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The Middle Three
People → China → Zhong Yi Yan

People · China

Zhong Yi Yan

3×3 · top 5.3% of 284,439 all-time · competing since December 2022 · 2022YANZ02

Zhong Yi Yan has been competing for 4 years. His best event is the 3×3: a personal-best single of 9.20, set at UK New Year Countdown 2023, puts him in the top 5.3% of the 284,439 people who have ever been ranked in the event, and 2,059th in China. Until February 2008, no official 3×3 solve in the world had been that fast. Across 6 competitions since December 2022, he has put 152 official solves on the record across seven events. Solve to solve, his 3×3 times vary about 13% around a typical one; 52% of the 35,811 competitors with ten or more counted rounds hold a tighter spread. Zhong has entered six competitions, more competitions than 86% of everyone who has ever competed.

3×3
best event — top 5.3% of 284,439 all-time
9.20
signature single · UK New Year Countdown 2023
152
official solves on the record
13%
solve-to-solve spread · wider than 52% of the field

Standing, event by event

vs everyone ever ranked
EventPB singlePB averageAll-time standingChina
3×39.2010.79
top 5.3%2,059 / 28,153
4×446.0353.24
top 19.6%2,115 / 5,926
3×3 one-handed20.2827.35
top 21.2%2,117 / 5,922
5×51:33.191:42.85
top 30.0%1,350 / 2,816
2×24.616.18
top 34.4%5,891 / 15,796
7×74:52.455:18.78
top 48.4%862 / 1,261
6×63:28.063:42.08
early days — 3 solves999 / 1,349

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

UK New Year Countdown 2023: 9.20Bolton Summer 2023: 9.96Bolton Spring 2024: 10.31Manchester June 2024: 9.36Glasgow Favourites Evening II 2024: 10.559.2010.5531 Dec 202221 Oct 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-8 3×3 single — 7,931 people have one; it is 1.20 away.
  • A sub-40 4×4 single — 10,180 people have one; it is 6.03 away.

Targets move as he improves.