Xuanyi Geng (China) has just broken the 3x3 Rubik's Cube world record with a solve of 2.51 seconds, at the Guangzhou Grand Open 2026 in Guangzhou, on 6 October 2026. The old record was 2.76 seconds, set by Teodor Zajder (Poland). This post goes through all 5 solves of that round; the table of current 3x3 records and every other event is in a separate post.
The result is already in the World Cube Association (WCA) database, marked as a single world record (WCA).
Single and average: two kinds of record
Before we look at each solve, it helps to know that the WCA keeps two records for every event:
- Single: the fastest solve ever recorded at an official competition.
- Average (average of 5): the competitor does 5 solves, the fastest and slowest are dropped, and the other 3 are averaged (WCA Regulations, article 9f8).
Geng's 2.51 second solve is a single record. Rankings in each round go by average, though, so one very fast solve doesn't always win you the round.
Round 2: all 5 solves
The Guangzhou Grand Open 2026 took place over two days, 5 and 6 October 2026. The 3x3 event had 4 rounds. The record came in round 2, on 6 October (WCA).
Each solve has its own scramble, and every competitor in the same group solves the same scrambles. Here are Geng's 5 solves in round 2:
- Solve 1: 2.51 seconds. A world record, right on the opening solve.
- Solve 2: 3.99 seconds. Nearly 1.5 seconds slower than the first, but still under 4 seconds.
- Solve 3: 3.21 seconds. His second fastest of the round. On its own, it beats the 3.47 second world record that stood from 2018 to 2023.
- Solve 4: 4.42 seconds.
- Solve 5: 4.75 seconds. The slowest, so it was dropped from the average.
Because the record came on the very first solve, Geng still had to do the other 4, each with a fresh scramble.
Average of 5: 3.87 seconds
How it works under WCA rules:
- Drop the fastest solve (2.51) and the slowest (4.75).
- Add up the other 3: 3.99 + 3.21 + 4.42 = 11.62 seconds.
- Divide by 3: 3.87 seconds.
With this average, Geng came first in round 2. But it didn't beat the 3.51 second average record set by Yiheng Wang (China) in June 2026 (WCA). The 2.51 second record solve didn't help the 3.87 figure either, because it was the one that got dropped.
Geng's whole competition across 4 rounds
From Geng's WCA results page (WCA):
- Round 1: average 4.44 seconds, 3rd place. Fastest solve 3.94 seconds.
- Round 2: average 3.87 seconds, 1st place. Includes the 2.51 second record solve.
- Round 3: average 4.06 seconds, 2nd place.
- Final: average 4.81 seconds, 6th place. All 5 solves were over 4 seconds (4.53, 4.16, 4.87, 5.02, 5.39).
Who won the competition?
Setting a record in round 2 doesn't mean winning the whole competition. In the final, Yiheng Wang won with an average of 4.20 seconds (fastest solve 3.28 seconds), while Geng finished 6th (WCA).
These two have taken turns holding the 3x3 average record all through 2026: Geng got 3.84 seconds at Beijing Winter 2026 and then 3.71 seconds at Deqing Small & Special 2026, before Wang brought it down to 3.51 seconds in June (WCA). Now both 3x3 records belong to cubers from China.
The previous 2.76 second record and the 0.25 second gap
The record that fell was 2.76 seconds by Teodor Zajder (Poland), set on 8 February 2026 at GLS Big Cubes Gdańsk 2026 (WCA). It was the first time anyone had solved a 3x3 in under 3 seconds in official competition. According to Guinness World Records, Zajder was only 9 years old at the time (Guinness World Records).
Zajder's record stood for nearly 8 months. Geng's solve beat it by 0.25 seconds, about 9%. That sounds small, but for the 3x3 it's a huge jump. Here is how it compares with earlier record breaks, from each person's WCA results page:
- 3.13 down to 3.08 seconds (Max Park to Yiheng Wang): 0.05 seconds faster.
- 3.08 down to 3.05 seconds (Yiheng Wang to Xuanyi Geng): 0.03 seconds faster.
- 3.05 down to 2.76 seconds (Xuanyi Geng to Teodor Zajder): 0.29 seconds faster.
- 2.76 down to 2.51 seconds (Teodor Zajder to Xuanyi Geng): 0.25 seconds faster.
The last two record breaks each cut more than two tenths of a second, while the two in 2025 only cut a few hundredths. And the person who lost the 3.05 second record to Zajder was Geng himself: now he has taken it back.
How has the 3x3 single record dropped?
From each person's WCA results page:
- 4.22 seconds: Feliks Zemdegs, Cube for Cambodia 2018, 6 May 2018 (WCA).
- 3.47 seconds: Yusheng Du, Wuhu Open 2018, 24-25 November 2018 (WCA).
- 3.13 seconds: Max Park, Pride in Long Beach 2023, 11 June 2023 (WCA).
- 3.08 seconds: Yiheng Wang, XMUM Cube Open 2025 in Malaysia, 15-16 February 2025 (WCA).
- 3.05 seconds: Xuanyi Geng, Shenyang Spring 2025, 13 April 2025 (WCA).
- 2.76 seconds: Teodor Zajder, GLS Big Cubes Gdańsk 2026, 8 February 2026 (WCA).
- 2.51 seconds: Xuanyi Geng, Guangzhou Grand Open 2026, 6 October 2026.
From 4.22 seconds in 2018 to 2.51 seconds in 2026, the record has dropped by about 40%.
In Vietnam, the 3x3 single record is 4.53 seconds, about 2 seconds slower than the world record (WCA).
Was the 2.51 second solve just luck?
!A person speedsolving a 3x3 Rubik's Cube Photo: [Twilightsojourn / Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Speedcubing-Twilightsojourn.jpg), CC BY-SA 2.5
Every competition solve has its own scramble, made at random by a computer. Some scrambles are easier, for example when a few corner and edge pieces already sit next to each other in pairs, so you can skip part of a step. That's why single records often come from a lucky scramble landing in the hands of someone fast enough to make the most of it.
But luck isn't enough. Geng's other four solves in the same round were all under 5 seconds, and his 3.87 second round average is among the fastest in the world. An easy scramble only helps someone who is already fast.
It all starts with your first solve
Every record started with a really slow solve. If you can't solve the Rubik's Cube yet, start with EasyRubic's step-by-step layer-by-layer guide. Once you can solve it, the method almost every record holder uses is CFOP: see What is CFOP. Want to compete at a WCA competition yourself? See WCA Rubik's Cube competitions.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
How fast did Xuanyi Geng solve the 3x3 Rubik's Cube?
2.51 seconds, on solve 1 of round 2 of the 3x3 event at the Guangzhou Grand Open 2026, on 6 October 2026. It is the single world record. Records for every other event are in the post Rubik's Cube world records 2026.
What were Xuanyi Geng's 5 solves in that round?
2.51, 3.99, 3.21, 4.42 and 4.75 seconds. Drop the fastest and slowest, and the average of the other 3 is 3.87 seconds.
What was the old record?
2.76 seconds by Teodor Zajder (Poland), set on 8 February 2026 in Gdańsk. The new record is 0.25 seconds faster.
Did the 3x3 average record change?
No. Geng's average in that round was 3.87 seconds, slower than Yiheng Wang's 3.51 second average record.
This information is based on competition results owned and maintained by the World Cube Association, published at worldcubeassociation.org/results as of 09.10.2026.
Cover photo: Explodingcreepsr / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0