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People · United States

Benjamin Gottschalk

Square-1 · top 0.051% of 25,272 all-time · competing since March 2016 · 2016GOTT01

Benjamin Gottschalk has been competing for 10 years. His best event is the Square-1: a personal-best single of 4.14, set at Vegas Speedcubing Summer 2023, puts him in the top 0.051% of the 25,272 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 8th in the United States. Until February 2023, no official Square-1 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 155 competitions since March 2016, he has put 8,323 official solves on the record across 16 events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 12% around a typical one, steadier than 70% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds. His 3×3 best has come down from 19.11 in March 2016 to 5.44, a 72% improvement. Benjamin has entered 155 competitions, more competitions than 99% of everyone who has ever competed.

Square-1
best event — top 0.051% of 25,272 all-time
4.14
signature single · Vegas Speedcubing Summer 2023
8,323
official solves on the record
12%
solve-to-solve spread · steadier than 70% of the field

Standing, event by event

vs everyone ever ranked
EventPB singlePB averageAll-time standingUnited States
Square-14.146.11
top 0.051%8 / 6,743
3×35.448.02
top 0.23%158 / 59,724
2×21.052.53
top 0.66%274 / 40,951
Skewb1.733.88
top 0.78%124 / 18,907
Pyraminx1.953.66
top 1.1%296 / 28,708
3×3 Fewest Moves21 moves28.33
top 1.5%39 / 2,040
Megaminx42.0546.79
top 2.1%158 / 7,841
4×428.8932.50
top 2.2%360 / 19,072
3×3 one-handed11.4115.39
top 2.3%368 / 15,683
5×553.9459.95
top 3.0%246 / 9,401
6×61:41.291:56.89
top 4.4%152 / 4,196
Clock5.226.35
top 5.0%397 / 8,927
7×72:59.573:14.43
top 10.5%286 / 3,184
3×3 blindfolded1:33.431:55.32
top 24.3%496 / 2,092
3×3 Multi-Blind3 of 3 cubes · 26:52—
top 56.1%432 / 731
4×4 blindfolded12:20.00—
early days — 2 solves282 / 440

