2026 European Cup

[pinkagape]

I've found 128 solvers from Puzzle Ramayan round 1 from Europe who I've paired against each other for the Sudoku Mahabrahat for this year's European Cup!

Enjoy!

Henna Perälä (Finland) vs Ondrej Motlicek (Czech Republic)
Tomasz Skalski (Poland) vs Veronika Kolvekova (Slovakia)
Virgi Puusepp (Estonia) vs Panni Jakab (Hungary)
N. Sigler (France) vs François Blecon (France)
Chiel Beenhakker (Netherlands) vs Jelena Balanova (Latvia)
Emilien (France) vs Jiri Hrdina (Czech Republic)
Zoltan Nemeth (Hungary) vs CB (France)
Martin Ender (Germany) vs Wouter (Netherlands)
Pavel Kadlecik (Czech Republic) vs Gyorgy Herke (Hungary)
Tomasz Strózak (Poland) vs Fabien Douté (France)
Lionel HUBER (France) vs Antal Tamas (Hungary)
Kartal Nagy (Hungary) vs Lennart Muijres (Netherlands)
giorgia (Italy) vs Vincent Bertrand (Belgium)
Ricardo García (Spain) vs Arianna Domenichelli (Italy)
Pavel Kunyavskiy (Netherlands) vs Reinier (Netherlands)
Friedhelm Fricke (Germany) vs Todd (United Kingdom)
Lukasz Skrzypczynski (Poland) vs Giuliano Montelucci (Italy)
Roger Kohler (Switzerland) vs Denis Auroux (France)
Julien Bonneville (France) vs Tatiana Padysakova (Slovakia)
Gabriel Groszyk (Poland) vs Verena Möhler (Germany)
Claudine Thiry (Luxembourg) vs Aubin Danzo (France)
Ema Bosnic (Croatia) vs Michele Bongiorno (Italy)
Marcel Nick (Switzerland) vs Robert Vollmert (Germany)
Damian Ksi??yk (Poland) vs Mikhail Tikhomirov (Netherlands)
Garance Pontier (France) vs Adam Bissett (United Kingdom)
Arjen Kramer (Netherlands) vs jean-baptiste ridouard (France)
Misamis (Czech Republic) vs Kaja Sostra (Estonia)
Torsten Rogoll (Germany) vs Matteo Fedeli (Italy)
Aleksei Daniliuk (United Kingdom) vs Zoltan Gyimesi (Hungary)
Ibon Arregui (Spain) vs laje6 (Germany)
Pavel Kocka (Czech Republic) vs Maurice B (United Kingdom)
Benassi Niccolò (Italy) vs Kideneb (Germany)
Ned Kelly (Ireland) vs Zoe Ashford (United Kingdom)
Larissa Rudolph (Germany) vs Veronika Lengauer (Germany)
Mark Sweep (Netherlands) vs Pat Stanford (United Kingdom)
Freddie Hand (United Kingdom) vs Richard Luhtaru (Estonia)
Erik Amor (Estonia) vs mango (Ukraine)
Arnaud Dumont (France) vs Mladen Bosnic (Croatia)
popcorn99 (Germany) vs Mathilde Prouvost (France)
Anthony Ford (United Kingdom) vs Valentin Miakinen (France)
Andrea Pachera (Italy) vs Serhii Tyshchenko (Ukraine)
Olivier Lignon (France) vs Duc (France)
Elise Harivel (France) vs Chris (United Kingdom)
Anne (France) vs Jakub Hrazdira (Czech Republic)
Ethel Maasing (Estonia) vs Joeri (Netherlands)
Calum Mailer (United Kingdom) vs Marek Oja (Estonia)
Markku Lahti (Finland) vs Béatrice P (France)
Édouard Lebeau (France) vs Jan Vondruška (Czech Republic)
Dennis Keetman (Netherlands) vs Volker Plassmann (Germany)
Paul Slater (United Kingdom) vs Gabriele Carelli (Italy)
Donny (Netherlands) vs Philippe Meyer (France)
Kristi Lehto (Estonia) vs Juha Korvenaho (Finland)
Christian König (Germany) vs Riho Klement (Estonia)
Dominik (Poland) vs Peter Roder (United Kingdom)
Leonidas Giannouzakos (Greece) vs Prezensky (Romania)
Eva Myers (United Kingdom) vs Lubos Hyzak (Slovakia)
Dylan Gibbs (United Kingdom) vs Juliane (Germany)
Bogdan Gheorghe (Romania) vs Romon (France)
Filip Brecher (Czech Republic) vs Baptiste Mouillon (France)
Sébastien Tainon (France) vs Martin Merker (Germany)
Chris Reintal (Estonia) vs Timothy Doyle (France)
Tom van der Velden (Netherlands) vs Matej Vyparina (Slovakia)
AJ Moore (United Kingdom) vs Jouni J Särkijärvi (Finland)
Vaclav Jasansky (Czech Republic) vs Magdalena (Poland)

