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The Middle Three
People → China → Yan Zheng (郑岩)

People · China

Yan Zheng (郑岩)

2×2 · top 2.6% of 186,767 all-time · competing since August 2016 · 2016ZHEN30

Yan Zheng (郑岩) has been competing for 10 years. His best event is the 2×2: a personal-best single of 1.59, set at Xi'an Open 2016, puts him in the top 2.6% of the 186,767 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 298th in China. Until November 2008, no official 2×2 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 21 competitions since August 2016, he has put 637 official solves on the record across ten events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 13% around a typical one; 59% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds hold a tighter spread. His 3×3 best has come down from 16.91 in August 2016 to 10.18, a 40% improvement. Yan has entered 21 competitions, more competitions than 97% of everyone who has ever competed.

2×2
best event — top 2.6% of 186,767 all-time
1.59
signature single · Xi'an Open 2016
637
official solves on the record
13%
solve-to-solve spread · wider than 59% of the field

Standing, event by event

vs everyone ever ranked
EventPB singlePB averageAll-time standingChina
2×21.593.51
top 2.6%298 / 15,796
Clock5.386.36
top 5.4%100 / 1,843
Pyraminx3.986.03
top 7.5%890 / 10,224
3×310.1812.14
top 8.0%3,129 / 28,153
4×441.8451.67
top 14.3%1,543 / 5,926
Skewb4.836.05
top 16.9%1,040 / 5,004
Megaminx1:49.612:03.18
top 40.1%1,148 / 1,678
3×3 one-handed29.5140.28
top 45.5%4,050 / 5,922
Square-130.4743.21
top 50.2%865 / 1,362
5×52:06.062:15.34
top 53.1%2,180 / 2,816

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

Xi'an Open 2016: 16.91Asian Championship 2016: 15.88Tianjin Open 2016: 13.93ZUA Open 2017: 13.36Nanchang Spring 2017: 10.42Nanjing Spring 2017: 12.23China Championship 2017: 12.01Beijing Ten Years Open 2017: 11.65Taiyuan Autumn 2017: 12.75HDU Open 2017: 13.58Fushun Open 2018: 10.20Inner Mongolia Winter 2018: 13.21Xi'an Cherry Blossom 2018: 11.76Beijing Open 2018: 12.61Changchun Open 2018: 10.60China Championship 2018: 11.90Hangzhou Open 2018: 11.67Inner Mongolia Winter 2019: 10.45China Championship 2019: 12.78Luoyang Spring 2024: 10.1810.1816.9113 Aug 201610 Mar 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-1 2×2 single — 1,032 people have one; it is 0.59 away.
  • A sub-5 Clock single — 1,421 people have one; it is 0.38 away.

Targets move as he improves.