The Weekend Ahead: May 1-3, 2026
Highlighting competitions from around the world of speedcubing.
Welcome back to The Weekend Ahead! This week’s slate takes us from southern France to Beijing to Sweden, with a little bit of everything: a stacked Chinese 3x3 field, a major Nordic championship, and one of the more charming open competitions you’ll find on the calendar.
Start of Summer Beijing 2026 - Beijing, China
Let’s not overthink this one. If you’re looking for raw speed this weekend, Beijing is the place to be.
Start of Summer Beijing features a loaded Chinese field, including Xuanyi Geng, Yiheng Wang, Qixian Cao, Yufang Du, Zhaokun Li, and Ruihang Xu on the competitor list. That’s not just a strong lineup, that’s the kind of field where a “normal” podium time might still feel absurd to the rest of the world.
The competition runs May 1-2 in Beijing and includes 3x3, 2x2, 4x4, 5x5, 6x6, 7x7, 3BLD, Megaminx, and Square-1, giving plenty of room for big results beyond just the main event.
Still, let’s be real: the headline is 3x3. Any time Xuanyi and Yiheng are in the same room, the whole speedcubing world pays attention. Add in Qixian, Yufang, Zhaokun, Ruihang, and a deep 320-competitor field, and this one has serious record-watch energy.
Nordic & Swedish Championship 2026 - Uppsala, Sweden
Over in Uppsala, Sweden, the Nordic & Swedish Championship gives us one of the biggest regional championship events of the weekend. The competition runs May 1-3 at IFU Arena, the same venue set to host the 2027 World Championship.
That alone makes this event worth watching. It’s not just a championship, it’s also a preview of the stage that the world’s best will be walking into next year.
The event has a 420-competitor limit and includes qualification limits for several specialist events, including FMC, 3BLD, 4BLD, 5BLD, and Multi-Blind. That should make the blindfolded and FMC fields especially interesting, with limited spots giving those events a little extra weight.
There’s also a Nations Cup format built into the weekend, with Nordic and Baltic countries forming 3-person teams for a knockout-style 3x3 relay tournament. If you like the team energy from Worlds or Euros, this should be one of the more fun side stories of the weekend.
Camargue Open 2026 - Saint-Gilles, France
Rounding things out, we head to Saint-Gilles, France, for Camargue Open 2026. This one runs May 1-3 at Salle polyvalente Robert Marchand, with a 150-competitor limit and free registration for new competitors and AFS members.
This feels like the “hidden gem” comp of the weekend. It may not have the same obvious headline as Beijing or the championship weight of Uppsala, but a three-day French Open with a full competitor field is always worth keeping an eye on.
The biggest name to watch is Juliette Sébastien, who recently set a French national record 8.43 average in 3x3 One-Handed, while also holding elite PRs across 3x3, 2x2, 4x4, and Megaminx.
And because no good speedcubing weekend is complete without something slightly unhinged, Camargue Open is also holding an unofficial Megaminx OH event.
Yes, Megaminx one-handed. No, we will not be explaining further.