Østervang Open 2024

Seven seconds and eighty-seven hundredths of a second was the final average that settled the premier contest in Roskilde, Denmark. Over the weekend of October 19 to October 20, 2024, Østervangsskolen hosted Østervang Open 2024, drawing 51 competitors across 12 disciplines. The central event came down to the wire in the third round of 3x3x3 Cube, where Martin Vædele Egdal secured the top spot on the podium with a 7.87 winning average. His final average held off Daniel Vædele Egdal, who finished runner-up at 8.17, while Daniel Heberg Jørgensen claimed third place with an average of 8.76.

The 3x3 results capped a massive slate of 24 rounds of speedcubing across two full days of competition. Martin Vædele Egdal proved to be the dominant force of the entire cubing competition, capturing seven individual titles. In the classic Rubik's Cube category, he registered the best single solve of the event at 6.00 seconds on his way to victory. He duplicated that sharp execution in 3x3x3 One-Handed, claiming first place across three rounds with a 12.11 winning average and an 11.00 single, finishing ahead of Daniel Heberg Jørgensen at 13.82 and Mathias Søndergaard Byrne at 14.67.

Across the big cube categories, Martin Vædele Egdal completed a comprehensive sweep. He secured the 5x5x5 Cube title with a 50.10 winning average, finishing clear of Magnus Søndergaard Byrne at 52.27 and Mathias Søndergaard Byrne at 55.52. In 6x6x6 Cube, he took first place with a 1:39.54 average, while Magnus Søndergaard Byrne placed second at 1:45.00 and Mathias Søndergaard Byrne took third with 1:53.66. The 7x7x7 Cube contest followed a similar pattern, as Martin Vædele Egdal won with a 2:20.46 average, flanked on the podium by Magnus Søndergaard Byrne at 2:31.62 and Daniel Vædele Egdal at 3:04.64.

The blindfolded events tested memory and poise under pressure, and Martin Vædele Egdal delivered winning performances in both. In 4x4x4 Blindfolded, he earned first place with a single time of 2:39.11, ahead of Adam Marcellus Kelly from the USA at 5:02.52 and Thor Muto Asmund at 6:01.96. The 5x5x5 Blindfolded event proved exceptionally challenging, with Martin Vædele Egdal being the lone solver to record a successful time, taking the victory with a 7:08.14 single.

The shorter formats and side events brought swift action and tight margins throughout the schedule. In 2x2x2 Cube, Adam Marcellus Kelly took the gold medal with a 1.98 winning average, leading Daniel Vædele Egdal at 2.21 and Rasmus Stub Detlefsen at 2.46. Rasmus Stub Detlefsen took his own victory in Square-1, winning the two-round event with a 6.23 average. Daniel Vædele Egdal won Skewb with a 2.97 average, while Jonathan Karniala Lehmann captured Pyraminx with a 2.61 average. In Clock, Silas Kampp Richter Lassen took top honours with a winning average of 5.32.

Beyond the championship finals, the floor saw a remarkable series of personal milestones and breakthrough attempts. Alfred Rivera took on 10 events, cutting his 6x6x6 Cube best down to 4:28.34, which was 40.8 percent faster than his previous mark, while dropping his Clock single to 11.45 for a 30.6 percent improvement and posting a first 7x7x7 Cube attempt of 6:30.67. Bobby Merlung Lykkebo entered 7 events, improving his Skewb mark by 15.8 percent to 5.07, reducing his 3x3x3 One-Handed best by 10.5 percent to 50.21, and logging a first 5x5x5 Cube solve of 3:36.20. Samuel Rafn Andreasen improved his 5x5x5 Cube personal best by 15.5 percent to 1:58.69, while also notching first career attempts in 7x7x7 Cube at 7:23.05 and Clock at 22.05.

Other competitors expanded their repertoires across new puzzles throughout the WCA competition. Konrad Boe Haugen Olsen improved his 3x3x3 Cube personal best by 12.9 percent to 14.86, lowered his Clock mark by 11.8 percent to 13.93, and logged his first attempt in 3x3x3 One-Handed at 41.27. Simon Merlung tackled 10 events, posting first-ever official attempts in Square-1 at 1:36.59, Clock at 20.30, and 6x6x6 Cube at 4:26.26. Nicklas Graae Rasmussen took on 8 events, recording first attempts in Square-1 at 1:06.17 and 5x5x5 Cube at 2:56.60 alongside a 28.05 Clock single. Emilia Agnes Kjær Wessing took on 5 events, registering first attempts at Pyraminx in 8.61, Clock in 22.59, and 5x5x5 Cube in 4:03.98, while Rita Merlung Lykkebo logged first marks in Clock at 59.31 and Pyraminx at 19.94.

The overall medal count reflected strong domestic participation, with Danish solvers collecting 33 podium places alongside 3 earned by the USA. From the rapid-fire turns of 2x2x2 Cube to the memory-intensive blindfolded categories, speed cubing at Østervangsskolen delivered a packed weekend of high-level solving. As Østervang Open 2024 came to a close, the field celebrated a weekend defined by technical mastery, broad participation across 12 events, and personal milestones throughout the order of play.

