It happened in a gym in Long Beach, California. June 2023. Max Park sat down at a table, his hands hovering over a standard 3x3x3 puzzle. People were watching, sure, but nobody quite expected the atmosphere to shatter the way it did seconds later. He looked at the scramble for a few moments, started his inspection, and then—snap. The plastic clicked at a speed that barely looked real. When the timer stopped at 3.13 seconds, the room didn't just cheer. It exploded.
Max didn't just beat the previous mark; he took a sledgehammer to it.
That 3.13-second world record in solving rubik's cube stands as a testament to what is essentially "God Tier" dexterity. To put that in perspective, you probably can’t even tie your shoes in three seconds. You definitely can’t unlock your phone and find an app that fast. Yet, in that window of time, a human being identified the state of 54 colored stickers, processed the optimal path to alignment, and executed dozens of finger turns without a single mechanical lockup.
Why the 3.13 Mark is Actually Terrifying
If you talk to anyone in the World Cube Association (WCA), they’ll tell you that sub-4 second solves used to be the "four-minute mile" of cubing. It was a mythical barrier. Yusheng Du held the previous record of 3.47 seconds for nearly five years. In the world of competitive "speedcubing," five years is an eternity. Hardware changes. Methods evolve. Usually, records are broken by hundredths of a second. Max took more than a third of a second off the time. In a sport measured in milliseconds, that’s a chasm.
Most people think speedcubing is just about moving your fingers fast. It's not.
Honestly, the finger speed is the easy part. The hard part is "look-ahead." While Max is executing the first set of moves (the cross), his eyes are already tracking the pieces for the next two steps. He isn't reacting to what he sees; he is executing a pre-programmed sequence while his brain builds the next one in real-time. It’s a level of parallel processing that would make a high-end CPU sweat.
The Evolution of the "Sub-10" Dream
Back in the early 1980s, when Minh Thai won the first world championship with a time of 22.95 seconds, the world was stunned. But those cubes were terrible. They were clunky, they caught on the edges, and they didn't have magnets.
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Today's world record in solving rubik's cube is possible because of a massive shift in engineering. We now have "speedcubes" with adjustable magnet strength, dual-adjustment tension systems, and "MagLev" technology that replaces traditional springs with repelling magnets to reduce friction. If Max Park tried to go sub-4 on a 1980s original Rubik’s brand cube, the thing would likely explode in his hands from the torque.
But hardware only gets you halfway. You've got to know the algorithms.
Most top-tier solvers use the CFOP method:
- Cross: Building four edges on the bottom.
- F2L (First Two Layers): Solving the corners and edges simultaneously.
- OLL (Orientation of the Last Layer): Getting the top face to be a solid color.
- PLL (Permutation of the Last Layer): Shuffling those top pieces into their final spots.
Max Park, and his rival Feliks Zemdegs, have memorized hundreds of "algorithms"—specific sequences of moves for specific cases. When they see a certain pattern, they don't think "turn right, then top." They just trigger a muscle-memory macro.
The Psychology of the Solve
Max Park’s story adds a layer of depth that most sports stories lack. Diagnosed with autism, Max originally started cubing as a way to develop his fine motor skills and socialise. His parents, Schwan and Miki Park, have been open about how the cubing community became a vital support system for him.
There's a specific kind of focus required for the world record in solving rubik's cube. You can't be "too hyped." If your adrenaline spikes too hard, your fingers shake. If your fingers shake, you "lock up" the cube. Max has this eerie, calm intensity. At the Pride in Long Beach 2023 event, he didn't look like he was trying to break the world record. He looked like he was just solving a cube. That's the secret. The moment you start thinking about the record during the solve, you've already lost it.
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Other Records You Probably Didn't Realize Existed
While the 3x3 is the "glamour" event, the WCA tracks a ton of other categories. Some of them are arguably more impressive than the standard solve.
- Blindfolded (3x3): Charlie Eggins currently holds the record at 12.10 seconds. That includes the time it takes to look at the cube and memorize it. They don't just solve it; they "see" it in their mind's eye.
- One-Handed: Max Park (who else?) holds this at 6.20 seconds. Some people can't solve it with two hands in six minutes.
- Big Cubes: Max also dominates the 4x4, 5x5, 6x6, and 7x7. His 7x7 record is 1 minute and 34.15 seconds. If you've ever tried a 7x7, you know that just turning the layers feels like a workout.
Is the 3-Second Barrier the Limit?
Can we go faster?
Mathematically, yes. "God’s Number" is 20. That means any Rubik's Cube, no matter how scrambled, can be solved in 20 moves or fewer. Max’s 3.13 solve was likely around 30 to 40 moves. If a human could perfectly "inspect" a cube and find the 20-move solution every time, and then execute those moves at 10-12 turns per second, we could technically see a 2-second solve.
But humans aren't computers. We rely on patterns (heuristics). Finding the absolute shortest path in 15 seconds of inspection is nearly impossible for the human brain. We find the "fastest to execute" path, which is rarely the "shortest" path.
Still, people said the 5-second barrier wouldn't fall. Then they said the same about 4 seconds. Now, the community is looking at the 2.xx range with a mix of fear and excitement.
How You Can Actually Get Faster
Maybe you aren't looking to break the world record in solving rubik's cube, but you're stuck at the 2-minute mark. It’s a common plateau. Honestly, most people stop improving because they keep using the "Beginner’s Method" where you solve layer by layer.
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If you want to shave time, you have to ditch the beginner movements.
Start by learning "Finger Tricks." Stop turning the cube with your whole hand. Use your index fingers to flick the top layer. Use your ring fingers for the bottom. It feels weird at first. Your hands will cramp. But it’s the only way to get your turns-per-second (TPS) up.
Next, move to F2L. It’s the most frustrating part of learning CFOP because your times will actually get worse for about two weeks while you're learning it. You’ll want to quit. Don't. Once F2L clicks, you’ll drop from 60 seconds to 30 seconds almost overnight.
The Real Impact of the Record
What Max Park did in 2023 changed the "vibe" of the sport. It moved it from a hobby to something that looks a lot like a professional esport. Sponsorships from companies like Gan or MoYu are real. There are professional contracts.
But at its core, it’s still just a person and a puzzle.
Whether it's Max Park in a crowded gym or you at your desk, the feeling of that last turn clicking into place is exactly the same. The record just happens to be a very, very fast version of that satisfaction.
Actionable Steps for Aspiring Speedcubers
If you’re serious about dropping your solve times, stop just "timing" yourself and start practicing with intent.
- Slow Turning: Spend 15 minutes a day solving as slowly as possible without stopping the motion of the cube. This trains your eyes to look ahead for the next piece while your hands are busy.
- Drill Your Algs: Don't just learn an algorithm; drill it 100 times until you can do it while watching TV. If you have to "think" about the moves, you haven't mastered it.
- Record Your Solves: Use your phone to film your hands. You’ll be shocked at how much time you waste "regripping" the cube or just staring at it (called "pausing").
- Get a Magnetic Cube: If you’re still using a store-bought Rubik's brand, buy a $10-$15 entry-level speedcube (like a MoYu RS3M). The difference is literally night and day.
The quest for the next world record in solving rubik's cube is already underway. Every weekend, at WCA events from Tokyo to London, kids are trying to find that perfect scramble and that perfect flow state. It's only a matter of time before 3.13 becomes second place.