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I am at a loss for words now, I sat down and did a few OH solves, was doing pretty badly, getting 35s and what not, until I got a decent scramble:
R2 L' U' R F' D2 L' D2 L2 F2 R2 F' U2 F2 R2 B' U2 L2 B
I didn't see anything crazy at first, just a good misaligned yellow cross, the F2L was avg and the last layer was insane(OLL skip into a 3 second oh t perm?!)
Here is the solution, it was pb by 3 seconds, but reached a massive barrier, and by a ton.
y (Hold orange in front and white top in case I messed up the rotation notation)
D' B R' L D2 - Cross
U R U' R' U' R U R' U' R U R' - First pair, this is one of my fastest OH F2L Cases
U2 y L' U' L U' y R U R' - 2nd Pair Unnecessary rotations, one of my least favorite OH cases though
U L' U' L - 3rd Pair, really easy
U2 y' R U' R' U R U' R' - I love this case for OH
OLL - Nonexistent
U2 - T Perm, somehow executed in less than 3 seconds :0 - U' AUF
3ish TPS, which I think is good for me in OH
Really happy with this
Edit: I also ordered an RS3 v5 on Wednesday, it will probably be my new OH main, definitely going to be close between it and the guhong pro. Also the shipping is really delayed, but I am not in a rush rn. Hoping it gets here by Monday or Tuesday.
Back to doing comp sim ao5s to get ready for comp in a week:
2x2 - 4.34 - Not bad, would beat my current pr avg which is nice. I had a 2 single as well.
16.73 - Pretty good avg, wouldn't be pr but it is still good
OH: 27.21 - PB2 avg, would be pr by 3 seconds. Happy with this.
4x4: 1:09.13 - Bad avg(48 SINGLE WAT - I'll talk about it later in the post)
Skewb: 11.66 - Really bad, DNF and 16 by messing up everything. Counted an 8(avg) and had a 5 single which was really nice.
Pyraminx: 6.35 - Good avg, all low 6 except for 1 low 8. Good consistency, 1 avg solve and 4 pretty good ones. Would be pr by 1.4.
Clock: 14.55 - Pretty good avg, would be pr by 0.3. I had 2 11s which were really good, but the rest was bad. Pretty avg avg for me.
4x4 Single: This was the dumbest solve I have ever had, it had potential to be so much better if I didn't mess up:
Former pb was a 49.66, just got a 48.02. somewhat lucky solve in the beginning, decent pace for hoya centers and edges, one free hoya cross edge. 1 free 3-2-3 edge was nice as well. When I finish 3-2-3, I start 3x3 stage with a normal f2l pair, and THREE free split ones. On the third one, it was R U R' into a LL SKIP WITH NO AUF
This is the luckiest solve I have had in any event, and I solved badly for most of it. This was still insane though.
Here is the scramble, I couldn't find the solution:
U' L' B' F2 D2 R2 D2 L2 F2 D2 F' R2 D2 L D U B R2 U2 F2 L2 Uw2 R Fw2 Rw2 U R L' F2 U' D Rw2 U Fw' D R' L2 F Rw Fw L Uw2 L F Uw
Practiced my comp events some more today, did decently.
My RS3V5 should get here Tuesday(Tomorrow)
USPS did the impossible - Changed the expected delivery time to earlier instead of later
I'm really excited though, probably maining it, even though I have a comp in a few days(I might make a poll and let people decide if I should change right before lol)
I'm going to do some bld attempts today, we'll see how that goes.
ahhh I am so tired right now but I am going to write this anyway:
Back from Rocky Top, had fun, double pr in most events, did badly in most rd 2s.
Highlights:
Eddie Artze's 3.93 Clock avg
Luke Garrett's 3 flat clock single, 1.24 2x2 avg, 0.67 single, and 4.81 3x3 single
My 24 OH avg, multiple 14 3x3 avgs
Met Luke Garrett, got a signed mini mat and a photo.
"Highlights":
Dropping the pyraminx on a sub-4, having to fix a plus 2 and getting a 4.73
Not a single sub-1 4x4 single, 1:04 avg
Counting 5 in 2x2 rd2 due to awful solving leading to a 9(dnf thankfully)
Clutching a 2nd 12 in 3x3 rd 2 on solve 5, only to miss semis by 3 spots(top 60 advance, got 63rd )
2x2 rd1: 4.37 avg, counted a 3 but had a 5 as well, decent avg
2x2 rd2: 4.45, the scrams in my group were bad, my friend who avgs the same as me made finals(he was in a different group)
3x3 rd1: 14.63 avg(pr) and 13.50 single(pr) pretty good avg
3x3 rd2: 14.53 avg(pr) and 12.57 single(pr on a g perm, ll at 7 or so)
4x4 rd1: 1:04.91 avg, really bad avg but pr somehow. No good singles this avg.
OH rd1: 24.78 avg, overall pb. Had a 21.73 single, which was nice but not pr. Hoping to make oh finals next comp, I'm going to to 13th on the psych sheet now, and top 16 advance.
Clock rd1: 13.03 avg, pretty good, double prs.
