World record progression from 2004 to 2015: worldcubeassociation.org
Have you ever got a fast time and felt like you were the fastest cuber alive, then remember that the world record is 3.47 seconds. For me, this can be slightly discouraging because the level at which top cubers solve are at feels impossibly far. But to figure out exactly why, I’ve broken down the practice habits, solving techniques, and even some less commonly known tricks that you can use to instantly improve your solves.
Facing the Facts
Most likely you are the average Rubik’s Cube enjoyer. Solve every day, learn all major alg-sets, and have a strong passion for cubing. People like us can definitely get to sub-9 and even sub-8, but after that; a whole new mindset is required. Top cubers dedicate their entire day and lives to getting better at cubing. In an interview with TheCubicle, 3×3 average world record holder Tymon Kolasinski mentioned that he spends over SIX hours a day cubing. With 2 hours spent learning algs and the other 4 spent practicing. Unless you’re willing to spend this much time and dedication on the Rubik’s Cube, don’t expect to be breaking any world records anytime soon. However, don’t be discouraged because achieving insanely fast times and placing top 10 in competitions is still something anyone with a passion for cubing can do.
In the average comp, sub 9.5 will get you top 10
Focusing on a Strength
Most cubers have a strength – whether it be TPS, efficiency, or lookahead. These cubers recognize their strengths and spend the majority of their time focusing on their strengths trying to get the maximum return out of their strong suits. Then they try to make sure they aren’t hindered by their weaknesses. Here’s a table comparing TPS, and efficiency amongst the top 5 fastest cubers in the world.
| TPS | Efficiency (move count) | |
| Tymon Kolasinski | ~ 9.6 | ~ 53.5 |
| Max Park | ~ 12.8 | ~ 58.9 |
| Matty Hiroto Inaba | ~ 10.4 | ~ 56.1 |
| Leo Borromeo | ~ 9.7 | ~ 54.8 |
| Ruihang Xu | ~ 12.9 | ~ 58.7 |
As you can see, it seems like cubers like Tymon, Matty, and Leo focus more on creating efficient solutions, while cubers like Max, and Ruihang – who has recorded over 14 tps in some of his solves – focus more on high tps. Based on this data, it seems like there is no “ideal balance,” but rather, you should find your strength and focus on that.
Efficiency
Efficiency is one of the most important aspects of a solve. At a lower level, efficiency can include full OLL and PLL, and basic f2l efficiency like keyhole. But at a world-class level, efficiency is taken to a whole different level. F2l can be solved in under 30 moves consistently by using a technique called pseudo f2l. This is a combination of pseudo cross and pseudo slotting, which is a way of simultaneously solving 2 f2l pairs as one. Although it is quite hard to learn, pseudo-spotting can lead to more efficient and fluent solutions.
TPS
There are two good ways to increase tps: Drill algorithms and learn new, more efficient ones. Generally, faster-turning cubers rely on more algorithmic solutions, and because of this, they are able to turn faster. Another great way to improve tps is to learn more finger-trick-friendly algorithms that conform to your turning style.
ZBLL
24 out of the 472 zbll algorithms displayed in Anthony Brook’s full zbll pdf
Most top cubers also know an algorithm subset known as zbll, or Zborowski-Bruchem Last Layer. This is a subset to solve last layer when all OLL edges are solved and it contains 472 algorithms. Combined with zbls (Zborowski-Bruchem Last Slot) which inserts the last pair and orients OLL edged and has 305 algorithms, this is effectively 1-look last layer, but with only 799 algs compared to the 3,915 in 1LLL. Although zbls is less common, most top cubers know most, if not all of zbll.
Finally, Practice
One thing that is common to all top cubers like Max, Tymon, and Matty is that they all do hundreds of thousands of solves a year. Although doing this many solves may not be feasible for the average cuber, practice is still the most important and best way to improve your times. Practicing solves reinforces a number of things like alg memorization, lookahead, and solving efficiency. As you will see, practice is integral to implementing all the other skills that these top cubers have and without practice, these cubers wouldn’t be where they are at.
Cubing Content 