In a jaw-dropping moment that has the internet hitting the replay button, young Chinese speedcuber Ziyu Ye (叶梓渝) shattered the 2x2 Rubik’s Cube world record with an official time of 0.39 seconds at the Hefei Open 2025 in China on October 25.
That’s faster than most people can blink. The timer froze at 0.390 as the stunned crowd and millions watching the viral clip tried to process what they just saw.
Ye, a competitor with the WCA ID 2021YEZI01 who’s been stacking podiums in China, pulled off the insane feat on what insiders are calling a dream scramble: a lucky four-mover (R U2 R' U'). He spotted it, his fingers flew in a whirlwind of elite muscle memory, and boom, a new record.
The previous mark? A “slow” 0.43 seconds held by Poland’s Teodor Zajder since 2023. Ye didn’t just beat it, he demolished the 0.4-second barrier, becoming the first human to officially go sub-0.4 in competition. Guinness World Records has it locked in
Video of the solve shows Ye slamming his hands back on the timer almost before the cube stopped turning. Top cubers in the same round, including big names like Yiheng Wang, couldn’t match it — even though some saw the same scramble. One rival hit a 0.41 that would’ve been record-breaking... until Ye dropped the hammer on the same set of scrambles.
China has been dominating the speedcubing scene for years, pumping out world-class talents who treat these colorful puzzles like Olympic events. At just a young age, Ye is already etching his name into the history books with his first world record.
