People · United States
James Bird
3×3 · top 1.5% of 284,439 all-time · competing since October 2021 · 2021BIRD01
James Bird has been competing for 5 years. His best event is the 3×3: a personal-best single of 7.14, set at McMinnville Favorites 2026, puts him in the top 1.5% of the 284,439 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 903rd in the United States. Until July 2008, no official 3×3 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 12 competitions since October 2021, he has put 388 official solves on the record across eight events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 11% around a typical one, steadier than 83% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds. His 3×3 best has come down from 15.36 in October 2021 to 7.14, a 54% improvement. James has entered twelve 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 | 7.14 | 9.45 | top 1.5% | 903 / 59,724 | |
| 4×4 | 31.56 | 35.84 | top 3.8% | 619 / 19,072 | |
| 3×3 one-handed | 15.13 | 19.34 | top 8.4% | 1,111 / 15,683 | |
| 5×5 | 1:05.36 | 1:09.24 | top 8.6% | 670 / 9,401 | |
| 6×6 | 2:03.21 | 2:10.77 | top 12.4% | 448 / 4,196 | |
| 2×2 | 3.18 | 3.61 | top 16.4% | 6,428 / 40,951 | |
| 7×7 | 3:44.29 | 3:48.21 | top 25.0% | 705 / 3,184 | |
| Square-1 | 21.10 | 25.43 | top 30.4% | 1,970 / 6,743 |
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 Aug 2026Three personal bests in one day at Northwest Championship 2026.
- 7 Mar 2026Four personal bests in one day at McMinnville Favorites 2026.
- 24 Jan 2026Five personal bests in one day at Utah Ice Cubing 2026.
- 6 Dec 2025First sub-10 3×3: 9.33 at Oregon State Fall 2025.
- 6 Dec 2025Five personal bests in one day at Oregon State Fall 2025.
- 13 Sep 2024Five personal bests in one day at Oregon Championship 2024.
Competitions
- Northwest Championship 2026 · 21 Aug 2026 — 3 personal bests set
- McMinnville Favorites 2026 · 7 Mar 2026 — 4 personal bests set
- UO Valentine's Day 2026 · 14 Feb 2026 — 2 personal bests set
- Utah Ice Cubing 2026 · 24 Jan 2026 — 5 personal bests set
- Portland in a Pyra Tree 2025 · 20 Dec 2025 — 1 personal best set
- Oregon State Fall 2025 · 6 Dec 2025 — 5 personal bests set
- McMinnville Cubing Fall 2024 · 21 Sep 2024 — 2 personal bests set
- Oregon Championship 2024 · 13 Sep 2024 — 5 personal bests set
- Couve Cubing Spring 2024 · 9 Mar 2024 — 3 personal bests set
- Central Washington Odds 2023 · 11 Mar 2023 — 4 personal bests set
- Rose City 2022 · 7 May 2022 — 1 personal best set
- Utah Fall 2021 · 23 Oct 2021
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.
- Ezra Fish — met in 61 rounds, finished ahead 3 times
- Benjamin Gottschalk — met in 60 rounds, finished ahead 3 times
- Tripp Peters — met in 58 rounds, finished ahead 25 times
Next targets
- A sub-6 3×3 single — 1,376 people have one; it is 1.14 away.
- A sub-30 4×4 single — 2,388 people have one; it is 1.56 away.
Targets move as he improves.