At Hanoi Big Cubes 2026 in Vietnam, Timofei Tarasenko of Russia took the 7x7 mean world record from Max Park with 1:36.80. Park's record was 1:36.86. Tarasenko's three solves added up to more than four and a half minutes, and he won by six hundredths of a second.

Six hundredths over three 7x7 solves

7x7 is scored as a mean of three. Every solve counts, and there's no dropped best or worst to hide a slip. Tarasenko's solves were 1:38.11, 1:40.67 and 1:31.63. That last one is also a new European record single.

Park's 1:36.86 now ranks second in the world. He still holds the single world record, 1:30.59 from NAC 2026, so the rivalry isn't over.

A few weeks after his sub-minute 6x6 solve, Tarasenko now ranks first in the world for both the 6x6 average (1:03.63) and the 7x7 average. In Hanoi he also won 6x6 with a 1:06.75 mean, including a 59.93 single.

He didn't win everything, though. On home soil, Đỗ Quang Hưng of Vietnam won the 5x5 final 36.12 to Tarasenko's 36.28. It was the only big-cube event Tarasenko didn't win that weekend. Hưng also finished second to him in 6x6 (1:12.04) and 7x7 (1:41.89), and set Vietnamese 7x7 records of 1:33.75 single and 1:41.29 mean.

Juandré Jacobs is African champion

At the GAN WCA African Championship 2026 in Cape Town, South Africa's Juandré Jacobs won the 3x3 title with a 7.35 average. In an ao5 (average of five), your best and worst solves are dropped and the middle three are averaged. His 6.87 and 8.44 dropped out, and the 7.35 came from his 6.91, 7.44 and 7.70.

The final was close. Daniel Rush took silver with 7.52 and Christian Swartz took bronze with 8.25. Rush had the fastest single (4.69) and the fastest average (6.22) of the whole competition, but he set both in earlier rounds. The title goes to whoever does best in the final, and that was Jacobs.

Rush was the strongest big-cube solver in Cape Town. He won 4x4 (25.42), 5x5 (44.82), 6x6 (1:22.73) and 7x7, and set three African records:

Jesse Osburn set a fourth African record with a 2.54 Pyraminx average. Germany's Henri Gerber was the best visiting competitor. He won one-handed (11.82), Megaminx (38.33), Skewb (3.73) and 4x4 blindfolded. Competitors from Mozambique, Ghana, Angola, Egypt and Malawi set national records. Arnelio Manaca Mola of Mozambique set records in more than 10 events.

The WCA hasn't posted these results on its website yet. The figures come from WCA Live and are provisional until it does.

A Czech Skewb average 0.03 off the world record

At the Czech Championship 2026 in Nupaky, Vojtěch Grohmann averaged 1.40 in the first round of Skewb. His solves were 1.36, 3.74, 1.14, 1.58 and 1.26. The world and European records are both 1.37. One solve went wrong at 3.74, but it was his worst, so the average dropped it. His other four solves were all under 1.6 seconds.

The 1.40 is a Czech record, and Grohmann went on to win both Skewb and 4x4 (27.28). Max Herink became Czech 3x3 champion with a 6.15 average. He also set a national record 11.15 average in one-handed. Kryštof Basl (6x6, 1:21.38 average) and Emil Henry Huber (Megaminx, 36.31 average) also set Czech records. These results are also provisional until the WCA uploads them.

A 6-year-old's 4.27 makes world news

Lian Yunzhi did her solves on September 13 and 16, just before this week. This week AP and ITV covered her story, and it reached people far outside cubing.

The six-year-old from China averaged 4.52 at Wuhan Crimson Autumn 2026. Three days later she averaged 4.27 at Guangzhou GraDUAL 3x3 IV 2026, with solves of 4.20, 4.39, 4.54, 4.02 and 4.22. News reports called her the first woman to average under 4.5. Her 4.27 ranks fourth in the world overall, not just among women. Her best single is 3.54.

If you average 20 seconds, look at how close together her solves are. Her slowest counting solve was 4.39. Averages are built on consistency, not one lucky solve.

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