Zreče Open 2023

Alexey Tsvetkov delivered a blazing performance across the short-format puzzles at Osnovna šola Zreče, capturing the premier 3x3x3 Cube title with a winning average of 7.30 and a best single of 6.57. Across three rounds against a field of 81 competitors, Tsvetkov set the standard for speed in Zreče, Slovenia over the weekend of June 17 to June 18. His steady hands in the final round separated him from the chasing pack in the headline event, setting the tone for an action-packed 2023 gathering.

The 3x3 results formed only one part of Tsvetkov's dominant run at Zreče Open 2023. He completed a triple crown in the standard twisty puzzles by taking first place in the 2x2x2 Cube with a rapid 1.49 average, which featured an eye-catching 0.75 best single, alongside a victory in the 4x4x4 Cube with a 33.36 average. In the classic Rubik's Cube final, David Vujasić followed in second place with an 8.86 average, while Zénó Vitale rounded out the podium positions at 9.18.

A total of 84 competitors came together for the two-day cubing competition, tackling 20 rounds across 10 distinct events. Beyond the sprint events, the larger puzzles brought out fierce battles among the region's elite solvers. David Vujasić put together a magnificent run across the big cubes, winning the 5x5x5 Cube final with an average of 1:04.54 and taking the 7x7x7 Cube title in 3:13.25, while Aleksa Radovanović claimed top honors in the 6x6x6 Cube with a 2:09.30 mark.

While the top steps of the podium celebrated established precision, the true heartbeat of the tournament lived in the massive personal progress registered throughout the field. Reuven Michaely logged extraordinary personal bests, cutting his 2x2x2 mark to 1.93, which was 86.2 percent faster than his prior best, alongside a 3x3x3 PB of 7.40 that shaved 76.6 percent off his previous benchmark. Filip Babić entered four events, posting his first ever attempt in Megaminx at 3:43.20, his first 4x4x4 Cube try at 1:53.53, and dropping his 3x3x3 PB by 35.9 percent down to 18.22. Filip Judež took on nine events, logging his first 7x7x7 Cube time of 5:35.25 and a first 6x6x6 Cube effort of 3:43.42 while bettering his 5x5x5 PB by 36.4 percent to 1:46.72. Maksim Rozman achieved a 3x3x3 PB of 10.33, an 11.1 percent improvement, while recording initial official times of 2:23.53 on the 6x6x6 Cube and 3:57.58 on the 7x7x7 Cube.

That drive toward expansion and self-improvement continued across the rest of the roster. Aleksandar Babić took on eight events, securing his best finish of 15th in the 2x2x2 Cube and recording first attempts in the 7x7x7 Cube at 8:39.22, the 6x6x6 Cube at 4:53.23, and Megaminx at 3:12.64. Jakob Hladnik tackled nine disciplines, delivering a 5th-place finish in Square-1, a 5x5x5 personal best of 2:34.94 that was 22.2 percent faster than before, and maiden marks in the 6x6x6 Cube at 8:22.98 and 7x7x7 Cube at 14:31.00. Miha Korenjak registered his first 3x3x3 Blindfolded attempt with a time of 3:51.44 to finish 8th, added a first 7x7x7 Cube result of 9:28.59, and cut his 5x5x5 PB by 29.7 percent to 2:30.37. Aljaž Turk contested four events, posting first marks on the 6x6x6 Cube at 6:42.19 and 5x5x5 Cube at 2:40.01, while trimming his 2x2x2 personal best to 4.02.

The specialty events provided additional highlights in Zreče. In the 3x3x3 Blindfolded event, where solvers must rely purely on memorisation and spatial execution, Marcel Ručigaj seized victory with a single of 53.20 seconds, leading a Slovenian podium sweep ahead of Matej Bolta and Dušan Zakelšek. Clock saw Benedek Szepesi-Réder secure first place with a 5.77 average, holding off Niko Ronkainen at 6.06 and Filip Barbirič Frank at 6.83.

Side events further rounded out the program at Zreče Open 2023. Matic Omulec proved untouchable in the Megaminx, taking the title with a 47.08 winning average and an event-best single of 44.01 over two rounds of play. In Square-1, Marcel Niedl captured top honors with a 12.05 average and a 9.04 best single, navigating the shape-shifting puzzle with precision in an exciting 19-competitor bracket.

Across the full slate of speed cubing action, the host nation of Slovenia tied Croatia for the most podium finishes with seven apiece, while Finland earned four, and Russia, Serbia, and Hungary gathered three each. As the final solves wrapped up in the school venue, the speedcubing community celebrated both the sharp winning times at the top and the widespread personal gains forged across every table at this premier WCA competition.

V dvorani, ki jo ponuja Osnovna šola Zreče, je vladalo izjemno tekmovalno vzdušje, ko so se za mizami zvrstile pisane kocke vseh dimenzij. Mesto Zreče, Slovenia je med 17. in 18. junijem postalo stičišče hitrostnega reševanja mehanskih ugank. Na tekmovanje Zreče Open 2023 so številni tekmovalci prepotovali na stotine in tisoče kilometrov. Na štartnih listah so bili prisotni predstavniki iz oddaljenih krajev, med njimi tekmovalci iz Finske, Rusije, Italije ter celo Iraka, kar je štajerskemu prizorišču dalo pravo mednarodno razsežnost.

