People · United States
Matthew Penafiel
3×3 · top 5.1% of 288,433 all-time · competing since September 2015 · 2015PENA04
Matthew Penafiel has been competing for 11 years. His best event is the 3×3: a personal-best single of 9.08, set at Cougar Qualifier 2023, puts him in the top 5.1% of the 288,433 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 2,883rd in the United States. Until May 2008, no official 3×3 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 17 competitions since September 2015, he has put 247 official solves on the record across ten events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 13% around a typical one; 61% of the 36,406 competitors with ten or more counted rounds hold a tighter spread. His 3×3 best has come down from 39.30 in September 2015 to 9.08, a 77% improvement. Matthew has entered 17 competitions, more competitions than 96% 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 | 9.08 | 11.04 | top 5.1% | 2,883 / 60,666 | |
| 2×2 | 2.95 | 5.84 | top 13.7% | 5,477 / 41,674 | |
| Pyraminx | 6.36 | 8.81 | top 22.7% | 6,224 / 29,168 | |
| Megaminx | 1:34.98 | 1:38.40 | top 31.5% | 2,270 / 8,026 | |
| 3×3 one-handed | 28.49 | 30.16 | top 43.2% | 5,905 / 15,900 | |
| 4×4 | 1:07.75 | — | early days — 2 solves | 7,519 / 19,354 | |
| 5×5 | 2:09.80 | 2:22.42 | top 55.5% | 4,750 / 9,537 | |
| Clock | 17.63 | 20.29 | top 57.6% | 4,934 / 9,172 | |
| Skewb | 12.59 | 15.92 | top 69.0% | 13,140 / 19,164 | |
| Square-1 | 1:24.08 | 1:53.89 | top 93.9% | 6,467 / 6,846 |
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
- 1 Apr 2023First sub-10 3×3: 9.95 at Potomac Spring 2023.
- 7 Oct 2017Three personal bests in one day at Maryland 2017.
- 18 Feb 2017First sub-15 3×3: 14.11 at Virginia Open Winter 2017.
- 30 Jan 2016First sub-20 3×3: 19.83 at Slow N Steady Winter 2016.
- 21 Nov 2015First sub-30 3×3: 24.21 at River Hill Fall 2015.
- 26 Sep 2015First competition: Slow n Steady Fall 2015. A 39.30 3×3 single to start from.
Competitions
- Cougar Qualifier 2023 · 29 Apr 2023 — 2 personal bests set
- Potomac Spring 2023 · 1 Apr 2023 — 2 personal bests set
- TJHSST Fall 2019 · 9 Nov 2019 — 1 personal best set
- Slow N Steady Summer 2019 · 14 Sep 2019
- CubingUSA Nationals 2019 · 1 Aug 2019
- Rally in the Valley 2019 · 27 Jul 2019 — 1 personal best set
- Maryland 2017 · 7 Oct 2017 — 3 personal bests set
- Slow N Steady Summer 2017 · 1 Jul 2017 — 1 personal best set
- NovaCube 2017 · 29 Apr 2017 — 1 personal best set
- Virginia Open Winter 2017 · 18 Feb 2017 — 2 personal bests set
- TJHSST Fall 2016 · 19 Nov 2016 — 2 personal bests set
- Slow N Steady Fall 2016 · 24 Sep 2016 — 1 personal best set
- Slow N Steady Spring 2016 · 18 Jun 2016 — 1 personal best set
- Virginia Open Spring 2016 · 2 Apr 2016 — 2 personal bests set
- Slow N Steady Winter 2016 · 30 Jan 2016 — 1 personal best set
- River Hill Fall 2015 · 21 Nov 2015 — 1 personal best set
- Slow n Steady Fall 2015 · 26 Sep 2015
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 51 rounds, finished ahead 6 times
- Will Callan — met in 49 rounds, never finished ahead
- Nick Penafiel — met in 47 rounds, finished ahead once
Next targets
- A sub-8 3×3 single — 8,101 people have one; it is 1.08 away.
- A sub-2 2×2 single — 9,039 people have one; it is 0.95 away.
Targets move as he improves.