People · United States
Sean Van Alen
4×4 · top 2.9% of 83,917 all-time · competing since September 2025 · 2025ALEN02
Sean Van Alen has been competing for a year. His best event is the 4×4: a personal-best single of 30.06, set at ROC the Cube NY 2026, puts him in the top 2.9% of the 83,917 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 468th in the United States. Until December 2011, no official 4×4 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 16 competitions since September 2025, he has put 384 official solves on the record across eight events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 14% around a typical one; 68% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds hold a tighter spread. His 3×3 best has come down from 14.08 in September 2025 to 9.10, a 35% improvement. Sean has entered 16 competitions, more competitions than 96% of everyone who has ever competed.
Standing, event by event
vs everyone ever ranked| Event | PB single | PB average | All-time standing | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4×4 | 30.06 | 39.54 | top 2.9% | 468 / 19,072 | |
| 3×3 | 9.10 | 11.36 | top 5.1% | 2,846 / 59,724 | |
| 5×5 | 1:03.79 | 1:14.52 | top 7.7% | 603 / 9,401 | |
| 2×2 | 2.48 | 4.23 | top 8.7% | 3,422 / 40,951 | |
| 6×6 | 2:25.37 | 2:38.20 | top 23.3% | 823 / 4,196 | |
| Pyraminx | 7.25 | 18.06 | top 29.9% | 8,297 / 28,708 | |
| 7×7 | 4:56.93 | 5:03.65 | early days — 3 solves | 1,443 / 3,184 | |
| Megaminx | 2:25.06 | — | early days — 2 solves | 4,421 / 7,841 |
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
- 30 May 2026First sub-10 3×3: 9.10 at ROC the Cube NY 2026.
- 30 May 2026Three personal bests in one day at ROC the Cube NY 2026.
- 4 Oct 2025Three personal bests in one day at Axemann Fall 2025.
- 6 Sep 2025First competition: Locked in Clocked in Coshocton 2025. A 14.13 3×3 single to start from.
Competitions
- ROC the Cube NY 2026 · 30 May 2026 — 3 personal bests set
- Presidential Puzzles in PA 2026 · 16 May 2026 — 1 personal best set
- Happy Valley Spring PA 2026 · 19 Apr 2026
- OberliNxN 2026 · 12 Apr 2026 — 2 personal bests set
- RIT Tiger Twist 2026 · 4 Apr 2026 — 1 personal best set
- Return to Green OH 2026 · 29 Mar 2026
- Cube Against Cancer Pittsburgh 2026 · 28 Mar 2026
- Penn Cube Day Spring 2026 · 22 Mar 2026
- Ohio University 2026 · 7 Mar 2026 — 2 personal bests set
- New Martinsville Newcomers 2026 · 28 Feb 2026
- NxN Nonsense NC 2026 · 22 Feb 2026 — 2 personal bests set
- Lewis Center Side Events 2026 · 31 Jan 2026 — 1 personal best set
- Oberlin Big Cubes 2025 · 15 Nov 2025 — 2 personal bests set
- Northern Tier Twist 2025 · 25 Oct 2025 — 2 personal bests set
- Axemann Fall 2025 · 4 Oct 2025 — 3 personal bests set
- Locked in Clocked in Coshocton 2025 · 6 Sep 2025 — 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.
- Gabriel Gowman — met in 47 rounds, never finished ahead
- Mark Gowman — met in 46 rounds, finished ahead 3 times
- Jacob Nobili — met in 37 rounds, finished ahead 7 times
Next targets
- A sub-30 4×4 single — 2,388 people have one; it is 0.06 away.
- A sub-8 3×3 single — 7,931 people have one; it is 1.10 away.
Targets move as he improves.