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James Hughes

Square-1 · top 1.7% of 25,272 all-time · competing since August 2022 · 2022HUGH08

James Hughes has been competing for 4 years. His best event is the Square-1: a personal-best single of 6.95, set at Rubik's Irish Championship 2025, puts him in the top 1.7% of the 25,272 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 4th in Ireland. Until June 2016, no official Square-1 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 32 competitions since August 2022, he has put 1,350 official solves on the record across ten events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 13% around a typical one, steadier than 60% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds. His 3×3 best has come down from 41.79 in August 2022 to 8.84, a 79% improvement. James has entered 32 competitions, more competitions than 98% of everyone who has ever competed.

Square-1
best event — top 1.7% of 25,272 all-time
6.95
signature single · Rubik's Irish Championship 2025
1,350
official solves on the record
13%
solve-to-solve spread · steadier than 60% of the field

Standing, event by event

vs everyone ever ranked
EventPB singlePB averageAll-time standingIreland
Square-16.958.49
top 1.7%4 / 194
2×21.673.60
top 2.9%55 / 1,163
Pyraminx3.125.19
top 4.1%59 / 911
3×38.8410.82
top 4.5%71 / 1,427
Skewb3.716.65
top 9.0%62 / 624
4×438.5350.74
top 10.4%63 / 579
3×3 one-handed18.5220.86
top 16.5%58 / 448
Megaminx1:12.941:23.93
top 17.4%53 / 283
Clock8.6310.40
top 18.1%71 / 331
5×51:40.601:50.02
top 35.8%105 / 296

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

Dublin Open Saturday 2022: 41.79Cubing in Cill Chainnigh 2022: 39.20Irish Championship 2022: 32.37Belfast Winter 2023: 29.11Cork Spring 2023: 27.83Turnin' in Termonfeckin Saturday 2023: 21.93It's a Long Way to Tipperary 2023: 17.53Irish Championship 2023: 16.03Dublin Summer Solving Sunday 2023: 15.17Cubing in Cill Chainnigh 2023: 14.49Mayo Cubing 2023: 13.53Don't Fail Kinsale 2023: 13.22Corduff Cubing Saturday 2024: 13.32Turnin' Offaly Fast 2024: 15.18UCD Cube Days 2024: 13.0250 and Counting Ireland 2024: 14.32Please Be Qualified Ireland 2024: 11.78Rubik's Irish Championship 2024: 12.95Rubik's WCA European Championship 2024: 11.67Cubing with the Kilkenny Cats Sunday 2024: 12.42Mayo Cubing 2024: 10.65Tír Chonaill Cubing 2024: 12.32Don't Fail Kinsale 2024: 10.96Marble City Cubing IE 2025: 10.40UCD Cube Days 2025: 10.96It's a Long Way to Tipperary 2025: 11.77Rubik's WCA World Championship 2025: 9.85Rubik's Irish Championship 2025: 14.00Rebel County Colours 2025: 8.84TUD Unscramble Day 2026: 11.408.8441.7920 Aug 202221 Mar 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-6 Square-1 single — 201 people have one; it is 0.95 away.
  • A sub-1 2×2 single — 1,032 people have one; it is 0.67 away.

Targets move as he improves.