[pinkagape]

The first round proper of the 2026 European Cup was reasonably plain sailing for the UK entrants with most making it through, though those who only competed in the puzzles did generally fall by the wayside. Anthony Ford was the exception, going down 69-48 to France's Valentin Miakinen. The big result was France's Anne, who finished all the puzzles in Puzzle Ramayan round 1 losing to Czechia's Jakub Hrazdira 97.25-56.2

Here are the full results:

Henna Perälä (Finland) 0-54 Ondrej Motlicek (Czech Republic)
Tomasz Skalski (Poland) 57-40 Veronika Kolvekova (Slovakia)
Virgi Puusepp (Estonia) 32-0 Panni Jakab (Hungary)
N. Sigler (France) 0-44 François Blecon (France)
Chiel Beenhakker (Netherlands) 122.92-70 Jelena Balanova (Latvia)
Emilien (France) 0-52 Jiri Hrdina (Czech Republic)
Zoltan Nemeth (Hungary) 0-0 CB (France)
Martin Ender (Germany) 0-43.2 Wouter (Netherlands)
Pavel Kadlecik (Czech Republic) 77-45 Gyorgy Herke (Hungary)
Tomasz Strózak (Poland) 79.2-15 Fabien Douté (France)
Lionel HUBER (France) 20.4-42 Antal Tamas (Hungary)
Kartal Nagy (Hungary) 0-96 Lennart Muijres (Netherlands)
giorgia (Italy) 0-116.88 Vincent Bertrand (Belgium)
Ricardo García (Spain) 29-40.6 Arianna Domenichelli (Italy)
Pavel Kunyavskiy (Netherlands) 14-17.7 Reinier (Netherlands)
Friedhelm Fricke (Germany) 29-0 Todd (United Kingdom)
Lukasz Skrzypczynski (Poland) 22-0 Giuliano Montelucci (Italy)
Roger Kohler (Switzerland) 63-54.7 Denis Auroux (France)
Julien Bonneville (France) 62-40 Tatiana Padysakova (Slovakia)
Gabriel Groszyk (Poland) 0-70 Verena Möhler (Germany)
Claudine Thiry (Luxembourg) 36-81 Aubin Danzo (France)
Ema Bosnic (Croatia) 51-0 Michele Bongiorno (Italy)
Marcel Nick (Switzerland) 0-64.8 Robert Vollmert (Germany)
Damian Ksi??yk (Poland) 0-47 Mikhail Tikhomirov (Netherlands)
Garance Pontier (France) 19.4-51.8 Adam Bissett (United Kingdom)
Arjen Kramer (Netherlands) 0-47 jean-baptiste ridouard (France)
Misamis (Czech Republic) 11-13 Kaja Sostra (Estonia)
Torsten Rogoll (Germany) 76.4-98 Matteo Fedeli (Italy)
Aleksei Daniliuk (United Kingdom) 34-0 Zoltan Gyimesi (Hungary)
Ibon Arregui (Spain) 44.5-46 laje6 (Germany)
