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The Middle Three
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People · United States

James Chea

3×3 · top 0.11% of 284,439 all-time · competing since July 2022 · 2022CHEA05

James Chea has been competing for 4 years. His best event is the 3×3: a personal-best single of 4.94, set at Berkeley November Weekday 2025, puts him in the top 0.11% of the 284,439 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 69th in the United States. Until November 2015, no official 3×3 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 52 competitions since July 2022, he has put 1,493 official solves on the record across twelve events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 15% around a typical one; 86% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds hold a tighter spread. His 3×3 best has come down from 7.61 in July 2022 to 4.94, a 35% improvement. James has entered 52 competitions, more competitions than 99% of everyone who has ever competed.

3×3
best event — top 0.11% of 284,439 all-time
4.94
signature single · Berkeley November Weekday 2025
1,493
official solves on the record
15%
solve-to-solve spread · wider than 86% of the field

Standing, event by event

vs everyone ever ranked
EventPB singlePB averageAll-time standingUnited States
3×34.947.02
top 0.11%69 / 59,724
Square-15.647.00
top 0.57%56 / 6,743
4×425.9931.64
top 0.98%167 / 19,072
2×21.543.09
top 2.3%920 / 40,951
Skewb2.644.67
top 3.4%529 / 18,907
3×3 one-handed13.8116.10
top 5.8%805 / 15,683
3×3 blindfolded38.97—
top 6.5%126 / 2,092
Pyraminx4.677.01
top 11.2%2,922 / 28,708
3×3 Fewest Moves33 moves39.33
early days — 3 solves507 / 2,040
Megaminx1:37.011:44.85
top 32.7%2,308 / 7,841
5×51:43.322:01.03
top 37.8%3,021 / 9,401
Clock19.2225.16
top 62.4%5,284 / 8,927

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

Bay Area Speedcubin' 35 - Pacifica 2022: 7.61Berkeley Fall 2022: 7.36Bay Area Speedcubin' 39 2022: 6.86Bay Area Speedcubin' 40 - San Ramon 2022: 7.07Berkeley Winter B 2023: 7.74Bay Area Speedcubin' 41 2023: 7.37Berkeley Spring 2023: 7.83Bay Area Speedcubin' 43 2023: 7.16SacCubing XIV 2023: 7.20Bay Area Speedcubin' 47 - Berkeley Pride 2023: 6.11Bay Area Speedcubin' 48 - 6.25 Berkeley 2023: 6.73CubingUSA Western Championship 2023: 7.00Bay Area Speedcubin' 50 - Berkeley 2023: 7.98Berkeley Summer 2023: 7.44Bay Area Speedcubin' 51 Live - SSF 2023: 6.94SacCubing XV 2023: 6.34Bay Area Speedcubin' 52 - Belmont 2023: 6.00Bay Area Speedcubin' 53 - Berkeley 2023: 6.96Bay Area Speedcubin' 54 Live - SSF 2023: 7.23Berkeley Fall 2023: 6.71Bay Area Speedcubin' 55 - San Ramon 2024: 5.85SacCubing XVI 2024: 7.57Berkeley Winter 2024: 6.82Berkeley Spring 2024: 7.45Bay Area Speedcubin' 65 - Berkeley 2024: 7.98Berkeley October Weekday Tricubealon 2024: 6.68Cool Down Berkeley 2024: 6.46Berkeley November Weekday Tricubealon 2024: 6.70Berkeley January Weekday Tricubealon 2025: 6.08Berkeley Winter 2025: 7.46Berkeley Spring 2025: 7.22Rubik's WCA World Championship 2025: 6.40Berkeley August Weekday 2025: 6.77Berkeley September Weekday 2025: 7.44San Ramon Fall 2025: 6.88Berkeley Fall 2025: 7.01Berkeley October Weekday 2025: 7.25Cool Down Berkeley 2025: 6.73Berkeley November Weekday 2025: 4.94SacCubing XXII 2026: 6.91Berkeley January Weekday 2026: 6.51Berkeley February Weekday 2026: 6.19Berkeley Favorites 2026: 6.05Berkeley March Weekday 2026: 6.90Berkeley Spring 2026: 5.89Berkeley May Weekday 2026: 6.68Bay Area Speedcubin' 69 2026: 6.344.947.9830 Jul 202229 Aug 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.

Next targets

  • A sub-4 3×3 single — 38 people have one; it is 0.94 away.
  • A sub-5 Square-1 single — 68 people have one; it is 0.64 away.

Targets move as he improves.