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Durham Lee Wells

3×3 · top 2.8% of 284,439 all-time · competing since April 2023 · 2023WELL04

Durham Lee Wells has been competing for 3 years. His best event is the 3×3: a personal-best single of 7.99, set at Slow N Steady UMD Spring 2025, puts him in the top 2.8% of the 284,439 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 1,598th in the United States. Until July 2008, no official 3×3 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 22 competitions since April 2023, he has put 941 official solves on the record across 13 events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 13% around a typical one, steadier than 51% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds. His 3×3 best has come down from 27.07 in April 2023 to 7.99, a 70% improvement. Durham has entered 22 competitions, more competitions than 97% of everyone who has ever competed.

3×3
best event — top 2.8% of 284,439 all-time
7.99
signature single · Slow N Steady UMD Spring 2025
941
official solves on the record
13%
solve-to-solve spread · steadier than 51% of the field

Standing, event by event

vs everyone ever ranked
EventPB singlePB averageAll-time standingUnited States
3×37.9910.50
top 2.8%1,598 / 59,724
Pyraminx3.134.88
top 4.1%1,090 / 28,708
2×22.253.42
top 6.6%2,616 / 40,951
Skewb3.425.96
top 7.2%1,125 / 18,907
Clock7.599.05
top 13.3%1,019 / 8,927
4×443.8953.07
top 16.9%2,563 / 19,072
3×3 one-handed19.8323.31
top 20.0%2,577 / 15,683
5×51:21.481:30.38
top 20.3%1,586 / 9,401
Square-117.7123.14
top 22.7%1,497 / 6,743
Megaminx1:40.582:01.01
top 34.9%2,489 / 7,841
6×62:49.283:02.62
top 35.7%1,287 / 4,196
7×74:23.835:21.29
top 39.0%1,098 / 3,184
3×3 Fewest Moves51 moves54.00
early days — 3 solves1,655 / 2,040

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

ODU Big Blue Spring 2023: 27.07Concord Summer 2023: 16.20North Carolina Championship 2023: 13.39Rocky Top 2023: 11.88ODU Big Blue Winter 2024: 10.25Clayton State Cubing 2024: 11.22Upstate Palmetto Puzzles 2024: 10.80CubingUSA Southeast Championship 2024: 11.37Pretzel Mania Summer 2024: 8.85Bull City Summer NC 2024: 10.19CubingUSA Mid-Atlantic Championship 2024: 10.59Colonial Cube Clash VA 2024: 12.03NCSU Wolfpack 2024: 11.22Ohio State Nearly New Years 2024: 8.27Charlotte Winter 2025: 9.74Slow N Steady UMD Spring 2025: 7.99Gobbler Cube Day Spring at VT 2025: 11.21Cubing in School Westminster 2025: 11.19North Carolina Championship 2025: 10.90Rubik's WCA World Championship 2025: 11.69Concord Summer 2025: 10.307.9927.0722 Apr 20237 Sep 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.

  • Nathan Smith — met in 133 rounds, finished ahead 91 times
  • Katie Hull — met in 120 rounds, finished ahead 4 times
  • Eddie Szuster — met in 119 rounds, finished ahead 66 times

Next targets

  • A sub-6 3×3 single — 1,376 people have one; it is 1.99 away.
  • A sub-3 Pyraminx single — 4,700 people have one; it is 0.13 away.

Targets move as he improves.