Rubik’s Cubes are perplexing puzzles, especially if you don’t know the rotations required to solve them. Doing so has become a speedrun of sorts, as folks the world over compete to finish one as fast as possible. Well, someone recently set a brand-new world record for solving a Rubik’s Cube in about three seconds.
Max Park is a Rubik’s Cube speedsolver who’s competed in various tournaments around the world. He previously held the world record for solving five 3x3x3 cubes with a 4.86-second average in September 2022, placing him second in the tournament. He placed second again in a separate tournament a few months prior for finishing a single 3x3x3 cube in 3.63 seconds, putting him just behind former world record holder Yusheng Du, who solved a single 3x3x3 Rubik’s Cube in a mere 3.47 seconds. Park has come back with a vengeance, though, as he slammed down a solved cube after 3.13 seconds on June 12.
The solve is utter insanity. After a bit of practicing on a different cube, Park sat with his hands on top of a red table, waiting for the time to start. Once someone started the time, it was off to the races. But it ended as soon as it began. He clapped his hands, shouted, “Yes,” and walked around in triumph as most folks in frame screamed with their hands on their head in shock. It’s a crazy solve, especially since the last record was Du’s 3.47-second completion in 2018.
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YouTuber Cube Master, a former national record holder, posted a video of how Park supposedly solved the Rubik’s Cube in 3.13 seconds. He shared both the scramble and the solution, going step-by-step on the various rotations and how you can correctly place more than one square at a time in a single twist.
“This solve just shows the importance of planning ahead,” Cube Master said. “Yes, [there was luck involved]. However, there was a lot of skill and planning that went into this solve which shows how great of a solver Max Park is”
Kotaku reached out to Park for comment.
That’s crazy. I have a hard enough time solving Rubik’s Cubes as they are, let alone doing it in three seconds. So kudos, Max Park. You’re the goat.