Serbian Championship 2023

Sixty-three competitors gathered at the Mathematical Grammar School in Belgrade, Serbia, over the weekend of April 1 to April 2, turning the Serbian Championship 2023 into a showcase of relentless personal growth. Across 12 official events and 18 rounds of intense play, the atmosphere was defined by competitors shattering their old benchmarks and pushing speedcubing standards higher. Solvers navigated everything from compact mechanical puzzles to complex multi-layered cubes, generating standout individual marks throughout the weekend.

The 3x3x3 Cube contest, featuring 60 competitors over three rounds, delivered exceptional drama right down to the final turn. Benedek Zimanyi of Hungary secured the championship with a winning average of 8.39 seconds, supported by the weekend's best single time of 6.72 seconds. Zimanyi narrowly edged out fellow countryman Balint Csengo, who took second place with an 8.42 average, while Firmin Brault of France locked down third on an 8.59 mark. These elite 3x3 results highlighted how narrow the margins at the top of a modern cubing competition have become.

In the 2x2x2 Cube, Slovenia's Marcel Rucigaj captured the title with a swift 2.15 winning average after recording a best single of 1.44 seconds. Csengo claimed another podium spot by taking second in 2.67 seconds, followed by Hungary's Szabolcs Szantai in third with 2.75. The discipline was also marked by historical achievement for the host nation, as Jakov Ljubicic established a new Serbian national record average of 2.33 seconds, complemented by a sharp 1.73 single to cement his status among the standout domestic performers.

Beyond the traditional Rubik's Cube categories, the side events brought exceptional variety and sharp execution. Matej Marcok claimed the 3x3x3 One-Handed event with a 13.13 average, while Bogdan Cumic won Megaminx with a 45.47 mark and Szabolcs Szantai captured Square-1 in 10.63. In the 3x3x3 Blindfolded event, Jakov Sreckovic earned victory with a single solve of 26.15 seconds, navigating the entire memorisation and execution process without sight.

Hungary's Bence Barat delivered a commanding sweep of the large cubes at the Serbian Championship 2023. Barat took the 5x5x5 Cube title in 1:03.15, besting Csengo's 1:03.47 and Brault's 1:07.67. He followed that up with a first-place average of 1:51.18 in the 6x6x6 Cube and capped his run by securing the 7x7x7 Cube title in 2:52.93, edging Italy's Vincenzo Maria Gammino who finished in 2:53.70. Balint Csengo added to his versatile podium haul by winning the 4x4x4 Cube with a 31.11 average.

Beneath the podium battles, the true spirit of speed cubing shone through dramatic personal leaps across the roster. Marko Bugarski tackled five events, recording a remarkable 2.26 single in 2x2x2 Cube that was 59 percent faster than his prior best of 5.51, alongside a 16.64 3x3x3 Cube solve that improved his personal best by 13.2 percent and his first ever attempt at 3x3x3 One-Handed in 42.73. Petar Jelicic took on four events, dropping his 3x3x3 Cube record by 46.6 percent to 16.08 from 30.10, cutting his Pyraminx best by 38 percent to 11.86, and registering a first ever attempt at 4x4x4 Cube in 1:37.91. Luka Milosevic registered a 26.3 percent improvement on 2x2x2 Cube with a 6.77 single, while completing his first ever attempt at Pyraminx in 7.87 and his first ever attempt at 4x4x4 Cube in 2:03.82.

The progress continued with Bogdan Ivanovic, who competed in five events and achieved a 37.3 percent drop in 3x3x3 One-Handed down to 1:13.43 from 1:57.09, improved his 2x2x2 Cube mark to 6.21, and recorded an 8.81 in his first ever attempt at Skewb. Kosta Davcevski slashed his 3x3x3 Cube mark by 35.8 percent to 20.54 from 31.98 and completed his first ever attempt at Skewb in 9.22. Aleksa Dimitrijevic took on seven events, slicing his 3x3x3 One-Handed personal best by 39.4 percent down to 37.78 from 1:02.33, while logging a first ever attempt at 5x5x5 Cube in 2:33.40 and Skewb in 15.22. Petar Ignjatovic embraced five events, delivering a first ever attempt at Skewb in 12.34, a first ever attempt at Pyraminx in 13.02, and a first ever attempt at 3x3x3 One-Handed in 1:13.77.

