People · China
Xiaobo Hou (侯晓博)
2×2 · top 4.1% of 189,179 all-time · competing since April 2015 · 2015HOUX01
Xiaobo Hou (侯晓博) has been competing for 12 years. His best event is the 2×2: a personal-best single of 1.89, set at Tangshan Open 2017, puts him in the top 4.1% of the 189,179 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 551st in China. Until February 2008, no official 2×2 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 12 competitions since April 2015, he has put 282 official solves on the record across eleven events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 12% around a typical one, steadier than 81% of the 36,406 competitors with ten or more counted rounds. His 3×3 best has come down from 21.65 in April 2015 to 11.38, a 47% improvement. Xiaobo has entered twelve competitions, more competitions than 94% of everyone who has ever competed.
Standing, event by event
vs everyone ever ranked| Event | PB single | PB average | All-time standing | China | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2×2 | 1.89 | 3.35 | top 4.1% | 551 / 15,939 | |
| 3×3 blindfolded | 45.54 | 53.32 | top 8.4% | 130 / 1,184 | |
| 3×3 | 11.38 | 12.83 | top 11.8% | 4,715 / 28,499 | |
| Megaminx | 1:04.71 | 1:12.27 | top 12.5% | 350 / 1,693 | |
| Pyraminx | 6.32 | 10.14 | top 22.4% | 2,586 / 10,269 | |
| 4×4 blindfolded | 6:28.60 | — | top 32.8% | 63 / 149 | |
| 3×3 one-handed | 24.54 | 29.75 | top 33.1% | 3,220 / 5,994 | |
| 3×3 Multi-Blind | 9 of 12 cubes · 57:49 | — | top 35.1% | 98 / 279 | |
| 4×4 | 1:10.70 | 1:26.15 | top 47.6% | 4,441 / 5,999 | |
| Skewb | 9.06 | 11.63 | top 48.9% | 2,806 / 5,030 | |
| 5×5 | 2:23.29 | 2:41.72 | top 62.7% | 2,471 / 2,857 |
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
- 17 Jun 2018Three personal bests in one day at Tangshan Open 2018.
- 20 Nov 2016Four personal bests in one day at Taiyuan Winter Open 2016.
- 12 Nov 2016Four personal bests in one day at Tianjin Open 2016.
- 13 Aug 2016Four personal bests in one day at Xi'an Open 2016.
- 8 May 2016Four personal bests in one day at Tangshan Open 2016.
- 24 Oct 2015First sub-20 3×3: 16.51 at Beijing Open 2015.
Competitions
- Shanghai Memory Nightmare 2019 · 20 Apr 2019
- Tangshan Open 2018 · 17 Jun 2018 — 3 personal bests set
- Tangshan Open 2017 · 28 May 2017 — 2 personal bests set
- Taiyuan Winter Open 2016 · 20 Nov 2016 — 4 personal bests set
- Tianjin Open 2016 · 12 Nov 2016 — 4 personal bests set
- Asian Championship 2016 · 1 Oct 2016 — 2 personal bests set
- Xi'an Open 2016 · 13 Aug 2016 — 4 personal bests set
- Changchun Open 2016 · 3 Jul 2016 — 2 personal bests set
- Tangshan Open 2016 · 8 May 2016 — 4 personal bests set
- Tianjin Winter Open 2015 · 5 Dec 2015 — 2 personal bests set
- Beijing Open 2015 · 24 Oct 2015 — 4 personal bests set
- Tianjin University Open 2015 · 26 Apr 2015
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.
- Baiqiang Dong (董百强) — met in 40 rounds, finished ahead 20 times
- Guanchen Zhou (周冠辰) — met in 39 rounds, finished ahead 6 times
- Fubo Wang (王富博) — met in 37 rounds, finished ahead 9 times
Next targets
- A sub-1 2×2 single — 1,050 people have one; it is 0.89 away.
- A sub-40 3×3 blindfolded single — 839 people have one; it is 5.54 away.
Targets move as he improves.