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The Middle Three
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People · Romania

Mircea Popescu

3×3 · top 9.2% of 284,439 all-time · competing since December 2010 · 2010POPE01

Mircea Popescu has been competing for 16 years. His best event is the 3×3: a personal-best single of 10.58, set at Romanian Open 2013, puts him in the top 9.2% of the 284,439 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 116th in Romania. Until August 2006, no official 3×3 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 13 competitions since December 2010, he has put 444 official solves on the record across eight events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 11% around a typical one, steadier than 92% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds. His 3×3 best has come down from 17.72 in December 2010 to 10.58, a 40% improvement. Mircea has entered 13 competitions, more competitions than 94% of everyone who has ever competed.

3×3
best event — top 9.2% of 284,439 all-time
10.58
signature single · Romanian Open 2013
444
official solves on the record
11%
solve-to-solve spread · steadier than 92% of the field

Standing, event by event

vs everyone ever ranked
EventPB singlePB averageAll-time standingRomania
3×310.5812.68
top 9.2%116 / 1,574
3×3 one-handed16.8521.57
top 12.2%34 / 411
Square-117.4121.43
top 21.9%27 / 158
2×23.695.95
top 22.6%254 / 1,214
4×452.301:03.43
top 27.5%111 / 578
3×3 Fewest Moves35 moves40.00
top 30.0%21 / 98
Megaminx2:37.502:51.06
top 64.9%122 / 243
5×53:12.18
top 81.9%156 / 225

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

Romanian Nationals 2010: 17.72Romanian Open 2011: 16.50Bucharest Open 2012: 13.86Romanian Open 2012: 13.52Sibiu Rubik Open 2013: 11.90Romanian Open 2013: 10.58Valcea Rubik Open 2013: 11.78Bucharest Rubik Open 2014: 12.86U.R.A. Rubik Open 2016: 11.47U.R.A. Spring 2016: 11.93U.R.A. Back to School 2016: 11.42Bucharest Back to Cube 2022: 12.9210.5817.7219 Dec 201014 May 2022

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-10 3×3 single — 21,172 people have one; it is 0.58 away.
  • A sub-15 3×3 one-handed single — 5,987 people have one; it is 1.85 away.

Targets move as he improves.