Clock rd2: 12.43 avg, also good, more double prs. Counting 10.
Pyra rd1: 9.51 avg, garbage, 5.49 pr single though.
Pyra rd2: 7.30 avg, pretty good, pr by .4. I had a 4.73 which should have been a low 3, dropped the cube one tip off and had to fix.
Skewb: 9.39 avg, 8.55 single, not bad for me.(double pr)
Good comp overall, next one is on Sunday, really hoping for OH finals.
Mains and Goals for Carolina Clock Stravaganza' 2023:
2x2 - Gan 251 Pro - PR avg, maybe PR single, make finals if I am very lucky. My 2x2 avgs in comp have never been insane, just avg for me.
4x4 - YJ MGC Ball Core - Sub-1 avg would be really good, either low 1 avg or sub-1. Hopefully I can get PR single.
Clock - Qiyi - PR avg in RD2, safety RD1. A sub-10 single would be really nice, hoping to get an 11 avg.
OH - Guhong Pro 54 Standard - This is the event I care about the most, I really want to make finals. I'm 14 on the Psych sheet and top 16 advance, but my PR OH avg is really good for me so we will see. Definitely a sub-30 avg, sub-26 should make finals. I'm going to try to not care about it too much, as I will be more likely to make finals that way. I'm avging around 25 on a good day, and 30+ on a bad day with no inbetween.
I'm leaving early Sunday morning, so I am going to mainly practice OH until then, as well as 4x4 lookahead. I changed the way I flip for clock yesterday(x2 instead of y2), and my times have gotten better. For 2x2, I'm honestly just going to work on my tps and pickup time until then.
Back from Clock Stravaganza' 2023!
Double PR in every event except clock!
2x2 Rd1: 4.26 PR avg, got 17th and missed finals by one spot by tying with 16th and their single was 0.02 better than mine(I had a 3.18 PR)
But then!... The delegates made it top 24 and I made finals(not sure why they did that but I was very happy about it)
2x2 Finals: 4.09 PR avg, solved well except for one of them, counting 3.52. Also, there was a LITERAL 5 MOVER in my 2x2 group(This is only my 4th comp :0). I found the solution but I didn't see all of it in inspection, as I switched to that bar at the very end. I got a 1.59, my first comp sub-3 and sub-2. My execution was kind of bad but I was one of 3 or 4 people that found it(I think). Solution was F (R U' R') U', so really easy but I didn't see that PLL would skip. I felt kind of bad because it was in G1 so most people that would have sub-1ed this did not get to try it.
4x4 Finals: 57.39 overall pb avg, should have been so much better but I got 8/10 parity. I had 2 54s that both had double parity and would have been pbs if not for that.(PB is a 48) Double Pr in this event though, and overall pb avg by 0.5.
OH Rd1: 24.52 avg, pr by 0.2. This got me 14th which made finals, and I also had a 19.52 single. I was on PLL at 14(Tied pb pace), but I got an Ra perm and I mess the alg up a ton for oh, so I turned carefully but still got PB3 or 4. Double Prs.
OH Finals: DNF avg, I was doing really bad and getting low 30s(I avg mid 25), and I DNFed 2 of them because they were going to be 40s at best. Really bad solving, but I wouldn't have podiumed anyway, so I do not care that much.
Clock Rd1: 12.37 pr avg in rd1 by 0.1, no pr single.
Clock Rd2: 15.40 avg, really bad but it was fine because I wouldn't have made finals anyway.
Fun comp! My next one will hopefully be in January or February if they have them(normally annual comps)
I haven't cubed in about a week, but today I did some clock solves with the soon-to-be new regs. I got a pb ao5(barely, it was 11.02), and a pb single that I am super hyped about.
First of all, the start of this scramble is very weird(three 0 turns?!), and there is an edge skip on one side.
Solution:
U4- D1+ L4+ R4+ ALL6- // Cross #1
x2(I only switched to an X2 filp about a week ago, but I am getting more comfortable with it.)
U1- L3- R2+ ALL3+ (Push UR down, solve to corner), ALL1+ // Cross #2 and corners
This was really lucky, the most corners I had ever skipped before this was one or two.
I did my first ever timed megaminx solves today, and I really like the event. I used to hate mega due to being really bad at it(I still kind of am) but now I really like it. Here are my stats after about 30 solves(mixture of Yuhu and MGC, done on stackmat)
I had 4 sub-2 minute singles as well:
I am probably getting the Dayan Pro for Chiristmas, and I think it will motivate me to practice even more. I am hoping to global sub-2 at some point in the coming months, I'm averaging around 2:00-2:15 now.
Any advice for improvement is welcome, I avg about 16 on 3x3.
I've done my first 100 megaminx solves!(Technically 102)
I'm shocked at my improvement, I went from averaging mid 3 to (maybe?)sub-2 in only a day. I feel like I global sub-2 now(even though the avg doesn't show it), towards the end almost all of my solves were sub-2. I got 2 sub-1:40 singles, which is really exciting, and a sub-2 ao25! I'm excited to keep practicing mega, I really like the event and how methodical it is.
