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Max Park

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Max Park
Park in 2024 (North American championship)
Born (2001-11-28) November 28, 2001 (age 24)
OccupationSpeedcuber
Known forRubik's Cube speedcubing
Medal record
Representing  United States
Speedcubing
WCA World Championship
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
3x3x3 2 0 0
4x4x4 1 0 1
5x5x5 2 1 1
6x6x6 2 0 1
7x7x7 3 0 0
3x3x3 One-Handed 2 1 0
Total 12 2 3
Gold medal – first place 2017 Paris 3x3x3
Gold medal – first place 2017 Paris 3x3x3 One-Handed
Gold medal – first place 2019 Melbourne 4x4x4
Gold medal – first place 2019 Melbourne 5x5x5
Gold medal – first place 2019 Melbourne 6x6x6
Gold medal – first place 2019 Melbourne 7x7x7
Gold medal – first place 2019 Melbourne 3x3x3 One-Handed
Gold medal – first place 2023 Incheon 3x3x3
Gold medal – first place 2023 Incheon 5x5x5
Gold medal – first place 2023 Incheon 7x7x7
Gold medal – first place 2025 Seattle 6x6x6
Gold medal – first place 2025 Seattle 7x7x7
Silver medal – second place 2025 Seattle 3x3x3 One-Handed
Silver medal – second place 2025 Seattle 5x5x5
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Paris 6x6x6
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Incheon 4x4x4
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Incheon 5x5x5
US National Championship
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
3x3x3 3 0 2
4x4x4 5 0 0
5x5x5 4 1 0
6x6x6 3 2 0
7x7x7 3 1 1
3x3x3 One-Handed 4 0 1
Total 22 4 4
Gold medal – first place 2016 Portland, OR 4x4x4
Gold medal – first place 2017 Fort Wayne, IN 3x3x3
Gold medal – first place 2017 Fort Wayne, IN 4x4x4
Gold medal – first place 2017 Fort Wayne, IN 5x5x5
Gold medal – first place 2017 Fort Wayne, IN 3x3x3 One-Handed
Gold medal – first place 2018 Salt Lake City, UT 3x3x3
Gold medal – first place 2018 Salt Lake City, UT 4x4x4
Gold medal – first place 2018 Salt Lake City, UT 5x5x5
Gold medal – first place 2018 Salt Lake City, UT 6x6x6
Gold medal – first place 2018 Salt Lake City, UT 7x7x7
Gold medal – first place 2018 Salt Lake City, UT 3x3x3 One-Handed
Gold medal – first place 2019 Baltimore, MD 4x4x4
Gold medal – first place 2019 Baltimore, MD 5x5x5
Gold medal – first place 2019 Baltimore, MD 6x6x6
Gold medal – first place 2019 Baltimore, MD 7x7x7
Gold medal – first place 2019 Baltimore, MD 3x3x3 One-Handed
Gold medal – first place 2023 Pittsburgh, PA 3x3x3
Gold medal – first place 2023 Pittsburgh, PA 4x4x4
Gold medal – first place 2023 Pittsburgh, PA 5x5x5
Gold medal – first place 2023 Pittsburgh, PA 6x6x6
Gold medal – first place 2023 Pittsburgh, PA 7x7x7
Gold medal – first place 2023 Pittsburgh, PA 3x3x3 One-Handed
Silver medal – second place 2016 Portland, OR 5x5x5
Silver medal – second place 2016 Portland, OR 6x6x6
Silver medal – second place 2016 Portland, OR 7x7x7
Silver medal – second place 2017 Fort Wayne, IN 6x6x6
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Portland, OR 3x3x3
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Portland, OR 3x3x3 One-Handed
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Fort Wayne, IN 7x7x7
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Baltimore, MD 3x3x3

Max Park (born November 28, 2001) is a Korean-American speedcuber. He is one of only two speedcubers ever to win the World Cube Association (WCA) World Championship twice (the other being Feliks Zemdegs), winning in 2017 and 2023.[1] He holds the world records for the fastest 4×4×4, 6×6×6, and 7×7×7 single solves. Park is autistic, and has used cubing to develop his social and fine motor skills.[2]

Cubing career

[edit]

Park began cubing in 2012, and went to his first competition in the same year. At his second ever competition, he won the 6×6×6 event.[3] He continued competing and improving, winning his first gold medal in the 3×3×3 event at Nub Open 2016.[4] On February 25, 2017, he broke the North American Average for the 3×3×3 event, with an average of 6.92 seconds.[5] Two months later on April 23, 2017, Park would break the World Record Average for the 3×3×3 event, with an average of 6.39 seconds.[6]

At the World Championship 2017 in Paris, Park won 3×3×3 and 3×3×3 one-handed and placed 3rd in 5×5×5 and 6×6×6.[7]

At the World Championship 2019 in Melbourne, Park won 4×4×4, 5×5×5, 6×6×6, 7×7×7, and 3×3×3 one-handed events. He finished 4th in the 3×3×3 final after winning the first three rounds.[8]

At the World Championship 2023 in Incheon, Park won 3x3x3 (By 0.01 seconds), 5×5×5, and 7×7×7 events. He also placed 3rd in 4x4x4.[9]

At the World Championship 2025 in Seattle, Park won the 6×6×6 and 7×7×7 events. He also placed 2nd in the 5×5×5 and 3×3×3 one-handed events.[10] He got 8th place in the 3x3 event.

