People · Portugal
José Maria Morgado Melo Gomes da Costa
2×2 · top 1.2% of 189,179 all-time · competing since August 2025 · 2025COST15
José Maria Morgado Melo Gomes da Costa has been competing for a year. His best event is the 2×2: a personal-best single of 1.26, set at Almourol Riverside 2026, puts him in the top 1.2% of the 189,179 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 6th in Portugal. Until November 2008, no official 2×2 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 13 competitions since August 2025, he has put 665 official solves on the record across twelve events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 15% around a typical one; 86% of the 36,406 competitors with ten or more counted rounds hold a tighter spread. His 2×2 best has come down from 5.31 in August 2025 to 1.26, a 76% improvement. He 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 | Portugal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2×2 | 1.26 | 3.69 | top 1.2% | 6 / 429 | |
| Clock | 4.30 | 5.26 | top 2.9% | 2 / 132 | |
| Pyraminx | 4.06 | 5.13 | top 8.0% | 19 / 269 | |
| 3×3 | 10.86 | 14.65 | top 10.1% | 61 / 565 | |
| Square-1 | 12.43 | 18.22 | top 10.8% | 12 / 98 | |
| Megaminx | 1:13.03 | 1:20.68 | top 17.5% | 19 / 115 | |
| Skewb | 5.62 | 7.34 | top 22.9% | 53 / 183 | |
| 5×5 | 1:24.59 | 1:44.79 | top 23.0% | 21 / 112 | |
| 4×4 | 49.16 | 54.63 | top 23.7% | 52 / 228 | |
| 7×7 | 4:03.00 | 4:18.83 | top 31.9% | 10 / 42 | |
| 6×6 | 2:43.10 | 3:07.88 | top 32.5% | 16 / 43 | |
| 3×3 one-handed | 24.62 | 35.44 | top 33.3% | 51 / 162 |
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, 2×2. Faster is higher — the axis is the right way up.
The story so far
- 9 Oct 2026Four personal bests in one day at Portugal Championship 2026.
- 29 Aug 2026Three personal bests in one day at Azeméis Open 2026.
- 27 Jun 2026Three personal bests in one day at Almourol Riverside 2026.
- 14 Jun 2026Four personal bests in one day at Boards & Cubes Venteira - Mini B 2026.
- 30 May 2026Three personal bests in one day at Mina de Água NxN 2026.
- 18 Apr 2026Five personal bests in one day at Seomara Cube Fest 2026.
Competitions
- Portugal Championship 2026 · 9 Oct 2026 — 4 personal bests set
- Mina de Água Warm Up 2026 · 19 Sep 2026 — 1 personal best set
- Azeméis Open 2026 · 29 Aug 2026 — 3 personal bests set
- Almourol Riverside 2026 · 27 Jun 2026 — 3 personal bests set
- Boards & Cubes Venteira - Mini B 2026 · 14 Jun 2026 — 4 personal bests set
- Mina de Água NxN 2026 · 30 May 2026 — 3 personal bests set
- Seomara Cube Fest 2026 · 18 Apr 2026 — 5 personal bests set
- Twists & Turns SFRAA 2026 · 28 Mar 2026 — 5 personal bests set
- AEO Moliceiro Open 2026 · 31 Jan 2026 — 2 personal bests set
- Portugal Championship 2025 · 29 Nov 2025 — 12 personal bests set
- Boards & Cubes Venteira III 2025 · 14 Nov 2025 — 2 personal bests set
- Venteira Mix-Up 2025 · 27 Sep 2025 — 5 personal bests set
- Azeméis Open 2025 · 23 Aug 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.
- Fausto Claro da Fonte — met in 111 rounds, finished ahead 40 times
- Pedro Azevedo — met in 111 rounds, finished ahead 18 times
- Tiago Morais — met in 110 rounds, finished ahead 10 times
Next targets
- A sub-1 2×2 single — 1,050 people have one; it is 0.26 away.
- A sub-4 Clock single — 754 people have one; it is 0.30 away.
Targets move as he improves.