People · United States
Nicolai Leff
2×2 · top 5.7% of 186,767 all-time · competing since May 2023 · 2023LEFF01
Nicolai Leff has been competing for 3 years. His best event is the 2×2: a personal-best single of 2.14, set at CubingUSA Heartland Championship 2024, puts him in the top 5.7% of the 186,767 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 2,292nd in the United States. Until February 2008, no official 2×2 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 18 competitions since May 2023, he has put 298 official solves on the record across six events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 14% around a typical one; 65% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds hold a tighter spread. His 3×3 best has come down from 32.95 in May 2023 to 22.32, a 32% improvement. Nicolai has entered 18 competitions, more competitions than 96% of everyone who has ever competed.
Standing, event by event
vs everyone ever ranked| Event | PB single | PB average | All-time standing | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2×2 | 2.14 | 8.28 | top 5.7% | 2,292 / 40,951 | |
| Pyraminx | 7.74 | 11.50 | top 34.0% | 9,613 / 28,708 | |
| 3×3 | 22.32 | 25.09 | top 46.3% | 26,744 / 59,724 | |
| Clock | 19.51 | 22.43 | top 63.2% | 5,370 / 8,927 | |
| 4×4 | 1:54.30 | — | top 79.0% | 14,608 / 19,072 | |
| 3×3 one-handed | 1:15.87 | — | early days — 2 solves | 13,984 / 15,683 |
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
- 7 Jun 2024Three personal bests in one day at CubingUSA Heartland Championship 2024.
- 9 Dec 2023First sub-30 3×3: 25.29 at NxN Minnesota 2023.
- 27 May 2023First competition: Minnesota Cube Melt 2023. A 32.95 3×3 single to start from.
Competitions
- Minnesota Cube Melt 2026 · 9 May 2026
- Cube Against Cancer Minnesota 2026 · 11 Apr 2026
- Eau Clock Wisconsin 2026 · 14 Mar 2026
- Minnesota Championship 2025 · 29 Nov 2025 — 1 personal best set
- Cubetcha MN 2025 · 18 Oct 2025
- Minnesota Cube Melt 2025 · 27 Apr 2025
- Racing in Rosemount 2025 · 15 Mar 2025 — 1 personal best set
- Minnesota Championship 2024 · 30 Nov 2024 — 1 personal best set
- SPAMtown III MN 2024 · 16 Nov 2024 — 1 personal best set
- Cubetcha MN 2024 · 19 Oct 2024 — 1 personal best set
- Rubik's WCA North American Championship 2024 · 18 Jul 2024
- CubingUSA Heartland Championship 2024 · 7 Jun 2024 — 3 personal bests set
- Minnesota Cube Melt 2024 · 11 May 2024
- Minnesota Slice 2024 · 20 Apr 2024 — 1 personal best set
- Minnesota Newcomer Saturday 2024 · 2 Mar 2024 — 1 personal best set
- Elite in Eagan 2024 · 11 Feb 2024 — 1 personal best set
- NxN Minnesota 2023 · 9 Dec 2023 — 1 personal best set
- Minnesota Cube Melt 2023 · 27 May 2023
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.
- Kaius Young — met in 60 rounds, never finished ahead
- Lisa Kucala — met in 58 rounds, finished ahead 4 times
- Tyler Robinson — met in 58 rounds, never finished ahead
Next targets
- A sub-2 2×2 single — 8,848 people have one; it is 0.14 away.
- A sub-6 Pyraminx single — 25,870 people have one; it is 1.74 away.
Targets move as he improves.