4x4 is getting insane...

alisterprofitt

Regular
Joined
Apr 29, 2015
Messages
234
First things first, I wrote this post because the first sub-18 4x4 solve happened yesterday, done by Sebastian Weyer (As you could have guessed). Strangely, the second sub-18 solve also happened yesterday, done by Max Park (All of his PBs can be found here). Max's personal best before yesterday was 18.79, according to his PB sheet, and the Unofficial World Record before yesterday was 18.32, achieved by Sebastian Weyer, so this is a MASSIVE improvement, and I found it incredibly weird that both of these guys improved on that by almost a second on the same day... So I did a little bit of digging, and I found out that the Unofficial World Record was 19.18 on March 31st, 2017, by Seung-Hyuk Nahm, so that means that the 4x4 single has improved by over 2 seconds in the last 3 months! I think this is incredible...

You might have noticed that there have been a lot of 4x4 records within the last month. In fact, within the last 16 days, there have been 4 World Records (one of which lasted for only 3 hours) and several continental records in the event, which shows that it has been really picking up officially as well. In fact, the World Record has improved by 2 seconds within the last 16 days!. Additionally, each of the top cubers have been getting PBs in this event within the last month, and the most obvious is Feliks, who has gotten 4x4 average PBs 4 of the last 5 times he did the event.With the way the unofficial and official records have been going, I am expecting to see 1 or 2 more 4x4 records within the next month or 2, considering the amount of competitions Feliks still has left to complete in the coming weeks.Additionally, US Nationals and the World Championship are right around the corner, so you should really keep on the lookout for the top 4x4 performers.

I think 4x4 is going to be more competitive than 3x3 at the upcoming World Championships!

I wrote this post for Reddit, but thought I'd share it here too because it should interest a few people.
 
I agree, 4x4 seems the most competitive and possible the hardest to predict a winner for (excluding BLD). About Feliks and Sebastian we all know, but Max Park is constantly improving his unofficial PBs over the last month. All three are very equal right now.

If I have to pick who I think is slightly more likely to win, I would say Feliks. Note that unlike Sebastian's average WR, His best official average was full of parities. Plus he is getting a lot of competition experience lately, which could be an advantage.
 
This is really competitive event all of a sudden as previously stated. It could have to do with hardware and magnets I think
 
This is really competitive event all of a sudden as previously stated. It could have to do with hardware and magnets I think

Magnets are huge for 4x4. I've cut close to 10% from my best times in the last 3 days since magnetizing a 4x4, and reduced lockups means more consistent times too. I'm doubtful that we'll see quite as pronounced a bump on 5x5-7x7 and megaminx as hardware is perfected, but it will certainly be interesting to watch.
 
It could be because of magnets.. I have tried Wuque M and I was getting a bunch of 35-39s, while on Aosu I average >43. Feliks predicted that the limit for 4x4 is 16/21, but we are already extremaly close to that. And there is no way people will stop progressing from now on..
 
It could be because of magnets.. I have tried Wuque M and I was getting a bunch of 35-39s, while on Aosu I average >43. Feliks predicted that the limit for 4x4 is 16/21, but we are already extremaly close to that. And there is no way people will stop progressing from now on..
Your a lot faster then I am, I average like a min. flat. (normal Wuque)
 
I thought Sebastian isn't even using a magnet cube?
According to his latest World Record video, he's using the Qiyi Wuque. He didn't mention magnets, so I'm assuming non-magnetic. Feliks and Max are using the Qiyi Wuque M though.
 
Back
Top