Pavel Kocka (Czech Republic) 92-0 Maurice B (United Kingdom)
Benassi Niccolò (Italy) 0-37 Kideneb (Germany)
Ned Kelly (Ireland) 0-67 Zoe Ashford (United Kingdom)
Larissa Rudolph (Germany) 76.8-36 Veronika Lengauer (Germany)
Mark Sweep (Netherlands) 0-27 Pat Stanford (United Kingdom)
Freddie Hand (United Kingdom) 118.78-0 Richard Luhtaru (Estonia)
Erik Amor (Estonia) 51-0 mango (Ukraine)
Arnaud Dumont (France) 88-7 Mladen Bosnic (Croatia)
popcorn99 (Germany) 61.2-41 Mathilde Prouvost (France)
Anthony Ford (United Kingdom) 48-69 Valentin Miakinen (France)
Andrea Pachera (Italy) 88-0 Serhii Tyshchenko (Ukraine)
Olivier Lignon (France) 0-0 Duc (France)
Elise Harivel (France) 0-0 Chris (United Kingdom)
Anne (France) 56.2-97.25 Jakub Hrazdira (Czech Republic)
Ethel Maasing (Estonia) 34.5-25 Joeri (Netherlands)
Calum Mailer (United Kingdom) 115.35-42.9 Marek Oja (Estonia)
Markku Lahti (Finland) 47-20.8 Béatrice P (France)
Édouard Lebeau (France) 77-127.23 Jan Vondruška (Czech Republic)
Dennis Keetman (Netherlands) 86.8-47 Volker Plassmann (Germany)
Paul Slater (United Kingdom) 0-0 Gabriele Carelli (Italy)
Donny (Netherlands) 0-43 Philippe Meyer (France)
Kristi Lehto (Estonia) 58-25 Juha Korvenaho (Finland)
Christian König (Germany) 89.4-34.9 Riho Klement (Estonia)
Dominik (Poland) 105.33-0 Peter Roder (United Kingdom)
Leonidas Giannouzakos (Greece) 37-17 Prezensky (Romania)
Eva Myers (United Kingdom) 47-38 Lubos Hyzak (Slovakia)
Dylan Gibbs (United Kingdom) 0-29.2 Juliane (Germany)
Bogdan Gheorghe (Romania) 0-18 Romon (France)
Filip Brecher (Czech Republic) 0-38 Baptiste Mouillon (France)
Sébastien Tainon (France) 36-112.47 Martin Merker (Germany)
Chris Reintal (Estonia) 44-0 Timothy Doyle (France)
Tom van der Velden (Netherlands) 16-43.8 Matej Vyparina (Slovakia)
AJ Moore (United Kingdom) 0-0 Jouni J Särkijärvi (Finland)
Vaclav Jasansky (Czech Republic) 0-73.5 Magdalena (Poland)

[pinkagape]

For Round 2 (which will be the second Puzzle Ramayan), in the event of a draw in Round 1, the higher position in the previous round sees them through.

All the biggest names have avoided each other in this draw, as have the 9 UK names.