Short-format puzzles also produced intense racing in Belgrade. Bence Kiacz won the Skewb final with an average of 3.54 seconds, leading Szantai and Csengo. In Pyraminx, Djordje Timotijevic took gold for Serbia with an average of 4.25 seconds, narrowly outpacing compatriot Luka Lukic who finished in 4.27 seconds, while Csengo collected third place in 4.33 seconds. Across all brackets, the Serbian delegation made 5 podium appearances alongside strong representation from international travellers.

When the final round concluded, the Serbian Championship 2023 stood as a vibrant celebration of measurable personal progress. From national records to dozens of individual lifetime bests across all tiers of experience, the 2023 edition proved that the real measure of a WCA competition is found in each solver pushing past their own previous limits.

U apsolutnoj tišini koja traži nepogrešivo pamćenje i vrhunsku prostornu orijentaciju, Jakov Srečković je izveo najupečatljiviji potez vikenda zabeleživši pojedinačno vreme od 26.15 sekundi u disciplini 3x3x3 Blindfolded. Rešavanje kocke zatvorenih očiju zahteva potpunu koncentraciju i mentalnu disciplinu, pa je ovaj trijumf u konkurenciji 21 takmičara postavio ton za celokupan turnir Serbian Championship 2023. Takmičenje je održano u gradu Belgrade, Serbia, u prostoru koji pruža Matematička gimnazija, gde se od 1. do 2. aprila 2023. godine okupilo 63 takmičara spremnih za izazove na 18 rundi u 12 disciplina.

Ovo zvanično WCA takmičenje donelo je izuzetno dinamične okršaje u klasičnim formatima slaganja slagalica. U glavnoj kategoriji 3x3x3 Cube, gde se nadmetalo čak 60 učesnika kroz tri runde, Benedek Zimányi je osvojio prvo mesto sa pobedničkim prosekom od 8.39 sekundi i najboljim pojedinačnim slaganjem od 6.72 sekundi. Bálint Csengő je zauzeo drugo mesto sa prosekom 8.42, dok je Firmin Brault završio na trećoj poziciji sa prosekom 8.59 sekundi, čime je zaključen izuzetno tesan finiš na postolju.

Bálint Csengő je tokom vikenda imao izuzetno naporan raspored, ali je stigao do pobede u disciplini 4x4x4 Cube uz prosek 31.11 i pojedinačni rezultat 30.14 sekundi. U istoj disciplini Firmin Brault je bio drugi sa 32.31, a Szabolcs Szántai treći sa 35.95 sekundi. Pored toga, Szabolcs Szántai je osigurao pobedu u kategoriji Square-1, ostvarivši pobednički prosek od 10.63 i pojedinačno vreme od 9.07 sekundi u konkurenciji 22 takmičara, potvrdivši svoju veštinu na složenim mehanizmima.

Velike kocke donele su potpunu dominaciju jednog takmičara, pošto je Bence Barát osvojio zlato u sve tri najzahtevnije višeslojne kategorije. U disciplini 5x5x5 Cube pobedio je sa prosekom 1:03.15 ispred Bálinta Csengőa (1:03.47) i Firmina Braulta (1:07.67). Na kocki 6x6x6 Cube trijumfovao je uz 1:51.18, dok je Bálint Csengő bio drugi sa 1:56.24, a Vincenzo Maria Gammino treći sa 2:07.86. Barát je kompletirao het-trik na 7x7x7 Cube sa pobedničkim prosekom 2:52.93, tesno ispred Gammina koji je zabeležio 2:53.70 i Csengőa sa 3:01.38.

