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People · New Zealand

Tom Nelson

3×3 Fewest Moves · top 1.0% of 12,418 all-time · competing since December 2013 · 2013NELS01

Tom Nelson has been competing for 13 years. His best event is the 3×3 Fewest Moves: a personal-best single of 20 moves, set at Rubik's WCA Oceanic Championship FMC 2024, puts him in the top 1.0% of the 12,418 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 2nd in New Zealand. Across 81 competitions since December 2013, he has put 3,352 official solves on the record across 17 events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 11% around a typical one, steadier than 85% of the 36,406 competitors with ten or more counted rounds. His 3×3 best has come down from 17.03 in December 2013 to 9.75, a 43% improvement. Tom has entered 81 competitions, more competitions than 99% of everyone who has ever competed.

3×3 Fewest Moves
best event — top 1.0% of 12,418 all-time
20 moves
signature single · Rubik's WCA Oceanic Championship FMC 2024
3,352
official solves on the record
11%
solve-to-solve spread · steadier than 85% of the field

Standing, event by event

vs everyone ever ranked
EventPB singlePB averageAll-time standingNew Zealand
3×3 Fewest Moves20 moves22.33
top 1.0%2 / 111
2×21.213.76
top 1.1%46 / 1,627
4×4 blindfolded1:35.982:19.37
top 1.1%2 / 23
5×5 blindfolded3:47.134:36.24
top 1.9%1 / 11
3×3 Multi-Blind29 of 31 cubes · 57:09—
top 1.9%2 / 49
3×3 blindfolded23.7427.33
top 2.5%7 / 86
3×39.7511.12
top 6.8%150 / 2,145
Pyraminx3.956.01
top 7.4%117 / 1,149
4×438.7847.63
top 10.7%92 / 745
5×51:18.791:29.29
top 18.3%77 / 364
Square-116.2919.96
top 19.3%58 / 254
Megaminx1:24.161:35.67
top 24.5%90 / 284
Clock10.1312.30
top 25.6%102 / 319
6×62:31.012:42.81
top 26.2%52 / 150
Skewb6.379.74
top 28.8%217 / 670
7×73:55.004:00.40
top 28.8%47 / 126
3×3 one-handed27.0631.67
top 39.6%215 / 607

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

New Zealand Nationals 2013: 17.03Wellington Autumn 2014: 16.96Hamilton Spring 2014: 13.53New Zealand Nationals 2014: 16.41Wellington Winter 2015: 14.09Hamilton Spring 2015: 13.97New Zealand Nationals 2015: 13.78Wellington Autumn 2016: 12.69Hamilton Winter 2016: 14.73Palmerston North 2016: 12.82Great South Open 2016: 11.76New Zealand Nationals 2016: 11.09Mind Games 2017: 13.96SNZ Southern 2017: 12.00Techweek NZ 2017: 10.22World Rubik's Cube Championship 2017: 11.81SNZ Northern 2017: 12.50Hamilton Spring 2017: 11.41New Zealand Nationals 2017: 12.21Mind Games 2018: 10.94SNZ Southern 2018: 11.16Palmerston North 2018: 12.27Wellington Winter 2018: 11.79Auckland Spring 2018: 12.10Supreme South Open 2018: 10.87New Zealand Nationals 2018: 11.56Mind Games 2019: 10.74Koalafication Palmy 2019: 11.92Oceania 10th Anniversary 2019: 11.59WCA World Championship 2019: 11.56New Zealand Nationals 2019: 10.91Wellington Mind Games 2020: 9.88Auckland Summer Open 2020: 11.76Welcome Back Wellington 2020: 9.90New Zealand Nationals 2020: 11.13Wellington Mind Games 2021: 11.11NZ South Island Championship 2021: 11.96Palmerston North 2021: 10.83NZ North Island Championship 2021: 11.19Palmerston North 2022: 10.60Puzzling Porirua 2022: 11.83NZ North Island Championship 2022: 11.59Wellington Summer 2023: 10.80NZ South Island Championship 2023: 11.24Half Turns Hataitai 2023: 12.27NZ North Island Championship 2023: 10.34New Zealand Nationals 2023: 11.86Palmerston North 2024: 10.46Solve Well In Wellington 2024: 12.02NZ North Island Championship 2024: 11.65Only Cubes in Wellington 2024: 11.26Kubing in Kapiti 2024: 12.26New Zealand Nationals 2024: 11.52Johnsonville FTOpen 2025: 10.95NZ North Island Championship 2025: 11.79Solve Well in Wellington 2025: 11.26Wellington Spring 2025: 11.00New Zealand Nationals 2025: 9.99Farewellington 2025: 12.42Hurry Up Hutt Valley 2026: 11.02NZ Cubing Heptathlon 2026: 12.07Wellington Autumn 2026: 10.90GAN New Zealand Nationals 2026: 9.75NZ Cubing in the Capital 2026: 11.449.7517.038 Dec 201313 Sep 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-1 2×2 single — 1,050 people have one; it is 0.21 away.
  • A sub-1:30 4×4 blindfolded single — 16 people have one; it is 5.98 away.

Targets move as he improves.