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People → Japan → Sotaro Hayashi (林聡太朗)

People · Japan

Sotaro Hayashi (林聡太朗)

Square-1 · top 0.8% of 25,272 all-time · competing since July 2024 · 2024HAYA06

Sotaro Hayashi (林聡太朗) has been competing for 2 years. His best event is the Square-1: a personal-best single of 6.00, set at Kanto Spring 2026, puts him in the top 0.8% of the 25,272 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 3rd in Japan. Until May 2017, no official Square-1 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 21 competitions since July 2024, he has put 245 official solves on the record across 13 events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 12% around a typical one, steadier than 78% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds. That figure sets aside his 7 DNFs. His 3×3 best has come down from 12.12 in July 2024 to 7.17, a 41% improvement. Sotaro has entered 21 competitions, more competitions than 97% of everyone who has ever competed.

Square-1
best event — top 0.8% of 25,272 all-time
6.00
signature single · Kanto Spring 2026
245
official solves on the record
12%
solve-to-solve spread · steadier than 78% of the field

Standing, event by event

vs everyone ever ranked
EventPB singlePB averageAll-time standingJapan
Square-16.007.85
top 0.8%3 / 245
3×37.179.13
top 1.5%69 / 3,329
4×429.1934.70
top 2.4%27 / 667
Clock4.064.96
top 2.4%8 / 263
Megaminx45.1052.43
top 3.1%27 / 313
2×21.852.98
top 3.9%50 / 1,021
3×3 one-handed14.0815.54
top 6.3%65 / 529
Pyraminx5.847.73
top 18.8%206 / 688
3×3 blindfolded1:19.92—
early days — 3 solves85 / 282
6×62:24.652:39.00
early days — 3 solves66 / 209
7×73:47.29—
early days — 1 solve61 / 188
3×3 Multi-Blind6 of 9 cubes · 55:12—
early days — 2 solves88 / 128
4×4 blindfolded13:09.0022:04.00
top 71.1%55 / 81

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

Katano Milky Way 2024: 12.12Shonan PM 2024: 10.02Tokyo Open AM Winter 2025: 10.91Tokyo Spring AM 2025: 11.34Kanto Spring 2025: 9.60Kansai Odd and BLD 2025: 7.60Kanto Summer PM 2025: 7.89Kanto Autumn AM 2025: 8.58Tokyo Winter 2025: 8.13Ota Winter 2026: 7.77Kanto Winter 2026: 7.94Tokyo Spring 2026: 7.17Kanto Spring 2026: 10.007.1712.127 Jul 202417 May 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 Square-1 single — 68 people have one; it is 1.00 away.
  • A sub-6 3×3 single — 1,376 people have one; it is 1.17 away.

Targets move as he improves.