The End of the Feliks Era?

[Mike Hughey]

It's probably too early to say the Feliks era has ended, but I think it's safe to say that the "Feliks-only era" HAS ended.

For quite a while, Feliks dominated nearly every size cube. There might have been one or two specialists who had a chance at challenging him on any given single cube size, but no one else was consistently at Feliks' level on any size cube. That was true for quite a long time.

Now, Max holds all the world records for 4, 5, 6, and 7, and has the average and clearly could have the single for OH. And out of the top 10 results for 3x3x3 average, Feliks has the first, third, eighth, and tenth, and Max has the other 6.

I think it's safe to say that it's better to say we've entered the Max and Feliks era now (in that order), not the Feliks era. Of course, that could change at any time; perhaps Feliks will start practicing harder again and flip it back around. If he's really not practicing at all these days (which is highly believable - he's clearly quite busy with other things, and most cubers practice a lot less by the time they've been cubing as long as Feliks), it might not take much for him to dominate again.

 

[Tabe]

Be more specific... Do you really know what he actually does besides cubing?

The internship was somehow related to investment. He mentioned studying business and economics in college.

Listen to his interview on the Speedcubereview podcast.

 

[ARobey]

But busy with what?
Maybe Max may have a different path, but i cant imagine feliks doing anything else than cubing

I don't know, a job, school, anything. Do you really think he just sits around and cubes all day? It is hard to imagine him doing anything else, but he is just a normal guy, and at some point, hes probably going to move on.

 

[Timbuktu10]

With a stunning win over the Dream Team in a 2x2-7x7 relay(Chris Olsen(2x2), Mats Valk(3x3), Sebastian Weyer(4x4), Patrick Ponce(5x5), Feliks Zemdegs(6x6), Kevin Hays(7x7)) at US Nationals 2018, Max Park secured his status as the best cuber in the world.

Does this mark the end of the Feliks Era and usher in the Max Era? Post down below.

This is the best video covering the race.

no lmao

 

[casi]

If Feliks is reading this:
IMO, while Max may be the best cuber in the world, Feliks is still the greatest cuber of all time.

 

[Galcor117]

He’s studying engineering at Melbourne University lol you really believe he sits at home does nothing and cubes all day.

ok thanks
It’s clear to see that I don’t care to keep up with the lives of cubers

 

[ToastasaurusCuber]

With a stunning win over the Dream Team in a 2x2-7x7 relay(Chris Olsen(2x2), Mats Valk(3x3), Sebastian Weyer(4x4), Patrick Ponce(5x5), Feliks Zemdegs(6x6), Kevin Hays(7x7)) at US Nationals 2018, Max Park secured his status as the best cuber in the world.

Does this mark the end of the Feliks Era and usher in the Max Era? Post down below.

This is the best video covering the race.

I'm going to say Max is definitely growing slightly bigger than Felix but I don't think his cubing career is nowhere near over. He's still the holder of both 3x3 WR's and plenty more. He's very active in competitions and such.

 

[Cuberious]

It's not the end of the Feliks Era. The Dream Team were doing it for fun and two of them messed up.

I don't think the Max Era is going to last as long as Feliks's decade reign. Homeschooling has given him lots of time to practice and when he goes to college, he never would have learned how to balance school and practicing. At least that's my prediction

 

[turtwig]

Homeschooling has given him lots of time to practice and when he goes to college, he never would have learned how to balance school and practicing.

Homeschooling doesn't mean he doesn't do any studying. I'm sure his parents don't let him just practice all day.

 

[Thom S.]

Homeschooling doesn't mean he doesn't do any studying. I'm sure his parents don't let him just practice all day.

From what I know the cubing community got him first into voluntary social interactions so I'm assuming he didn't do much except practice and school at first

 

[turtwig]

From what I know the cubing community got him first into voluntary social interactions so I'm assuming he didn't do much except practice and school at first

Maybe I didn't word it right, but I meant to say that I'm sure that he does other things, like studying, outside of cubing, in response to Cuberious saying that Max will have a hard time balancing cubing and school in college.

 

[GenTheSnail]

Homeschooling has given him lots of time to practice and when he goes to college, he never would have learned how to balance school and practicing. At least that's my prediction

Why not?
You think that just because he his parents teach him and because he does his school work at home he doesn't learn anything about balancing school and cubing?
Homeschooling is (as far as I know I've never been to public school) essentially like public public school except there aren't lectures and you just get a ton of homework.
Think of it like a private school where the school is your house.
Listen to Collin Burns' interview on the cubecast podcast and here him talk about home schooling and how much free time he has.

People do homeschooling differently than others, and I don't know how Max's parents do his, but I'm sure he's learned how to balance school and cubing.

 

[Galcor117]

I think it’s important to mention Max’s autism because this was a major factor to his introduction (and arguably eventual success) in cubing. He and his family know that cubing is such a big part of life for him, and his autism unfortunately makes many other things difficult for him.

Whether he learned to “balance” (in quotation marks because this varies for different people, especially for max) school and cubing is frankly irrelevant. Max will continue cubing for a long time and will push himself to his limit.

 

[casi]

Why not?
You think that just because he his parents teach him and because he does his school work at home he doesn't learn anything about balancing school and cubing?
Homeschooling is (as far as I know I've never been to public school) essentially like public public school except there aren't lectures and you just get a ton of homework.
Think of it like a private school where the school is your house.
Listen to Collin Burns' interview on the cubecast podcast and here him talk about home schooling and how much free time he has.

People do homeschooling differently than others, and I don't know how Max's parents do his, but I'm sure he's learned how to balance school and cubing.

I'm homeschooled, so I know that while you can't cube all day, it is easier to work in more practice time over the day.

 

[DavidRcv13]

I don't know if the Feliks era will end any time soon. I mean, he won 3x3 after all. I think the Max era has already started for big cubes, but when it comes to 3x3, Feliks is more efficient and smarter in his solves, while Max just has great TPS... I'm leaning towards saying Feliks is still the better cuber

 

[Gomorrite]

I wonder if Feliks will ever break a WR again. Perhaps his best chances are in 3x3, either single or average, or perhaps a 5x5 single or even 4x4 single. 6x6 and 7x7 are almost impossible for him now. Even though he broke 26 WRs in 2017 and so far 3 in 2018, it is certainly a possibility that he will not break more.