People · Canada
Nicholas Lai
3×3 · top 3.7% of 284,439 all-time · competing since April 2016 · 2016LAIN02
Nicholas Lai has been competing for 10 years. His best event is the 3×3: a personal-best single of 8.47, set at Pickering 2017, puts him in the top 3.7% of the 284,439 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 354th in Canada. Until July 2008, no official 3×3 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 10 competitions since April 2016, he has put 273 official solves on the record across seven events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 13% around a typical one, steadier than 55% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds. That figure sets aside his 12 DNFs. His 3×3 best has come down from 19.15 in April 2016 to 8.47, a 56% improvement. Nicholas has entered ten competitions, more competitions than 92% of everyone who has ever competed.
Standing, event by event
vs everyone ever ranked| Event | PB single | PB average | All-time standing | Canada | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3×3 | 8.47 | 10.76 | top 3.7% | 354 / 10,392 | |
| 2×2 | 1.95 | 3.90 | top 4.4% | 277 / 7,173 | |
| 4×4 | 36.15 | 44.13 | top 7.8% | 183 / 3,118 | |
| Megaminx | 55.86 | 59.98 | top 7.8% | 68 / 1,375 | |
| 5×5 | 1:13.74 | 1:19.33 | top 14.3% | 165 / 1,499 | |
| Pyraminx | 6.46 | 9.36 | top 23.5% | 1,004 / 4,858 | |
| Skewb | 7.25 | 9.97 | top 35.6% | 883 / 2,907 |
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
- 14 Oct 2017Four personal bests in one day at Pickering 2017.
- 17 Jun 2017First sub-10 3×3: 9.87 at Newmarket Open 2017.
- 25 Mar 2017Three personal bests in one day at London Limited Spring 2017.
- 10 Dec 2016Six personal bests in one day at Toronto Limited Fall 2016.
- 20 Aug 2016First sub-15 3×3: 12.60 at Toronto Limited Summer 2016.
- 20 Aug 2016Three personal bests in one day at Toronto Limited Summer 2016.
Competitions
- Pickering Spring 2018 · 24 Mar 2018 — 2 personal bests set
- Oakville Limited Fall 2017 · 11 Nov 2017 — 1 personal best set
- Pickering 2017 · 14 Oct 2017 — 4 personal bests set
- Battle of Waterloo 2017 · 23 Sep 2017
- Newmarket Open 2017 · 17 Jun 2017 — 2 personal bests set
- London Limited Spring 2017 · 25 Mar 2017 — 3 personal bests set
- Toronto Limited Fall 2016 · 10 Dec 2016 — 6 personal bests set
- Toronto Limited Summer 2016 · 20 Aug 2016 — 3 personal bests set
- Newmarket Open 2016 · 18 Jun 2016 — 2 personal bests set
- Toronto Limited Spring 2016 · 30 Apr 2016
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.
- Ryan Minjun Cho — met in 57 rounds, finished ahead 12 times
- Jonathan Tan Wei Xiat — met in 57 rounds, finished ahead 3 times
- Jonathan Esparaz — met in 54 rounds, finished ahead twice
Next targets
- A sub-8 3×3 single — 7,931 people have one; it is 0.47 away.
- A sub-1 2×2 single — 1,032 people have one; it is 0.95 away.
Targets move as he improves.