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

PDX Cubing Alpha 2016: 19.11Puget Sound Spring 2016: 18.19Rose City 2016: 14.01Atomic Cubing Summer 2016: 13.30US Nationals 2016: 12.69Oregon 2016: 13.12Puget Sound Fall 2016: 13.41PDX Cubing for Dougy 2016: 10.76Eugene 2016: 11.08Puget Sound Winter 2017: 10.49Keep Portland Weird 2017: 10.55Eugene 3x3 Mania 2017: 9.68Rose City 2017: 10.59SnoCo Cubing Summer 2017: 10.58CubingUSA Nationals 2017: 10.54World Rubik's Cube Championship 2017: 10.04Swiss Open 2017: 8.64Northwest Championships 2017: 9.86Puget Sound Fall 2017: 10.79Eugene Fall 2017: 9.48SnoCo Cubing Fall 2017: 10.24San Ramon Cubed 2017: 8.76Puget Sound Winter 2.0 2017: 10.56Vancouver Open Winter 2018: 9.25PDX Cubing for Causes 2018: 10.46Skyline Open 2018: 10.03Puget Sound Valentine 2018: 9.45Oregon State 2018: 9.52Chiawana Cubing 2018: 8.39Eugene Spring 2018: 8.99Atomic Cubing Spring 2018: 9.84Puget Sound Spring 2018: 8.21Yakima Valley Cubing 2018: 9.45A Bruin Cube Day 2018: 10.03Gaston Spring 2018: 9.25Rose City 2018: 9.49SnoCo Summer 2018: 9.34CubingUSA Nationals 2018: 9.34CubingUSA Northwest Championship 2018: 8.94Yakima Valley Cubing Fall 2018: 8.97Atomic Cubing Fall 2018: 8.42Puget Sound NxNxN 2018: 9.65Skillcon 2018: 8.74Welcome to 2019: 8.43PDX Cubing for Causes 2019: 8.67Oregon State 2019: 8.85CubingUSA Oregon Championship 2019: 8.59Atomic Cubing Spring 2019: 8.11SnoCo Feet Fest 2019: 8.52Rose City 2019: 7.92Lincoln City 2019: 9.01CubingUSA Northwest Championship 2019: 8.39Bay Area Speedcubin' 18 2019: 8.25WCA World Championship 2019: 7.62CubingUSA Nationals 2019: 9.37Gaston Toe Twiddling 2019: 7.65Puget Sound Fall 2019: 7.71Keep Portland Weird 2019: 8.70UBC Open 2020: 9.00Washington Championship 2020: 8.30Oregon State Leap Day 2020: 8.57Idaho Summer B 2021: 9.54Wyoming Summer 2021: 7.81Oklahoma Fall AM 2021: 8.68SnoCo Goes Back to Square-1 2021: 9.06CubingUSA Western Championship 2021: 7.08Rocky Top 2021: 8.21Welcome Back Texas 2021: 8.47North Star Cubing Challenge 2022: 8.38Welcome Back Portland 2022: 8.22PLU NxN 2022: 8.08Bothell Spring 2022: 7.51Utah Puzzling for Awareness 2022: 8.31Rose City 2022: 7.20CubingUSA Northeast Championship 2022: 7.96School's Out PLU 2022: 8.60Three Attempts Chicago 2022: 7.58Rubik's WCA North American Championship 2022: 7.54Idaho French Fried 2022: 8.16Inland Empire Summer 2022: 8.19Richmond Open Summer B 2022: 7.52Oregon Championship 2022: 8.56Hono Luau Cube Off 2022: 7.31New Kent On The Block 2022: 8.77SnoCo Veteran's Weekend A 2022: 8.18Keep Portland Weird 2022: 6.89Cubing on the Octagon 2022: 8.43Cubing Under the Northern Lights 2023: 7.96Sleepless in Seattle 2023: 8.02Washington Championship 2023: 7.51Welcome to Olympia 2023: 8.15Rose City 2023: 7.86Vegas Speedcubing Summer 2023: 7.42Eugene Cubing 2023: 7.10Stumptown Speedcubing Summer 2023: 7.67CubingUSA Nationals 2023: 9.38Colorado Jungle Jumble 2023: 7.59Rubik's WCA World Championship 2023: 8.24Oregon Championship 2023: 8.15Salem Spooktacular 2023: 7.20CubingUSA Rocky Mountain Championship 2023: 8.28Eugene Ice Cubing 2024: 7.77Couve Cubing Spring 2024: 8.46PortlaNxNd 2024: 8.44Hillsboro Favorites 2024: 6.64CubingUSA Northwest Championship 2024: 8.11Rubik's WCA North American Championship 2024: 7.92Oregon Championship 2024: 7.12McMinnville Cubing Fall 2024: 5.44Eugene Harvest Cubing 2024: 7.45Couve Cubing Fall 2024: 7.71Bellevue Squan Fest 2 2024: 6.46Hillsboro Winter 2025: 8.15Cubing in Southern Oregon 2025: 7.24Eugene Cubing Spring 2025: 7.18Hillsboro Newcomers 2025: 7.78Worlds Warmup Hillsboro 2025: 7.14Corvallis 2025: 7.20Warm Up Seattle 2025: 7.31Rubik's WCA World Championship 2025: 8.95Battle Ground 2025: 6.33West Coast Cubing Western Championship 2025: 7.66Oregon Championship 2025: 6.73UO Fall 2025: 8.18Oregon State Fall 2025: 7.36Portland in a Pyra Tree 2025: 7.28UO Valentine's Day 2026: 6.97McMinnville Favorites 2026: 6.72Southern Oregon Game Expo 2026: 7.81Eugene Spring 2026: 7.78Oregon State Spring 2026: 7.90Rubik's WCA North American Championship 2026: 6.86Rose City OR 2026: 8.10Northwest Championship 2026: 7.36Don't DNF Dallas OR 2026: 7.645.4419.115 Mar 20165 Sep 2026

Best single per competition, 3×3. Faster is higher — the axis is the right way up.

The story so far

Competitions

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.

Next targets

  • A sub-4 Square-1 single — 11 people have one; it is 0.14 away.
  • A sub-5 3×3 single — 344 people have one; it is 0.44 away.

Targets move as he improves.