Where is fairness?

[Cubing_Grandson]

I personally think Yiheng should get a 6 month ban but technically the penalty is +2 or +4 on his solves where they were sliding in but if he keeps sliding to ragebait delegates he could probably get a 6 month ban

 

[Michael Wimberly]

what are two pad habits

I was mostly joking (should probably put in the /j next time)
Stuff like stopping the timer with my wrists and like barely tapping it to stop it.

 

[Swagrid]

If he gets banned for 24 months he can’t compete in worlds next year

Shouldn't have spent 3 years cheating then lol

 

[TimoChristianCuber]

Ban Yiheng 2-3 years and forget ㅋㅋㅋ

 

[cuberbutnotacuberV2]

since yiheng has been called out for this more than once, it's probably not a coincidence/accidental slip of the hands. at this point, he probably knows what he's doing and:

a) continues to do it because very little has been done against it previously (or not, i do recall his 2x2 WR average being revoked but, but not anything after - please let me know if he has)

b) feels it's the only way for him to stay at the top and continue being fast (although he is still one of the top 3x3 cubers without sliding, maybe mentality issues?)

regardless, it is necessary for him to be penalized - probably by banning him for 6-8 months from all WCA events. perhaps there could be renewed discussion after this period or a period of 4 months or so, if he fixes his mistakes, the ban could be revoked. of course, this would require something akin to the study of bowling actions in cricket to determine their legality, only in this case it could just be an extended average of about 250-300 solves in the presence of moderators with a less than ~3-4% occurrence of sliding.

 

[shubhsquare-1]

Right at this rate he really should know what he's been doing.

If he's been doing this for 3 years then ban him for 3 years honestly, it's just been happening waaay toooo muchh

 

[Sion]

since yiheng has been called out for this more than once, it's probably not a coincidence/accidental slip of the hands. at this point, he probably knows what he's doing and:

a) continues to do it because very little has been done against it previously (or not, i do recall his 2x2 WR average being revoked but, but not anything after - please let me know if he has)

b) feels it's the only way for him to stay at the top and continue being fast (although he is still one of the top 3x3 cubers without sliding, maybe mentality issues?)

regardless, it is necessary for him to be penalized - probably by banning him for 6-8 months from all WCA events. perhaps there could be renewed discussion after this period or a period of 4 months or so, if he fixes his mistakes, the ban could be revoked. of course, this would require something akin to the study of bowling actions in cricket to determine their legality, only in this case it could just be an extended average of about 250-300 solves in the presence of moderators with a less than ~3-4% occurrence of sliding.

Haven't people been permabanned or banned for years from the WCA for like... WAY less than chronically cheating as a top-level performer?

At any rate, I cannot help but feel like the parents play a large role in implicitly or explicitly facilitating this type of behavior. It's honestly just a tragedy all around.

 

[Thomas.Caleb]

Haven't people been permabanned or banned for years from the WCA for like... WAY less than chronically cheating as a top-level performer?

At any rate, I cannot help but feel like the parents play a large role in implicitly or explicitly facilitating this type of behavior. It's honestly just a tragedy all around.

I don’t think anyone has ever been permanently banned from the wca apart from James molloy all the other ones are temporary but they last from 3-8 years

 

[Martyt7777]

Pinned comment:


A Detailed Account of the H2H Final Incident at Xi'an Cherry Blossom 2026

In the first attempt of the match, Yiheng got 3.83 and Xuanyi got 3.85. At this time, Xuanyi lost by 0.02s, but he was smiling.

In the second attempt, Yiheng triggered a 0.02 (suspected timer start malfunction/failure), and Xuanyi's 3.57 solve was cancelled. Both used an extra scramble. There was no argument at the scene at this time. Xuanyi definitely felt upset, but Xuanyi's dad did not make any statement.

Extra scramble: Yiheng got a DNF(4.12), and Xuanyi got 3.46. At this point, there was no controversy. Immediately following, Yiheng triggered a 0.04 (suspected timer start malfunction/failure), and at the same time, the delegate penalized him with a DNF for starting prematurely before "go". At this time, the match was interrupted. Yiheng's mom made a statement on the spot for about 3 minutes, roughly saying: others started the timer early without getting a DNF penalty, but Yiheng got a DNF. During these 3 minutes, Xuanyi was already getting a bit anxious on stage. 3 minutes later, both competitors signed the scorecards. We all thought the penalty was valid, and Xuanyi's dad did not make a statement at this time.

