Serbian Championship 2024

Inside Hotel Tamiš, the tension reached a quiet peak across two full days of competition as 69 competitors gathered to test their skills over 25 scheduled rounds. Across thirteen different events, every turn of the plastic mattered, but nothing matched the suspense of the main final. The Serbian Championship 2024 brought top-tier action across every discipline, drawing contenders who pushed each bracket down to the very last solve.

The 3x3x3 Cube final went all the way to the wire, cementing one of the standout 3x3 results of the season. Alexey Tsvetkov delivered under intense pressure, locking down a tournament-winning average of 6.66 seconds and a best single solve of 5.97 seconds across three rigorous rounds. Marcel Ručigaj followed in second place with an average of 8.73 seconds, while Jakov Ljubicic secured third on the podium with an 8.86-second mark in the classic Rubik's Cube showdown.

Tsvetkov was relentless across multiple short-format puzzles throughout the weekend in Pančevo, Serbia. Beyond the premier event, he captured first place in the 2x2x2 Cube with a winning average of 1.45 seconds, outpacing Marcel Ručigaj at 2.54 and Bence Kiácz at 2.83. Tsvetkov also topped the Pyraminx with an average of 2.31 seconds, took the Skewb crown with a 2.47 average ahead of Kiácz and Viktor Nedeljković, claimed 3x3x3 One-Handed with a 12.08 average, and closed out Clock with a winning 7.30 mark.

Big cubes belonged firmly to Gergely Novotni, who assembled an impressive run of gold-medal finishes across four separate disciplines. Novotni won the 4x4x4 Cube with a 32.10-second average, prevailed in the 5x5x5 Cube final with a time of 56.81 seconds, and controlled the larger layers by capturing the 6x6x6 Cube in 1:52.47 and the 7x7x7 Cube in 2:40.41. Novotni also proved his versatility by collecting the top spot in Megaminx with a 36.55 average.

The specialised disciplines provided intense competition from start to finish. In the Square-1 event, Bence Kiácz rose above the 19-player field to claim the title with a swift 11.93-second average and a best single of 9.39 seconds. Meanwhile, the 3x3x3 Blindfolded division demanded complete spatial recall without sight, where Marcel Ručigaj secured the victory with a 1:16.23 average, highlighted by a sharp 59.65-second single solve, ahead of Ivan Miletić and Dušan Zakelšek.

Away from the top steps of the podium, several competitors delivered remarkable progress that shaped the spirit of the cubing competition. Janko Atanasovski cut his Skewb personal best to 4.60 seconds, which was 56.6 percent faster than his previous mark, trimmed his one-handed best by 54.2 percent to 31.93 seconds, and completed his first 4x4x4 Cube attempt in 1:31.95. Mateo Ismail Ratić tackled his first Clock solve in 23.55 seconds while improving his 2x2x2 best by 48.5 percent to 8.90 seconds and his Skewb best by 39.1 percent to 13.28 seconds. Nemanja Tomić reduced his Pyraminx personal best by 45 percent down to 6.15 seconds while logging first attempts in Skewb at 14.13 and Square-1 at 2:00.96. Pavle Kontic took 14th in Clock after a debut solve of 17.84 seconds and shaved 41.1 percent off his Pyraminx mark to record 4.72 seconds.

That drive to reach new milestones continued across the entire field. Maksim Lutskii took on six events over the weekend, logging debut marks of 14.47 in Skewb, 12.09 in Pyraminx, and 3:07.59 in Megaminx. Lev Smirnov (Лев Смирнов) secured an 8th-place finish in Clock, posted first-time marks in Megaminx at 2:43.39 and Square-1 at 31.52, and lowered his 2x2x2 personal best by 21.7 percent to 4.92 seconds. Kosta Davčevski registered first career attempts in Square-1 at 1:58.24 and One-Handed at 1:03.95 while taking 26 percent off his Pyraminx time at 6.35 seconds. Dimitrije Basarin completed his first Square-1 attempt in 1:01.77 and set personal bests of 4.20 in Pyraminx and 2.91 in 2x2x2 Cube.

Across the two days of April 20 to April 21, the tournament illustrated the deep international flavor of modern speedcubing. Host nation Serbia topped the overall medal tally with 13 podium places, while Hungary followed closely with 9, Slovenia took 8, Russia claimed 7, and Greece picked up 2. The diversity of puzzle sizes and formats showcased the technical depth demanded at this level.

As the final tables cleared at Hotel Tamiš, the Serbian Championship 2024 wrapped up as a true celebration of speed cubing excellence. From high-pressure clutch finishes in the headline rounds to individual milestones earned in the preliminary heats, this WCA competition provided an unforgettable showcase of talent across every turn in 2024.

