Slovenian Nationals 2025

Inside the halls of Osnovna šola Franceta Prešerna, the rhythmic clack of turning plastic echoed across every table as timers flashed green and red throughout the weekend. From August 29 to August 31, a total of 125 competitors gathered in Maribor, Slovenia, for three days of intense solving across 16 events and 36 rounds. Spectators and participants packed the staging area, watching closely as the final rounds came down to fractions of a second on the competition mat.

The tightest battle of Slovenian Nationals 2025 unfolded in the 4x4x4 Cube final, where the top two competitors were separated by mere hundredths of a second. Thomas Strasser of Austria clinched victory with a winning average of 28.28 seconds, setting a best single solve of 23.16 along the way. Gergely Novotni of Hungary pushed the contest to the wire, finishing second with an average of 28.44 seconds. Alexey Tsvetkov rounded out the podium in third place with a 29.05 average, capping an exceptionally fast 94-competitor bracket.

Alexey Tsvetkov proved to be a dominant force throughout the speedcubing weekend, taking home multiple titles across different categories. In the premier 3x3x3 Cube event, Tsvetkov secured first place with an average of 5.88 seconds and a best single of 5.77 across four grueling rounds featuring 124 competitors. The 3x3 results placed Hungary's Dávid Szabó second with an average of 6.96 seconds, while Gábor Slezák took third at 7.49 seconds. Tsvetkov also dominated the traditional Rubik's Cube variations, winning 3x3x3 One-Handed with an average of 9.53 seconds ahead of Matej Marčok and Oliver Fritz.

Tsvetkov continued his winning run into the shorter events at this WCA competition, taking the 2x2x2 Cube title with an average of 1.26 seconds and a best single of 0.87. Marcel Ručigaj earned second place with a 1.77 average, while Ádám Szabó followed in third with 1.89. In Pyraminx, Tsvetkov grabbed another victory with a winning average of 1.72 seconds, while Jakob Kitak claimed the Skewb title for the home nation, averaging 2.82 seconds to lead a field of 96 solvers.

Away from the top of the podiums, the cubing competition saw remarkable personal milestones across every stage. Fabijan Kosar produced massive progress, cutting his 3x3x3 One-Handed personal best to 40.43 seconds, which was 58 percent faster than his previous mark of 1:36.17, while also logging his first ever official attempts at Skewb with a 6.69 single and 4x4x4 Cube with a 1:01.53. Jaka Horvat entered 10 separate events, knocking his Clock personal best down to 13.89 seconds, an improvement of 46.8 percent, alongside his first ever attempts at Square-1 with a 1:17.19 and Skewb with a 12.68. Nikolas Akhapkin registered a huge leap in 3x3x3 One-Handed with a 16.64 personal best, 42.7 percent faster than before, while improving his Pyraminx mark to 5.54 and taking his first official turn at 5x5x5 Cube in 1:29.24.

Other dedicated solvers embraced extensive event schedules and new challenges in Maribor. Tom Macele took on 12 events across the weekend, recording a best finish of 41st in 6x6x6 Cube while making his first ever official attempts at Skewb in 10.79, 6x6x6 Cube in 3:56.77, and 7x7x7 Cube in 8:03.44. Niklas Lazov tackled seven events at Slovenian Nationals 2025, recording his first official attempts at 4x4x4 Cube with 1:29.52, 3x3x3 One-Handed with 51.28, and Skewb with 11.43. Hana Atalić stepped up across six events, posting debut attempts in Skewb at 7.90, 3x3x3 One-Handed at 54.33, and Clock at 13.51.

The big cube categories highlighted the technical versatility required in modern speed cubing. Oskar Vidiček captured three distinct titles, winning the 5x5x5 Cube with an average of 50.15 seconds, Megaminx with a 36.12 average, and the 7x7x7 Cube with a 2:36.50 average. Gergely Novotni led the 6x6x6 Cube bracket with an average of 1:39.78 and a single of 1:31.42. In the twisting puzzle events, Piotr Olszewski took top honors in Clock with a 4.76 average, while Maciej Spirydowicz won Square-1 with a 7.99 average, just ahead of Łukasz Dubicki at 8.67 and Anton Kokalj Pezzano at 9.02.

Blindfolded solving demanded immense focus, and Simon Praschl delivered a complete sweep of all four memory events. Praschl won 3x3x3 Blindfolded with a 19.35 average, overcoming Jakov Srečković and Alexander Bóna, before securing 4x4x4 Blindfolded with a winning single of 1:41.84 and 5x5x5 Blindfolded with a 3:25.42 single. In 3x3x3 Multi-Blind, Praschl solved 43 out of 55 cubes in 59:44, edging Srečković who managed 38 out of 45 in 59:48, with Thomas Strasser taking third with 23 out of 27.

Across the international medal tally, Hungary collected 10 podium finishes, Austria and Slovenia secured 9 each, Germany earned 7, Russia claimed 6, and Poland took 4. With memorable battles, broad event participation, and dozens of personal breakthroughs across all three days, Slovenian Nationals 2025 concluded as a major showcase of talent in Maribor.

125 tekmovalcev se je ob zaključku poletnega tekmovalnega koledarja zbralo v štajerski prestolnici, kjer se je od 29. do 31. avgusta odvijalo tridnevno državno prvenstvo v hitrostnem reševanju rubikove kocke. Tekmovanje Slovenian Nationals 2025 je v prostorih Osnovne šole Franceta Prešerna gostilo 16 disciplin in kar 36 tekmovalnih krogov. Za številne tekmovalce je bil ta vikend v mestu Maribor, Slovenia ključni tekmovalni mejnik celotnega leta 2025, kjer so se zbrali najboljši domači in tuji mojstri vrtenja ugank.

