People · United States
William Yao
3×3 · top 4.6% of 288,433 all-time · competing since June 2016 · 2016YAOW02
William Yao has been competing for 10 years. His best event is the 3×3: a personal-best single of 8.87, set at Northern Virginia Summer 2019, puts him in the top 4.6% of the 288,433 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 2,588th in the United States. Until May 2008, no official 3×3 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 10 competitions since June 2016, he has put 193 official solves on the record across five events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 14% around a typical one; 76% of the 36,406 competitors with ten or more counted rounds hold a tighter spread. His 3×3 best has come down from 18.73 in June 2016 to 8.87, a 53% improvement. William has entered ten competitions, more competitions than 92% 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 | 8.87 | 10.53 | top 4.6% | 2,588 / 60,666 | |
| 2×2 | 2.31 | 5.04 | top 7.2% | 2,894 / 41,674 | |
| 3×3 one-handed | 17.03 | 23.45 | top 12.7% | 1,668 / 15,900 | |
| 4×4 | 41.02 | 48.51 | top 13.4% | 2,013 / 19,354 | |
| Megaminx | 2:21.08 | — | early days — 1 solve | 4,388 / 8,026 |
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
- 26 May 2018First sub-10 3×3: 9.50 at Tea Time Spring 2018.
- 26 May 2018Three personal bests in one day at Tea Time Spring 2018.
- 1 Jul 2017Three personal bests in one day at Slow N Steady Summer 2017.
- 2 Apr 2017Three personal bests in one day at Slow N Steady Spring 2017.
- 19 Nov 2016First sub-15 3×3: 12.18 at TJHSST Fall 2016.
- 18 Jun 2016First competition: Slow N Steady Spring 2016. A 18.73 3×3 single to start from.
Competitions
- Moore Cubes in Loudoun 2026 · 19 Sep 2026 — 1 personal best set
- Slow N Steady UMD Fall 2025 · 27 Sep 2025
- Cubing with the Viking 2020 · 22 Feb 2020 — 1 personal best set
- Northern Neck Winter 2020 · 4 Jan 2020 — 1 personal best set
- Northern Virginia Summer 2019 · 22 Jun 2019 — 2 personal bests set
- Tea Time Spring 2018 · 26 May 2018 — 3 personal bests set
- Slow N Steady Summer 2017 · 1 Jul 2017 — 3 personal bests set
- Slow N Steady Spring 2017 · 2 Apr 2017 — 3 personal bests set
- TJHSST Fall 2016 · 19 Nov 2016 — 1 personal best set
- Slow N Steady Spring 2016 · 18 Jun 2016
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.
- Ray Bai — met in 32 rounds, never finished ahead
- Justin Gou — met in 32 rounds, never finished ahead
- Jonathan Tilahun — met in 30 rounds, finished ahead once
Next targets
- A sub-8 3×3 single — 8,101 people have one; it is 0.87 away.
- A sub-2 2×2 single — 9,039 people have one; it is 0.31 away.
Targets move as he improves.