Saturday 24 October 2026 Rebuilt nightly from the WCA's official results · export of 24 October 2026 · About
The Middle Three
People → Netherlands → Rafaël van Gelder

People · Netherlands

Rafaël van Gelder

3×3 · top 3.8% of 288,433 all-time · competing since April 2022 · 2022GELD03

Rafaël van Gelder has been competing for 4 years. His best event is the 3×3: a personal-best single of 8.50, set at Lente Spring 2024, puts him in the top 3.8% of the 288,433 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 108th in the Netherlands. Until July 2008, no official 3×3 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 21 competitions since April 2022, he has put 907 official solves on the record across 13 events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 14% around a typical one; 69% of the 36,406 competitors with ten or more counted rounds hold a tighter spread. His 3×3 best has come down from 13.00 in April 2022 to 8.50, a 35% improvement. He has entered 21 competitions, more competitions than 97% of everyone who has ever competed.

3×3
best event — top 3.8% of 288,433 all-time
8.50
signature single · Lente Spring 2024
907
official solves on the record
14%
solve-to-solve spread · wider than 69% of the field

Standing, event by event

vs everyone ever ranked
EventPB singlePB averageAll-time standingNetherlands
3×38.5011.20
top 3.8%108 / 2,318
Pyraminx4.576.45
top 10.6%179 / 1,296
2×22.814.17
top 12.2%264 / 1,680
Skewb4.206.92
top 12.4%119 / 968
4×442.1348.23
top 14.7%145 / 1,009
5×51:18.001:29.81
top 17.7%82 / 542
Megaminx1:17.431:27.30
top 20.2%83 / 417
Clock10.3512.80
top 26.7%133 / 479
3×3 one-handed24.1929.42
top 32.1%218 / 737
6×62:59.203:15.00
top 40.7%94 / 208
3×3 Fewest Moves42 moves—
early days — 2 solves104 / 171
Square-133.921:00.17
top 56.7%220 / 407
7×75:29.11—
early days — 2 solves119 / 171

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

Dutch Spring 2022: 13.00Dutch Masters 2022: 12.38Westfries Open 2022: 11.35Dutch Nationals 2022: 11.48Kampen Open 2023: 10.00Ermelo Cubing A 2023: 11.04On Alphen Track to Records 24h 2023: 11.39Amsterdam Open 2023: 10.66Dutch Winter North 2024: 9.37Arnhem Open B 2024: 11.13Lente Spring 2024: 8.50Bigger in Breda 2024: 10.12Dutch Nationals 2024: 9.44Rubik's Dutch Nationals 2025: 9.62Take Your Time Ermelo 2025: 11.13Cubing in Oud IJsselmuiden 2025: 9.20Classic Cubing Capelle 2026: 10.15Breda Open 2026: 9.95Meppel Mayhem 2026: 9.87Warm Up Lent 2026: 9.89Back in Ermelo 2026: 10.468.5013.0017 Apr 202217 Oct 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-8 3×3 single — 8,101 people have one; it is 0.50 away.
  • A sub-4 Pyraminx single — 10,050 people have one; it is 0.57 away.

Targets move as he improves.