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People → China → Zhiyuan Ma (马之元)

People · China

Zhiyuan Ma (马之元)

4×4 · top 0.1% of 83,917 all-time · competing since September 2017 · 2017MAZH04

Zhiyuan Ma (马之元) has been competing for 9 years. His best event is the 4×4: a personal-best single of 20.86, set at Guangzhou Big Cubes 2025, puts him in the top 0.1% of the 83,917 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 10th in China. Until June 2017, no official 4×4 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 101 competitions since September 2017, he has put 4,509 official solves on the record across 16 events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 15% around a typical one; 85% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds hold a tighter spread. His 3×3 best has come down from 20.10 in September 2017 to 5.43, a 73% improvement. Zhiyuan has entered 101 competitions, more competitions than 99% of everyone who has ever competed.

4×4
best event — top 0.1% of 83,917 all-time
20.86
signature single · Guangzhou Big Cubes 2025
4,509
official solves on the record
15%
solve-to-solve spread · wider than 85% of the field

Standing, event by event

vs everyone ever ranked
EventPB singlePB averageAll-time standingChina
4×420.8625.73
top 0.1%10 / 5,926
Skewb1.212.23
top 0.14%6 / 5,004
2×20.731.54
top 0.15%18 / 15,796
5×539.7143.73
top 0.15%9 / 2,816
3×35.436.58
top 0.22%94 / 28,153
3×3 one-handed8.4010.86
top 0.29%25 / 5,922
Pyraminx1.562.42
top 0.5%52 / 10,224
Square-16.689.97
top 1.3%21 / 1,362
7×72:16.762:29.51
top 1.9%32 / 1,261
3×3 Fewest Moves22 moves28.67
top 2.2%26 / 1,058
6×61:31.831:38.09
top 2.2%38 / 1,349
3×3 blindfolded22.6227.47
top 2.3%32 / 1,183
Clock4.025.27
top 2.4%43 / 1,843
Megaminx43.5746.40
top 2.6%52 / 1,678
4×4 blindfolded6:37.19—
early days — 2 solves65 / 149
3×3 Multi-Blind3 of 3 cubes · 15:10—
early days — 1 solve141 / 278

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

Suzhou Open 2017: 20.10Nanjing Autumn 2017: 17.17HDU Open 2017: 12.80Zhenjiang Open 2017: 16.14Shanghai Winter 2018: 15.97Hangzhou Spring 2018: 11.35Luoyang Spring 2018: 11.88Kunshan Open 2018: 12.89Shanghai Love in ECNU 2018: 12.35SJTU Open 2018: 10.81Hefei Summer 2018: 12.10Beijing Summer 2018: 11.49Longyan Open 2018: 10.75Wuxi Autumn 2018: 9.94Hangzhou Open 2018: 9.85Nanjing Autumn 2018: 9.51Xuzhou Winter 2018: 10.41Wenzhou Open 2018: 10.53SJTU Winter Open 2018: 9.47Yancheng Spring 2019: 9.85Nanchang Open 2019: 9.38Hangzhou Open 2019: 9.21Hefei Summer 2019: 8.56Huzhou Open 2019: 8.71China Championship 2019: 9.33Taizhou Open 2019: 8.84Suzhou Open 2019: 9.55Wuhan Autumn 2019: 9.56Shanghai Open 2019: 9.16Changsha Autumn 2019: 8.42Hangzhou Autumn 2019: 8.87Shaoxing Open 2019: 7.56Nanchang Good Morning 2021: 5.55Jieyang Good Afternoon 2021: 6.79Shaoxing Afternoon 2021: 7.22Beijing Spring AM 2021: 7.21Xi'an Cherry Blossom PM 2021: 7.08Hangzhou Open PM 2021: 7.28Guangdong Open 2021: 6.80Xuzhou Open PM 2021: 5.90Zhengzhou Summer 2021: 7.35Wuhan Open 2021: 7.23Tianjin Summer Solstice 2021: 6.89Hong Kong Championship 2023: 6.23Hefei Winter Open 2023: 7.28Changsha Open 2023: 5.83Huzhou Open 2024: 6.50Chengdu Summer 2024: 6.02Xi'an Open 2024: 6.52Deqing Big Cubes Summer 2024: 5.91Rubik's WCA Asian Championship 2024: 8.31Hong Kong Championship 2024: 5.54Zhengzhou Open 2024: 6.83Yancheng Open 2024: 6.54Chengdu Spring Open 2025: 6.49Luoyang Spring 2025: 5.44Linhai Newcomers 2025: 5.99Xuzhou Newcomers 2025: 6.64Shenyang Spring 2025: 6.38Nanchang Spring 2025: 7.34Xi'an Summer 2025: 6.50Taizhou Open 2025: 5.73Guangzhou Small Cubes 2025: 6.68Hangzhou Winter 2025: 5.54Zhengzhou Zest 2025: 6.60Guangdong Open - Revival & Rival 2026: 5.90Zhuhai Pi Day 2026: 6.49Foshan Open 2026: 5.81Quanzhou Summer 2026: 6.24Maoming Open 2026: 7.01Zhanjiang Open 2026: 6.30Xi'an Open 2026: 5.84Guangzhou GraDUAL 3x3 III 2026: 5.435.4320.1016 Sep 20172 Sep 2026

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-20 4×4 single — 42 people have one; it is 0.86 away.
  • A sub-1 Skewb single — 35 people have one; it is 0.21 away.

Targets move as he improves.