People · United States
James Houle
Clock · top 8.6% of 32,048 all-time · competing since August 2024 · 2024HOUL03
James Houle has been competing for 2 years. His best event is the Clock: a personal-best single of 6.38, set at Vegas Cubing Cup Summer 2025, puts him in the top 8.6% of the 32,048 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 668th in the United States. Until June 2010, no official Clock solve in the world had been that fast. Across 6 competitions since August 2024, he has put 142 official solves on the record across seven events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 14% around a typical one, an early reading from 9 counted rounds. His 3×3 best has come down from 23.31 in August 2024 to 13.62, a 42% improvement. James has entered six competitions, more competitions than 86% of everyone who has ever competed.
Standing, event by event
vs everyone ever ranked| Event | PB single | PB average | All-time standing | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clock | 6.38 | 7.27 | top 8.6% | 668 / 8,927 | |
| Pyraminx | 5.46 | 8.49 | top 16.2% | 4,280 / 28,708 | |
| 3×3 | 13.62 | 17.93 | top 19.6% | 10,565 / 59,724 | |
| 2×2 | 3.46 | 4.36 | top 19.7% | 7,726 / 40,951 | |
| Skewb | 6.81 | 8.86 | top 32.2% | 5,365 / 18,907 | |
| 4×4 | 1:29.27 | — | early days — 3 solves | 11,045 / 19,072 | |
| 3×3 one-handed | 1:04.81 | — | early days — 2 solves | 13,101 / 15,683 |
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
- 12 Oct 2025First sub-15 3×3: 14.51 at Mission Viejo Fall 2025.
- 12 Oct 2025Three personal bests in one day at Mission Viejo Fall 2025.
- 9 Aug 2025First sub-20 3×3: 16.86 at Vegas Cubing Cup Summer 2025.
- 9 Aug 2025Five personal bests in one day at Vegas Cubing Cup Summer 2025.
- 31 Aug 2024First competition: La La Land 2024. A 23.31 3×3 single to start from.
Competitions
- Mission Viejo Fall 2025 · 12 Oct 2025 — 3 personal bests set
- UCLA Westerns Warmup 2025 · 24 Aug 2025
- Vegas Cubing Cup Summer 2025 · 9 Aug 2025 — 5 personal bests set
- West Coast Cubing Tour: Los Angeles 2025 · 22 Jun 2025 — 1 personal best set
- UCSB Cubing 2024 · 19 Oct 2024 — 2 personal bests set
- La La Land 2024 · 31 Aug 2024 — 1 personal best set
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.
- Dominic Shoji — met in 32 rounds, finished ahead once
- Emil Lazaryev — met in 32 rounds, never finished ahead
- Shane Grogan — met in 28 rounds, finished ahead 7 times
Next targets
- A sub-6 Clock single — 2,324 people have one; it is 0.38 away.
- A sub-5 Pyraminx single — 17,019 people have one; it is 0.46 away.
Targets move as he improves.