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People · United States

Daniel Polikanov

3×3 · top 7.1% of 284,439 all-time · competing since March 2022 · 2022POLI01

Daniel Polikanov has been competing for 4 years. His best event is the 3×3: a personal-best single of 9.86, set at Chicagoland Newcomers 2025, puts him in the top 7.1% of the 284,439 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 3,891st in the United States. Until May 2007, no official 3×3 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 15 competitions since March 2022, he has put 486 official solves on the record across 13 events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 12% around a typical one, steadier than 72% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds. His 3×3 best has come down from 23.94 in April 2022 to 9.86, a 59% improvement. Daniel has entered 15 competitions, more competitions than 95% of everyone who has ever competed.

3×3
best event — top 7.1% of 284,439 all-time
9.86
signature single · Chicagoland Newcomers 2025
486
official solves on the record
12%
solve-to-solve spread · steadier than 72% of the field

Standing, event by event

vs everyone ever ranked
EventPB singlePB averageAll-time standingUnited States
3×39.8615.49
top 7.1%3,891 / 59,724
2×22.834.31
top 12.3%4,846 / 40,951
Pyraminx5.056.97
top 13.5%3,522 / 28,708
Square-113.9018.29
top 13.9%950 / 6,743
Clock8.3310.28
top 16.7%1,275 / 8,927
4×451.471:05.00
top 26.5%4,082 / 19,072
Skewb6.638.99
top 30.7%5,070 / 18,907
3×3 one-handed25.6132.16
top 35.8%4,730 / 15,683
Megaminx1:42.251:47.50
top 35.9%2,567 / 7,841
5×51:44.381:55.99
top 38.6%3,103 / 9,401
7×75:57.286:17.07
top 67.0%2,033 / 3,184
6×64:05.154:15.83
top 67.1%2,618 / 4,196
3×3 blindfolded4:57.11—
early days — 1 solve1,629 / 2,092

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

CubingUSA Heartland Championship 2022: 23.94CubingUSA Southeast Championship 2022: 16.95Milwaukee First 2022: 17.10CubingUSA Great Lakes Championship 2022: 17.44Mt. Prospect Open 2022: 15.62Cubing in Oak Creek 2024: 13.47DuPage Fall 2024: 13.72Pyraminx in Pewaukee 2024: 13.94Naperville Winter 2025: 11.87Chicagoland Newcomers 2025: 9.86Pyraminx in Pewaukee 2025: 13.899.8623.9429 Apr 20228 Nov 2025

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-8 3×3 single — 7,931 people have one; it is 1.86 away.
  • A sub-2 2×2 single — 8,848 people have one; it is 0.83 away.

Targets move as he improves.