7.87 sekunder i gennemsnit sikrede Martin Vædele Egdal sejren i den klassiske 3x3x3 Rubik's Cube, da weekendens største finale blev afgjort i absolut sidste løsning. Efter tre intense runder blandt 47 deltagere holdt han akkurat Daniel Vædele Egdal bag sig, som leverede et gennemsnit på 8.17 sekunder på andenpladsen. Daniel Heberg Jørgensen tog den sidste plads på podiet med et gennemsnit på 8.76 sekunder i en finale, hvor nerverne sad helt uden på tøjet frem til den afgørende tidtagning.

Turneringen fandt sted i Roskilde, Denmark, hvor Østervangsskolen dannede rammen om Østervang Open 2024 den 19. og 20. oktober 2024. I alt 51 deltagere var samlet for at dyste på tværs af 12 forskellige discipliner og hele 24 runder. Programmet spændte vidt over både hurtige sideevents, store terninger og krævende blindfolded-udfordringer, hvilket gav publikum et omfattende indblik i moderne speedcubing.

Martin Vædele Egdal dominerede weekenden markant og sikrede sig guld i hele syv discipliner. Udover hoveddisciplinen vandt han 3x3x3 One-Handed med et gennemsnit på 12.11 sekunder foran Daniel Heberg Jørgensen på 13.82 sekunder og Mathias Søndergaard Byrne på 14.67 sekunder. På de store terninger var han ligeledes urørlig med gennemsnit på 50.10 sekunder i 5x5x5 Cube, 1:39.54 i 6x6x6 Cube samt 2:20.46 i 7x7x7 Cube.

I de to blinddiscipliner demonstrerede Martin Vædele Egdal ligeledes overskud. Han vandt 4x4x4 Blindfolded med en enkeltløsning på 2:39.11, hvor Adam Marcellus Kelly blev nummer to med 5:02.52 og Thor Muto Asmund nummer tre med 6:01.96. I 5x5x5 Blindfolded var Martin Vædele Egdal den eneste af de tre deltagere, der fik en godkendt tid på tavlen, da han gennemførte sin løsning i tiden 7:08.14 uden syn.

Blandt de øvrige discipliner bød denne cubing competition på stærke præstationer på tværs af feltet. I en lynhurtig 2x2x2 Cube-finale snuppede Adam Marcellus Kelly guldet med et gennemsnit på 1.98 sekunder foran Daniel Vædele Egdal på 2.21 sekunder og Rasmus Stub Detlefsen på 2.46 sekunder. Daniel Vædele Egdal sejrede i Skewb med 2.97 sekunder, mens Jonathan Karniala Lehmann vandt Pyraminx med 2.61 sekunder. I Clock tog Silas Kampp Richter Lassen førstepladsen med et gennemsnit på 5.32 sekunder, og Rasmus Stub Detlefsen vandt Square-1 i 6.23 sekunder.

Bag de øverste placeringer bød weekenden på bemærkelsesværdige fremskridt. Rasmus Foged Lauritzen gennemførte 8 discipliner og kappede 24.6 procent af sin personlige rekord i 6x6x6 Cube ned til 8:14.30 samt satte 4:33.18 i 5x5x5 Cube med en 21.-plads i 7x7x7 Cube som bedste resultat. Jakob Foged Lauritzen stillede op i 10 discipliner, opnåede en 18.-plads i 7x7x7 Cube og forbedrede sin personlige rekord i Clock med 18 procent til 12.37 sekunder, i 6x6x6 Cube med 17.1 procent til 4:30.03 og i 5x5x5 Cube med 16.7 procent til 1:54.36. Sigfús Flensted-Jensen deltog i 5 discipliner, sluttede som nummer 10 i Clock og skar 24.5 procent af sin Clock-rekord til 9.04 sekunder samt 23.5 procent af sin Pyraminx-rekord til 4.07 sekunder. Alfred Anthony Riise Lucas tog 10 discipliner, nåede en 7.-plads i 7x7x7 Cube og forbedrede sig 18.8 procent til 4:13.97 i 7x7x7 Cube, 11.2 procent til 3.26 i Skewb og 10 procent til 2:47.40 i 6x6x6 Cube.

Flere deltagere fik samtidig deres allerførste officielle erfaring i denne WCA competition. Abel Teglsbo debuterede i tre discipliner med sine første officielle tider på 20.18 sekunder i Skewb, 43.32 sekunder i 3x3x3 Cube og 12.60 sekunder i 2x2x2 Cube. Konrad Storgaard fik ligeledes sin turneringsdebut og satte 7.24 sekunder i 2x2x2 Cube samt 28.92 sekunder i 3x3x3 Cube. Narantulga Battulga gennemførte sine første forsøg i Pyraminx med 19.17 sekunder og 3x3x3 Cube med 56.35 sekunder, mens Valdemar Fredvig Olsen debuterede med en tid på 6.51 sekunder i Skewb.

Samlet set viste medaljefordelingen 33 podiepladser til Danmark og 3 til USA over de to konkurrencedage. Med et tætpakket skema, intense finaledueller og personlige milepæle for både etablerede navne og nye talenter cementerede Østervang Open 2024 sin plads som et af efterårets stærke samlingspunkter for det danske speedcubing-miljø.