People · Romania
Rafael Mihai Nitu
2×2 · top 8.7% of 189,179 all-time · competing since August 2025 · 2025NITU01
Rafael Mihai Nitu has been competing for a year. His best event is the 2×2: a personal-best single of 2.47, set at Romanian National Championship 2025, puts him in the top 8.7% of the 189,179 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 110th in Romania. Until February 2008, no official 2×2 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 2 competitions since August 2025, he has put 78 official solves on the record across nine events. His 3×3 one-handed best has come down from 42.47 in August 2025 to 33.43, a 21% improvement. Rafael has entered two competitions.
Standing, event by event
vs everyone ever ranked| Event | PB single | PB average | All-time standing | Romania | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2×2 | 2.47 | 5.67 | top 8.7% | 110 / 1,219 | |
| Pyraminx | 4.63 | 8.16 | top 11.0% | 85 / 830 | |
| 3×3 | 16.75 | 20.58 | top 30.3% | 377 / 1,581 | |
| Megaminx | 1:55.62 | 2:10.95 | top 43.6% | 79 / 243 | |
| Skewb | 9.82 | 13.13 | top 53.8% | 195 / 401 | |
| 3×3 one-handed | 33.43 | 37.60 | top 54.3% | 186 / 415 | |
| 4×4 | 1:22.96 | 1:42.39 | top 58.4% | 254 / 582 | |
| Clock | 22.50 | 27.14 | top 71.3% | 124 / 190 | |
| 3×3 Fewest Moves | 61 moves | — | early days — 1 solve | 94 / 100 |
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 one-handed. Faster is higher — the axis is the right way up.
The story so far
- 20 Sep 2025Four personal bests in one day at Bucharest Cubing September 2025.
- 21 Aug 2025First competition: Romanian National Championship 2025. A 19.65 3×3 single to start from.
Competitions
- Bucharest Cubing September 2025 · 20 Sep 2025 — 4 personal bests set
- Romanian National Championship 2025 · 21 Aug 2025
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.
- Alex Chisăliță-Ignat — met in 17 rounds, finished ahead 3 times
- Serban Stelian — met in 17 rounds, never finished ahead
- Ianis Costin Chele — met in 17 rounds, never finished ahead
Next targets
- A sub-2 2×2 single — 9,039 people have one; it is 0.47 away.
- A sub-4 Pyraminx single — 10,050 people have one; it is 0.63 away.
Targets move as he improves.