People · United States
Sam Buchanan
2×2 · top 5.2% of 186,767 all-time · competing since August 2016 · 2016BUCH05
Sam Buchanan has been competing for 10 years. His best event is the 2×2: a personal-best single of 2.07, set at CubingUSA Nationals 2023, puts him in the top 5.2% of the 186,767 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 2,080th in the United States. Until February 2008, no official 2×2 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 12 competitions since August 2016, he has put 386 official solves on the record across nine events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 17% around a typical one; 94% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds hold a tighter spread. His 3×3 best has come down from 26.64 in August 2016 to 9.58, a 64% improvement. Sam has entered twelve competitions, more competitions than 94% 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 | 2.07 | 3.89 | top 5.2% | 2,080 / 40,951 | |
| Skewb | 3.08 | 6.88 | top 5.4% | 829 / 18,907 | |
| 3×3 | 9.58 | 11.29 | top 6.3% | 3,491 / 59,724 | |
| 3×3 one-handed | 18.53 | 26.31 | top 16.5% | 2,136 / 15,683 | |
| Megaminx | 1:15.53 | 1:22.27 | top 19.0% | 1,290 / 7,841 | |
| Pyraminx | 6.10 | 8.85 | top 20.7% | 5,589 / 28,708 | |
| 4×4 | 47.99 | 50.61 | top 22.1% | 3,356 / 19,072 | |
| Square-1 | 25.71 | 34.15 | top 40.7% | 2,642 / 6,743 | |
| 5×5 | 1:47.46 | 2:11.91 | top 40.8% | 3,302 / 9,401 |
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
- 27 Jul 2023First sub-10 3×3: 9.58 at CubingUSA Nationals 2023.
- 27 Jul 2023Four personal bests in one day at CubingUSA Nationals 2023.
- 7 Dec 2019Three personal bests in one day at Pittsburgh Fall 2019.
- 14 Sep 2019Six personal bests in one day at Cuyahoga Cubing 2019.
- 1 Aug 2019Three personal bests in one day at CubingUSA Nationals 2019.
- 9 Sep 2017First sub-15 3×3: 13.09 at Howland High Fall 2017.
Competitions
- CubingUSA Nationals 2023 · 27 Jul 2023 — 4 personal bests set
- Pittsburgh Fall 2019 · 7 Dec 2019 — 3 personal bests set
- Cuyahoga Cubing 2019 · 14 Sep 2019 — 6 personal bests set
- CubingUSA Nationals 2019 · 1 Aug 2019 — 3 personal bests set
- Pittsburgh Spring 2019 · 9 Mar 2019 — 1 personal best set
- Garrettsville G-Men Classic 2019 · 26 Jan 2019 — 2 personal bests set
- Shaker Fall 2018 · 1 Dec 2018 — 1 personal best set
- Howland High Fall 2017 · 9 Sep 2017 — 4 personal bests set
- CubingUSA Nationals 2017 · 7 Jul 2017 — 4 personal bests set
- Howland High Spring 2017 · 11 Mar 2017 — 5 personal bests set
- Shaker Fall 2016 · 10 Dec 2016 — 4 personal bests set
- Michigan 2016 · 13 Aug 2016
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.
- Jack Pfeifer — met in 81 rounds, finished ahead 3 times
- Zachary Garber — met in 63 rounds, finished ahead 39 times
- Steve Greer — met in 61 rounds, finished ahead 17 times
Next targets
- A sub-2 2×2 single — 8,848 people have one; it is 0.07 away.
- A sub-3 Skewb single — 3,646 people have one; it is 0.08 away.
Targets move as he improves.