Chris (United Kingdom) vs François Blecon (France)
Larissa Rudolph (Germany) vs Pat Stanford (United Kingdom)
Chiel Beenhakker (Netherlands) vs Kideneb (Germany)
Roger Kohler (Switzerland) vs Markku Lahti (Finland)
Duc (France) vs Virgi Puusepp (Estonia)
Chris Reintal (Estonia) vs Pavel Kocka (Czech Republic)
Ethel Maasing (Estonia) vs Kristi Lehto (Estonia)
popcorn99 (Germany) vs Gabriele Carelli (Italy)
Vincent Bertrand (Belgium) vs Jiri Hrdina (Czech Republic)
Lukasz Skrzypczynski (Poland) vs Magdalena (Poland)
Zoe Ashford (United Kingdom) vs Pavel Kadlecik (Czech Republic)
Tomasz Strózak (Poland) vs Andrea Pachera (Italy)
Robert Vollmert (Germany) vs Lennart Muijres (Netherlands)
laje6 (Germany) vs Adam Bissett (United Kingdom)
Juliane (Germany) vs Verena Möhler (Germany)
Jakub Hrazdira (Czech Republic) vs Zoltan Nemeth (Hungary)
Erik Amor (Estonia) vs Baptiste Mouillon (France)
Matej Vyparina (Slovakia) vs Wouter (Netherlands)
Antal Tamas (Hungary) vs Freddie Hand (United Kingdom)
Julien Bonneville (France) vs Eva Myers (United Kingdom)
Aubin Danzo (France) vs Arianna Domenichelli (Italy)
Reinier (Netherlands) vs Romon (France)
Dennis Keetman (Netherlands) vs Mikhail Tikhomirov (Netherlands)
Aleksei Daniliuk (United Kingdom) vs Tomasz Skalski (Poland)
Ema Bosnic (Croatia) vs Dominik (Poland)
AJ Moore (United Kingdom) vs Friedhelm Fricke (Germany)
Leonidas Giannouzakos (Greece) vs Valentin Miakinen (France)
Martin Merker (Germany) vs Philippe Meyer (France)
Ondrej Motlicek (Czech Republic) vs Kaja Sostra (Estonia)
Matteo Fedeli (Italy) vs Christian König (Germany)
Jan Vondruška (Czech Republic) vs Arnaud Dumont (France)
jean-baptiste ridouard (France) vs Calum Mailer (United Kingdom)

[pinkagape]

The Round 2 didn't see any particular shocks, though Robert Vollmert did play to his usual level to remove Lennart Muijres who did outscore Robert in Puzzle Ramayan Round 1.

Chris (United Kingdom) 72.4-45.4 François Blecon (France)
Larissa Rudolph (Germany) 49-33.8 Pat Stanford (United Kingdom)
Chiel Beenhakker (Netherlands) 93.2-76.5 Kideneb (Germany)
Roger Kohler (Switzerland) 68-25 Markku Lahti (Finland)
Duc (France) 90.4-35 Virgi Puusepp (Estonia)
Chris Reintal (Estonia) 51.1-0 Pavel Kocka (Czech Republic)
Ethel Maasing (Estonia) 0-47.7 Kristi Lehto (Estonia)
popcorn99 (Germany) 46.9-0 Gabriele Carelli (Italy)
Vincent Bertrand (Belgium) 59-0 Jiri Hrdina (Czech Republic)
Lukasz Skrzypczynski (Poland) 39-0 Magdalena (Poland)
Zoe Ashford (United Kingdom) 0-55.7 Pavel Kadlecik (Czech Republic)
Tomasz Strózak (Poland) 108.25-91.6 Andrea Pachera (Italy)
Robert Vollmert (Germany) 111.23-94.8 Lennart Muijres (Netherlands)
laje6 (Germany) 0-53.3 Adam Bissett (United Kingdom)
Juliane (Germany) 0-77 Verena Möhler (Germany)
Jakub Hrazdira (Czech Republic) 0-22.6 Zoltan Nemeth (Hungary)
Erik Amor (Estonia) 63-33.8 Baptiste Mouillon (France)
Matej Vyparina (Slovakia) 0-84.3 Wouter (Netherlands)
Antal Tamas (Hungary) 58.6-132.8 Freddie Hand (United Kingdom)
Julien Bonneville (France) 58.9-34 Eva Myers (United Kingdom)
Aubin Danzo (France) 121.05-40.2 Arianna Domenichelli (Italy)
Reinier (Netherlands) 87-19 Romon (France)
Dennis Keetman (Netherlands) 74.8-74 Mikhail Tikhomirov (Netherlands)
Aleksei Daniliuk (United Kingdom) 93-64 Tomasz Skalski (Poland)
Ema Bosnic (Croatia) 0-67 Dominik (Poland)
AJ Moore (United Kingdom) 32-32.5 Friedhelm Fricke (Germany)
Leonidas Giannouzakos (Greece) 0-117.92 Valentin Miakinen (France)
Martin Merker (Germany) 104.78-48 Philippe Meyer (France)
Ondrej Motlicek (Czech Republic) 100.88-36.5 Kaja Sostra (Estonia)
Matteo Fedeli (Italy) 33.5-118.55 Christian König (Germany)
Jan Vondruška (Czech Republic) 90.1-75.1 Arnaud Dumont (France)
jean-baptiste ridouard (France) 65.6-98.83 Calum Mailer (United Kingdom)

