraciju preciznosti i smirenosti pod pritiskom štoperice.

Najuspješniji pojedinac cijelog vikenda bio je Gergely Novotni koji je osvojio čak pet zlatnih medalja na većim i kompleksnijim slagalicama. Novotni je slavio u 4x4x4 Cube s prosjekom 28.73, ispred Slezáka koji je ostvario 28.78. Na 5x5x5 Cube Novotni je bio neprikosnoven s prosjekom 51.41, a vrhunske izvedbe ponovio je u 6x6x6 Cube s prosjekom 1:40.46 te u 7x7x7 Cube s vremenom 2:51.37. Svoju seriju zaključio je pobjedom u Megaminxu uz prosjek 35.88.

Domaći predstavnik David Vujasić ostvario je niz izvanrednih nastupa osvojivši zlato u Square-1 disciplini s prosjekom 15.61 i pojedinačnim vremenom 13.15. Vujasić je također osvojio druga mjesta u 6x6x6 Cube, 7x7x7 Cube i Megaminxu, te treće mjesto u 5x5x5 Cube. U disciplini 2x2x2 Cube prvo mjesto zauzeo je Niko Ronkainen s prosjekom 2.26, dok je u Skewbu najbrži bio Dávid Szabó s prosjekom 3.77. U disciplini 3x3x3 Blindfolded, gdje je pamćenje ključno, slavio je Balázs Polyák s pojedinačnim vremenom 58.28.

Iza borbi za postolja odvijale su se osobne pobjede i značajni napreci. Jan Gluhak popravio je svoj osobni rekord na 2x2x2 Cube za 42.4 posto ostvarivši vrijeme 2.72. Vedran Maljevac nastupio je u pet disciplina te postavio novi osobni rekord na 2x2x2 Cube od 3.02 sekunde, što je 39 posto brže od prijašnjeg, uz 20. mjesto u Square-1 i rekord 19.10 na 3x3x3 Cube. Lili Mihalovics popravila je Skewb rekord za 28 posto na 3.01 i 4x4x4 Cube za 27 posto na 58.92 uz 10. mjesto u Skewbu. Tykhon Sadovnyk poboljšao je svoj Skewb rezultat za 32.9 posto na 7.31 i 3x3x3 Cube za 27.5 posto na 19.20.

Velike iskorake napravili su i debitanti kojima je ovo bilo prvo službeno WCA natjecanje u karijeri. Ivan Damjanović odradio je šest disciplina te upisao svoje prve službene pokušaje na 5x5x5 Cube s vremenom 4:26.87, 4x4x4 Cube s 2:16.89 i Skewbu s 13.60. Fran Vučemilović je na svom debiju zabilježio prva slaganja na 3x3x3 Cube s 35.38, Skewbu s 20.09 i 2x2x2 Cube s 11.88. Toni Vrekalović je uspješno izveo prve pokušaje na 2x2x2 Cube s 9.88, Skewbu s 11.51 i 3x3x3 Cube s 34.75, dok je Mateo Kaljević svoj premijerni nastup na 3x3x3 Cube završio s vremenom 21.09.

Ukupna statistika vikenda potvrdila je međunarodni karakter ovog natjecanja. Natjecatelji iz Mađarske osvojili su ukupno 14 postolja, dok je Hrvatska skupila 7 odličja. Slovenija je uzela 3 postolja, Finska i Kosovo po 2, a Ukrajina 1 postolje. Rubikova kocka i njezine varijacije privukle su natjecatelje svih razina znanja, od iskusnih majstora do onih koji su prvi put sjeli za službeni natjecateljski stol.

Nakon dva dana intenzivnih slaganja, uspješno organizirani Osijek Open 2025 ponudio je mnoštvo vrhunskih trenutaka i potvrdio snagu regionalne speedcubing scene. Grad Osijek, Hrvatska i dvorana Ekonomskog fakulteta pružili su odlično okruženje za provjeru forme i postavljanje novih rekorda, a natjecatelji sada nastavljaju s pripremama za sljedeće izazove u sezoni.