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People · United States

Sam Li

3×3 · top 4.4% of 284,439 all-time · competing since January 2020 · 2020LISA01

Sam Li has been competing for 7 years. His best event is the 3×3: a personal-best single of 8.80, set at Brookline Favorites 2023, puts him in the top 4.4% of the 284,439 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 2,455th in the United States. Until May 2008, no official 3×3 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 5 competitions since January 2020, he has put 134 official solves on the record across seven events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 10% around a typical one, steadier than 94% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds. His 3×3 best has come down from 11.74 in January 2020 to 8.80, a 25% improvement. Sam has entered five competitions, more competitions than 83% of everyone who has ever competed.

3×3
best event — top 4.4% of 284,439 all-time
8.80
signature single · Brookline Favorites 2023
134
official solves on the record
10%
solve-to-solve spread · steadier than 94% of the field

Standing, event by event

vs everyone ever ranked
EventPB singlePB averageAll-time standingUnited States
3×38.8010.69
top 4.4%2,455 / 59,724
Megaminx1:04.831:22.39
top 12.6%864 / 7,841
4×441.3042.76
top 13.6%2,041 / 19,072
5×51:16.131:22.12
top 16.2%1,257 / 9,401
3×3 one-handed19.3021.87
top 18.6%2,396 / 15,683
2×24.676.14
top 35.1%14,016 / 40,951
Skewb15.6919.29
top 80.4%15,388 / 18,907

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

MIT Winter 2020: 11.74Cubing with the Viking 2020: 9.61Garden City Winter 2023: 9.97Brookline Favorites 2023: 8.80CubingUSA New England Championship 2023: 8.828.8011.7412 Jan 20207 Oct 2023

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 — 7,931 people have one; it is 0.80 away.
  • A sub-1:00 Megaminx single — 3,483 people have one; it is 4.83 away.

Targets move as he improves.