People · Australia
Daniel Liu
3×3 · top 5.9% of 284,439 all-time · competing since January 2023 · 2023LIUD01
Daniel Liu has been competing for 4 years. His best event is the 3×3: a personal-best single of 9.44, set at Melbourne Summer 2025, puts him in the top 5.9% of the 284,439 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 548th in Australia. Until February 2008, no official 3×3 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 7 competitions since January 2023, he has put 151 official solves on the record across five events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 16% around a typical one; 90% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds hold a tighter spread. That figure sets aside his 7 DNFs. His 3×3 best has come down from 25.20 in January 2023 to 9.44, a 63% improvement. Daniel has entered seven competitions, more competitions than 88% of everyone who has ever competed.
Standing, event by event
vs everyone ever ranked| Event | PB single | PB average | All-time standing | Australia | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3×3 | 9.44 | 11.23 | top 5.9% | 548 / 11,709 | |
| Pyraminx | 3.92 | 6.85 | top 7.3% | 329 / 5,993 | |
| 2×2 | 2.63 | 3.93 | top 10.2% | 766 / 8,567 | |
| 3×3 one-handed | 22.89 | 30.79 | top 28.5% | 643 / 2,659 | |
| 4×4 | 1:13.30 | 1:22.76 | top 50.0% | 1,356 / 3,051 |
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
- 24 Jan 2025First sub-10 3×3: 9.44 at Melbourne Summer 2025.
- 24 Jan 2025Five personal bests in one day at Melbourne Summer 2025.
- 2 Mar 2024First sub-15 3×3: 11.48 at Altona Algorithms 2024.
- 1 Jul 2023First sub-20 3×3: 16.49 at Victorian Open 2023.
- 20 Jan 2023First competition: Melbourne Summer 2023. A 25.20 3×3 single to start from.
Competitions
- Australian Nationals 2026 · 9 Jul 2026
- Melbourne Summer 2026 · 24 Jan 2026 — 1 personal best set
- VIC State Championship 2025 · 31 May 2025 — 2 personal bests set
- Melbourne Summer 2025 · 24 Jan 2025 — 5 personal bests set
- Altona Algorithms 2024 · 2 Mar 2024 — 2 personal bests set
- Victorian Open 2023 · 1 Jul 2023 — 2 personal bests set
- Melbourne Summer 2023 · 20 Jan 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.
- Nicholas Penfold — met in 33 rounds, finished ahead 4 times
- Myles Jarman — met in 33 rounds, finished ahead twice
- Andy Gong — met in 33 rounds, never finished ahead
Next targets
- A sub-8 3×3 single — 7,931 people have one; it is 1.44 away.
- A sub-3 Pyraminx single — 4,700 people have one; it is 0.92 away.
Targets move as he improves.