Takmičenje u brzom rešavanju zvanom speedcubing donelo je i sjajne rezultate na manjim i sporednim slagalicama. U disciplini 2x2x2 Cube slavio je Marcel Ručigaj sa prosekom 2.15 sekundi, ispred Csengőa sa 2.67 i Szántaija sa 2.75 sekundi. Tokom ove discipline postavljen je i novi nacionalni rekord za Srbiju koji je ostvario Jakov Ljubicic sa prosekom 2.33 sekunde. U disciplini Skewb pobedu je odneo Bence Kiácz sa prosekom 3.54 sekunde, ispred Szántaija sa 4.17 i Csengőa sa 5.42 sekunde. Bogdan Čumić je pobedio na Megaminxu sa prosekom 45.47 sekundi.

Pored borbi na vrhu tabele, Serbian Championship 2023 je doneo niz ličnih uspeha i hrabrih nastupa takmičara koji grade svoj put kroz speedcubing scenu. Bogdan Belic je nastupio u 5 disciplina i ostvario ogroman napredak u 3x3x3 One-Handed sa vremenom 47.38 sekundi, što je 51.4 odsto brže od njegovog ranijeg rezultata, uz novi lični rekord od 11.84 na 3x3x3 Cube i 22. mesto na Megaminxu. Vuk Rakić je upisao svoj prvi pokušaj na Skewbu sa 15.87 sekundi, popravivši lični rekord na 3x3x3 Cube za 27.1 odsto na 24.81 i na 2x2x2 Cube na 10.02 sekunde.

Veliki iskorak napravio je i Gergő Tóth kroz 6 disciplina, zabeleživši 58.09 sekundi u svom prvom pokušaju za 3x3x3 One-Handed, uz poboljšanje na 2x2x2 Cube na 2.84 sekunde i 4x4x4 Cube na 1:56.02. Marc Radu Carceie se takođe takmičio u 6 disciplina, spustivši vreme na 2x2x2 Cube na 6.85 sekundi što je 37.3 odsto brže od prethodnog, uz lične rekorde na 3x3x3 One-Handed od 1:50.49 i 3x3x3 Cube od 35.78 sekundi. Alexandru Tudor Carceie je zabeležio svoje prve zvanične pokušaje na 3x3x3 Cube sa 1:03.55 i 2x2x2 Cube sa 25.54 sekundi, dok su Nikola Belic sa 1:02.12 na 2x2x2 Cube i 1:09.06 na 3x3x3 Cube, kao i Milan Ješić sa 25.52 na 3x3x3 Cube, uspešno odradili svoje prvo WCA takmičenje.

Domaći takmičari su imali zapažene nastupe i u drugim kategorijama, gde je popularna Rubikova kocka privukla pažnju mnogih ljubitelja slagalica. U disciplini Pyraminx pobedu je odneo Đorđe Timotijević sa prosekom 4.25 sekundi, u izuzetno neizvesnom duelu protiv sunarodnika Luke Lukića koji je zabeležio 4.27 sekundi, dok je Csengő bio treći sa 4.33 sekunde. U jednoručnom slaganju 3x3x3 One-Handed najbolji je bio Matej Marčok sa prosekom 13.13 i najboljim pojedinačnim vremenom od 12.03 sekundi.

Gledano po ukupnom broju osvojenih podijuma, Mađarska je prednjačila sa 20 odličja, Srbija je osvojila 5, Slovenija 4, Francuska 4, Italija 2 i Hrvatska 1 podijum. Dvodnevni Serbian Championship 2023 je kroz 18 rundi još jednom potvrdio visok nivo organizacije i takmičarskog duha u prestonici, ostavljajući iza sebe niz ličnih i državnih rekorda koji postavljaju sjajne temelje za narednu sezonu.