Teodor Zajder Wins Euro 2026 as Tymon Kolasiński Sweeps Big Cubes
Teodor Zajder won the Euro 2026 3x3 and 2x2 finals, while Tymon Kolasiński swept 4x4 through 7x7 and set a 7x7 European record.
Poland’s Teodor Zajder won the 3x3 main event at Rubik’s WCA European Championship 2026, closing the July 16–19 competition in Arnhem, Netherlands, with a 5.46-second average. Italy’s Valerio Locatelli finished second in 5.74, while fellow Polish competitor Tymon Kolasiński took third in 5.90. (worldcubeassociation.org)
The final results turned the four-day championship into a two-part Polish success story. Zajder also won 2x2 with a 1.01 average, while Kolasiński won 4x4, 5x5, 6x6, and 7x7. Together, they took first place in every standard cube-size event from 2x2 through 7x7 at a competition whose WCA page now lists 1,157 competitors. (worldcubeassociation.org)
Zajder converts world-record speed into a European title
Zajder entered Arnhem as the current 3x3 single world-record holder. His WCA profile lists the 2.76-second solve he recorded in Gdańsk in February 2026 at number one in the world, but a championship final asks for something different: five solves under title pressure, with the fastest and slowest removed before the middle three are averaged. (worldcubeassociation.org)
His final set was 5.80, 4.82, 4.73, 7.00, and 5.75. Dropping the 4.73 and 7.00 left three counting solves that produced the winning 5.46 average. The margin over Locatelli was 0.28 seconds, and Kolasiński finished another 0.16 behind.
The title also completed an uneven but ultimately successful run through the event. Zajder ranked eighth in the first round, first in the second round, third in the semifinal, and first when the final decided the championship. His 2x2 victory came from a similarly controlled final: 0.88, 1.02, 1.10, 3.17, and 0.92 produced the 1.01 winning average after the fastest and slowest attempts were removed. (worldcubeassociation.org)
Kolasiński wins every big-cube final
Kolasiński’s four-event sweep began with a 20.24 average in 4x4, ahead of Germany’s Sebastian Weyer at 20.94. He followed it with a 35.38 average in 5x5, where Richard Delacoste of Switzerland finished second in 41.82. The gaps widened as the puzzles grew: Kolasiński won 6x6 in 1:09.32, almost five seconds ahead of Mark Zimmermann’s 1:14.26. (worldcubeassociation.org)
The 7x7 final added the record result of the weekend. Kolasiński posted solves of 1:44.09, 1:39.94, and 1:40.90 for a 1:41.64 mean, marked by the WCA as a European record. The competition highlights also list an earlier 1:42.14 European-record mean, meaning he lowered the continental mark again in the final. His WCA profile now places the 1:41.64 result at the top of the European 7x7 average ranking. (worldcubeassociation.org)
Winning four finals is distinct from setting four records. The 4x4, 5x5, and 6x6 winning results were not record marks; the achievement was delivering the best final-round result across four different puzzles and formats at the same major championship.
Records and titles beyond the main event
The official highlights list another European record from the championship: Britain’s Nicholas Archer tied the 3x3 One-Handed average record at 7.95 seconds in an earlier round. Archer then won the final with an 8.76 average. A British championship recap also notes the depth of the final fields, including national-record performances that still finished outside the medals. (worldcubeassociation.org) (speedcubing.org)
Other official winners included Adrian Dębski in 3x3 Blindfolded with a 16.11 best solve, Krzysztof Pietrusiak in Fewest Moves with a 20.67 mean, Antoni Stojek in Clock with a 2.77 average, and Stephanie Rose Martin in Megaminx with a 27.51 average. Ryan Eckersley won 4x4 Blindfolded with three successful solves and a 1:23.06 mean. (worldcubeassociation.org)
Why the Arnhem results matter
The championship did not simply reward the fastest personal best recorded during the year. Zajder paired the world’s fastest official 3x3 single with a stable final average, while Kolasiński recovered from third in the main event to control the full big-cube program. Their combined sweep of 2x2 through 7x7 gives the completed championship a clear result that the opening-day registration numbers could not yet provide.
For cubers following the season, the official Arnhem results now offer two benchmarks: 5.46 for the European 3x3 title and 1:41.64 for the European 7x7 average record. Both came in finals, where a single exceptional solve is useful but repeatable execution determines the standings.