People · United States
Derek Lai
3×3 · top 11.3% of 284,439 all-time · competing since September 2023 · 2023LAID02
Derek Lai has been competing for 3 years. His best event is the 3×3: a personal-best single of 11.25, set at Davis Big Summer 2026, puts him in the top 11.3% of the 284,439 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 6,092nd in the United States. Across 13 competitions since September 2023, he has put 252 official solves on the record across eight events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 13% around a typical one, steadier than 53% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds. His 3×3 best has come down from 14.63 in September 2023 to 11.25, a 23% improvement. Derek 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 | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3×3 | 11.25 | 13.25 | top 11.3% | 6,092 / 59,724 | |
| 2×2 | 2.92 | 4.52 | top 13.3% | 5,240 / 40,951 | |
| Skewb | 6.61 | 9.94 | top 30.5% | 5,042 / 18,907 | |
| 3×3 one-handed | 28.19 | 39.99 | top 42.4% | 5,699 / 15,683 | |
| Pyraminx | 8.76 | 11.89 | top 42.8% | 12,251 / 28,708 | |
| 4×4 | 1:08.62 | 1:24.55 | top 45.5% | 7,566 / 19,072 | |
| Clock | 21.17 | 23.14 | top 68.0% | 5,856 / 8,927 | |
| 5×5 | 2:44.52 | 2:53.33 | top 72.4% | 6,405 / 9,401 |
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
- 3 Sep 2023First competition: Bay Area Speedcubin' 51 Live - SSF 2023. A 17.40 3×3 single to start from.
- 3 Sep 2023First sub-15 3×3: 14.63 at Bay Area Speedcubin' 51 Live - SSF 2023.
Competitions
- Bay Area Speedcubin' 69 2026 · 29 Aug 2026
- Davis Big Summer 2026 · 8 Aug 2026 — 1 personal best set
- Alameda County Fair 2026 · 27 Jun 2026 — 1 personal best set
- Duper Super Davis Spring 2026 · 19 Apr 2026 — 2 personal bests set
- Davis Winter 2026 · 7 Feb 2026 — 1 personal best set
- Belmont Spring 2025 · 24 May 2025 — 2 personal bests set
- Davis Spring 2025 · 6 Apr 2025 — 2 personal bests set
- Berkeley Winter 2025 · 8 Feb 2025
- Davis Summer 2024 · 17 Aug 2024
- Bay Area Speedcubin' 60 - Mountain View 2024 · 6 Apr 2024 — 2 personal bests set
- Bay Area Speedcubin' 53 - Berkeley 2023 · 14 Oct 2023 — 1 personal best set
- Bay Area Speedcubin' 52 - Belmont 2023 · 1 Oct 2023
- Bay Area Speedcubin' 51 Live - SSF 2023 · 3 Sep 2023 — 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.
- Brandon Yee — met in 49 rounds, finished ahead twice
- Sebastian Stone — met in 47 rounds, finished ahead once
- Taj Bressert — met in 39 rounds, never finished ahead
Next targets
- A sub-10 3×3 single — 21,172 people have one; it is 1.25 away.
- A sub-2 2×2 single — 8,848 people have one; it is 0.92 away.
Targets move as he improves.