People · United States
William Yao
3×3 · top 4.6% of 284,439 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 284,439 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 2,536th in the United States. Until May 2008, no official 3×3 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 9 competitions since June 2016, he has put 178 official solves on the record across five events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 13% around a typical one, steadier than 55% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds. His 3×3 best has come down from 18.73 in June 2016 to 8.87, a 53% improvement. William has entered nine competitions, more competitions than 91% 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% | 2,536 / 59,724 | |
| 3×3 one-handed | 17.03 | 23.45 | top 12.6% | 1,639 / 15,683 | |
| 4×4 | 41.02 | 48.51 | top 13.3% | 1,976 / 19,072 | |
| 2×2 | 4.35 | 6.03 | top 31.0% | 12,327 / 40,951 | |
| Megaminx | 2:21.08 | — | early days — 1 solve | 4,281 / 7,841 |
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
- 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
- Corey Sakowski — met in 28 rounds, finished ahead 8 times
Next targets
- A sub-8 3×3 single — 7,931 people have one; it is 0.87 away.
- A sub-15 3×3 one-handed single — 5,987 people have one; it is 2.03 away.
Targets move as he improves.