People · United States
Matthew Yao
3×3 · top 3.3% of 284,439 all-time · competing since October 2014 · 2014YAOM01
Matthew Yao has been competing for 12 years. His best event is the 3×3: a personal-best single of 8.26, set at Super Duper San Diego 2024, puts him in the top 3.3% of the 284,439 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 1,846th in the United States. Until July 2008, no official 3×3 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 6 competitions since October 2014, he has put 65 official solves on the record across three events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 13% around a typical one; 53% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds hold a tighter spread. His 3×3 best has come down from 32.36 in October 2014 to 8.26, a 74% improvement. Matthew has entered six competitions, more competitions than 86% 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 | 8.26 | 9.19 | top 3.3% | 1,846 / 59,724 | |
| 2×2 | 6.28 | 6.93 | top 53.7% | 21,921 / 40,951 | |
| 4×4 | 2:13.79 | — | early days — 1 solve | 16,510 / 19,072 |
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
- 28 Sep 2024First sub-20 3×3: 9.25 at Super Duper San Diego 2024.
- 28 Sep 2024First sub-15 3×3: 9.25 at Super Duper San Diego 2024.
- 28 Sep 2024First sub-10 3×3: 9.25 at Super Duper San Diego 2024.
- 28 Sep 2024Three personal bests in one day at Super Duper San Diego 2024.
- 8 Nov 2014First sub-30 3×3: 25.99 at Lexington Fall 2014.
- 11 Oct 2014First competition: Harvard Fall 2014. A 32.36 3×3 single to start from.
Competitions
- UCSD Maybe 2025 · 11 May 2025
- UCSD Fall 2024 · 23 Nov 2024
- Super Duper San Diego 2024 · 28 Sep 2024 — 3 personal bests set
- MIT Fall 2014 · 6 Dec 2014 — 1 personal best set
- Lexington Fall 2014 · 8 Nov 2014 — 2 personal bests set
- Harvard Fall 2014 · 11 Oct 2014
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.
- Thomas Vagnini — met in 8 rounds, finished ahead 5 times
- Eric Garcia — met in 8 rounds, finished ahead once
- Zhitong Liu — met in 8 rounds, finished ahead once
Next targets
- A sub-8 3×3 single — 7,931 people have one; it is 0.26 away.
- A sub-6 2×2 single — 95,042 people have one; it is 0.28 away.
Targets move as he improves.