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People · Australia

William Tao

3×3 one-handed · top 1% of 73,695 all-time · competing since August 2014 · 2014TAOW01

William Tao has been competing for 12 years. His best event is the 3×3 one-handed: a personal-best single of 9.90, set at Australian Nationals 2018, puts him in the top 1% of the 73,695 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 28th in Australia. Until December 2011, no official 3×3 one-handed solve in the world had been that fast. Across 25 competitions since August 2014, he has put 1,312 official solves on the record across 17 events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 15% around a typical one; 79% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds hold a tighter spread. His 3×3 best has come down from 12.46 in August 2014 to 7.28, a 42% improvement. William has entered 25 competitions, more competitions than 98% of everyone who has ever competed.

3×3 one-handed
best event — top 1% of 73,695 all-time
9.90
signature single · Australian Nationals 2018
1,312
official solves on the record
15%
solve-to-solve spread · wider than 79% of the field

Standing, event by event

vs everyone ever ranked
EventPB singlePB averageAll-time standingAustralia
3×3 one-handed9.9014.96
top 1%28 / 2,659
2×21.383.01
top 1.6%151 / 8,567
3×37.288.95
top 1.7%185 / 11,709
3×3 blindfolded26.34—
top 3.3%16 / 394
4×431.7434.74
top 4.0%108 / 3,051
5×51:00.481:02.69
top 5.7%77 / 1,356
Pyraminx4.836.26
top 12.1%568 / 5,993
7×73:09.053:19.97
top 13.0%62 / 523
Megaminx1:07.391:12.89
top 14.1%171 / 1,277
6×62:08.842:11.24
top 14.8%87 / 641
Skewb4.855.99
top 17.0%444 / 3,534
Square-117.4626.04
top 22.0%215 / 899
3×3 Fewest Moves33 moves38.00
top 23.4%116 / 468
Clock12.8514.58
top 39.0%403 / 1,095
3×3 Multi-Blind4 of 5 cubes · 21:40—
top 53.0%96 / 180
4×4 blindfolded10:41.00—
early days — 2 solves62 / 96
5×5 blindfolded27:57.00—
early days — 1 solve43 / 51

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

Australian Nationals 2014: 12.46Sydney Spring 2014: 9.19Sydney Autumn 2015: 11.31Newcastle Winter 2015: 10.29Sydney Winter 2015: 9.30Australian Nationals 2015: 8.90Sydney Summer 2015: 9.41Sydney Autumn 2016: 8.53Australian Nationals 2016: 9.88Sydney Championship 2016: 9.48Adelaide Summer 2017: 9.57Australian Nationals 2017: 9.06Sydney Championship 2017: 8.53Warm Up Sydney 2018: 8.05Australian Nationals 2018: 8.81Odd Day in Sydney 2018: 8.76Cool Down Sydney 2019: 9.03Koalafication Sydney 2019: 7.28Warm Up Sydney 2019: 8.98WCA World Championship 2019: 8.34Fortitude Sydney 2019: 7.77Odd Day in Sydney 2019: 7.78Sydney Open 2019: 8.90NSW Open 2022: 9.68Kogarah Cube Day Sunday 2024: 7.297.2812.4616 Aug 201414 Apr 2024

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-8 3×3 one-handed single — 151 people have one; it is 1.90 away.
  • A sub-1 2×2 single — 1,032 people have one; it is 0.38 away.

Targets move as he improves.