People · Japan
Soa Gobayashi
3×3 · top 2.6% of 284,439 all-time · competing since July 2022 · 2022GOBA01
Soa Gobayashi has been competing for 4 years. His best event is the 3×3: a personal-best single of 7.92, set at Battersea Autumn 2024, puts him in the top 2.6% of the 284,439 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 112th in Japan. Until July 2008, no official 3×3 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 10 competitions since July 2022, he has put 570 official solves on the record across ten events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 16% around a typical one; 93% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds hold a tighter spread. That figure sets aside his 7 DNFs. His 3×3 best has come down from 15.29 in July 2022 to 7.92, a 48% improvement. Soa has entered ten competitions, more competitions than 92% of everyone who has ever competed.
Standing, event by event
vs everyone ever ranked| Event | PB single | PB average | All-time standing | Japan | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3×3 | 7.92 | 10.23 | top 2.6% | 112 / 3,329 | |
| Skewb | 3.12 | 5.84 | top 5.6% | 25 / 338 | |
| 2×2 | 2.17 | 2.85 | top 6.0% | 75 / 1,021 | |
| Pyraminx | 3.95 | 5.51 | top 7.4% | 93 / 688 | |
| 3×3 one-handed | 16.25 | 21.79 | top 10.8% | 103 / 529 | |
| Megaminx | 1:10.74 | 1:29.19 | top 16.1% | 107 / 313 | |
| 4×4 | 46.83 | 53.85 | top 20.6% | 208 / 667 | |
| 5×5 | 1:42.99 | 1:59.44 | top 37.6% | 202 / 420 | |
| Clock | 14.86 | 18.28 | top 47.4% | 168 / 263 | |
| Square-1 | 29.82 | 51.58 | top 49.1% | 152 / 245 |
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
- 31 Aug 2024Three personal bests in one day at Kewbz UK Open 2024.
- 24 Jun 2023Three personal bests in one day at Stevenage June 2023.
- 22 Apr 2023Eleven personal bests in one day at Reading Spring 2023.
- 28 Oct 2022First sub-10 3×3: 9.90 at Kewbz UK Championship 2022.
- 1 Oct 2022First sub-15 3×3: 11.55 at Stevenage Autumn B 2022.
- 1 Oct 2022Four personal bests in one day at Stevenage Autumn B 2022.
Competitions
- Stevenage July 2025 · 19 Jul 2025 — 2 personal bests set
- Battersea Autumn 2024 · 28 Sep 2024 — 1 personal best set
- Kewbz UK Open 2024 · 31 Aug 2024 — 3 personal bests set
- Stevenage July 2024 · 6 Jul 2024 — 1 personal best set
- Stevenage November 2023 · 25 Nov 2023 — 1 personal best set
- Stevenage June 2023 · 24 Jun 2023 — 3 personal bests set
- Reading Spring 2023 · 22 Apr 2023 — 11 personal bests set
- Kewbz UK Championship 2022 · 28 Oct 2022 — 2 personal bests set
- Stevenage Autumn B 2022 · 1 Oct 2022 — 4 personal bests set
- Stevenage Summer 2022 · 9 Jul 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.
- Leonardo Laghi — met in 101 rounds, finished ahead 65 times · head to head
- Xavier Morgan — met in 89 rounds, finished ahead 64 times
- James Alonso — met in 88 rounds, finished ahead 10 times
Next targets
- A sub-6 3×3 single — 1,376 people have one; it is 1.92 away.
- A sub-3 Skewb single — 3,646 people have one; it is 0.12 away.
Targets move as he improves.