People · United States
Ken Strother
3×3 · top 4.8% of 284,439 all-time · competing since September 2012 · 2012STRO01
Ken Strother has been competing for 14 years. His best event is the 3×3: a personal-best single of 8.96, set at River Hill Fall 2023, puts him in the top 4.8% of the 284,439 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 2,672nd in the United States. Until May 2008, no official 3×3 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 21 competitions since September 2012, he has put 471 official solves on the record across ten events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 10% around a typical one, steadier than 98% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds. His 3×3 best has come down from 53.46 in September 2012 to 8.96, an 83% improvement. Ken has entered 21 competitions, more competitions than 97% 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 | 8.96 | 10.84 | top 4.8% | 2,672 / 59,724 | |
| 4×4 | 40.39 | 44.92 | top 12.6% | 1,849 / 19,072 | |
| 3×3 one-handed | 17.25 | 21.73 | top 13.2% | 1,704 / 15,683 | |
| 5×5 | 1:20.89 | 1:31.50 | top 19.8% | 1,552 / 9,401 | |
| 2×2 | 4.86 | 6.00 | top 37.5% | 15,007 / 40,951 | |
| 6×6 | 2:57.45 | 3:01.65 | early days — 3 solves | 1,452 / 4,196 | |
| Megaminx | 2:09.17 | — | early days — 2 solves | 3,789 / 7,841 | |
| Pyraminx | 10.01 | 14.50 | top 53.1% | 15,496 / 28,708 | |
| Square-1 | 53.90 | — | top 79.4% | 5,279 / 6,743 | |
| Skewb | 16.52 | 25.39 | top 82.8% | 15,901 / 18,907 |
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 Sep 2016First sub-10 3×3: 9.97 at Slow N Steady Fall 2016.
- 24 Sep 2016Three personal bests in one day at Slow N Steady Fall 2016.
- 30 Jan 2016Four personal bests in one day at Slow N Steady Winter 2016.
- 31 Jul 2015Four personal bests in one day at US Nationals 2015.
- 15 Feb 2014First sub-15 3×3: 14.28 at Princeton Winter 2014.
- 15 Feb 2014Three personal bests in one day at Princeton Winter 2014.
Competitions
- Rubik's WCA World Championship 2025 · 3 Jul 2025
- River Hill Fall 2023 · 21 Oct 2023 — 2 personal bests set
- CubingUSA Nationals 2023 · 27 Jul 2023 — 1 personal best set
- Red Cross Cubing Open 2017 · 22 Apr 2017
- Severna Park Fall 2016 · 29 Oct 2016
- Princeton Fall 2016 · 22 Oct 2016 — 2 personal bests set
- Slow N Steady Fall 2016 · 24 Sep 2016 — 3 personal bests set
- US Nationals 2016 · 29 Jul 2016 — 2 personal bests set
- Severna Park Spring 2016 · 30 Apr 2016 — 1 personal best set
- Slow N Steady Winter 2016 · 30 Jan 2016 — 4 personal bests set
- Slow n Steady Fall 2015 · 26 Sep 2015 — 1 personal best set
- US Nationals 2015 · 31 Jul 2015 — 4 personal bests set
- River Hill Summer 2014 · 6 Sep 2014
- Starlight Open 2014 · 9 Aug 2014
- US Nationals 2014 · 1 Aug 2014 — 2 personal bests set
- Princeton Winter 2014 · 15 Feb 2014 — 3 personal bests set
- Starlight Open 2013 · 16 Nov 2013 — 1 personal best set
- World Rubik's Cube Championship 2013 · 26 Jul 2013 — 3 personal bests set
- Princeton Spring 2013 · 30 Mar 2013 — 3 personal bests set
- Levittown Open 2012 · 1 Dec 2012 — 2 personal bests set
- Princeton Fall 2012 · 22 Sep 2012
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.
- Corey Sakowski — met in 88 rounds, finished ahead 21 times
- Dan Selzer — met in 73 rounds, finished ahead twice
- Keaton Ellis — met in 67 rounds, never finished ahead
Next targets
- A sub-8 3×3 single — 7,931 people have one; it is 0.96 away.
- A sub-40 4×4 single — 10,180 people have one; it is 0.39 away.
Targets move as he improves.