Zarasai 2026

Inside the halls of Zarasų rajono savivaldybės kultūros centras, the sharp clatter of plastic mechanisms and timer pads echoed across the room on January 24, 2026. Solvers sat side by side, inspecting scrambles under bright lights before launching into rapid sequences of turns. A modest lineup of 26 competitors gathered in Zarasai, Lithuania, creating an intense, tightly packed atmosphere where every advance through the 10 scheduled rounds demanded absolute focus.

With qualification spots severely limited across the program, reaching the final round of the classic Rubik's Cube proved to be a grueling challenge. In a tournament where margin for error was virtually zero, the 3x3 results culminated in a high-stakes duel among 25 entrants across three rounds. Milvydas Džiaugys captured the title with a winning average of 9.35 and a round-best single of 8.24, edging Latvia's Roberts Dreijers who took second with 9.54 and Kristiāns Pietkuns in third at 9.99.

The competitive depth of this WCA competition continued across the side events, where Vilius Ribinskas mounted a dominant campaign. Ribinskas captured three separate titles throughout the day, showcasing versatility from the shortest solve formats to memory-intensive disciplines. In the 2x2x2 Cube, Ribinskas posted a winning average of 2.31 to prevail over Domas Prazauskas at 2.36 and Roberts Dreijers at 3.07, demonstrating how mere fractions of a second decided podium placements in the rapid event.

Ribinskas translated that sharp consistency into the larger puzzles and specialized formats later in the day. Taking first place in 5x5x5 Cube with an average of 1:05.63 and a best single of 59.42, Ribinskas led Lithuania's Viltė Klioštoraitytė at 1:13.50 and Latvia's Roberts Dreijers at 1:14.97. The Lithuanian champion also secured victory in 3x3x3 Blindfolded with a 1:13.57 average and a 1:05.03 single, outperforming Kasparas Lienys and Toms Edvards Vucens in an event where competitors must memorize the entire puzzle before donning a blindfold.

Away from the top steps of the podium, Zarasai 2026 provided a stage for remarkable individual progression and milestones across the field. Dovydas Kirbutas took on six events, securing a 10th-place finish in Square-1, recording a Clock personal best of 13.15 that was 17.5 percent faster than his previous mark, and completing his first ever attempts at 5x5x5 Cube with 2:45.60 and Square-1 with 41.55. Julius Dobilas entered five events, setting a 4x4x4 Cube debut mark of 50.23 while lowering his 2x2x2 Cube personal best by 18.2 percent to 2.51 and dropping his 5x5x5 Cube mark by 9 percent to 1:41.44. Lauris Šimkus produced an enormous 34.1 percent drop on 4x4x4 Cube with a personal best of 1:02.70, alongside a 5x5x5 Cube personal best of 3:04.00.

The progress across the lineup remained steady throughout the afternoon. Justinas Gudavičius improved his 2x2x2 Cube best by 20.5 percent down to 6.82 across his two events, while Steponas Matulevičius lowered his 2x2x2 Cube best by 16 percent to 4.98. Juozas Rudminaitis entered four events, setting personal bests in 4x4x4 Cube at 1:49.69, 2x2x2 Cube at 5.77, and Clock at 29.14. Nojus Radionovas achieved a fourth-place finish in Square-1 while setting a Clock personal best of 8.17 that was 21.2 percent faster than his prior mark and a 5x5x5 Cube best of 1:24.86. Dovydas Kaupaitis took part in his first speed cubing event, posting maiden competition times of 8.57 on 2x2x2 Cube and 29.96 on the standard cube.

Latvian competitors asserted substantial command across several podium battles at Zarasai 2026, claiming 12 total top-three finishes compared to Lithuania's 8 and Belarus's 1. Roberts Dreijers took the 4x4x4 Cube title with a 36.34 average and a 34.00 single ahead of Viltė Klioštoraitytė at 37.12 and Vladislavs Baranovs at 37.40. Dreijers also captured the Square-1 event with a 14.34 average, besting Kristiāns Pietkuns at 15.22 and Aliaksei Mankouski at 16.48, solidifying a productive multi-discipline weekend.

The Clock event delivered a podium sweep for Latvia, as Mihails Teļkijevs took the top spot with an average of 6.02 and a tournament-best single of 4.78, holding off Emanuels Stupelis at 7.28 and Toms Edvards Vucens at 7.33. By the time the final awards were distributed at Zarasai 2026, the seven events had tested technical agility and tactical consistency across every tier of the roster. For the speedcubing community gathered in northern Lithuania, the hard-fought rounds provided a definitive standard to build upon as the calendar unfolds.