People · South Africa
Neels Bornman
2×2 · top 3.1% of 189,179 all-time · competing since May 2022 · 2022BORN02
Neels Bornman has been competing for 4 years. His best event is the 2×2: a personal-best single of 1.70, set at Mimosa Mall Master Cubers 2023, puts him in the top 3.1% of the 189,179 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 28th in South Africa. Until February 2008, no official 2×2 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 5 competitions since May 2022, he has put 160 official solves on the record across seven events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 12% around a typical one, steadier than 76% of the 36,406 competitors with ten or more counted rounds. His 3×3 best has come down from 29.22 in May 2022 to 20.72, a 29% improvement. Neels has entered five competitions, more competitions than 83% of everyone who has ever competed.
Standing, event by event
vs everyone ever ranked| Event | PB single | PB average | All-time standing | South Africa | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2×2 | 1.70 | 5.61 | top 3.1% | 28 / 1,525 | |
| Skewb | 6.38 | 12.89 | top 28.8% | 107 / 444 | |
| 3×3 | 20.72 | 23.83 | top 42.1% | 599 / 2,187 | |
| Pyraminx | 9.17 | 14.83 | top 46.3% | 373 / 958 | |
| Megaminx | 3:10.28 | 3:34.93 | top 77.8% | 169 / 268 | |
| 3×3 one-handed | 52.98 | 1:04.52 | top 79.3% | 285 / 473 | |
| 4×4 | 2:12.35 | 2:26.06 | top 86.8% | 378 / 495 |
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
- 25 Nov 2023Three personal bests in one day at Mimosa Mall Master Cubers 2023.
- 19 Nov 2022Six personal bests in one day at Mimosa Mall Master Cubers 2022.
- 15 May 2022First competition: Gauteng Autumn 2022. A 29.22 3×3 single to start from.
Competitions
- Bold Solvin' Bloemfontein 2025 · 12 Jul 2025 — 1 personal best set
- Speedcubes Bloemfontein 2024 · 23 Nov 2024
- Mimosa Mall Master Cubers 2023 · 25 Nov 2023 — 3 personal bests set
- Mimosa Mall Master Cubers 2022 · 19 Nov 2022 — 6 personal bests set
- Gauteng Autumn 2022 · 15 May 2022
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.
- Heinrich de Lange — met in 30 rounds, never finished ahead
- Stephanus Blignaut — met in 29 rounds, finished ahead 4 times
- Ruben Smith — met in 27 rounds, finished ahead 3 times
Next targets
- A sub-1 2×2 single — 1,050 people have one; it is 0.70 away.
- A sub-6 Skewb single — 19,128 people have one; it is 0.38 away.
Targets move as he improves.