People · Panama
Mark Chen
3×3 · top 3.6% of 288,433 all-time · competing since December 2022 · 2022CHEM02
Mark Chen has been competing for 4 years. His best event is the 3×3: a personal-best single of 8.40, set at Road to Nats: El Dorado 2026, puts him in the top 3.6% of the 288,433 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 11th in Panama. Until July 2008, no official 3×3 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 7 competitions since December 2022, he has put 175 official solves on the record across six events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 14% around a typical one; 67% of the 36,406 competitors with ten or more counted rounds hold a tighter spread. His 3×3 best has come down from 18.74 in December 2022 to 8.40, a 55% improvement. Mark has entered seven competitions, more competitions than 88% of everyone who has ever competed.
Standing, event by event
vs everyone ever ranked| Event | PB single | PB average | All-time standing | Panama | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3×3 | 8.40 | 10.16 | top 3.6% | 11 / 283 | |
| 2×2 | 3.14 | 3.95 | top 16.0% | 34 / 192 | |
| Pyraminx | 5.49 | 10.11 | top 16.4% | 20 / 110 | |
| 3×3 one-handed | 19.25 | 21.50 | top 18.6% | 20 / 80 | |
| 4×4 | 1:10.79 | 1:15.01 | top 47.7% | 43 / 71 | |
| Skewb | 11.40 | 16.38 | top 63.0% | 48 / 68 |
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
- 8 Nov 2025First sub-10 3×3: 9.00 at Panama Nationals 2025.
- 8 Nov 2025Six personal bests in one day at Panama Nationals 2025.
- 20 Sep 2025Three personal bests in one day at Dolphin Cup ISP II 2025.
- 16 Aug 2025Three personal bests in one day at Beyond the Cube PTY 2025.
- 11 Aug 2023First sub-15 3×3: 13.19 at Panama Nationals 2023.
- 11 Aug 2023Five personal bests in one day at Panama Nationals 2023.
Competitions
- Road to Nats: El Dorado 2026 · 17 Oct 2026 — 2 personal bests set
- UTP Speedcubing Open 2026 · 2 May 2026 — 1 personal best set
- Panama Nationals 2025 · 8 Nov 2025 — 6 personal bests set
- Dolphin Cup ISP II 2025 · 20 Sep 2025 — 3 personal bests set
- Beyond the Cube PTY 2025 · 16 Aug 2025 — 3 personal bests set
- Panama Nationals 2023 · 11 Aug 2023 — 5 personal bests set
- Panama Nationals 2022 · 17 Dec 2022
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.
- Egdar Castillo — met in 35 rounds, finished ahead 17 times
- Omar Arrocha — met in 29 rounds, finished ahead 21 times
- Ezequiel Cedeño — met in 29 rounds, finished ahead 8 times
Next targets
- A sub-8 3×3 single — 8,101 people have one; it is 0.40 away.
- A sub-3 2×2 single — 27,049 people have one; it is 0.14 away.
Targets move as he improves.