Osrednja disciplina klasične kocke 3x3x3 je ponudila izjemen obračun skozi štiri kroge med 124 nastopajočimi. Zmago si je z osupljivim povprečjem 5.88 sekunde ter najboljšim posameznim časom 5.77 sekunde zagotovil Alexey Tsvetkov. Drugo mesto je osvojil Dávid Szabó s povprečjem 6.96, tretje pa Gábor Slezák s povprečjem 7.49 sekunde. Tsvetkov je svojo izjemno formo potrdil še v treh drugih disciplinah, saj je zmagal pri kocki 2x2x2 s povprečjem 1.26, na piramidi s povprečjem 1.72 ter pri enoročnem reševanju 3x3x3 One-Handed s časom 9.53 sekunde.

V kategorijah večjih kock sta izstopala Oskar Vidiček in Thomas Strasser. Vidiček je dominiral v treh različnih dogodkih, saj je slavil na kocki 5x5x5 s povprečjem 50.15 sekunde, na kocki 7x7x7 s časom 2:36.50 ter na dvanajststrani rubikovi kocki Megaminx s povprečjem 36.12 sekunde. Thomas Strasser je po treh krogih osvojil zmago na kocki 4x4x4 s povprečjem 28.28 sekunde, pred Madžarom Gergelyjem Novotnijem, ki je zabeležil 28.44, in Tsvetkovom s časom 29.05 sekunde. Novotni se je na vrh zavihtel pri kocki 6x6x6 s povprečjem 1:39.78.

Na slepih preizkušnjah je absolutno prevlado prikazal avstrijski tekmovalec Simon Praschl, ki je osvojil vse štiri zlate lovorike v tej kategoriji. Pri klasičnem slepem reševanju 3x3x3 Blindfolded je zmagal s povprečjem 19.35 sekunde pred Jakovom Srečkovićem, ki je dosegel 20.15. Praschl je v izjemno zahtevnem večkratnem slepem reševanju uspešno sestavil 43 od 55 kock v času 59:44. Poleg tega je slavil še pri slepem reševanju kocke 4x4x4 s časom 1:41.84 in kocke 5x5x5 z rezultatom 3:25.42.

Uspešen konec tedna so zaznamovali tudi zmagovalci preostalih specializiranih disciplin, kjer je konkurenca prav tako postregla z izjemnimi časi. Na uganki Skewb je domače občinstvo razveselil Jakob Kitak, ki je zmagal s povprečjem 2.82 sekunde. Na Clocku je slavil Piotr Olszewski s povprečjem 4.76 sekunde, medtem ko je disciplino Square-1 dobil Maciej Spirydowicz s povprečjem 7.99 sekunde pred rojakom Łukaszem Dubickim in slovenskim predstavnikom Antonom Kokaljem Pezzanom, ki je zabeležil 9.02 sekunde.

Rezultatske tabele pa skrivajo številne osebne zgodbe o velikem napredku tekmovalcev, ki so ta vikend dosegli svoje najboljše dosežke. Filip Judež je nastopil v kar 13 disciplinah, pri čemer se je prvič v karieri preizkusil v slepem reševanju 5x5x5 Blindfolded s časom 31:20.00, obenem pa z rezultatom 1:34.11 svoj osebni rekord v 3x3x3 Blindfolded izboljšal za kar 46.3 odstotka ter na Pyraminxu dosegel čas 3.72. Tian Hren je prav tako blestel z izjemnimi skoki v rezultatih, saj je svoj najboljši čas na kocki 6x6x6 popravil za 53 odstotkov na 2:30.60, na kocki 7x7x7 pa za 47.2 odstotka na 3:53.72, ob tem pa nastopil v 12 različnih disciplinah.

Tudi drugi vztrajni tekmovalci so postavili pomembne osebne mejnike na tej preizkušnji. Gašper Virant se je prvič preizkusil na kocki 5x5x5 s časom 3:17.74 in na Pyraminxu s 17.29, medtem ko je pri kocki 4x4x4 svoj prejšnji dosežek izboljšal za 16 odstotkov na 1:10.07. Leonhard Stefan Jaklitsch je vpisal svoja prva tekmovalna poskusa na Clocku s časom 29.31 in Skewbu s 24.59 ter popravil osebni rekord na Pyraminxu na 8.14. Pave Bošković je prav tako prvič uspešno tekmoval na 5x5x5 z rezultatom 2:26.98 in svoj dosežek na Clocku izboljšal za 35.9 odstotka na 15.48 sekunde, medtem ko se je Sebastian Feichtinger v 12 disciplinah premierno spopadel s kocko 6x6x6 s časom 4:02.99 in kocko 7x7x7 s časom 6:13.99.

Zaradi visoke ravni tekmovanja in široke mednarodne udeležbe je bilo prvenstvo Slovenian Nationals 2025 odličen prikaz raznolikosti, ki jo ponuja sodobni speedcubing. Po skupnem številu uvrstitev na zmagovalni oder so prednjačili tekmovalci iz Madžarske z desetimi uvrstitvami, sledili so Avstrija in Slovenija z devetimi, Nemčija s sedmimi, Rusija s šestimi ter Poljska s štirimi stopničkami. Tridnevni dogodek je zaokrožil poletni del sezone ter postavil visoka merila za prihajajoča tekmovanja pod okriljem WCA.