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People · United States

Michael Nielsen

Pyraminx · top 0.029% of 129,321 all-time · competing since March 2017 · 2017NIEL03

Michael Nielsen has been competing for 10 years. His best event is the Pyraminx: a personal-best single of 0.98, set at CubingUSA Mid-Atlantic Championship 2025, puts him in the top 0.029% of the 129,321 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 12th in the United States. Until June 2018, no official Pyraminx solve in the world had been that fast. Across 92 competitions since March 2017, he has put 5,046 official solves on the record across 13 events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 13% around a typical one; 56% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds hold a tighter spread. His 3×3 best has come down from 37.82 in March 2017 to 4.96, an 87% improvement. Michael has entered 92 competitions, more competitions than 99% of everyone who has ever competed.

Pyraminx
best event — top 0.029% of 129,321 all-time
0.98
signature single · CubingUSA Mid-Atlantic Championship 2025
5,046
official solves on the record
13%
solve-to-solve spread · wider than 56% of the field

Standing, event by event

vs everyone ever ranked
EventPB singlePB averageAll-time standingUnited States
Pyraminx0.981.41
top 0.029%12 / 28,708
3×34.966.21
top 0.11%75 / 59,724
Skewb1.272.47
top 0.18%24 / 18,907
2×20.771.37
top 0.2%85 / 40,951
3×3 one-handed9.7113.45
top 0.86%134 / 15,683
4×425.5829.10
top 0.86%144 / 19,072
Square-16.7810.69
top 1.5%115 / 6,743
5×553.8459.50
top 3.0%242 / 9,401
Megaminx52.7758.55
top 6.4%451 / 7,841
6×61:53.472:10.50
top 8.5%297 / 4,196
Clock6.918.28
top 10.6%819 / 8,927
3×3 Fewest Moves29 moves33.00
top 12.2%280 / 2,040
7×73:32.523:36.41
top 20.6%581 / 3,184

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

ODU Big Blue Spring 2017: 37.82ODU Big Blue Fall 2017: 11.81Northern Neck Winter 2018: 12.26NovaCube 2018: 13.16ODU Big Blue Spring 2018: 11.34WFS Cubing Spring 2018: 10.95RVA Spring 2018: 9.90Tea Time Spring 2018: 10.82Rally In The Valley 2018: 9.67Fredericksburg Summer Open 2018: 10.12Pennsylvania 2018: 10.65Slow N Steady Summer 2018: 10.24RVAutumn 2018: 11.34Tar Heel Tango 2018: 9.06ODU Big Blue Fall 2018: 10.24TJHSST Fall 2018: 9.60Northern Neck Winter 2019: 10.05Battle of Virginia Beach Winter 2019: 9.33CubingUSA Northeast Championship 2019: 8.34ODU Big Blue Spring 2019: 8.37Woodberry Forest School Cubing 2019: 8.59MLWGS Spring 2019: 8.13CubingUSA Southeast Championship 2019: 6.95River Hill Spring 2019: 8.39Richmond Spring 2019: 7.73Cape Fear Cubing 2019: 8.48Greensboro Summer 2019: 8.53Rally in the Valley 2019: 8.15CubingUSA Nationals 2019: 7.81Solving Hunger Virginia 2019: 8.13TJHSST Fall 2019: 7.41ODU Big Blue Fall 2019: 7.43Northern Neck Winter 2020: 6.95Potomac Speedcubing 2020: 7.47MLWGS Winter 2020: 7.30Country Roads Martinsburg 2020: 7.46Slow N Steady Winter 2020: 7.77Slow N Steady Fall 2021: 6.82Cape Fear 2022: 6.54Happy Valley Spring 2022: 6.64Slow N Steady Spring 2022: 5.55Dunkirk Spring A 2022: 5.87Rubik's WCA North American Championship 2022: 6.40Silver Spring Summer 2022: 5.99Pretzel Mania 2022: 6.03Think In Fink Fall 2022: 5.60Slow N Steady Fall 2022: 6.44Crystal City Fall 2022: 6.26Dunkirk Winter 2023: 5.88Pretzel Mania 2023: 5.38Virginia Beach Spring 2023: 6.47Virginia Re-Open Spring 2023: 6.09Richmond Spring 2023: 6.04Slow N Steady Spring 2023: 6.54ODU Big Blue Spring 2023: 6.48Clash at Carlisle Spring 2023: 6.28Wilmington Warmup 2023: 6.31Concord Summer 2023: 6.43Hobcaw Cubing 2023: 6.45CubingUSA Nationals 2023: 5.82Rubik's WCA World Championship 2023: 4.96Virginia Beach Fall 2023: 6.15Virginia Championship 2023: 5.87NoVa Cube Winter 2024: 5.23Virginia Still-Open Winter 2024: 6.14ODU Big Blue Winter 2024: 5.86UMBC Winter 2024: 6.00Happy Valley Spring 2024: 6.01Concord Summer 2024: 6.21Rubik's North America All-Stars 2024: 6.07Rubik's WCA North American Championship 2024: 5.96Bull City Summer NC 2024: 6.14CubingUSA Mid-Atlantic Championship 2024: 5.48Appalachian Highlands TN 2024: 5.89Pop Off Princeton 2025: 5.97Charlotte Winter 2025: 5.91Cubing with the Cougars WV 2025: 6.09New-Cumberland County 2025: 6.14Cubes in the Mountains WV 2025: 5.59Virginia Always Open Spring 2025: 5.97Tipping Point Bloomsburg 2025: 6.17Plymouth Puzzle-Off 2025: 5.33Rubik's WCA World Championship 2025: 5.43Virginia Championship 2025: 5.35CubingUSA Mid-Atlantic Championship 2025: 5.84Rubik's x TheCubicle CubingUSA All-Stars 2025: 6.03Gobbler Cube Day Winter at VT 2026: 5.74RVA Spring 2026: 5.75Colonial Cube Clash VA 2026: 5.94Rubik's WCA North American Championship 2026: 5.47Mid-Atlantic Speedcubing Championship 2026: 6.254.9637.824 Mar 201714 Aug 2026

Best single per competition, 3×3. Faster is higher — the axis is the right way up.

The story so far

Competitions

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.

Next targets

  • A sub-4 3×3 single — 38 people have one; it is 0.96 away.
  • A sub-1 Skewb single — 35 people have one; it is 0.27 away.

Targets move as he improves.