You’ve seen the videos. A teenager or a young man sits at a table, hands hovering over a scrambled mess of plastic and stickers. The timer starts. Their fingers move so fast they literally become a blur on camera. Then—thwack—the cube hits the table. Solved. In less time than it takes you to sneeze.
Honestly, the world of speedcubing has moved so fast lately that it’s hard to keep track of who holds the crown. But right now, if we’re talking about the absolute Rubik's cube fastest solver, one name stands above everyone else: Max Park.
Back in June 2023, at the Pride in Long Beach event in California, Max did something that people thought was borderline impossible just a decade ago. He solved a standard 3x3x3 cube in 3.13 seconds.
3.13.
Think about that. You can barely say "Rubik's Cube" in three seconds. Max didn't just break the record; he shaved 0.34 seconds off the previous world record held by Yusheng Du. In the world of elite cubing, a third of a second is a lifetime. It’s like someone running a three-minute mile. It changed how we look at human potential and mechanical limits.
Why 3.13 Seconds is Actually Insane
Most people think speedcubing is just about moving your fingers fast. It's not. It's about pattern recognition at a level that feels almost supernatural. When Max Park looks at a cube during the 15-second inspection period, he isn't just looking at colors. He’s mapping out a sequence of moves—often called an "algorithm"—that will solve the first two layers of the cube without him even having to look at what he's doing.
The physics of the cube itself are a factor too. If you’re using an old Rubik’s brand cube from the 80s, you’re never hitting these speeds. The plastic would melt or the core would snap. The Rubik's cube fastest solver uses specialized magnetic cubes like the Gan 13 or the MoYu Super RS3M. These things have magnets inside the pieces to help them snap into alignment perfectly. They use high-tech silicone lubes. It’s basically the Formula 1 of the toy world.
Wait, let's go back to the human element for a second. Max Park isn't just a fast cuber. He’s a legend because he’s also a prominent figure in the neurodiversity community. Diagnosed with autism, Max used cubing as a way to develop social skills and fine motor control. Seeing him on stage now, high-fiving fans and handling the pressure of a ticking clock, is just as impressive as the 3.13-second solve itself.
The Rivals Chasing the Crown
Max isn't alone at the top. The competition is brutal. You’ve got guys like Luke Garrett and Yiheng Wang. Yiheng is particularly terrifying to the established pros because he’s incredibly young and has already set world records for the "average" of five solves.
In the World Cube Association (WCA) world, there are two types of records:
- The Single: The fastest individual solve ever recorded. (Max Park, 3.13)
- The Average: The mean of the middle three out of five solves.
Many cubers consider the average to be the "real" measure of who the Rubik's cube fastest solver actually is. Why? Because a single solve can be lucky. Sometimes the pieces just fall into place, leading to a "skip" in the final steps. But an average? That requires consistency. Yiheng Wang recently pushed the 3x3 average record down to a staggering 4.25 seconds. That means he's doing five solves in a row, and almost all of them are under 5 seconds. It's relentless.
The Secret Sauce: How They Do It
If you want to get fast—I mean really fast—you have to move past the "beginner's method." You’ve probably seen the tutorials online where you make a cross, then the corners, then the middle layer. Forget that.
The pros use CFOP.
- Cross: Building four edges on the bottom.
- F2L (First Two Layers): Solving the corners and the edges at the same time. This is where the magic happens.
- OLL (Orientation of the Last Layer): Making the top face all one color.
- PLL (Permutation of the Last Layer): Swapping the remaining pieces into their final spots.
There are hundreds of algorithms to memorize. We’re talking about muscle memory so deep that if you asked Max Park to explain a specific move slowly, his fingers might actually struggle to do it. His brain knows the "feel" of the move more than the notation.
The Evolution of Speedcubing Records
Look at the timeline. It’s wild.
In 1982, the first world championship was won with a time of 22.95 seconds. At the time, Minh Thai was considered a god. People thought 20 seconds was the human limit. Then came the 2000s, and the 10-second barrier fell. Feliks Zemdegs, an Australian phenom, dominated for years, trading records back and forth with Mats Valk.
Then came the "Sub-5" era. Then "Sub-4."