Immediately following, Yiheng got 3.85 and Xuanyi got 3.31. Both competitors signed the scorecards. Xuanyi thought the match was already over and showed a relieved smile. At this point, the delegate announced a provisional ruling. Xuanyi's dad started to speak up: "Isn't the match already over?" The delegate explained that there was a timer malfunction just now, so an extra scramble would be adopted, and they explained what an extra scramble is. Xuanyi's dad pointed out on the spot: Yiheng was sliding, and the timer malfunction was caused by his sliding stop. We have evidence and will release the video evidence later. Yiheng's mom replied: "Whatever."

The match continued anyway. In the next attempt, Xuanyi got a 5.21+2 and lost. At this point, Xuanyi couldn't hold it in anymore and started crying. Then Xuanyi's dad said: "Yiyi, don't cry, dad believes in you." Seeing Xuanyi's emotional change, the delegate explained about the provisional extra scramble and the ruling. This was very important for Xuanyi; he then understood that this was only an extra scramble for a provisional ruling.

Finally, Yiheng got 4.69 and Xuanyi got 4.15. The delegate provided an explanation once again.

Throughout the entire process, Xuanyi's mom was resting in the hotel due to a severe cold, but she watched the livestream the whole time, rushed to the venue, and filed an unfair appeal on Xuanyi's behalf. During the scrambling interval of Hansen and Zhaokun's match, Xuanyi's mom arrived at the venue and raised the questions: "Why do we have to continue with extra solves? Why are you bullying my son like this?" The on-site staff said: "Do you want your son's victory to carry controversy?" Xuanyi's dad said to Xuanyi's mom: "Others are still competing, let's talk about it after the match." After hearing this, Xuanyi's mom did not argue further, walked out of the venue doors, and under the persuasion of many friends, she lost control of her emotions and cried. (After the match, Xuanyi's mom sincerely apologized to Hansen, Zhaokun, and their parents.)

During Xuanyi's 4.32 average at Hangzhou Open 2024, after the community pointed out his non-standard timer stopping, even though the WCA did not issue any penalty, we and Xuanyi took this issue seriously and corrected it. At Xianju NxN 2025, where Xuanyi achieved a 4.26 PR average for 5 solves, after the match we discovered one instance of non-standard timer stopping, voluntarily contacted the delegate, and received a DNF penalty. The handful of extra scrambles Xuanyi has had over these years of competing is enough to demonstrate our attitude towards speedcubing. (The vast majority of extra scrambles were due to misscrambles.)

Finally, what we want to say is: when a child makes a mistake, parents should correctly guide and promptly correct them. We also feel that Yiheng has enough capability to cleanly take back the WR average, and at that time, we and Xuanyi will also offer our sincere congratulations.

 

[Sion]

I don’t think anyone has ever been permanently banned from the wca apart from James molloy all the other ones are temporary but they last from 3-8 years

That sounds fair, but I can't help but feel that Yiheng is possibly a victim, even if guilty on the onset.

This is a feeling based on all the alleged information I've heard. I am still struggling to understand why we think that it is okay on a moral level to treat young children like professional athletes that can, and inevitably will (ie: here), be scrutinized like this.

Like... come on... we are talking about a beef between a 7 and a 13-year-old on the internet. Without any context, that just sounds flat-out morally questionable.

I think the "if"/"what" and the "why" are two different questions. Is Yiheng doing something questionable? Without doubt. In turn, why are we even at this point to begin with? The fact that this is even a topic baffles me.

 

[Thomas.Caleb]

Yihengs mum also really needs to calm down and accept that he is a cheater

 

[Sub20Soon]

I feel the STUCUBE video incoming

 

[bluecubing]

oh rip

 

[Jared Burkhart]

there’s only two things they can do about sliding at this point:
Option A- Allow sliding for all competitors but tighten the rules (some user on the WCA forum suggested this, i won’t go into full detail because it’s way too long)
Option B- Introduce 4-pad (which has also had some arguments on the WCA forum)
here’s the thread on the WCA forum: https://forum.worldcubeassociation....ding-january-2026-threefold-proposal/66565/33

yiheng you are no longer my goat i really thought he got three consecutive sub-4 averages in one comp the WCA needs to do something about this FAST before any major championships happen

brooooo uuuu maaaaakkkkkeeeee meeeeeemmmemeeeeee mmmmmaaaaadddddddd..................YIHENG WILL ALWAYS BE THE BEST!!!!!!!!!ASIDE FROM YOU I MEAN!!!!!!!!YOU ARE GOING TO BE BETTER!!! BUT FOR NOW, YIHENG HOLDS THE WORLDS 2ND RECORD AVERAGE!!!!!HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT WHEN MAYBE HE HAS A BAD HABIT?????HE WIILLLL IIIIIMMMMMMMPPPPPRRRRROOOOOVVVVVEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!

