Villanueva Open 2026

Inside the Polideportivo Santiago Apóstol, the steady clatter of rotating plastic filled the hall as competitors gathered around the timing stations. The late summer weekend brought an energetic atmosphere to Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, Spain, where solvers from near and far readied their puzzles across two packed days from September 12 to September 13. With eight events scheduled across the weekend, the venue buzzed with focused preparation as solvers tested alignments, studied scrambles, and took their places for the official attempts.

As a pivotal late-season WCA competition on the Spanish calendar, the Villanueva Open 2026 offered participants a prime opportunity to post defining marks before the autumn schedule gets fully underway. The gathering welcomed top regional contenders alongside international presence, setting up head-to-head battles across traditional formats and side disciplines alike. With the competitive year approaching its final stretch, the event provided a crucial testing ground for established speedcubing standouts aiming to solidify their national rankings.

The premier 3x3x3 Cube event delivered sharp performances at the top of the standings. Miguel Martínez Montañes captured victory with a decisive mark of 7.43 seconds, securing the headline title in the classic Rubik's Cube discipline. Rhys Caskey of the United States followed in second place with an 8.34, while Raúl Martínez Redondo completed the podium in third with an 8.45. These 3x3 results capped a fiercely contested main event that drew intense focus across every solving station.

Miguel Martínez Montañes continued his strong showing in the 2x2x2 Cube, taking first place with a swift 1.55-second mark. Spain swept that podium entirely, as José Ángel Morales Gómez took the runner-up spot at 2.22 seconds and Manuel Prieto de Antón earned third place with a 2.46. Meanwhile, Rhys Caskey displayed remarkable consistency across multi-layered puzzles, claiming the 4x4x4 Cube victory in 27.59 seconds ahead of Raúl Martínez Redondo at 32.05 and Miguel Martínez Montañes at 32.75.

In the one-handed division, Rhys Caskey earned another title at the Villanueva Open 2026 by logging a 15.38 in 3x3x3 One-Handed. That performance narrowly edged out Manuel Prieto de Antón, who finished second in 15.40, while Miguel Martínez Montañes secured third place with 15.64. Over in the larger puzzles, Raúl Martínez Redondo controlled the 5x5x5 Cube, winning the event with a time of 57.34 seconds ahead of Rhys Caskey at 58.84 and Manuel Prieto de Antón at 1:05.64.

Raúl Martínez Redondo also captured top honors in Megaminx by finishing with a time of 39.14 seconds, followed by Hugo Barjollo Morales in second at 50.65 and Miguel Martínez Montañes in third at 57.13. Skewb brought another gold for Raúl Martínez Redondo with a time of 3.28 seconds, narrowly besting Manuel Prieto de Antón at 3.29 and Mar Gallego Vicente at 3.68. In Pyraminx, Lucía González Garcia-Moya topped the podium with a 3.22, finishing ahead of Lucas Campaniello González at 3.30 and Manuel Prieto de Antón at 3.69.

Beyond the top podium steps, significant personal breakthroughs took place throughout the field. Pablo Fernández Romero slashed his Pyraminx personal best by 55.1 percent to 4.95, improved his Megaminx by 22.1 percent to 2:21.45, entered eight events with a best finish of 30th in 5x5x5 Cube, and recorded a first official 3x3x3 One-Handed attempt of 33.53. Pablo Martín Martín cut his 2x2x2 Cube mark by 50.2 percent down to 4.61 across two events. Martín Ceballos Llergo improved his Pyraminx by 44.7 percent to 5.17, entering five events while posting first official attempts in Skewb at 8.03 and 4x4x4 Cube at 1:18.29. Raúl Lorenzo Castro lowered his 3x3x3 Cube personal best by 29.4 percent to 14.73 across six events, placing 28th in 5x5x5 Cube while registering first career marks in 3x3x3 One-Handed at 34.60 and 5x5x5 Cube at 2:57.18.

Héctor Enrique Núñez Ortega took 23.2 percent off his 3x3x3 Cube best to reach 21.01, posted a 12.72 Pyraminx personal best, and logged an initial Skewb attempt of 12.79 across four events. Adrian Castillo of Peru competed in four events, lowering his 4x4x4 Cube mark by 19.3 percent to 2:01.80, improving his 2x2x2 Cube by 17.1 percent to 6.35, and clocking a first official 3x3x3 One-Handed mark of 45.93. Ángel Conde Heras trimmed 13.1 percent off his 3x3x3 Cube time to 14.03 across three events while recording first official marks in 2x2x2 Cube at 5.25 and 4x4x4 Cube at 48.19. Hansian Chen Bernardini took on eight events, achieving a best finish of 17th in 5x5x5 Cube while logging debut official times in Skewb at 11.71, 2x2x2 Cube at 7.23, and 3x3x3 One-Handed at 31.58.

The action-packed weekend of speed cubing concluded with Spanish competitors securing twenty podium positions across the board, complemented by four podium finishes for the United States. Across eight diverse disciplines in Villanueva de la Cañada, the tournament gave competitors a prime venue to test their techniques and register official progress during the 2026 season. As the competitive year moves toward its concluding stretch, the marks recorded at the Villanueva Open 2026 will serve as an essential benchmark for the next wave of cubing competition fixtures.