[pinkagape]

Round 3 sees all the previous non-sudoku players kept apart, so likely to be removed. Otherwise the big names are mostly kept apart - Tomasz Strózak vs Christian König and Martin Merker vs Chiel Beenhakker are the two standout ties, with two big puzzle names going to be removed in this Sudoku round. 5 UK names remain, and 3 of the 5 will go into these matchups confident of progression.

Freddie Hand (United Kingdom) vs Friedhelm Fricke (Germany)
Wouter (Netherlands) vs Valentin Miakinen (France)
Verena Möhler (Germany) vs Kristi Lehto (Estonia)
Chris Reintal (Estonia) vs Calum Mailer (United Kingdom)
Pavel Kadlecik (Czech Republic) vs Erik Amor (Estonia)
Duc (France) vs Jan Vondruška (Czech Republic)
Robert Vollmert (Germany) vs Lukasz Skrzypczynski (Poland)
Aleksei Daniliuk (United Kingdom) vs Zoltan Nemeth (Hungary)
Tomasz Strózak (Poland) vs Christian König (Germany)
Martin Merker (Germany) vs Chiel Beenhakker (Netherlands)
Roger Kohler (Switzerland) vs Aubin Danzo (France)
Dominik (Poland) vs Chris (United Kingdom)
Julien Bonneville (France) vs popcorn99 (Germany)
Reinier (Netherlands) vs Dennis Keetman (Netherlands)
Ondrej Motlicek (Czech Republic) vs Larissa Rudolph (Germany)
Vincent Bertrand (Belgium) vs Adam Bissett (United Kingdom)

[pinkagape]

There were some very close matches in Round 3 as Christian Konig beat Tomasz Strozak, and Martin Merker just edged Chiel Beenhakker, while Larissa Rudolph narrowly defeated Ondrej Motlicek.

Freddie Hand (United Kingdom) 122.67-25 Friedhelm Fricke (Germany)
Wouter (Netherlands) 0-101.52 Valentin Miakinen (France)
Verena Möhler (Germany) 0-42 Kristi Lehto (Estonia)
Chris Reintal (Estonia) 58-88 Calum Mailer (United Kingdom)
Pavel Kadlecik (Czech Republic) 84.5-77 Erik Amor (Estonia)
Duc (France) 0-104.55 Jan Vondruška (Czech Republic)
Robert Vollmert (Germany) 88-55.1 Lukasz Skrzypczynski (Poland)
Aleksei Daniliuk (United Kingdom) 51.7-0 Zoltan Nemeth (Hungary)
Tomasz Strózak (Poland) 79-115.17 Christian König (Germany)
Martin Merker (Germany) 129.6-122.97 Chiel Beenhakker (Netherlands)
Roger Kohler (Switzerland) 0-91 Aubin Danzo (France)
Dominik (Poland) 101.03-0 Chris (United Kingdom)
Julien Bonneville (France) 76.6-70 popcorn99 (Germany)
Reinier (Netherlands) 62-88 Dennis Keetman (Netherlands)
Ondrej Motlicek (Czech Republic) 74-77 Larissa Rudolph (Germany)
Vincent Bertrand (Belgium) 111.45-60 Adam Bissett (United Kingdom)

