People · United States
Michael Buckner
3×3 · top 6.3% of 288,433 all-time · competing since March 2015 · 2015BUCK01
Michael Buckner has been competing for 12 years. His best event is the 3×3: a personal-best single of 9.56, set at Clock N' Other Stuff 2016, puts him in the top 6.3% of the 288,433 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 3,528th in the United States. Until November 2007, no official 3×3 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 13 competitions since March 2015, he has put 225 official solves on the record across 13 events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 15% around a typical one; 87% of the 36,406 competitors with ten or more counted rounds hold a tighter spread. His 3×3 best has come down from 14.46 in March 2015 to 9.56, a 34% improvement. Michael has entered 13 competitions, more competitions than 94% 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 | 9.56 | 11.88 | top 6.3% | 3,528 / 60,666 | |
| 2×2 | 3.31 | 4.96 | top 18.0% | 7,134 / 41,674 | |
| 3×3 one-handed | 19.10 | 22.50 | top 18.1% | 2,370 / 15,900 | |
| Pyraminx | 5.89 | 6.63 | top 19.2% | 5,205 / 29,168 | |
| 4×4 | 49.40 | 50.53 | top 24.1% | 3,718 / 19,354 | |
| 5×5 | 1:34.23 | 1:41.64 | top 30.9% | 2,474 / 9,537 | |
| Square-1 | 21.56 | 23.43 | top 31.5% | 2,066 / 6,846 | |
| Megaminx | 1:39.18 | 1:46.15 | top 34.3% | 2,485 / 8,026 | |
| 3×3 blindfolded | 2:02.86 | — | early days — 1 solve | 717 / 2,128 | |
| Clock | 12.24 | 19.61 | top 36.1% | 2,933 / 9,172 | |
| Skewb | 7.31 | 7.71 | top 36.2% | 6,222 / 19,164 | |
| 3×3 Fewest Moves | 38 moves | — | early days — 1 solve | 893 / 2,059 | |
| 4×4 blindfolded | 15:36.00 | — | early days — 1 solve | 330 / 442 |
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
- 30 Apr 2016First sub-10 3×3: 9.56 at Clock N' Other Stuff 2016.
- 30 Apr 2016Four personal bests in one day at Clock N' Other Stuff 2016.
- 7 Nov 2015Five personal bests in one day at Kansas City Cubing 2015.
- 12 Jun 2015Four personal bests in one day at Indiana 2015.
- 28 Mar 2015First competition: Lawrence Spring 2015. A 14.55 3×3 single to start from.
Competitions
- Concordia Turning Winter 2026 · 10 Jan 2026
- Please Be Quiet UMBC 2025 · 19 Oct 2025
- UMBC Fall 2025 · 18 Oct 2025
- Slow N Steady UMD Fall 2025 · 27 Sep 2025 — 1 personal best set
- Missouri Championship 2025 · 18 Jul 2025
- Cubing Peoria 2020 · 16 Feb 2020 — 1 personal best set
- Gateway Ravioli Spring 2018 · 22 Apr 2018 — 1 personal best set
- SCC Summer 2017 · 10 Jun 2017 — 1 personal best set
- Clock N' Other Stuff 2016 · 30 Apr 2016 — 4 personal bests set
- Blind and Whatnot 2016 · 20 Feb 2016
- Kansas City Cubing 2015 · 7 Nov 2015 — 5 personal bests set
- Indiana 2015 · 12 Jun 2015 — 4 personal bests set
- Lawrence Spring 2015 · 28 Mar 2015 — 2 personal bests set
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.
- Walker Welch — met in 34 rounds, finished ahead 3 times
- Joshua Feran — met in 28 rounds, finished ahead 3 times
- Cale Schoon — met in 25 rounds, finished ahead 9 times
Next targets
- A sub-8 3×3 single — 8,101 people have one; it is 1.56 away.
- A sub-3 2×2 single — 27,049 people have one; it is 0.31 away.
Targets move as he improves.