Na tem prizorišču se je v dveh dneh zbralo natanko 84 tekmovalcev, ki so se pomerili v desetih disciplinah skozi dvajset tekmovalnih krogov. Rubikova kocka je bila znova v središču pozornosti, a spored je ponudil celoten spekter izzivov od najmanjših formatov do velikih kock in posebnih ugank. Organizacija je potekala brezhibno, tekmovalci pa so z vsakim zasukom dokazovali, kako visoka je raven pripravljenosti ne glede na oddaljenost njihovega domačega kluba.

Glavni junak celotnega sporeda je bil Alexey Tsvetkov iz Rusije, ki je prepotoval dolgo pot in v kraljevski disciplini 3x3x3 Cube pometel s konkurenco. V finalu je zabeležil zmagovalno povprečje 7.30 sekunde ter postavil najboljši posamični poskus 6.57 med 81 nastopajočimi. Drugo mesto je zasedel David Vujasić iz Hrvaške s povprečjem 8.86, tretji pa je bil Zénó Vitale iz Madžarske s časom 9.18. Tsvetkov je bil nepremagljiv tudi pri manjših in srednjih kockah, saj je osvojil še dva naslova.

V kategoriji 2x2x2 Cube je Alexey Tsvetkov slavil z izjemnim povprečjem 1.49 in posamičnim časom 0.75, kjer sta se na stopničke povzpela še Marcel Ručigaj iz Slovenije s povprečjem 2.25 ter Niko Ronkainen iz Finske s 3.00. Tsvetkov je svojo prevlado potrdil še pri 4x4x4 Cube, kjer je zmagal s povprečjem 33.36 in najboljšim poskusom 30.26. Srebro je pripadlo Davidu Vujasiću s 35.75, bron pa je znova vzel finski tekmovalec Niko Ronkainen s časom 37.74.

Izven glavnih odrov se je odvijala vrsta izjemnih osebnih zgodb, ki dokazujejo napredek manj izpostavljenih tekmovalcev. Blaž Biškop je na svojem šestem nastopu dosegel osupljiv skok, saj je svoj osebni rekord pri 2x2x2 Cube izboljšal za 69.1 odstotka na 3.11 sekunde ter pri 3x3x3 Cube za 50.2 odstotka na 12.85 sekunde. Marcel Žibret je nastopil v štirih disciplinah, zabeležil svoj prvi nastop pri Megaminx s časom 3:26.00 ter izboljšal osebna rekorda pri 2x2x2 Cube na 5.45 in 4x4x4 Cube na 1:49.48. Julij Hladnik se je preizkusil v šestih disciplinah, prvič reševal Clock s časom 41.61 ter popravil znamki pri Square-1 na 47.11 in 4x4x4 Cube na 1:43.69. Jure Pišek je na svojem drugem tekmovanju znižal rekord pri 2x2x2 Cube za 46.7 odstotka na 7.67 ter pri 3x3x3 Cube na 28.10.

Prav posebno poglavje so spisali tekmovalci, za katere je bila to prva WCA tekma v karieri. Boštjan Strnad se je premierno preizkusil v treh disciplinah ter postavil začetne znamke 22.32 pri 2x2x2 Cube, 55.67 pri Clock ter 1:21.29 pri 3x3x3 Cube. Hussein Tariq iz Iraka je na svojem prvem tekmovanju zabeležil 18.91 pri 3x3x3 Cube in 7.43 pri 2x2x2 Cube. Leon Faisstnauer iz Italije je ob debiju dosegel 7.93 pri 2x2x2 Cube in 26.78 pri 3x3x3 Cube. Domači debitant Jakob Čepič Vogrinčič pa je svoj prvi nastop kronal s časoma 24.34 pri 3x3x3 Cube in 5.65 pri 2x2x2 Cube.

Pri večjih kockah je blestel David Vujasić, ki je zmagal pri 5x5x5 Cube s povprečjem 1:04.54 ter pri 7x7x7 Cube s časom 3:13.25. Na 5x5x5 sta mu sledila Aleksa Radovanović iz Srbije s časom 1:10.94 in Niko Ronkainen s 1:16.72. Pri 7x7x7 je bil drugi Andrej Mikulić iz Bosne in Hercegovine s 3:14.63, tretji pa Radovanović s 3:21.49. Aleksa Radovanović je nato zmagal v kategoriji 6x6x6 Cube s povprečjem 2:09.30, kjer je za pol sekunde ugnal Andreja Mikulića z 2:09.80, tretje mesto pa je zasedel Vujasić z 2:11.53.

Domače občinstvo je navdušil Marcel Ručigaj, ki je v disciplini 3x3x3 Blindfolded brez napake sestavil kocko v 53.20 sekunde in poskrbel za popolno slovensko zmagovalno stopničko z Matejem Bolto ter Dušanom Zakelškom. Matic Omulec je zmagal pri Megaminx s povprečjem 47.08, Marcel Niedl pri Square-1 z 12.05, Benedek Szepesi-Réder iz Madžarske pa pri Clock s povprečjem 5.77 pred finskim tekmovalcem Nikom Ronkainenom in domačim Filipom Barbiričem Frankom. Tako se je tekmovanje Zreče Open 2023 vpisalo med najbolj dinamične dogodke sezone 2023.

Skupna bera medalj kaže izjemen uspeh domačih in regijskih tekmovalcev, saj sta Slovenija in Hrvaška osvojili po 7 uvrstitev na stopničke, Finska 4, Rusija 3, Srbija 3 ter Madžarska 3. Dvodnevno speedcubing prvenstvo Zreče Open 2023 je dokazalo, da geografska razdalja ni ovira za vrhunske rezultate in tesna športna prijateljstva ob tekmovalnih mizah.