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People · Australia

James Blythe

2×2 · top 9.7% of 186,767 all-time · competing since September 2017 · 2017BLYT01

James Blythe has been competing for 9 years. His best event is the 2×2: a personal-best single of 2.58, set at Brisbane Summer 2025, puts him in the top 9.7% of the 186,767 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 739th in Australia. Until February 2008, no official 2×2 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 30 competitions since September 2017, he has put 651 official solves on the record across nine events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 13% around a typical one; 52% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds hold a tighter spread. His 3×3 best has come down from 42.39 in September 2017 to 12.43, a 71% improvement. James has entered 30 competitions, more competitions than 98% of everyone who has ever competed.

2×2
best event — top 9.7% of 186,767 all-time
2.58
signature single · Brisbane Summer 2025
651
official solves on the record
13%
solve-to-solve spread · wider than 52% of the field

Standing, event by event

vs everyone ever ranked
EventPB singlePB averageAll-time standingAustralia
2×22.584.34
top 9.7%739 / 8,567
3×312.4316.29
top 15.4%1,373 / 11,709
Pyraminx5.367.83
top 15.5%750 / 5,993
Clock9.5112.47
top 22.6%255 / 1,095
Skewb6.109.23
top 26.5%704 / 3,534
4×453.941:08.15
top 29.5%774 / 3,051
5×52:06.22—
top 53.2%726 / 1,356
Square-132.0552.30
top 53.3%524 / 899
3×3 one-handed38.1047.22
top 62.5%1,478 / 2,659

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

Brisbane Winter 2017: 42.39Brisbane Winter 2018: 24.87Northside Cube Day 2019: 29.20Koalafication Brisbane 2019: 23.05WCA World Championship 2019: 25.68Gold Coast Spring 2019: 23.78Northside Cube Days 2020: 22.44Adelaide Twin Saturday 2021: 18.16Brisbane Autumn 2022: 21.03Queensland Open 2022: 23.36Runaway Bay Sunday Challenge 2022: 25.58Northside Spring Saturday 2022: 19.38Rubik's WCA Oceanic Championship 2022: 19.12Brisbane Summer 2023: 19.54Queensland Open 2023: 19.28U Cube at UQ Saturday 2023: 14.84Australian Nationals 2023: 17.06Brisbane Summer 2024: 15.50Cubing in Corinda Sunday 2024: 16.50Queensland Open 2024: 16.88Australian Nationals 2024: 17.66MarsdeNxN 2024: 13.81Speedy Southport 2024: 16.14Adelaide Summer 2025: 12.43Brisbane Summer 2025: 12.95QLD State Championship 2025: 14.25Toowoomba Twist Off 2025: 13.82Australian Nationals 2025: 16.23Speedy Southport 2025: 13.76Cube Against Cancer Brisbane 2026: 17.9012.4342.3916 Sep 201714 Feb 2026

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.

  • Laura Ting — met in 117 rounds, finished ahead 24 times
  • Ming Dao Ting — met in 114 rounds, finished ahead 19 times
  • Hao Do — met in 107 rounds, finished ahead 11 times

Next targets

  • A sub-2 2×2 single — 8,848 people have one; it is 0.58 away.
  • A sub-12 3×3 single — 39,535 people have one; it is 0.43 away.

Targets move as he improves.