People · Costa Rica
Ben Castro
3×3 · top 3.2% of 284,439 all-time · competing since April 2023 · 2023CAST22
Ben Castro has been competing for 3 years. His best event is the 3×3: a personal-best single of 8.25, set at CubingUSA Great Lakes Championship 2026, puts him in the top 3.2% of the 284,439 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 15th in Costa Rica. Until July 2008, no official 3×3 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 13 competitions since April 2023, he has put 314 official solves on the record across ten events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 15% around a typical one; 80% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds hold a tighter spread. His 3×3 best has come down from 21.36 in April 2023 to 8.25, a 61% improvement. Ben has entered 13 competitions, more competitions than 94% of everyone who has ever competed.
Standing, event by event
vs everyone ever ranked| Event | PB single | PB average | All-time standing | Costa Rica | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3×3 | 8.25 | 11.14 | top 3.2% | 15 / 367 | |
| Square-1 | 12.02 | 16.84 | top 9.9% | 9 / 52 | |
| 4×4 | 42.38 | 45.79 | top 15.0% | 29 / 130 | |
| Pyraminx | 5.85 | 11.49 | top 18.9% | 47 / 225 | |
| 3×3 one-handed | 20.85 | 25.76 | top 22.8% | 39 / 135 | |
| Clock | 9.65 | 12.37 | top 23.4% | 7 / 19 | |
| 2×2 | 4.04 | 5.19 | top 27.0% | 102 / 307 | |
| Skewb | 8.70 | 12.30 | top 46.4% | 96 / 133 | |
| Megaminx | 2:06.49 | 2:24.65 | top 49.4% | 50 / 82 | |
| 5×5 | 2:05.42 | 2:19.86 | top 52.7% | 48 / 75 |
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
- 5 Jun 2026First sub-10 3×3: 8.25 at CubingUSA Great Lakes Championship 2026.
- 5 Jun 2026Four personal bests in one day at CubingUSA Great Lakes Championship 2026.
- 7 Feb 2026Five personal bests in one day at Deerfield Dodecahedrons 2026.
- 15 Nov 2025Three personal bests in one day at Machesney Park Fall 2025.
- 1 Feb 2025Three personal bests in one day at Naperville Winter 2025.
- 29 Jun 2024Three personal bests in one day at Cubing Plaza Real Alajuela 2024.
Competitions
- Geneva IL Mini 2026 · 22 Jun 2026 — 1 personal best set
- CubingUSA Great Lakes Championship 2026 · 5 Jun 2026 — 4 personal bests set
- Deerfield Dodecahedrons 2026 · 7 Feb 2026 — 5 personal bests set
- Machesney Park Fall 2025 · 15 Nov 2025 — 3 personal bests set
- Racing Kane 2025 · 1 Mar 2025 — 1 personal best set
- Naperville Winter 2025 · 1 Feb 2025 — 3 personal bests set
- Cubing Plaza Real Alajuela 2024 · 29 Jun 2024 — 3 personal bests set
- Chicago Area Twist Spring B 2024 · 19 May 2024 — 3 personal bests set
- Evanston Fall Mini C 2023 · 11 Nov 2023 — 2 personal bests set
- DeKalb Cubing Fall 2023 · 22 Oct 2023 — 4 personal bests set
- Evanston Summer Side Events 2023 · 27 Aug 2023 — 2 personal bests set
- Cube Factory Masters Desamparados 2023 · 8 Jul 2023 — 1 personal best set
- Swallow Spring 2023 · 22 Apr 2023
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.
- Brian Johnson — met in 44 rounds, never finished ahead
- Lucas Lippman-Bruno — met in 41 rounds, never finished ahead
- Leah Hamende — met in 40 rounds, finished ahead 11 times
Next targets
- A sub-8 3×3 single — 7,931 people have one; it is 0.25 away.
- A sub-12 Square-1 single — 2,502 people have one; it is 0.02 away.
Targets move as he improves.