I'm really excited to compete officially, knowing that I can make cutoff! I'm going to register for mega at SEC, and by then I think I will very confidently global sub-2. In the future, I'm going to practice 5x5 more to get my avg lower, as it is barely sub-3 as well. I'm also going to do some squan at some point, but we will see.
Well, I decided I wanted to share my improvement from this year and goals for next year, so here is that. Btw this post may end up being really long and rambly, I haven't cubed much lately and want to really write a lot for this post for some reason.
I first learned to solve a Rubik's cube in late February of 2023 and got my first speed cube midway through March, which was an RS3M2020, as well as a few other puzzles. I'll share what I global in each of the events I speedsolve below, and I have become somewhat obsessed with the hobby despite taking a break for about a month other than random solves w=every now and then(until today), as well as another 1 month break in June.
In 2023, I have competed in 4 competitions, and most likely have a 5th in late January(FMC). I currently speedsolve 11 events, and have competed in 7. Here are my globals in each event and my PRs. It is somewhat hard for me to express my improvement from this year as I went from not knowing how to solve anything to my current global, but I will try.
2x2: I avg around 4.3 now, I know full Ortega and some different angle PBLs. I'm hoping to learn CLL and get my global sub-3.5 in 2024 or 2025.
3x3: I global around 16 seconds now, I'm around halfway through OLL and got a Gan iCarry for Christmas which I plan to use to analyze my solves and learn new algs. I want to finish OLL and global sub-13 by the end of 2024.
OH: My favorite event overall, I global 27ish, I'm hoping to global sub-25, maybe even sub-20? by the end of 2024.
4x4: I global around 1:05 now, I want to global sub-1 or sub-50 by the end of 2024.
5x5: I'm really bad at 5x5, I avg very low 3 minutes but want to get better, I'm not sure what my goal is.(any advice is welcome)
Megaminx: I first got into megaminx about 2 weeks ago, and I love the event. I'm extremely excited to compete in it. I global around 1:45-1:50.
Pyraminx: I global 7-8 on pyraminx.
Skewb: I avg 9ish on Skewb, I'm pretty inconsistent though.
Clock: I avg around 13 on clock.
Squan: I haven't learned the parity alg(I can solve it but it takes 30+ seconds), but I avg 45-50 w/o parity and 1:15+ w/ parity.
FMC: I do it sometimes, I avg low to mid 40s.
My PRs: (I'm too lazy to type them all out)
Here are my WCA goals for 2024:
Compete in Megaminx a few times, get a sub-1:40 avg
Sub-11 3x3 PR single
Sub-14 or sub-13 3x3 avg
Sub-4 2x2 avg
Sub-7 Pyra avg
Sub-50 FMC mean(comp for it in a month)
Sub-12 clock avg and sub-10 single
Sub-9 skewb avg, sub-8 single.
Compete in 5x5, get a sub-3 or sub-2:30 avg
Sub-50 4x4 single
All of these are very realistic and doable for me, especially in an entire year.
Looking forward to 2024!
And since I want this post to have some progress, I got a fullstep 18.55 OH solve!(Pb2, off by a little more than a second)
Pb has an oll skip(17.39), but this was fullstep.
OH was pretty good today, I had 7 sub-20s and a 16.55 PB single(fullstep!), pb by about a second.
I also had a 17.99, I was hoping for a sub-20 avg, and I did count one a few times but I ended up not getting it.
I may recon the 16 later, not rn though, as I'm a bit tired.
idk why it feels like a major achievement to get this for the first time, the avg was terrible but this is just really funny, I've always wanted to do this for some reason.
14.52 OH Single: F R2 F' U D' F2 L' F' D2 F L2 U2 R2 D2 F' D2 F2 D2 R' F'
My brain died because I didn't even have a sub-16 yet and I did 12ish more solves before trying to recon so I struggled to find the solution but here it is:
z2 y'
F R' U' F2 D R U' R2 U R - Cross and 1st pair
U2 y' R' U R U' R' U' R - 2nd Pair
U R U' R' - 3rd Pair
y' R U' R' U R U' R' - 4th Pair, I kind of hate myself for not seeing the cancellation into the sune
Sune for OLL, then Ua perm
Good solve, pb by 2.03 seconds but there were 2 cancellations I missed(4th pair into sune and not doing R' at the end of sune)
I took a break from cubing for about a week again, and I spontaneously dropped my 3x3 avg by 3 seconds when I came back. This is the second time I have had a huge drop in my global(first was 30ish to sub-20 in 2 days) and now I avg 14 somehow. My past few ao100s have been sub-15 which is really shocking but here are my drops in pbs since this happened yesterday.
Single: Didn't change but I got a fullstep 9.95(pb2) on a g perm.
Ao5: 12.79 --> 11.82, I actually beat this a few times but this is my only sub-12 one.
Ao12: 14.33 --> 13.51
Ao100: 17.15 --> 14.74
I don't know how this happened but I feel like my lookahead got significantly better and my tps slightly improved. Overall, I'm super happy to pb in most of this as 3x3 pbs are rare.
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