People · United States
Kaden Nelson
3×3 · top 9.1% of 284,439 all-time · competing since November 2023 · 2023NELS17
Kaden Nelson has been competing for 3 years. His best event is the 3×3: a personal-best single of 10.54, set at Charlotte Winter 2025, puts him in the top 9.1% of the 284,439 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 4,966th in the United States. Until August 2006, no official 3×3 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 5 competitions since November 2023, he has put 104 official solves on the record across six events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 15% around a typical one; 83% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds hold a tighter spread. His 3×3 best has come down from 12.17 in November 2023 to 10.54, a 13% improvement. Kaden has entered five competitions, more competitions than 83% of everyone who has ever competed.
Standing, event by event
vs everyone ever ranked| Event | PB single | PB average | All-time standing | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3×3 | 10.54 | 13.68 | top 9.1% | 4,966 / 59,724 | |
| 2×2 | 2.98 | 5.10 | top 14.0% | 5,504 / 40,951 | |
| 4×4 | 43.99 | 50.63 | top 17.0% | 2,586 / 19,072 | |
| 5×5 | 1:25.49 | 1:41.62 | top 23.7% | 1,838 / 9,401 | |
| 7×7 | 5:07.62 | — | early days — 1 solve | 1,553 / 3,184 | |
| 6×6 | 3:35.84 | — | early days — 2 solves | 2,173 / 4,196 |
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 2024Four personal bests in one day at CubingUSA Mid-Atlantic Championship 2024.
- 4 Nov 2023First competition: North Carolina Championship 2023. A 12.17 3×3 single to start from.
Competitions
- NCSU Wolfpack 2025 · 19 Oct 2025 — 2 personal bests set
- Charlotte Winter 2025 · 25 Jan 2025 — 2 personal bests set
- NCSU Wolfpack 2024 · 10 Nov 2024 — 1 personal best set
- CubingUSA Mid-Atlantic Championship 2024 · 12 Oct 2024 — 4 personal bests set
- North Carolina Championship 2023 · 4 Nov 2023
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.
- Chase Pak — met in 24 rounds, finished ahead 4 times
- Rue Clippinger — met in 24 rounds, finished ahead twice
- Raghav Reddy — met in 24 rounds, never finished ahead
Next targets
- A sub-10 3×3 single — 21,172 people have one; it is 0.54 away.
- A sub-2 2×2 single — 8,848 people have one; it is 0.98 away.
Targets move as he improves.