I’m not the person who should be at the top of that ranking, considering who I’m sharing that first-place podium with and all the people who, throughout the years, have proven their value and skills. I’m so grateful to have a group of amazing people who celebrate each other’s successes and support one another when times get tougher. Thanks to Fabian and Pasqui for delegating at our venue, and to all the organizers and delegates whose hard work has made this competition a staple of the FMC scene. Looking back, FMC World 2024 was a major turning point in my FMC journey: my first 20-move single and the lead after the first attempt on the biggest stage. The problem was that I didn’t have the experience to maintain that level. I became obsessed with trying to beat the NR mean, and because of that I DNFed the last attempt. I’ve never really been able to prove myself as a reliable and consistent solver, since my performance is highly dependent on the outcome of the first attempt. Then came other big competitions and some good results: Europe FMC Friends Winter 2025, with the first 18 and a podium alongside the Polish gang, followed by the trip to Poland that finally gave me the long-awaited NR mean. After that came some good means, as the pressure was no longer there, but also some bad performances, plenty of mistakes, and still many things to improve in my solving, especially in the DR finish stage. Joining the Ticino gang was a last-minute decision. I couldn’t let the opportunity for three means slip away. And so the suicidal run began: waking up at 4:30 AM on Saturday to catch a train to Milan and then another one to Switzerland. The first two rounds didn’t go as planned, and my hopes were nowhere to be seen for the 2 AM–6 AM FMC World mean. But, as always, PRs come when easy scrambles appear. You just need to be lucky and prepared enough to make the most of what you find, especially when it comes to A2s and sprint scrambles. I was quite surprised by how many people found the second 19. After those two attempts, the hardest task remained: a mediocre scramble and the need for a “good enough” result. I’d already experienced that situation in Kraków a year earlier, and I knew I just had to pray to the FMC gods. This time, it worked out. Personally, I wouldn’t consider the somewhat findable 21 a miss, any day of the week. I still have a lot of work to do. A good mo3 is not what represents the true value of an FMCer; consistency, knowledge, and wisdom do. The idea of optimizing every solution and extracting the full potential from every scramble is what drives us forward, even if it means learning full sub-6 DR triggers :) I know what my weaknesses are, and I’m ready to work on them.