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The Middle Three
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People · United States

Sam Popp

3×3 · top 0.3% of 288,433 all-time · competing since October 2019 · 2019POPP01

Sam Popp has been competing for 7 years. His best event is the 3×3: a personal-best single of 5.62, set at TJHSST Winter 2026, puts him in the top 0.3% of the 288,433 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 205th in the United States. Until March 2013, no official 3×3 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 25 competitions since October 2019, he has put 979 official solves on the record across eleven events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 13% around a typical one, steadier than 58% of the 36,406 competitors with ten or more counted rounds. His 3×3 best has come down from 24.45 in October 2019 to 5.62, a 77% improvement. Sam has entered 25 competitions, more competitions than 98% of everyone who has ever competed.

3×3
best event — top 0.3% of 288,433 all-time
5.62
signature single · TJHSST Winter 2026
979
official solves on the record
13%
solve-to-solve spread · steadier than 58% of the field

Standing, event by event

vs everyone ever ranked
EventPB singlePB averageAll-time standingUnited States
3×35.626.33
top 0.3%205 / 60,666
3×3 one-handed9.1112.48
top 0.57%91 / 15,900
4×426.9032.72
top 1.3%231 / 19,354
2×21.562.27
top 2.4%975 / 41,674
Pyraminx3.524.46
top 5.6%1,456 / 29,168
Square-110.2313.62
top 6.5%486 / 6,846
5×51:04.151:09.71
top 8.0%633 / 9,537
Skewb3.815.89
top 9.7%1,502 / 19,164
Megaminx1:01.971:10.52
top 11.1%770 / 8,026
Clock7.709.59
top 13.7%1,083 / 9,172
6×64:07.36—
early days — 3 solves2,692 / 4,262

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

Solving Hunger Virginia 2019: 24.45TJHSST Fall 2019: 21.35Slow N Steady Winter 2020: 15.36Slow N Steady Spring 2022: 6.62River Hill Spring 2022: 7.21Dunkirk Spring A 2022: 8.12Owings Mills Summer 2022: 6.76Silver Spring Summer 2022: 7.24Think In Fink Fall 2022: 7.16Slow N Steady Fall 2022: 6.22River Hill Fall 2022: 6.61Dunkirk Winter 2023: 6.41TJHSST Spring 2023: 6.89Cubing in the Lion's Den 2023: 6.49CubingUSA Nationals 2023: 6.88Slow N Steady Fall 2023: 6.81Cubing in the Lion's Den 2024: 6.40Slow N Steady UMD Fall 2025: 6.02UMBC Fall 2025: 5.68TJHSST Winter 2026: 5.62Derwood Cubing Derby Spring 2026: 6.35Rubik's WCA North American Championship 2026: 5.74Mid-Atlantic Speedcubing Championship 2026: 5.70Moore Cubes in Loudoun 2026: 6.29UMBC Fall 2026: 6.355.6224.4512 Oct 20193 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-5 3×3 single — 355 people have one; it is 0.62 away.
  • A sub-8 3×3 one-handed single — 155 people have one; it is 1.11 away.

Targets move as he improves.