Four Years into Speedcubing: From Beginner to World Top 5

Hello everyone! Welcome to the GAN interview room, where we explore the stories behind top performers in the world of speed cubes and smart cube competitions.

Today, we are excited to introduce an outstanding young cuber from Guangzhou, 8-year-old Deng Wanying, a member of the Speed Ace Team. Her impressive performance at the SSL-S4 Finals made her a rising star among speed cube enthusiasts worldwide.

What is Deng Wanying like behind the scenes? Let’s explore her journey together with GAN and uncover the story behind this rising star of speed cube competitions.

From Layer by Layer to Full ZB

Deng Wanying’s connection with the Rubik’s cube began four years ago during an ordinary family shopping trip, a moment that would eventually lead her into the world of competitive speed cubes. “My dad bought a ten-yuan Rubik’s cube while shopping for daily necessities and taught me the layer by layer method at home.”    

At the time, Deng Wanying was still in kindergarten. After learning how to solve the cube, she felt both surprised and excited, amazed that she could actually solve a Rubik’s cube on her own. With this unexpected spark of joy, along with her father’s guidance and support, Deng Wanying officially began her journey into the world of speedcubing.

After mastering basic solving, Deng Wanying trained in speedcubing under teacher Lu Shuxin from XC Cube. Her transition from the layer by layer method to CFOP was smooth, but moving from CFOP to ZB proved far more challenging, even when practicing with professional speed cubes.

Her decision to switch to ZB was influenced by top cubers like Geng Xuanyi, who sparked a “ZB wave” in 2023 within the competitive Rubik’s cube community.

Her father explained, “After seeing how much Geng Xuanyi improved with ZB, I followed the resources shared by his parents and organized a training plan using those ZB algorithms for Wanying.”

Deng Wanying took a long-term approach to learning ZB. Rather than rushing through the massive number of algorithms, she focused on mastering each one for real competition, spending nearly two years to complete the entire ZB system on her magnetic speed cube.。”

Through persistence and dedication, Deng Wanying has now mastered all ZB algorithms and become a full ZB solver. She even jokes that many OLL algorithms are now forgotten.

Currently, she maintains 2–3 hours of daily practice. Her essential training includes lookahead during solves, cross efficiency, the first two F2L pairs, and high-volume ZB algorithm drills. Before competitions, she also increases timer-based practice focused on finishing the solve and immediately stopping the competition timer, simulating real speed cube match conditions.

From age four to eight, Deng Wanying has grown increasingly passionate about speedcubing, improving faster and becoming stronger with each year.

In mid-June and late August, she competed in the WCA Zhuhai Open and Jiangmen Open, achieving three personal bests in 3x3 events at each competition. Her current results stand at a 6.17-second average and a 5.05-second single, ranking her fifth in the world among female in 3x3 Rubik’s cube speed events.

The Secret Behind Getting Faster

From a casual interest to elite performance, what is the secret behind Deng Wanying’s rapid rise?

She says, “Interest and talent are important, but effort matters the most.” You might think this doesn’t sound like much of a secret at all.

In reality, speedcubing rarely follows a genius narrative. Even elite GAN GURUS like Xu Ruihang and Tymon started with solve times well above several tens of seconds. “Practice ten thousand solves first” is the real truth. Hard work and perseverance remain the open secret behind becoming faster as a speed cuber.

Training two to three hours daily, dealing with repetitive drills and massive algorithm sets, is no easy task for a child. Deng Wanying admits that learning ZB can be boring, and her father’s companionship played a crucial role in helping her persist.

Beyond her father’s dedication, another key mentor in her speedcubing journey was Qiu Ruohan, founder of XC Cube. Under his guidance, she overcame many critical speed bottlenecks while refining her technique on competitive speed cubes.

Deng Wanying first met Mr. Qiu in January 2022 and has now been training under his guidance for three years.

Over more than three years, she has made significant progress across all aspects of speedcubing, with Mr. Qiu serving as both a key witness and active participant in her growth.

When she was stuck at the sub-10-second barrier, her biggest issue was insufficient lookahead during solves, which led to inefficient solutions, higher move counts, and lower TPS. With targeted guidance, she improved her lookahead and solution optimization, successfully breaking through the sub-10 threshold.

In Deng Wanying’s eyes, meeting Mr. Qiu was incredibly fortunate. “He helped me avoid detours on my speedcubing path and is extremely responsible with his students. He closely follows up on after-class practice, and whenever I have questions, he records videos to explain and guide me. I’m truly very grateful.”

Moving Forward, Closing in on Sub-6

Beyond technical progress, speedcubing gave this young cuber confidence and passion. “Solving a Rubik’s cube is really cool. Every time I solve it in front of teachers and classmates, I get applause!”

Speedcubing also gave Deng Wanying a strong sense of belonging, which is why she longed to join the Speed Ace Team. From the very first global recruitment announcement, she actively applied.

In the early stages, due to her young age and room for improvement, she was not selected at first. However, she never gave up, continuing to apply repeatedly until May 2024, when she officially became a rising star within the Speed Ace Team.

“After joining the Speed Ace Team, I enjoy participating in cube competitions even more and practice harder than ever!” To date, Deng Wanying has competed in events of various scales, with the most unforgettable being this summer’s SSL-S4 Smart Cube Grand Finals.

In July, the Group A championship match at the SSL-S4 Finals drew waves of cheers. Yet Deng Wanying, who won by a narrow margin of just 0.086 seconds, remained remarkably calm, displaying exceptional mental stability during high-pressure smart cube competition.

Recalling the victory, she said, “I was really happy! GAN GURUS Chen Xi is currently ranked third in the world for women’s 3x3 average. We often compete online using smart cubes, and although we both win sometimes, she usually beats me more often.”

The cube became a kind of “source of gravity,” connecting her with many top players and friends. “My favorite top cuber is Geng Xuanyi. I love hanging out and practicing with many cubers like Zhang Yitang, Chen Xi, Zhu Yuetong, Lin Xiaoyi, and many other friends in the speedcubing community.”

Every cuber has their own strengths, and the shared understanding and communication within the community further boosted her performance. “Breaking the sub-10 barrier wasn’t just thanks to Mr. Qiu. I’m also especially grateful to GAN GURUS Geng Xuanyi’s parents. They advised me to slow down my ZB training and focus intensely on lookahead for the cross and the first two F2L pairs, sometimes even recording videos to teach me better solutions.”

Driven by passion, supported by family, guided by great mentors, and encouraged by fellow cubers, Deng Wanying has risen from a complete beginner to the top tier of the global 3x3 Rubik’s cube rankings over four years.

Now, she stands just one step away from achieving a sub-6-second average in 3x3. 

From age four to eight, speedcubing has become a form of personal heroism in Deng Wanying’s growth. In a fast-moving and competitive cubing world, we wish her steady progress and an early arrival at her ultimate goals.