Sunday 6 September 2026 Rebuilt nightly from the WCA's official results · export of 6 September 2026 · About
The Middle Three
People → Ukraine → Nizar El-Khatib (Нізар Ель-Хатіб)

People · Ukraine

Nizar El-Khatib (Нізар Ель-Хатіб)

2×2 · top 1.9% of 186,767 all-time · competing since April 2012 · 2012ELKH01

Nizar El-Khatib (Нізар Ель-Хатіб) has been competing for 14 years. His best event is the 2×2: a personal-best single of 1.44, set at Kharkiv Cube Day 2014, puts him in the top 1.9% of the 186,767 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 34th in Ukraine. Until November 2008, no official 2×2 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 48 competitions since April 2012, he has put 1,622 official solves on the record across nine events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 14% around a typical one; 75% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds hold a tighter spread. His 3×3 best has come down from 11.88 in April 2012 to 7.74, a 35% improvement. Nizar has entered 48 competitions, more competitions than 99% of everyone who has ever competed.

2×2
best event — top 1.9% of 186,767 all-time
1.44
signature single · Kharkiv Cube Day 2014
1,622
official solves on the record
14%
solve-to-solve spread · wider than 75% of the field

Standing, event by event

vs everyone ever ranked
EventPB singlePB averageAll-time standingUkraine
2×21.444.03
top 1.9%34 / 1,894
3×37.749.88
top 2.4%79 / 2,868
3×3 one-handed15.2418.71
top 8.6%79 / 755
4×439.2742.10
top 11.3%102 / 867
5×51:16.881:36.12
top 16.7%72 / 425
Pyraminx8.5513.93
top 41.0%652 / 1,471
6×63:01.553:07.07
top 41.8%78 / 169
7×75:08.30—
early days — 2 solves80 / 135
Skewb15.3519.22
top 79.4%698 / 884

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

Ukraine Open 2012: 11.88Oleksandriia Open 2012: 12.38Kharkiv Winter 2012: 13.55100th Anniversary Meeting in Kyiv 2013: 10.90Ukrainian Open 2013: 11.59Podolian Open 2013: 11.43Oleksandriia Open 2013: 10.59NULAU Kharkiv Winter 2013: 11.76Kharkiv Open 2014: 12.07Dnepr Cube Day 2014: 10.32Naftusia Open 2014: 10.65Ukrainian Nationals 2014: 10.70Odessa Open 2014: 9.80Podolian Open 2014: 9.85Oleksandriia Open 2014: 9.15Kharkiv Cube Day 2014: 9.25Yuzhnoukrainsk Open 2015: 10.18Ukrainian Open 2015: 10.64Ukrainian Nationals 2016: 9.47Ukrainian Open 2018: 10.25Ukrainian Nationals 2018: 10.05Smart Cube Fest 2018: 10.22Ukrainian Open 2019: 10.35Westfries Open 2022: 9.96Dutch Nationals 2022: 8.88Amsterdam Open 2023: 10.37Dutch Nationals 2023: 9.54Take Your Time Ermelo 2023: 9.73Dutch Winter North 2024: 9.05Arnhem Open A 2024: 9.14Lente Spring 2024: 9.26Capelle Cubing 2024: 9.86Leersum Algs 24 Hours in 2024: 10.29Heerenveen Open 2024: 9.35Dutch Open 2024: 8.32Dutch Nationals 2024: 8.28Christmas Cubing Breda 2024: 9.68Leersum Squared 2025: 9.05Lente in Lent 2025: 9.35Rubik's Dutch Nationals 2025: 7.74Take Your Time Ermelo 2025: 8.24Pakje Open in Lent 2025: 10.32Freezing Fryslân 2025: 8.94Leersum Open 2026: 8.13Amsterdam Open 2026: 9.88Meppel Mayhem 2026: 9.00Warm Up Lent 2026: 8.747.7413.5521 Apr 201210 Jul 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-1 2×2 single — 1,032 people have one; it is 0.44 away.
  • A sub-6 3×3 single — 1,376 people have one; it is 1.74 away.

Targets move as he improves.