Ropaži Mini-Open 2024

Latvian competitors delivered an overwhelming home performance at the Ropaži Mini-Open 2024, claiming 17 of the 18 available podium positions across six disciplines. Roberts Dreijers spearheaded the national charge by securing three gold medals and a silver on April 20, 2024. The single-day speedcubing gathering took place at Kafe/Bistro Vēja Ligzda in Ropaži, Latvia, bringing together 24 competitors who contested a demanding schedule of 12 rounds of puzzle solving across various formats.

The 3x3x3 Cube final served as the marquee event, where Roberts Dreijers captured the title with a winning average of 9.98 seconds, backed by an impressive 8.15 single solve. Lithuania provided the only international podium presence of the cubing competition through Viltė Klioštoraitytė, who secured second place with a 10.55 average. Vladislavs Baranovs completed the 3x3 results by finishing in third place with a 10.64 average, locking down another major hardware placement for the hosts.

The 2x2x2 Cube event demonstrated intense domestic depth, where Roberts Dreijers once again climbed to the top step with a 2.43 winning average and the best single time of 1.28 seconds. Aleksejs Oglobļins followed in second place with a 3.62 average, while Oskars Kaminskis took third with 3.76. The early stages saw rapid progress, featuring strong individual marks including a 2.26 average from Dreijers, a 3.48 average from Kaminskis, and a 4.02 average from Toms Edvards Vucens.

In the 3x3x3 One-Handed division, Roberts Dreijers sealed his triple-gold performance by recording a 16.89 average, accompanied by the fastest single solve at 15.63 seconds. Kristiāns Pietkuns claimed the runner-up spot with a 19.58 average, while Vladislavs Baranovs secured third place with a 20.64 mark. The technical demands of one-handed speed cubing highlighted the high level of execution among the top tier of local Latvian solvers throughout the rounds.

The 4x4x4 Cube contest produced the closest finish of the Ropaži Mini-Open 2024, decided by less than two tenths of a second. Vladislavs Baranovs captured the championship with an average of 39.30 seconds and a best single of 34.97, edging out Roberts Dreijers who posted a 39.48 average. Aleksejs Oglobļins took third place with a 40.71 average, rounding out an all-Latvian podium in the four-layer Rubik's Cube category.

Aleksejs Oglobļins took the Pyraminx title with an average of 4.53 seconds and a best single solve of 4.00, finishing ahead of Teo Niklāvs Mitenbergs at 5.25 and Roberts Dreijers at 5.74. In the Skewb final, Oskars Kaminskis achieved victory with a 5.11 winning average, followed by Kristiāns Pietkuns in second at 6.74 and Krišjānis Nurža in third at 6.80, completing another clean sweep of the podium spots for the Latvian contingent.

Away from the medal positions, the weekend featured significant milestones for emerging solvers who achieved substantial progress. Alberts Meistars cut his 2x2x2 Cube personal best to 4.15 seconds, a 61.9% improvement over his previous mark of 10.89, while making his first ever attempts at 4x4x4 Cube with 1:48.86 and 3x3x3 One-Handed with 1:03.29. Oskars Piebalgs contested six events and lowered his 2x2x2 Cube personal best by 45.1% to 2.81 seconds, while also trimming his 3x3x3 Cube best by 25.7% to 21.64. Gundars Zirnis made his first ever attempt at Skewb with a 12.96 result and improved his Pyraminx personal best by 27.2% to 6.69 seconds. Deividas Burniauskas took on Pyraminx for the first time, recording an 8.48 single to finish in 12th place.

Several other participants celebrated breakthroughs during this WCA competition across different brackets. Krišjānis Ambainis improved his Pyraminx personal best by 13.5% down to 8.42 seconds and earned an 11th-place finish in 4x4x4 Cube. Marks Fridmans lowered his Skewb best by 21% to 6.44 seconds and finished 4th in 3x3x3 One-Handed with a personal best of 17.55, which was 13.2% faster than before. Emanuels Stupelis logged his first ever attempts in both 4x4x4 Cube at 2:23.67 and 3x3x3 One-Handed at 40.26, while Matīss Maksis Podinskis improved his Skewb best by 18.8% to 5.73 seconds.

Debutants also made their mark at Ropaži Mini-Open 2024, with newcomers Kaspars Spāģis, Jānis Markevics, Mariss Kampenuss, Ernests Upenieks, Justīne Būce, and Mihails Teļkijevs each registering their first official times in World Cube Association competition. The meeting highlighted both high-tier Latvian talent and strong grassroots involvement as the competitive season moves forward.