Vilnius Winter Open 2025

István Kocza delivered the most demanding individual performance of the weekend at M. Biržiškos Gimnazija, successfully solving 14 out of 16 cubes blindfolded in a time of 57:09 to claim the 3x3x3 Multi-Blind title. The feat opened a competition defined by its deep roster of non-standard disciplines. Held on January 4 and 5 in Vilnius, Lithuania, Vilnius Winter Open 2025 gathered 49 competitors for a demanding 13-event schedule across 23 rounds. The gathering highlighted how technical specialism thrives in regional speedcubing.

The niche puzzle schedule brought specialists into the spotlight across multiple distinct formats. In Square-1, Roberts Dreijers of Latvia secured the win with an average of 12.61 seconds and a best single of 10.84 seconds from a field of 26 competitors. Meanwhile, Konstantin Jaehne of Germany navigated the dials of Clock to take first place with a 5.47-second average and a single of 4.76 seconds. The 3x3x3 Blindfolded final went to Latvia's Mikus Lembergs, who secured victory with a single solve of 43.05 seconds ahead of Jaehne's 55.30 seconds and Kocza's 1:04.61.

Big cubes and extended rotation puzzles formed another key pillar of the schedule. Lithuania's Mantas Urbanavičius dominated the long-format events, capturing the 7x7x7 Cube with an average of 2:42.01, ahead of Germany's Linus Buck at 3:08.13 and Latvia's Vladislavs Baranovs at 3:18.89. Urbanavičius repeated his mastery on the 6x6x6 Cube, recording a winning average of 1:39.22 over Buck's 1:59.77. On the twelve-sided Megaminx, Urbanavičius took first place among 27 entrants with an average of 49.84 seconds, completing a rare sweep of the largest puzzles contested in the room.

Beyond the complex formats, the standard Rubik's Cube drew a field of 48 competitors across three full rounds. Urbanavičius took the premier title with a winning 3x3 results average of 7.02 seconds and a best single of 6.20 seconds. Bartosz Karpiński of Poland claimed second place in the final with an 8.22 average, while Lembergs rounded out the podium at 8.66. Karpiński had his own triumph earlier in the programme, winning 3x3x3 One-Handed with an average of 10.94 seconds, outperforming a field of 35 solvers who took on the single-handed challenge.

The smaller formats produced rapid turnarounds and razor-thin margins. In the 2x2x2 Cube final, Dreijers earned another top podium spot with a 1.95-second average, followed by Buck in second at 2.46 seconds and Lembergs in third at 3.31 seconds. Mikas Motiejuitis of Lithuania led the Pyraminx standings, winning the event with an average of 3.12 seconds against a 36-competitor field, edging Markuss Pietkuns of Latvia at 3.35 seconds and Buck at 4.34 seconds. Urbanavičius added two more titles to his ledger by taking the 4x4x4 Cube in 29.93 seconds and the 5x5x5 Cube in 56.15 seconds.

Tucked inside the extensive schedule of this WCA competition were substantial personal milestones achieved away from the main trophies. Eimantas Vansevičius took on nine events, cutting his Square-1 personal best by 48.9 percent down to 26.23 seconds while also setting bests of 2.77 seconds in 2x2x2 Cube and 59.23 seconds in 4x4x4 Cube. Milvydas Džiaugys improved his 3x3x3 One-Handed best by 47 percent to 19.70 seconds and lowered his 2x2x2 mark to 2.70 seconds. Kipras Kandrotas trimmed his 3x3x3 Cube time by 42.3 percent down to 17.31 seconds, while Povilas Žygaitis reached fourth place in Square-1, logged his first 5x5x5 Cube solve of 2:27.53, and improved his 3x3x3 mark to 11.39 seconds.

First-time event entries provided some of the most engaging moments across the venue floor. Arminas Cijunaitis entered 12 events, finishing eighth in 7x7x7 Cube, recording his first 3x3x3 Blindfolded success at 6:34.45, and carving 19.4 percent off his Megaminx best with 1:23.37. Nojus Radionovas competed in 10 events, logging maiden official results of 4:56.32 in 6x6x6 Cube, 12.87 seconds in Clock, and 1:46.48 in 5x5x5 Cube. Tomas Golubovas posted his first Clock mark at 8.27 seconds on his way to an 11th-place finish, while debutant Ignas Zachaževskis completed his first official solves across three events, including a 34.33-second 3x3x3 Cube effort.

The international delegation left a notable footprint across all disciplines, with Latvia collecting 15 podium places, Lithuania securing 12, and Germany taking eight, supplemented by two podium finishes each for Poland and Hungary. The variety of challenges assembled at Vilnius Winter Open 2025 demonstrated the broad technical scope of modern speed cubing, balancing fast-paced sprints with memory-intensive and multi-layered challenges. As the 2025 cubing competition calendar gets underway across the Baltic region, the high standard established in the capital sets a strong benchmark for the season ahead.