Sunday 6 September 2026 Rebuilt nightly from the WCA's official results · export of 6 September 2026 · About
The Middle Three
People → United States → James Donahue

People · United States

James Donahue

3×3 · top 2.0% of 284,439 all-time · competing since August 2010 · 2010DONA01

James Donahue has been competing for 16 years. His best event is the 3×3: a personal-best single of 7.51, set at Northeastern Fall 2015, puts him in the top 2.0% of the 284,439 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 1,185th in the United States. Until July 2008, no official 3×3 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 108 competitions since August 2010, he has put 3,475 official solves on the record across 13 events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 12% around a typical one, steadier than 77% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds. His 3×3 best has come down from 19.71 in November 2010 to 7.51, a 62% improvement. James has entered 108 competitions, more competitions than 99% of everyone who has ever competed.

3×3
best event — top 2.0% of 284,439 all-time
7.51
signature single · Northeastern Fall 2015
3,475
official solves on the record
12%
solve-to-solve spread · steadier than 77% of the field

Standing, event by event

vs everyone ever ranked
EventPB singlePB averageAll-time standingUnited States
3×37.519.64
top 2.0%1,185 / 59,724
3×3 one-handed12.3016.30
top 3.4%515 / 15,683
4×433.4042.53
top 5.3%818 / 19,072
2×22.154.10
top 5.8%2,333 / 40,951
5×51:06.531:16.38
top 9.3%729 / 9,401
6×62:15.382:37.25
top 18.2%642 / 4,196
Pyraminx5.8611.29
top 18.9%5,048 / 28,708
3×3 blindfolded1:34.333:20.48
top 24.7%503 / 2,092
7×73:46.154:03.57
top 25.8%725 / 3,184
Skewb6.1810.68
top 27.2%4,426 / 18,907
Megaminx1:33.671:42.69
top 30.5%2,141 / 7,841
3×3 Fewest Moves36 moves44.33
top 33.6%738 / 2,040
3×3 Multi-Blind2 of 2 cubes · 8:20—
top 61.7%475 / 731

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

MIT Fall 2010: 19.71Brown Cubing Day 2011: 16.16MIT Spring 2011: 13.13Harvard Spring 2011: 12.68Hackley Summer 2011: 12.36United States National Championships 2011: 12.27Yale Fall 2011: 11.90Harvard Fall 2011: 10.19MIT Fall 2011: 11.21MIT Spring 2012: 12.22Harvard Spring 2012: 12.43Yale Spring 2012: 10.71United States National Championships 2012: 9.02Harvard Fall 2012: 10.84Harvard Spring 2013: 10.19MIT Spring 2013: 11.13Yale Spring 2013: 10.78World Rubik's Cube Championship 2013: 10.28Harvard Fall 2013: 9.00US Nationals 2014: 9.25Harvard Fall 2014: 10.39MIT Fall 2014: 9.98MIT Spring 2015: 10.28Phillips Exeter Cube Day 2015: 10.56Lexington Fall 2015: 10.94Northeastern Fall 2015: 7.51Melrose Summer 2016: 10.98Phillips Exeter Cube Day 2016: 9.95South Berwick Open 2016: 9.19WPI Winter Cube Day 2017: 9.48Maybe Melrose Spring 2017: 10.16Blue Cubed 2018: 9.66Quinnipiac 2018: 10.26MIT Fall 2018: 11.08Fall Foliage Cubing 2018: 10.32The Battle of Lexington 2018: 9.92Boston University Winter 2019: 10.27Salem Cube Trials 2019: 10.76The Last Frontier Open 2019: 7.74Burke Mountain Cubing 2019: 9.10Empire State Spring 2019: 9.56STMHS Spring 2019: 9.76Brooklyn 2019: 8.43Cubing in Cambridge 2019: 9.23Colonie Spring 2019: 7.89CubingUSA Nationals 2019: 10.20Quabbin Summer 2019: 8.94Empire State Fall 2019: 9.24SBU Fall 2019: 10.92BA Four 2019: 9.09MIT Winter 2020: 10.05Cubing with the Viking 2020: 9.48Babylon Winter 2020: 8.41CubingUSA Northeast Championship 2022: 9.17Granite State 2022: 9.42Cubing in Beverly 2022: 9.96Naticube 2022: 10.07Cubing in Cambridge 2022: 9.38Puzzling in Providence 2023: 8.51Pioneer Valley Cubing B 2023: 9.86Garden City Winter 2023: 9.03Northampton Winter A 2023: 9.52Saint John's Scramble 2023: 9.66New Hampshire Spring 2023: 9.23Cubehenge 2023: 9.74Return to Quabbin 2023: 8.66Winchester Weeknights II 2023: 9.94Quick in Quincy 2023: 9.03Winchester Weeknights IV 2023: 9.09Mystic Cubikon 2023: 9.86Winchester Weeknights V 2023: 9.44Brookline Favorites 2023: 9.83CubingUSA New England Championship 2023: 8.65Northampton Fall B 2023: 9.03The Battle of Lexington 2024: 11.04WPI Winter 2024: 9.02Naticube 2024: 8.44Cubing at the Y - Stoughton 2024: 9.91QuabbiNxN 2024: 9.04A Morning in Cambridge 2024: 8.06Salem Cubikon 2024: 10.78Lexington Weeknights II 2024: 9.36Lexington Weeknights III 2024: 11.39Lexington Weeknights IV 2024: 10.20CubingUSA New England Championship 2024: 10.55Brookline Favorites 2024: 9.15Cubing at Hampton Beach 2025: 9.62CubingUSA New England Championship 2025: 9.92Lexington Weeknights VI 2025: 10.52Fitchburg Fall 2025: 9.96Phillips Exeter Cube Day 2025: 11.60Loon Cubikon NH 2025: 10.48New Hampshire Championship 2025: 10.68Ogunquit Winter 2025: 8.99Wakefield MA Spring 2026: 10.72Fitchburg Spring 2026: 8.78WPI Spring 2026: 11.10Wells Dual 2026: 9.637.5119.7113 Nov 20106 Jun 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.

  • Tim Reynolds — met in 390 rounds, finished ahead 232 times
  • Derek White — met in 292 rounds, finished ahead 56 times
  • Will Russo — met in 279 rounds, finished ahead 59 times

Next targets

  • A sub-6 3×3 single — 1,376 people have one; it is 1.51 away.
  • A sub-12 3×3 one-handed single — 2,187 people have one; it is 0.30 away.

Targets move as he improves.