People · United States
James Bowman
3×3 · top 5.2% of 284,439 all-time · competing since April 2023 · 2023BOWM01
James Bowman has been competing for 3 years. His best event is the 3×3: a personal-best single of 9.13, set at Pretzel Mania Summer 2024, puts him in the top 5.2% of the 284,439 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 2,884th in the United States. Until May 2008, no official 3×3 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 7 competitions since April 2023, he has put 275 official solves on the record across twelve events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 14% around a typical one; 63% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds hold a tighter spread. That figure sets aside his 5 DNFs. His 3×3 best has come down from 16.11 in April 2023 to 9.13, a 43% improvement. James has entered seven competitions, more competitions than 88% 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 | 9.13 | 12.27 | top 5.2% | 2,884 / 59,724 | |
| 2×2 | 2.34 | 3.10 | top 7.4% | 2,922 / 40,951 | |
| Pyraminx | 4.13 | 5.26 | top 8.3% | 2,130 / 28,708 | |
| 4×4 | 46.85 | 56.56 | top 20.6% | 3,131 / 19,072 | |
| Megaminx | 1:29.34 | 1:43.63 | top 27.8% | 1,918 / 7,841 | |
| 3×3 one-handed | 22.78 | 30.29 | top 28.2% | 3,638 / 15,683 | |
| Skewb | 6.82 | 9.73 | top 32.2% | 5,377 / 18,907 | |
| 5×5 | 1:38.03 | 1:41.63 | top 33.9% | 2,689 / 9,401 | |
| Square-1 | 26.45 | 47.54 | top 42.3% | 2,746 / 6,743 | |
| Clock | 14.54 | 17.40 | top 46.1% | 3,719 / 8,927 | |
| 6×6 | 3:18.93 | 3:33.46 | top 50.0% | 1,873 / 4,196 | |
| 7×7 | 5:31.21 | — | early days — 1 solve | 1,795 / 3,184 |
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
- 31 Aug 2024Six personal bests in one day at Pretzel Mania Summer 2024.
- 21 Jun 2024First sub-10 3×3: 9.60 at Pennsylvania Championship 2024.
- 21 Jun 2024Six personal bests in one day at Pennsylvania Championship 2024.
- 9 Mar 2024Five personal bests in one day at New-Cumberland County 2024.
- 3 Feb 2024Four personal bests in one day at NoVa Cube Winter 2024.
- 2 Sep 2023First sub-15 3×3: 14.64 at Pretzel Mania Summer 2023.
Competitions
- Pretzel Mania Summer 2024 · 31 Aug 2024 — 6 personal bests set
- Pennsylvania Championship 2024 · 21 Jun 2024 — 6 personal bests set
- New-Cumberland County 2024 · 9 Mar 2024 — 5 personal bests set
- NoVa Cube Winter 2024 · 3 Feb 2024 — 4 personal bests set
- Slow N Steady Fall 2023 · 7 Oct 2023 — 2 personal bests set
- Pretzel Mania Summer 2023 · 2 Sep 2023 — 4 personal bests set
- Cougar Qualifier 2023 · 29 Apr 2023
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.
- Panashe Sharma — met in 61 rounds, finished ahead 4 times
- Carter Williams — met in 55 rounds, finished ahead 6 times
- Leland Pak — met in 53 rounds, finished ahead 31 times
Next targets
- A sub-8 3×3 single — 7,931 people have one; it is 1.13 away.
- A sub-2 2×2 single — 8,848 people have one; it is 0.34 away.
Targets move as he improves.