Mats Valk
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Mats Valk is a Dutch speedcuber. He has been one of the fastest 3x3 and 4x4 solvers in the world since 2009. He has set 4x4 single and average world records in 2011 and 2012 and the 3x3 single in 2013 and 2016. He has also set European records in 3x3, 4x4, 2x2, and 3x3 OH.
Contents
History
Mats was the first significant Dutch challenger to Erik Akkersdijk. Their rivalry between 2009 and 2012 was compared to that of French cubers Jean Pons and Edouard Chambon during 2005-2007.
From 2011 onwards he was the most significant challenger to the supremacy of Feliks Zemdegs. He was runner-up to Zemdegs in the 3x3 event at both the Rubik's world championships of 2013 and 2015.
Mats broke the 3x3 world record with a time of 5.55 seconds at the Zonhoven Open 2013 in Belgium on 3 March 2013. This record stood for over 2 years. He broke the world record again with a time of 4.74 seconds at the Jawa Timur Open 2016 in Indonesia on 6 November 2016.
VLS
Mats is the creator of the VLS (Valk Last Slot) 3x3 algorithm set, which correctly orients the last layer while inserting the last corner-edge pair of the first two layers. Valk used one of these algorithms to complete the cube in his 2016 3x3 world record.
The Valk
Mats collaborated with QiYi to set up his own brand, The Valk, creating cubes according to his own specifications. The design of the mechanism and the performance of the cube has to be approved by Mats himself before the cube is mass-produced and sold. The first cube released under this brand was the Valk 3 on 15 August 2016. Since then, several more cubes have been released in the Valk Line, including the Valk 2, Valk 4, and the Valk 5, as well as several new 3x3s, the Valk Power, and the Valk Elite.
Achievements
World records
Mats currently holds no world records. He has previously held the following world records:
Single
- 3x3x3 cube: 4.74 at Jawa Timur Open 2016
- 3x3x3 cube: 5.55 at Zonhoven Open 2013
- 4x4x4 cube: 26.77 at German Open 2012
- 4x4x4 cube: 30.02 at Dutch Nationals 2011
Average
- 4x4x4 cube: 33.57 at German Open 2012
Titles
| Continental titles | ||
| Preceded by Giovanni Contardi 2010 |
4x4 Speedsolve European Champion 2012 |
Succeeded by Sebastian Weyer 2014 |
| Preceded by Philipp Weyer 2016 |
3x3 Speedsolve European Champion 2018 |
Succeeded by Tymon Kolasinski 2022 |
Notable videos
See also
External links
- Mats Valk's YouTube channel
- Speedsolving.com: Mats Valk just got a 6.84 single!
- Speedsolving.com: Mats Valk's 6.41 European Record at 2011 Dutch Open (with close up & slow mo)
- Speedsolving.com: Mats Valk official 3x3 average: 7.77
