People · South Africa
Ruben Smith
3×3 · top 7.4% of 284,439 all-time · competing since November 2022 · 2022SMIT68
Ruben Smith has been competing for 4 years. His best event is the 3×3: a personal-best single of 9.97, set at Bold Solvin' Bloemfontein 2025, puts him in the top 7.4% of the 284,439 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 74th in South Africa. Until May 2007, no official 3×3 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 4 competitions since November 2022, he has put 138 official solves on the record across seven events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 10% around a typical one, steadier than 98% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds. His 3×3 best has come down from 14.02 in November 2022 to 9.97, a 29% improvement. Ruben has entered four competitions, more competitions than 78% of everyone who has ever competed.
Standing, event by event
vs everyone ever ranked| Event | PB single | PB average | All-time standing | South Africa | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3×3 | 9.97 | 11.11 | top 7.4% | 74 / 2,164 | |
| 2×2 | 2.99 | 4.17 | top 14.1% | 137 / 1,510 | |
| 4×4 | 45.78 | 52.20 | top 19.3% | 57 / 491 | |
| Skewb | 5.48 | 7.30 | top 21.8% | 76 / 438 | |
| 3×3 one-handed | 26.20 | 29.55 | top 37.3% | 103 / 467 | |
| Megaminx | 1:50.40 | 2:10.32 | top 40.6% | 70 / 266 | |
| Pyraminx | 10.04 | 13.63 | top 53.3% | 428 / 946 |
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
- 12 Jul 2025First sub-10 3×3: 9.97 at Bold Solvin' Bloemfontein 2025.
- 23 Nov 2024Five personal bests in one day at Speedcubes Bloemfontein 2024.
- 25 Nov 2023Four personal bests in one day at Mimosa Mall Master Cubers 2023.
- 19 Nov 2022First competition: Mimosa Mall Master Cubers 2022. A 14.75 3×3 single to start from.
Competitions
- Bold Solvin' Bloemfontein 2025 · 12 Jul 2025 — 2 personal bests set
- Speedcubes Bloemfontein 2024 · 23 Nov 2024 — 5 personal bests set
- Mimosa Mall Master Cubers 2023 · 25 Nov 2023 — 4 personal bests set
- Mimosa Mall Master Cubers 2022 · 19 Nov 2022 — 1 personal best set
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.
- Heinrich de Lange — met in 28 rounds, finished ahead 3 times
- Neels Bornman — met in 27 rounds, finished ahead 24 times
- Stephanus Blignaut — met in 26 rounds, finished ahead 17 times
Next targets
- A sub-8 3×3 single — 7,931 people have one; it is 1.97 away.
- A sub-2 2×2 single — 8,848 people have one; it is 0.99 away.
Targets move as he improves.