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Tariq Ali

3×3 · top 0.54% of 284,439 all-time · competing since September 2012 · 2012ALIT01

Tariq Ali has been competing for 14 years. His best event is the 3×3: a personal-best single of 6.09, set at Fitchburg Fall 2025, puts him in the top 0.54% of the 284,439 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 363rd in the United States. Until June 2011, no official 3×3 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 45 competitions since September 2012, he has put 1,233 official solves on the record across twelve events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 10% around a typical one, steadier than 95% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds. His 3×3 best has come down from 21.58 in September 2012 to 6.09, a 72% improvement. Tariq has entered 45 competitions, more competitions than 99% of everyone who has ever competed.

3×3
best event — top 0.54% of 284,439 all-time
6.09
signature single · Fitchburg Fall 2025
1,233
official solves on the record
10%
solve-to-solve spread · steadier than 95% of the field

Standing, event by event

vs everyone ever ranked
EventPB singlePB averageAll-time standingUnited States
3×36.099.35
top 0.54%363 / 59,724
4×429.8936.27
top 2.8%451 / 19,072
2×22.003.95
top 4.7%1,891 / 40,951
3×3 one-handed14.5116.69
top 7.1%953 / 15,683
5×51:09.771:16.66
top 11.4%885 / 9,401
Pyraminx7.298.94
top 30.3%8,414 / 28,708
6×62:43.132:50.49
top 32.5%1,149 / 4,196
7×74:10.814:35.19
top 34.6%964 / 3,184
Megaminx1:46.72—
top 38.5%2,763 / 7,841
3×3 blindfolded2:54.84—
early days — 3 solves1,090 / 2,092
Skewb12.1716.20
top 66.8%12,492 / 18,907
Clock35.48—
early days — 1 solve8,058 / 8,927

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

Yale Fall 2012: 21.58Harvard Fall 2012: 19.38MIT Fall 2012: 16.43Harvard Spring 2013: 14.00MIT Spring 2013: 13.72World Rubik's Cube Championship 2013: 13.91Harvard Fall 2013: 15.30Yale Fall 2013: 14.67Yale Spring 2014: 13.67Lexington Spring 2014: 12.75US Nationals 2014: 11.13Nisei Week 2014: 14.33Indiana 2014: 12.81GCC Fall 2014: 10.62Harvard Fall 2014: 11.19MIT Fall 2014: 13.57Lexington Spring 2015: 10.56MIT Spring 2015: 12.78US Nationals 2015: 11.72Melrose Winter 2016: 11.91MIT Spring 2016: 9.69Northeastern Spring 2016: 10.63Cubing Knights 2016: 10.91US Nationals 2016: 9.62Sharon Summer 2016: 10.60Weston Spring 2017: 11.00Maybe Melrose Spring 2017: 9.86Lexington Summer 2017: 10.45World Rubik's Cube Championship 2017: 9.83Weston Fall 2017: 10.93Massachusetts Championship 2019: 8.74Temecula Valley Fall 2024: 8.20The Battle of Lexington 2025: 8.17Fitchburg Fingertricks 2025: 8.00The Battle of Lexington Semiquincentennial 2025: 9.42Salem Cubikon 2025: 9.64Saint John's Warm Up 2025: 8.70Lexington Weeknights II 2025: 9.09Lexington Weeknights III 2025: 9.36Lexington Weeknights VI 2025: 8.37Brookline Favorites III 2025: 6.84Fitchburg Fall 2025: 6.09Phillips Exeter Cube Day 2025: 8.61Ipswich Fall 2025: 8.216.0921.588 Sep 201213 Dec 2025

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-6 3×3 single — 1,376 people have one; it is 0.09 away.
  • A sub-25 4×4 single — 588 people have one; it is 4.89 away.

Targets move as he improves.