People · Romania
Ștefan Balan
2×2 · top 8.5% of 189,179 all-time · competing since September 2018 · 2018BALA25
Ștefan Balan has been competing for 8 years. His best event is the 2×2: a personal-best single of 2.45, set at ASSIST Cubing 2022, puts him in the top 8.5% of the 189,179 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 105th in Romania. Until February 2008, no official 2×2 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 5 competitions since September 2018, he has put 228 official solves on the record across twelve events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 11% around a typical one, steadier than 91% of the 36,406 competitors with ten or more counted rounds. His 3×3 best has come down from 14.26 in September 2018 to 10.85, a 24% improvement. He has entered five competitions, more competitions than 83% of everyone who has ever competed.
Standing, event by event
vs everyone ever ranked| Event | PB single | PB average | All-time standing | Romania | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2×2 | 2.45 | 4.72 | top 8.5% | 105 / 1,219 | |
| 3×3 | 10.85 | 13.15 | top 10.1% | 132 / 1,581 | |
| Pyraminx | 5.16 | 6.86 | top 14.2% | 113 / 830 | |
| 4×4 | 46.40 | 51.51 | top 20.1% | 82 / 582 | |
| 5×5 | 1:22.32 | 1:33.61 | top 21.1% | 38 / 225 | |
| Skewb | 5.56 | 15.76 | top 22.5% | 68 / 401 | |
| 6×6 | 2:31.96 | 2:47.10 | top 26.7% | 23 / 128 | |
| 7×7 | 3:57.63 | 4:21.42 | top 29.8% | 22 / 95 | |
| Megaminx | 1:33.41 | 1:50.19 | top 30.4% | 56 / 243 | |
| 3×3 one-handed | 29.68 | 36.26 | top 46.0% | 157 / 415 | |
| Square-1 | 50.27 | 1:04.14 | top 76.4% | 112 / 159 | |
| Clock | 27.38 | 30.46 | top 80.9% | 148 / 190 |
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
- 1 Aug 2026Three personal bests in one day at Marginea Cubing 2026.
- 22 Oct 2022Five personal bests in one day at ASSIST Cubing 2022.
- 14 Sep 2019Five personal bests in one day at Iasi Back To Cubing 2019.
- 15 Sep 2018First competition: Botosani Cube Day 2018. A 14.26 3×3 single to start from.
Competitions
- Marginea Cubing 2026 · 1 Aug 2026 — 3 personal bests set
- Marginea Cubing 2025 · 4 Oct 2025 — 2 personal bests set
- ASSIST Cubing 2022 · 22 Oct 2022 — 5 personal bests set
- Iasi Back To Cubing 2019 · 14 Sep 2019 — 5 personal bests set
- Botosani Cube Day 2018 · 15 Sep 2018 — 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.
- Bogdan Grigoruţă — met in 42 rounds, finished ahead 30 times
- Mihai Căpăţinescu — met in 40 rounds, finished ahead 11 times
- Mihai Savin — met in 28 rounds, finished ahead 12 times
Next targets
- A sub-2 2×2 single — 9,039 people have one; it is 0.45 away.
- A sub-10 3×3 single — 21,606 people have one; it is 0.85 away.
Targets move as he improves.