People · Japan
Yoshito Kotani (小谷慶人)
Square-1 · top 2.0% of 25,272 all-time · competing since February 2023 · 2023KOTA02
Yoshito Kotani (小谷慶人) has been competing for 4 years. His best event is the Square-1: a personal-best single of 7.20, set at Kansai Parity Party 2025, puts him in the top 2.0% of the 25,272 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 7th in Japan. Until May 2014, no official Square-1 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 6 competitions since February 2023, he has put 113 official solves on the record across six events. His Square-1 best has come down from 9.81 in September 2023 to 7.20, a 27% improvement. Yoshito has entered six competitions, more competitions than 86% of everyone who has ever competed.
Standing, event by event
vs everyone ever ranked| Event | PB single | PB average | All-time standing | Japan | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Square-1 | 7.20 | 10.01 | top 2.0% | 7 / 245 | |
| Megaminx | 45.94 | 48.44 | top 3.4% | 28 / 313 | |
| 4×4 | 31.53 | 35.31 | top 3.8% | 51 / 667 | |
| 3×3 | 9.60 | 10.32 | top 6.4% | 275 / 3,329 | |
| Skewb | 5.56 | 6.76 | top 22.4% | 118 / 338 | |
| 6×6 | 2:33.70 | 2:55.05 | early days — 3 solves | 76 / 209 |
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, Square-1. Faster is higher — the axis is the right way up.
The story so far
- 24 Aug 2025Three personal bests in one day at Kansai Parity Party 2025.
- 7 Jul 2024First sub-10 3×3: 9.60 at Katano Milky Way 2024.
- 12 Feb 2023First competition: Go x Go Kyoto 2023. A 12.06 3×3 single to start from.
Competitions
- Japan Championship 2026 · 18 Jul 2026 — 2 personal bests set
- Kansai Parity Party 2025 · 24 Aug 2025 — 3 personal bests set
- Ota Spring 2025 · 20 Mar 2025 — 1 personal best set
- Katano Milky Way 2024 · 7 Jul 2024 — 1 personal best set
- Otsu Biwako Autumn 2023 · 23 Sep 2023 — 1 personal best set
- Go x Go Kyoto 2023 · 12 Feb 2023
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.
- Kantaro Sakamoto (坂本貫太郎) — met in 18 rounds, finished ahead 11 times
- Takayuki Tanaka (田中隆喜) — met in 17 rounds, finished ahead 11 times
- Haruki Tsutsui (筒井遥規) — met in 17 rounds, finished ahead 10 times
Next targets
- A sub-6 Square-1 single — 201 people have one; it is 1.20 away.
- A sub-40 Megaminx single — 557 people have one; it is 5.94 away.
Targets move as he improves.