MDQbea 2026 crowns Jonas Zapana in tight 3x3 battle

Jonas Zapana did more than win 3x3 at MDQbea 2026, he put up a 9.09 average in a field where Ulises Martin Lopez and Agustina Ranalle were close enough to keep the top tier honest. The result felt less like a one-cube coronation than a snapshot of a scene that is getting deeper, wider, and harder to read from one event alone.

That breadth showed up everywhere on the schedule. In addition to 3x3, the day in Mar del Plata also featured finals for 2x2, 5x5, 7x7, Clock, 3x3 one-handed, and 4x4, plus a tutorial for new competitors, a MARDEL CUP segment, and an awards ceremony. Zapana did not just separate himself in the marquee event, he also won 2x2, 4x4, 3x3 one-handed, and Clock. Ranalle answered on the big-cube side, taking both 5x5 and 7x7. That split says a lot about the local pool: the same meet produced athletes who could attack the smallest puzzles with speed and still hold form on the larger stages.

The field itself was compact but active. MDQbea 2026 drew 33 competitors to Club Defensores de Belgrano at Olazábal 2029, Planta Baja, with 3 first-timers and 30 returners representing 2 regions. One entrant came from the United States, but the center of gravity stayed unmistakably Argentine, with Agrupación Speedcubing Argentina organizing alongside Agustina Ranalle, Bruno Berardo, Leandro Nicolás Nizzo, and Ulises Martin Lopez, and Caro Visentin serving as delegate. Registration had opened on April 23 at 5:00 PM PDT and closed on June 7 at 5:00 PM PDT, with a cap of 40, an $8,000 Argentine peso base fee, no on-the-spot signups, and a strict guest policy that allowed spectators only as companions.

For Mar del Plata, that mix of veterans, first-timers, and multi-event specialists made the meet feel like part of a real calendar rather than a standalone stop. The same venue had already hosted Happy Summer MDQ 2026 on March 8, where Zapana won 3x3 with a 10.78 average and 36 competitors turned out. MDQbea 2026 tightened the field, sharpened the podium, and showed that the Buenos Aires coast is building not just champions, but a broader competitive ladder behind them.