People · United States
Walter Sanborn
3×3 · top 5.6% of 288,433 all-time · competing since November 2025 · 2025SANB01
Walter Sanborn has been competing for 11 months. His best event is the 3×3: a personal-best single of 9.30, set at Minnesota Cube Melt 2026, puts him in the top 5.6% of the 288,433 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 3,187th in the United States. Until February 2008, no official 3×3 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 5 competitions since November 2025, he has put 172 official solves on the record across nine events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 11% around a typical one, steadier than 89% of the 36,406 competitors with ten or more counted rounds. His 3×3 best has come down from 11.75 in November 2025 to 9.30, a 21% improvement. Walter 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 | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3×3 | 9.30 | 10.92 | top 5.6% | 3,187 / 60,666 | |
| 2×2 | 2.59 | 3.43 | top 9.9% | 3,942 / 41,674 | |
| 3×3 one-handed | 16.97 | 20.03 | top 12.6% | 1,647 / 15,900 | |
| Pyraminx | 4.95 | 7.36 | top 12.9% | 3,405 / 29,168 | |
| Skewb | 4.33 | 6.53 | top 13.3% | 2,080 / 19,164 | |
| 4×4 | 49.86 | 58.23 | top 24.6% | 3,811 / 19,354 | |
| Megaminx | 1:49.32 | 1:50.82 | top 40.1% | 2,966 / 8,026 | |
| Square-1 | 29.13 | 51.27 | top 47.9% | 3,159 / 6,846 | |
| 5×5 | 2:47.60 | — | top 73.7% | 6,644 / 9,537 |
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
- 9 May 2026First sub-10 3×3: 9.88 at Minnesota Cube Melt 2026.
- 9 May 2026Three personal bests in one day at Minnesota Cube Melt 2026.
- 11 Apr 2026Four personal bests in one day at Cube Against Cancer Minnesota 2026.
- 31 Jan 2026Four personal bests in one day at North Star Cubing Challenge MN 2026.
- 29 Nov 2025Eight personal bests in one day at Minnesota Championship 2025.
- 15 Nov 2025First competition: Cubing on the Green MN 2025. A 13.31 3×3 single to start from.
Competitions
- Minnesota Cube Melt 2026 · 9 May 2026 — 3 personal bests set
- Cube Against Cancer Minnesota 2026 · 11 Apr 2026 — 4 personal bests set
- North Star Cubing Challenge MN 2026 · 31 Jan 2026 — 4 personal bests set
- Minnesota Championship 2025 · 29 Nov 2025 — 8 personal bests set
- Cubing on the Green MN 2025 · 15 Nov 2025 — 2 personal bests 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.
- Kaius Young — met in 37 rounds, finished ahead 3 times
- Eli Sanderson — met in 34 rounds, finished ahead 23 times
- Lisa Kucala — met in 33 rounds, finished ahead 28 times
Next targets
- A sub-8 3×3 single — 8,101 people have one; it is 1.30 away.
- A sub-2 2×2 single — 9,039 people have one; it is 0.59 away.
Targets move as he improves.