In Round 4 we aim to qualify for the quarter finals, and no-shows should be rare. The top puzzle names have largely avoided each other, with the closest matchings looking to be Robert Vollmert vs Dominik and Aleksei Daniliuk vs Aubin Danzo

Robert Vollmert (Germany) vs Dominik (Poland)
Vincent Bertrand (Belgium) vs Larissa Rudolph (Germany)
Martin Merker (Germany) vs Jan Vondruška (Czech Republic)
Calum Mailer (United Kingdom) vs Dennis Keetman (Netherlands)
Freddie Hand (United Kingdom) vs Kristi Lehto (Estonia)
Aleksei Daniliuk (United Kingdom) vs Aubin Danzo (France)
Julien Bonneville (France) vs Christian König (Germany)
Valentin Miakinen (France) vs Pavel Kadlecik (Czech Republic)

[pinkagape]

Dominik missed out the last Puzzle Ramayan, and Jan Vondruska lost to Martin Merker, so we're down to two Sudoku specialists as we head to the quarter finals.

Robert Vollmert (Germany) 79.1-0 Dominik (Poland)
Vincent Bertrand (Belgium) 62.3-28 Larissa Rudolph (Germany)
Martin Merker (Germany) 91.7-64.7 Jan Vondruška (Czech Republic)
Calum Mailer (United Kingdom) 81.1-62.6 Dennis Keetman (Netherlands)
Freddie Hand (United Kingdom) 116.57-30 Kristi Lehto (Estonia)
Aleksei Daniliuk (United Kingdom) 62-93.7 Aubin Danzo (France)
Julien Bonneville (France) 61-108.55 Christian König (Germany)
Valentin Miakinen (France) 108.32-46 Pavel Kadlecik (Czech Republic)


Quarter FInals (this weekend's Sudoku Mahabharat)

Martin Merker (Germany) vs Vincent Bertrand (Belgium)
Christian König (Germany) vs Aubin Danzo (France)
Robert Vollmert (Germany) vs Calum Mailer (United Kingdom)
Valentin Miakinen (France) vs Freddie Hand (United Kingdom)

[pinkagape]

Each quarter final was won by a competitor who solved the whole set of puzzles! Martin Merker did especially well to take out a sudoku specialist.

Martin Merker (Germany) 103.15-91 Vincent Bertrand (Belgium)
Christian König (Germany) 101.22-90 Aubin Danzo (France)
Robert Vollmert (Germany) 14.3-110.7 Calum Mailer (United Kingdom)
Valentin Miakinen (France) 0-133.3 Freddie Hand (United Kingdom)

The semi finals are both UK vs Germany, and Calum is the only sudoku specialist left.

Martin Merker (Germany) - Calum Mailer (United Kingdom)
Freddie Hand (United Kingdom) - Christian König (Germany)

[detuned]

As strong as Vincent undoubtedly is, I’m sure Martin (who is a top 10 WSC finisher) considers himself to be a handy sudoku solver as well

[pinkagape]

That is a fair point. I was using a shorthand of people’s first LMI round of the year to denote sudoku or puzzle specialist because I haven’t got the rest of my stats sorted yet.

[pinkagape]

Freddie secured second overall with a blistering time to defeat Christian who also finished the set. Martin defeated Calum to reach the final in the last Sudoku Mahabharat of the year.

Martin Merker (Germany) 72.9 - 60 Calum Mailer (United Kingdom)
Freddie Hand (United Kingdom) 131.77 - 106.07 Christian König (Germany)

Final:

Martin Merker (Germany) vs Freddie Hand (UK)

[pinkagape]

Both players completed the set, but Freddie was 7 minutes faster. Well done Freddie!

Martin Merker (Germany) 114.52-121.15 Freddie Hand (UK)