Pobeda koju je Alexey Tsvetkov ostvario u glavnoj disciplini 3x3x3 Cube sa prosekom od 6.66 sekundi i najboljim pojedinačnim slaganjem od 5.97 sekundi obeležila je Serbian Championship 2024. Dok su reflektori bili upereni u semafore, temelj čitavog takmičarskog vikenda činili su organizatori, WCA delegati i neumorni volonteri. U prostoru koji nudi Hotel Tamiš, sudije i mešači kocki omogućili su besprekoran ritam kroz čak 25 rundi, pružajući takmičarima vrhunske uslove za obaranje ličnih rekorda.

Od 20. do 21. aprila, Pančevo, Serbia bilo je domaćin ovog velikog događaja u kalendaru za 2024. godinu. Ukupno 69 takmičara okupilo se kako bi se nadmetalo u 13 različitih disciplina, testirajući brzinu rešavanja najrazličitijih slagalica. Glatko vođenje rasporeda od strane organizacionog tima omogućilo je da se paralelno i efikasno odvijaju eliminacione runde i finala u svim kategorijama, od klasičnih kocki do kompleksnijih formata.

Pored trijumfa u kategoriji gde je Rubikova kocka standard, Alexey Tsvetkov je briljirao u nizu drugih formata. Osvojio je prvo mesto u 2x2x2 Cube sa prosekom 1.45, Pyraminx sa 2.31, Skewb sa 2.47, 3x3x3 One-Handed sa 12.08 i Clock sa 7.30 sekundi. U finalu 3x3x3 Cube postolje su kompletirali Marcel Ručigaj sa 8.73 i domaći predstavnik Jakov Ljubicic sa 8.86 sekundi, dok je u Skewb disciplini treće mesto pripalo Viktor Nedeljković sa prosekom 4.05 sekundi.

Gergely Novotni je prikazao apsolutnu dominaciju na velikim slagalicama, osvojivši zlata u pet kategorija. Slavio je u 4x4x4 Cube sa prosekom 32.10, Megaminx sa 36.55, 5x5x5 Cube sa 56.81, 6x6x6 Cube sa 1:52.47 i 7x7x7 Cube sa 2:40.41. U kategoriji 5x5x5 Cube drugo mesto zauzeo je Aleksa Radovanović sa 1:03.74 ispred takmičara Matic Omulec, dok je u 6x6x6 Cube Aleksandar D. Siljanoski došao do drugog mesta sa 2:00.52 ispred Radovanovića.

Bence Kiácz je odneo pobedu u Square-1 sa prosekom 11.93 sekundi, dok je Marcel Ručigaj osvojio 3x3x3 Blindfolded sa prosekom 1:16.23 i singlom 59.65 sekundi. Slepo slaganje zahteva potpunu koncentraciju i vizuelno pamćenje, a Ivan Miletić je izborio drugo mesto sa vremenom 1:12.30, dok je Dušan Zakelšek bio treći sa 2:02.17. Zbirno gledano na Serbian Championship 2024, domaći takmičari iz Srbije osvojili su 13 podijuma, Mađarska 9, Slovenija 8, Rusija 7 i Grčka 2 podijuma.

Iza borbe za medalje, ovo spidkjubing takmičenje donelo je fantastičan napredak takmičara u usponu. Vuk Grgurević je nastupio u 4 discipline i ostvario ogroman napredak, spustivši lični rekord u 4x4x4 Cube na 1:29.51 što je 46.5 procenata brže od ranijih 2:47.44, uz popravke u 2x2x2 Cube na 2.43 i 3x3x3 Cube na 11.55. Mihajlo Stamenović je odradio 9 disciplina, zabeležio svoj prvi zvanični 5x5x5 Cube rezultat od 2:03.32, zauzeo šesto mesto u 3x3x3 One-Handed i popravio rekorde na Pyraminx na 4.61 i Clock na 6.47 sekundi.

Za mnoge je ovo bilo prvo WCA takmičenje u karijeri na kom su odmah testirali svoje granice. Marko Rasic je u 6 disciplina stigao do 5. mesta u 3x3x3 Blindfolded, uz prve zvanične pokušaje u 3x3x3 One-Handed sa 1:04.15, 3x3x3 Cube sa 15.99 i 4x4x4 Cube sa 3:04.04. Vuk Krivokapić je prijavio 6 događaja i upisao debije u 3x3x3 Cube sa 17.30, 4x4x4 Cube sa 1:55.38 i 3x3x3 One-Handed sa 2:11.26. Ognjen Pejović je vozio 5 formata uz prvi 3x3x3 Cube rezultat od 28.78, Vanja Ružić 4 formata sa debijem od 26.21 na kocki 3x3x3, dok su Dimitrije Sljivic u 7 disciplina i Aćim Stokić u 6 disciplina uspešno upisali prve rezultate na velikim kockama i pomoćnim slagalicama.

Završetkom finalnih nadmetanja spuštena je zavesa na izuzetno uspešan Serbian Championship 2024. Zahvaljujući preciznoj organizaciji, posvećenim sudijama i energiji svih učesnika, Pančevo je još jednom potvrdilo status odličnog domaćina za regionalnu i međunarodnu kjubing scenu koja sa nestrpljenjem iščekuje naredne turnire.