This Rubik's Cube World Record Video Compilation Will Mesmerize You
The Rubik’s Cube was, and still is, one of the best puzzles ever created by mankind. Easy to learn and hard to master, just like the best games and puzzles out there.
However, the cube is a lot more compact and can be brought anywhere, anytime. It’s not often a three-dimensional puzzle is made, after all, meaning the cube is still probably better than most smartphone puzzle apps today which are still stuck in 2D.
Why else would there be a Rubik’s Cube World Record? If you do want to become good, you’ll need to learn how to solve a Rubik’s cube first in just a few moves.
Photo by Puzzles – WonderHowTo
As with all puzzles and mathematical problems, there will always be masters. By the time you finished reading that, the best of them will probably have already solved a Rubik’s cube. No, really, they are that good and are regulars at the Rubik’s Cube World Record.
While some of us are struggling to even finish the cube and restore it back to its uniform colors, there are some who eat the cube for breakfast, figuratively. So if you want to impress your friends or be better at the cube, then you may want to take your cues from these World Record holders (and breakers).
These are the people who have finished the cube in under 10 seconds, which is even faster than cheating with paint or screwdrivers:
11. Thibault Jacquinot at 9.86 seconds
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIYbW2Dzmlg]
Thibault Jacquinot is from France and was one of the first people to be able to solve the Rubik’s cube faster than 10 seconds. His record stood at 9.86 seconds back in 2007 during the Spanish Open competition. Thibault is also a speedcuber and also competed at the one-handed cube-solving competition. Sadly, there are no videos of him setting the record of 9.86 seconds. So in the video above, he took around 15 seconds to solve that cube, that was not a competition. Still, it was awesome, quick and close to a world record Rubik’s cube win!
10. Ron van Bruchem at 9.55 seconds
However, Thibault setting a world record for the fastest Rubik’s cube restoration in under 10 seconds was short-lived. Someone broke the record during the very same year that it was set. In 2007 too, Erik Akkersdijk set a new record in the Dutch Open, winning at 9.77 seconds:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqFFXs0RAnI]
However, that was also short-lived since a while after Erik’s record-breaking win, his fellow Dutch countryman Ron van Bruchem swooped in and broke his record, winning in the Dutch Championships 2007 at a 9.55 second-finish. Sadly, there is no video recording for that but here is Ron in 2011 with a 9.88 second-finish, still impressive:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iz_kct16fWU]
9. Edouard Chambon at 9.18 seconds
Another French like Thibault, and he broke the record of the previous three above. Edouard Chambon won at the Murcia Open in 2008– barely a year after the Rubik’s cube was solved below the 10-second-mark. Here’s Edouard with his 9.18-second-finish:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLOT1Z_c1Dc]
8. Yu Nakajima at 8.72 seconds
Too bad for Edouard Chambon, his 9.18-second-win was short-lived and did not last a year. Yu Nakajima from Japan competed at the Kashiwa Open 2008 and finished the cube at 8.72 seconds. Oh, and he was also one of the first to do it faster than nine seconds. Here he his:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J25n7OOdnMI]
7. Erik Akkersdijk at 7.08 seconds
Remember Erik? Well, he did not give up and kept on trying, with flying colors nonetheless since he was the first to solve the cube faster than eight seconds during the Czech Open 2008. Erik won at 7.08 seconds, widening the gap between him and the last record-breaker and setting the bar higher for others. Talk about a comeback:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzGjbjUPVUo]
6. Collin Burns at 5.25 seconds
If you thought the gap between Eric and Yu’s records is quite big at more than a second, then you will be shocked to hear that Collin Burns from the U.S. not only solved the cube faster than seven seconds, he also did it under six! Collin won at 5.25 seconds in Doylestown Spring 2015. If you are also wondering why the gap is so huge and the time went by fast, that’s because newcomers named Feliks Zemdegs and Mats Valk have been breaking the below 7 and 6-second mark and held the world record from 2010 to 2015 before Collin beat them:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8RBl7NmL8g]
5. Lucas Etter at 4.9 seconds
Like some of the record-breakers above, Collin never got to savor his victory for long. In fact, the very same year Collin broke the record, another guy from the U.S. named Keaton Ellis also broke the record at 5.09 seconds:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXanho9Ps_k]
Shortly after that, another American named Lucas Etter not only broke the previous record but also was one of the first to solve the cube faster than five seconds. Lucas broke the record at 4.9 seconds in River Hill Fall 2015:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh0W8E4cNkQ]
4. Mats Valk at 4.74 seconds
So Mats, the Dutch who held his record at 5.55 seconds back in 2013 for about two years only to lose to Collin Burns, did not give up. He kept on winning until he broke another record. Mats won at 4.74 seconds in Jawa Timur Open 2016 in a daring comeback tale:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLksISrKtO8]
3. Patrick Ponce at 4.69 seconds
About a year later, a new name popped up in the Rubik’s cube world record list. This time, it’s Patrick Ponce from the U.S. who finished at 4.69 seconds in the Rally in the Valley 2017 contest. Take a look:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np2G0yr5xI0]
2. SeungBeom Cho at 4.59 seconds
A South Korean kid who blindsided everyone at the ChicaGhosts 2017 contest with his lightning-fast Rubik’s cube dexterity and puzzle-solving skills. Like most new names to the world record list, no one expected SeungBeom to just win and grab the world record. Hence, not much information was present on him, probably because everyone was shocked that he finished at 4.59 seconds. The competition is certainly getting a lot tighter with not much wiggle room left for record holding:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5x8jgGX3iNM]
1. Feliks Zemdegs, ’nuff said
The one and only Feliks Zemdegs from Australia. Probably the most decorated “veteran” in the Rubik’s Cube World Record list since he has won and broken his own records several times since 2010:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiFwEBUKcsY]
And 2011:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v_Km6cv6DU]
So Feliks saw that all these new kids have been beating him at his game and decided to make a comeback. The result? Well, he is now the fastest Rubik’s cube world record holder after finishing at 4.22 seconds this year in Cube for Cambodia 2018:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NevGDFBfQGw]
Now older and more experienced, Feliks is also considered to be the most successful speedcuber in history at 22 years old. Suffice to say, he can solve the cube faster than you can dare him to.
Honorable mentions:
One handed, Feliks Zemdegs at 6.88 seconds
You would think that Feliks would be content with two-handed 3x3x3 world records, but no, he also kills it in one-handed. He finished at 6.88 seconds in Canberra Autumn 2015:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FDmmL5vKHg]
With feet, Jakub Kipa at 20.57 seconds
Polish whiz kid Jakub Kipa can certainly do a lot more than walking with his feet. He also set a world record with them, solving a Rubik’s cube using only his two feet finishing at 20.57 seconds in Radomsko Cube Theory 2015:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Mktieu-1jU]