When Max Park hit that 3.13, the cubing community collectively lost its mind. It was a "Where were you?" moment. The video of the solve shows a room full of people exploding in cheers while Max just looks at the timer, almost in disbelief himself.
Beyond the 3x3
While the 3x3 cube is the "main event," being the Rubik's cube fastest solver usually means you're a multi-talented beast. Max Park doesn't just dominate the small cube. He holds records for the 4x4, 5x5, 6x6, and 7x7.
Watching him solve a 7x7 is like watching a master pianist. There are so many pieces, but he moves them with a rhythmic fluidity. It's less about "solving a puzzle" and more about "managing chaos."
Then you have the one-handed solvers. Or the people who solve them blindfolded. Charlie Eggins, for example, recently set a world record by solving a 3x3 blindfolded in 12.10 seconds. That includes the time he spent memorizing the cube before putting the blindfold on. I can't even remember where I put my car keys ten seconds ago.
The Mental Game of Speedcubing
You can have the fastest fingers in the world and still choke on the big stage. Cubing is intensely psychological. When you're at a WCA competition, you're sitting in a quiet room, a judge is staring at you, and a camera is often inches from your face.
The Rubik's cube fastest solver has to have ice in their veins. Max Park has talked about how he handles the pressure by sticking to a routine. The way he sits, the way he breathes, the way he starts the timer—it's all calibrated. One slip, one "lock-up" where the pieces catch on each other, and the record is gone.
Is There a Hard Limit?
Is a sub-3 second solve possible?
Mathematically, yes. The "God's Number" for a Rubik's cube is 20. That means any scramble can be solved in 20 moves or less. If a cuber gets a lucky scramble that only requires 12 or 15 moves, and they can turn at a rate of 10-12 turns per second (which many pros can), then a 1.5 or 2.0-second solve is theoretically on the table.
🔗 Read more: MLB Trade Analyzer Fantasy: How to Stop Getting Fleeced in Your League
But it requires the perfect storm:
- An insanely easy scramble.
- Zero nerves.
- Perfect mechanical execution.
- A "skip" of the final OLL or PLL steps.
Honestly, we might see a 2.99 within the next couple of years. The kids getting into the sport now are starting at ages 5 or 6. They’re growing up with better hardware and better tutorials than the legends of the 2010s ever had.
Want to Get Faster? Here’s the Reality.
If you’re sitting there with a 60-second solve time wondering how to become the next Rubik's cube fastest solver, you’ve got work to do.
First, get a real speedcube. If it doesn't have magnets, you're fighting an uphill battle.
Second, learn F2L. It's the hardest part of CFOP to master because it’s intuitive. You can't just memorize a chart; you have to understand how the pieces move around each other.
Third, record yourself. You’ll see pauses in your solves that you didn't even realize were happening. These "look-ahead" pauses are what kill your time. The best solvers aren't necessarily turning their hands faster; they’re just never stopping. They are solving the next piece while they’re still turning the current one.
Practical Steps for Aspiring Solvers
- Switch to a Magnetic Cube: Look at brands like Gan, MoYu, or QiYi. A $20 cube today is better than the world-record cubes from five years ago.
- Master Fingertricks: Stop using your whole hand to turn a face. Use your index fingers and ring fingers for flicking.
- Download a Timer App: Use something like CSTimer. It gives you official WCA scrambles so you aren't just "randomly" mixing it up poorly.
- Study the Pros: Watch Max Park's 3.13 solve in slow motion on YouTube. Look at his "inspection." Notice how he doesn't look at the cube once he starts the cross.
- Join the Community: Check out the r/cubers subreddit or find a local WCA competition. The community is incredibly welcoming, even if you solve in two minutes.
The journey from a one-minute solver to a ten-second solver is a long road of thousands of solves. But being the Rubik's cube fastest solver isn't just about the record—it's about the obsession with efficiency. Whether it's Max Park or the next kid coming up, the limit of the cube is always moving.
The 3.13 record will eventually fall. Someone, somewhere, is practicing right now, eyes locked on a scramble, waiting for that perfect 2.9 second moment. And when it happens, it won't just be luck—it'll be the result of millions of turns and a brain wired for patterns.