People · United States
Mason Tao (陶明煊)
2×2 · top 7.5% of 189,179 all-time · competing since November 2023 · 2023TAOM01
Mason Tao (陶明煊) has been competing for 3 years. His best event is the 2×2: a personal-best single of 2.35, set at Wisconsin Championship 2025, puts him in the top 7.5% of the 189,179 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 3,019th in the United States. Until February 2008, no official 2×2 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 8 competitions since November 2023, he has put 145 official solves on the record across four events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 13% around a typical one; 59% of the 36,406 competitors with ten or more counted rounds hold a tighter spread. His 3×3 best has come down from 23.15 in November 2023 to 11.33, a 51% improvement. Mason has entered eight competitions, more competitions than 90% of everyone who has ever competed.
Standing, event by event
vs everyone ever ranked| Event | PB single | PB average | All-time standing | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2×2 | 2.35 | 4.26 | top 7.5% | 3,019 / 41,674 | |
| 3×3 | 11.33 | 13.62 | top 11.6% | 6,327 / 60,666 | |
| 4×4 | 59.78 | 1:05.38 | top 36.3% | 5,925 / 19,354 | |
| Pyraminx | 8.99 | 10.55 | top 44.8% | 13,071 / 29,168 |
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
- 4 Oct 2025Four personal bests in one day at Wisconsin Championship 2025.
- 20 Jul 2025First sub-15 3×3: 13.89 at Harbin Open 2025.
- 15 Jun 2025First sub-20 3×3: 17.22 at Zhuhai Open 2025.
- 11 Nov 2023First competition: Evanston Fall Mini A 2023. A 23.15 3×3 single to start from.
Competitions
- Concordia Fall Foliage 2026 · 10 Oct 2026 — 2 personal bests set
- Hancock County NxNs 2026 · 26 Sep 2026 — 1 personal best set
- 3x3 in Madison 2026 · 8 May 2026 — 1 personal best set
- Wisconsin Championship 2025 · 4 Oct 2025 — 4 personal bests set
- Harbin Open 2025 · 20 Jul 2025 — 2 personal bests set
- Zhuhai Open 2025 · 15 Jun 2025 — 2 personal bests set
- Racing Kane 2025 · 1 Mar 2025 — 1 personal best set
- Evanston Fall Mini A 2023 · 11 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.
- Ryne Grzesinski — met in 20 rounds, finished ahead 5 times
- Tommy Stady — met in 18 rounds, finished ahead 11 times
- Ashley Gray — met in 16 rounds, finished ahead 11 times
Next targets
- A sub-2 2×2 single — 9,039 people have one; it is 0.35 away.
- A sub-10 3×3 single — 21,606 people have one; it is 1.33 away.
Targets move as he improves.