People · United States
Akitsugu Watanabe
3×3 · top 6.9% of 288,433 all-time · competing since June 2024 · 2024WATA04
Akitsugu Watanabe has been competing for 2 years. His best event is the 3×3: a personal-best single of 9.77, set at Benicia Open II 2026, puts him in the top 6.9% of the 288,433 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 3,809th in the United States. Until October 2007, no official 3×3 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 2 competitions since June 2024, he has put 82 official solves on the record across eight events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 10% around a typical one, an early reading from 5 counted rounds. His 3×3 best has come down from 10.86 in June 2024 to 9.77, a 10% improvement. Akitsugu has entered two competitions.
Standing, event by event
vs everyone ever ranked| Event | PB single | PB average | All-time standing | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3×3 | 9.77 | 10.86 | top 6.9% | 3,809 / 60,666 | |
| Pyraminx | 3.84 | 6.64 | top 6.9% | 1,788 / 29,168 | |
| 2×2 | 3.11 | 4.60 | top 15.6% | 6,176 / 41,674 | |
| 4×4 | 46.30 | 49.66 | top 20.0% | 3,066 / 19,354 | |
| 5×5 | 1:21.96 | 1:35.45 | top 20.8% | 1,641 / 9,537 | |
| Clock | 10.43 | 14.43 | top 27.1% | 2,133 / 9,172 | |
| Square-1 | 22.53 | 35.08 | top 33.7% | 2,217 / 6,846 | |
| 3×3 one-handed | 26.83 | 27.44 | top 39.0% | 5,267 / 15,900 |
Percentile against all competitors ever ranked in each event, a fairer measure than raw rank, because the pools differ by a factor of ten.
The line so far
Best single per competition, 3×3. Faster is higher — the axis is the right way up.
The story so far
- 12 Sep 2026First sub-10 3×3: 9.77 at Benicia Open II 2026.
- 12 Sep 2026Five personal bests in one day at Benicia Open II 2026.
- 22 Jun 2024First competition: Bay Area Speedcubin' 63 - Atherton 2024. A 11.26 3×3 single to start from.
Competitions
- Benicia Open II 2026 · 12 Sep 2026 — 5 personal bests set
- Bay Area Speedcubin' 63 - Atherton 2024 · 22 Jun 2024 — 2 personal bests set
Reading this page: a single is one solve's time · an average is the middle three of five solves, best and worst discarded · a PB is a personal best · a DNF (did not finish) is an attempt with no valid result: a popped piece, an unsolved face, an over-limit memorisation · top X% compares against everyone ever ranked in that event, which is fairer than raw rank because event pools differ tenfold.
The circuit
The people whose scorecards keep turning up next to his.
- Sid Shivnath — met in 18 rounds, finished ahead 3 times
- Stanley Tran — met in 18 rounds, finished ahead twice
- Sebastian Stone — met in 17 rounds, never finished ahead
Next targets
- A sub-8 3×3 single — 8,101 people have one; it is 1.77 away.
- A sub-3 Pyraminx single — 4,783 people have one; it is 0.84 away.
Targets move as he improves.