People · United States
Brian Lai
3×3 · top 6.4% of 288,433 all-time · competing since August 2022 · 2022LAIB01
Brian Lai has been competing for 4 years. His best event is the 3×3: a personal-best single of 9.58, set at Berkeley Winter A 2023, puts him in the top 6.4% of the 288,433 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 3,563rd in the United States. Until November 2007, no official 3×3 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 6 competitions since August 2022, he has put 157 official solves on the record across eleven events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 13% around a typical one; 52% of the 36,406 competitors with ten or more counted rounds hold a tighter spread. His 3×3 best has come down from 11.76 in September 2022 to 9.58, a 19% improvement. Brian has entered six competitions, more competitions than 86% of everyone who has ever competed.
Standing, event by event
vs everyone ever ranked| Event | PB single | PB average | All-time standing | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3×3 | 9.58 | 11.15 | top 6.4% | 3,563 / 60,666 | |
| 4×4 | 48.36 | 50.87 | top 22.7% | 3,477 / 19,354 | |
| 2×2 | 3.76 | 4.69 | top 23.5% | 9,356 / 41,674 | |
| Pyraminx | 6.53 | 10.53 | top 24.1% | 6,657 / 29,168 | |
| 5×5 | 1:31.41 | 1:43.66 | top 28.5% | 2,271 / 9,537 | |
| 3×3 one-handed | 23.96 | 30.37 | top 31.5% | 4,133 / 15,900 | |
| Square-1 | 24.32 | 34.80 | top 37.6% | 2,480 / 6,846 | |
| Megaminx | 2:04.71 | 2:15.21 | top 48.5% | 3,672 / 8,026 | |
| Skewb | 9.12 | 12.12 | top 49.3% | 8,943 / 19,164 | |
| 6×6 | 3:49.56 | 4:23.29 | top 62.3% | 2,435 / 4,262 | |
| 7×7 | 5:50.33 | — | early days — 1 solve | 2,013 / 3,236 |
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
- 21 Jan 2023First sub-10 3×3: 9.58 at Berkeley Winter A 2023.
- 6 Aug 2022First competition: Bay Area Speedcubin' 36 2022.
Competitions
- Bay Area Speedcubin' 43 2023 · 1 Apr 2023 — 1 personal best set
- Berkeley Spring 2023 · 12 Mar 2023 — 2 personal bests set
- Berkeley Winter A 2023 · 21 Jan 2023 — 2 personal bests set
- Bay Area Speedcubin' 39 2022 · 5 Nov 2022 — 1 personal best set
- Berkeley Fall 2022 · 10 Sep 2022
- Bay Area Speedcubin' 36 2022 · 6 Aug 2022 — 1 personal best 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.
- Nico Harper (李有為) — met in 35 rounds, never finished ahead
- Mitchell Lane — met in 31 rounds, never finished ahead
- Evan Millsap — met in 30 rounds, finished ahead 14 times
Next targets
- A sub-8 3×3 single — 8,101 people have one; it is 1.58 away.
- A sub-40 4×4 single — 10,370 people have one; it is 8.36 away.
Targets move as he improves.