 

[CrossPetrus]

I just want to say that this feels like way too much drama and arguing over a toy. It’s not that serious guys. I just think Yiheng needs to come out with a public apology/confession first. Nothing we do will change Yiheng if he doesn’t accept what he’s doing and agree to change, not to us, but to himself. I know he might want to be competitive, and probably receives a lot of pressure from his parents to be the best. This is all probably really hard on him, which is why I think he’s doing this: because he’s nervous. I honestly think he shouldn’t be banned/suspended. Maybe a few results dnfed, but that’s it. I don’t think we should be knocking Yiheng down, but instead trying to encourage him to do the right thing, to come out and be better. He’s 12! He just needs to come free of whatever may be haunting him or causing this. And we need to help him with this.

Also, I think Xuanyi and his parents should stay out of this affair. If Yiheng slides into first place at a comp, cheats his way into number one in the world, whatever it may be, leave it alone. Have integrity. People will know what’s going on. They will respect you. And that would be more fair and have more integrity than posting footage of Yiheng sliding on youtube and putting lots of blame on him.

Yiheng and Xuanyi, I wish you both the best.
-CrossPetrus

 

[1x1 wr holder!]

I just want to say that this feels like way too much drama and arguing over a toy. It’s not that serious guys. I just think Yiheng needs to come out with a public apology/confession first. Nothing we do will change Yiheng if he doesn’t accept what he’s doing and agree to change, not to us, but to himself. I know he might want to be competitive, and probably receives a lot of pressure from his parents to be the best. This is all probably really hard on him, which is why I think he’s doing this: because he’s nervous. I honestly think he shouldn’t be banned/suspended. Maybe a few results dnfed, but that’s it. I don’t think we should be knocking Yiheng down, but instead trying to encourage him to do the right thing, to come out and be better. He’s 12! He just needs to come free of whatever may be haunting him or causing this. And we need to help him with this.

Also, I think Xuanyi and his parents should stay out of this affair. If Yiheng slides into first place at a comp, cheats his way into number one in the world, whatever it may be, leave it alone. Have integrity. People will know what’s going on. They will respect you. And that would be more fair and have more integrity than posting footage of Yiheng sliding on youtube and putting lots of blame on him.

Yiheng and Xuanyi, I wish you both the best.
-CrossPetrus

Yeah I agree, it's quite something to argue about, and at the end of the day WCA probably agrees so they take their time. It's not the end of the world. We don't need an apology from Yiheng tho, he's not going to be sorry for this. This is like in e-sports. We don't apologize for exploits. everything can be fixed by organization. And in E-sports big money has actually been lost due to exploits/broken gentleman's agreements and we move on.

I think it's fine thought that Xuanyi and his parents and people like Ruihang say something. China cubing often gets a bad look like they all cheat or something, but when they express disagreement amongst themselves, it more so exemplifies the problem. This isn't a situation where pointing it out will only make things worse. I like having their perspective.

 

[Averageof12]

My wife has an interesting theory: what if Yiheng has enough of cubing and getting sick of it, but there are sooo much pressure from everywhere (parents, companies, etc), that continuing sliding is a deliberate act, a silent rebel; basically asking for a ban.
I mean, what would you do if you were forced to play piano for 10 hours each day (just because you became good at it some years ago), instead of I don't know, go out and play with your friends?
Don't know enough details if this is true, but it's a food for thoughts.

I would still be practicing, as a matter of fact

 

[JCubes_]

Just making sliding legal gng, it’s just a new technique atp.

 

[Cubing_Grandson]

Just making sliding legal gng, it’s just a new technique atp.

No because then it would be impossible to get a +16 penalty

 

[John Williams]

beef between a 7 and a 13-year-old

Xuanyi isn't 7, is he? At least this page by GAN says "In March 2022, he received a GAN cube as a gift from his father for his fifth birthday", making him 9 now.