Park is a 3-time US National Champion in 3×3×3, 5-time champion in 4×4×4, 4-time champion in 5×5×5, 3-time champion in 6×6×6, 3-time champion in 7×7×7, and 4-time champion in 3×3×3 one-handed.

Records held

[edit]

3×3×3

[edit]

Park held the world record for the average of five 3×3×3 solves on four occasions[citation needed] and set the former world record for a single 3×3×3 solve with a time of 3.13 seconds at Pride in Long Beach 2023.[11] His average record was surpassed on March 12, 2023, when 9-year-old Yiheng Wang achieved a 4.69-second average at the Yong Jun KL Speedcubing 2023 event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[12] Wang also surpassed Park's single world record with a time of 3.08 seconds at XMUM Cube Open 2025 in Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia.[13]

4×4×4

[edit]

Park holds the North American record for average of five 4×4×4 solves: 18.74 seconds, set at Mission Viejo 2025, and the world record for a single solve with a time of 15.71, achieved at Colorado Mountain Tour - Evergreen 2024.[14]

5×5×5

[edit]

Prior to his first 5×5×5 record, the records for single and average of five 5×5×5 solves had been held by Feliks Zemdegs of Australia, who had improved the two records a combined 32 times.[15] Park is the only person other than Zemdegs or Tymon Kolasiński to have set either 5×5×5 record since August 11, 2012.[15]

6×6×6

[edit]

Park holds the world records for both single and mean of three 6×6×6 solves: 57.69 seconds and 1:05.04 respectively, with the single achieved at Burbank Big Cubes 2025 and the mean achieved at Nub Open Trabuco Hills Fall 2025.[16] At Southeast Championship 2022, he became the first person to break the 1-minute barrier on 6×6×6 with a solve of 59.74, a feat that 2-time world champion Feliks Zemdegs had previously stated was impossible.[17]

7×7×7

[edit]

Park holds the world records for single and mean of three 7×7×7 solves: 1:33.48 and 1:36.86 respectively. They were both set at Nub Open Trabuco Hills Fall 2025. [18]

3×3×3 one-handed

[edit]

Park previously held the world record for 3×3×3 one-handed average of five several times, but it is now held by Luke Garrett from the United States with a time of 7.72 seconds. Park was the first person to achieve a sub-10 second one-handed average in competition, with an average of 9.99 seconds on January 13, 2018 at Thanks Four The Invite 2018.[19]

Notable rankings

[edit]

Park's rankings as of Sunday, November 30th, 2025.

Event[20] Type Time (min:sec) World Ranking
3×3×3 Single 3.13 3rd
Average 4.86 8th
4×4×4 Single 15.71 1st
Average 18.74 1st
5×5×5 Single 31.54 2nd
Average 34.76 2nd
6×6×6 Single 57.69 1st
Average 1:05.04 1st
7×7×7 Single 1:33.48 1st
Average 1:36.86 1st
3×3×3
one-handed
Single 6.20 5th
Average 7.94 2nd

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Most wins of the WCA World Championship". Retrieved August 2, 2024.
  2. ^ Bowman, Emma (June 20, 2023). "He once had motor skill challenges. Now he's the world's fastest Rubik's cube solver". NPR. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
  3. ^ "Diamond Bar Open 2012 | World Cube Association". www.worldcubeassociation.org. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  4. ^ "Nub Open 2016 | World Cube Association". www.worldcubeassociation.org. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  5. ^ "Caltech Winter 2017 | World Cube Association". www.worldcubeassociation.org. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  6. ^ "OCSEF Open 2017 | World Cube Association". www.worldcubeassociation.org. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
  7. ^ World Cube Association - 2017 World Championship Results
  8. ^ World Cube Association - 2019 World Championship Results
  9. ^ World Cube Association - 2023 World Championship Results
  10. ^ World Cube Association - 2025 World Championship Results
  11. ^ Walrath-Holdridge, Mary (June 15, 2023). "Watch 21-year-old solve Rubik's Cube in astonishing 3.13 seconds, setting new world record". USA TODAY. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
  12. ^ "Yong Jun KL Speedcubing 2023 | World Cube Association". www.worldcubeassociation.org. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
  13. ^ "XMUM Cube Open 2025 | World Cube Association". www.worldcubeassociation.org. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
  14. ^ World Cube Association - 4x4x4 Records
  15. ^ a b World Cube Association - 5x5x5 History
  16. ^ World Cube Association - 6x6x6 Records
  17. ^ [1]
  18. ^ World Cube Association - 7x7x7 Records
  19. ^ 3x3x3 One-Handed History
  20. ^ World Cube Association - Max Park rankings