People · United Kingdom
James Phan
Clock · top 1.6% of 32,048 all-time · competing since September 2024 · 2024PHAN08
James Phan has been competing for 2 years. His best event is the Clock: a personal-best single of 3.55, set at Leeds Spring 2026, puts him in the top 1.6% of the 32,048 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 27th in the United Kingdom. Until July 2018, no official Clock solve in the world had been that fast. Across 13 competitions since September 2024, he has put 395 official solves on the record across seven events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 13% around a typical one; 60% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds hold a tighter spread. His 3×3 best has come down from 18.45 in September 2024 to 10.02, a 46% improvement. James has entered 13 competitions, more competitions than 94% of everyone who has ever competed.
Standing, event by event
vs everyone ever ranked| Event | PB single | PB average | All-time standing | United Kingdom | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clock | 3.55 | 4.78 | top 1.6% | 27 / 1,232 | |
| 2×2 | 2.35 | 4.52 | top 7.5% | 519 / 4,895 | |
| 3×3 | 10.02 | 12.50 | top 7.5% | 550 / 6,689 | |
| Pyraminx | 4.79 | 6.44 | top 11.9% | 467 / 3,656 | |
| Skewb | 5.10 | 7.86 | top 18.9% | 440 / 2,421 | |
| 3×3 one-handed | 19.69 | 23.28 | top 19.7% | 377 / 1,851 | |
| 4×4 | 46.71 | 56.24 | top 20.4% | 458 / 2,071 |
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
- 11 Oct 2025Three personal bests in one day at Stevenage October 2025.
- 22 Aug 2025Three personal bests in one day at Rubik's UK Championship 2025.
- 18 Apr 2025Five personal bests in one day at Manchester Spring 2025.
- 1 Mar 2025First sub-15 3×3: 14.72 at Stevenage March 2025.
- 1 Nov 2024Three personal bests in one day at Rubik's UK Championship 2024.
- 14 Sep 2024First competition: Stevenage Beginners September A 2024. A 27.96 3×3 single to start from.
Competitions
- Kewbz UK Championship 2026 · 28 Aug 2026 — 1 personal best set
- Leeds Spring 2026 · 11 Apr 2026 — 2 personal bests set
- Stevenage March 2026 · 14 Mar 2026 — 1 personal best set
- Stevenage January 2026 · 10 Jan 2026 — 1 personal best set
- Leicestershire Autumn 2025 · 29 Nov 2025 — 2 personal bests set
- Stevenage October 2025 · 11 Oct 2025 — 3 personal bests set
- Rubik's UK Championship 2025 · 22 Aug 2025 — 3 personal bests set
- Coventry Spring 2025 · 24 May 2025 — 2 personal bests set
- Manchester Spring 2025 · 18 Apr 2025 — 5 personal bests set
- Stevenage March 2025 · 1 Mar 2025 — 2 personal bests set
- Rubik's UK Championship 2024 · 1 Nov 2024 — 3 personal bests set
- Ipswich Autumn 2024 · 12 Oct 2024 — 1 personal best set
- Stevenage Beginners September A 2024 · 14 Sep 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.
- Cham J. Chambers — met in 60 rounds, finished ahead twice
- Jacob Sherwen Brown — met in 59 rounds, never finished ahead
- Noah Calderon-Kamata — met in 57 rounds, finished ahead 5 times
Next targets
- A sub-3 Clock single — 239 people have one; it is 0.55 away.
- A sub-2 2×2 single — 8,848 people have one; it is 0.35 away.
Targets move as he improves.