People · Canada
James Qu
2×2 · top 4.0% of 186,767 all-time · competing since October 2025 · 2025QUJA01
James Qu has been competing for 11 months. His best event is the 2×2: a personal-best single of 1.88, set at Victoria Winter 2026, puts him in the top 4.0% of the 186,767 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 255th in Canada. Until February 2008, no official 2×2 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 4 competitions since October 2025, he has put 150 official solves on the record across eight events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 13% around a typical one, an early reading from 9 counted rounds. His 3×3 best has come down from 16.22 in October 2025 to 12.67, a 22% improvement. James has entered four competitions, more competitions than 78% of everyone who has ever competed.
Standing, event by event
vs everyone ever ranked| Event | PB single | PB average | All-time standing | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2×2 | 1.88 | 4.68 | top 4.0% | 255 / 7,173 | |
| 3×3 | 12.67 | 14.50 | top 16.3% | 1,541 / 10,392 | |
| Skewb | 5.02 | 7.42 | top 18.3% | 423 / 2,907 | |
| 4×4 | 45.35 | 48.39 | top 18.7% | 476 / 3,118 | |
| Pyraminx | 5.94 | 7.74 | top 19.5% | 801 / 4,858 | |
| 5×5 | 1:27.17 | 1:34.53 | top 25.0% | 301 / 1,499 | |
| Square-1 | 32.98 | 1:08.30 | top 55.0% | 491 / 952 | |
| Megaminx | 2:27.38 | — | early days — 2 solves | 710 / 1,375 |
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
- 24 May 2026Three personal bests in one day at Victoria Dockyard Sprint 2026.
- 4 Jan 2026First sub-15 3×3: 12.94 at Victoria Winter 2026.
- 4 Jan 2026Seven personal bests in one day at Victoria Winter 2026.
- 11 Oct 2025First competition: Richmond Fall 2025. A 16.22 3×3 single to start from.
Competitions
- Victoria Dockyard Sprint 2026 · 24 May 2026 — 3 personal bests set
- Richmond Spring 2026 · 11 Apr 2026
- Victoria Winter 2026 · 4 Jan 2026 — 7 personal bests set
- Richmond Fall 2025 · 11 Oct 2025
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.
- Kevin Lê — met in 31 rounds, never finished ahead
- DaYeong Kim (김다영) — met in 29 rounds, finished ahead 12 times
- Heewon Hwang — met in 29 rounds, finished ahead 5 times
Next targets
- A sub-1 2×2 single — 1,032 people have one; it is 0.88 away.
- A sub-12 3×3 single — 39,535 people have one; it is 0.67 away.
Targets move as he improves.