Kevin Hays (speedcuber)

Kevin Hays (born May 12, 1994) is an American speedcuber. He is best known for his proficiency at solving larger Rubik's cube puzzles, specifically the 5×5×5, 6×6×6 and 7×7×7 events. He has won six World Championship titles and set 21 world records across the aforementioned three events. In addition, he has set 47 North American records and secured 21 titles at the United States National Championships.^[1]

Kevin Hays
Hays at the Rubik's Cube World Championship in July 2015
Born	May 12, 1994
Nationality	American
Known for	Rubik's Cube speedsolving
Medal record Representing  United States Speedcubing Event 1st 2nd 3rd World Championship 6 4 0 North American Championship 1 0 1 US National Championship 21 13 4 Total 28 17 5 World Championship Event 1st 2nd 3rd 5x5x5 1 1 0 6x6x6 3 1 0 7x7x7 2 2 0 Total 6 4 0 2013 Las Vegas 5x5x5 2013 Las Vegas 6x6x6 2013 Las Vegas 7x7x7 2015 São Paulo 6x6x6 2015 São Paulo 7x7x7 2017 Paris 6x6x6 2011 Bangkok 7x7x7 2015 São Paulo 5x5x5 2017 Paris 7x7x7 2019 Melbourne 6x6x6 North American Championship Event 1st 2nd 3rd 6x6x6 0 0 1 7x7x7 1 0 0 Total 1 0 1 2022 Toronto 7x7 2022 Toronto 6x6 US National Championship Event 1st 2nd 3rd 3x3x3 0 1 1 4x4x4 1 3 1 5x5x5 5 4 1 6x6x6 7 4 0 7x7x7 7 2 2 Magic 1 0 0 Total 21 13 4 2009 Stanford, CA Magic 2010 Cambridge, MA 6x6x6 2011 Columbus, OH 7x7x7 2012 Las Vegas, NV 4x4x4 2012 Las Vegas, NV 5x5x5 2012 Las Vegas, NV 6x6x6 2012 Las Vegas, NV 7x7x7 2013 Las Vegas, NV 5x5x5 2013 Las Vegas, NV 6x6x6 2013 Las Vegas, NV 7x7x7 2014 Jersey City, NJ 5x5x5 2014 Jersey City, NJ 6x6x6 2014 Jersey City, NJ 7x7x7 2015 Hilton Head, SC 5x5x5 2015 Hilton Head, SC 6x6x6 2015 Hilton Head, SC 7x7x7 2016 Portland, OR 5x5x5 2016 Portland, OR 6x6x6 2016 Portland, OR 7x7x7 2017 Fort Wayne, IN 6x6x6 2017 Fort Wayne, IN 7x7x7 2010 Cambridge, MA 5x5x5 2011 Columbus, OH 3x3x3 2011 Columbus, OH 4x4x4 2011 Columbus, OH 5x5x5 2011 Columbus, OH 6x6x6 2014 Jersey City, NJ 4x4x4 2015 Hilton Head, SC 4x4x4 2017 Fort Wayne, IN 5x5x5 2018 Salt Lake City, UT 5x5x5 2018 Salt Lake City, UT 6x6x6 2018 Salt Lake City, UT 7x7x7 2019 Baltimore, MD 6x6x6 2019 Baltimore, MD 7x7x7 2023 Pittsburgh, PA 6x6x6 2010 Cambridge, MA 7x7x7 2012 Las Vegas, NV 3x3x3 2013 Las Vegas, NV 4x4x4 2019 Baltimore, MD 5x5x5 2023 Pittsburgh, PA 7x7x7

Personal life

Hays was raised in Renton, Washington, where he started speedcubing during his freshman year of high school in January 2009.^[2] He later enrolled at Washington University in St. Louis,^[3] where he continued to practice cubing while also competing as a member of the Washington University Bears varsity swim team.^[4]

In 2019, Hays competed on the American television game show series Mental Samurai, ultimately finishing in 5th place.^[5]

Rubik's Cube career

Hays made his competition debut at US Nationals 2009, achieving a 4th place finish in the 6×6×6 event and advancing to the final round in the 5×5×5 event. The following year at US Nationals 2010, he secured the national title in the 6×6 category with an average time of 2:36.44.^[6] At US Nationals 2011, he set his first world records in the 6×6×6 event, recording a world-record single time of 2:02.31 and an average time of 2:09.03.

In October 2011, Hays participated in his first World Championship in Bangkok, Thailand. Although he still held the world record average in the 6×6 event at this point, he recorded a DNF (Did Not Finish) result in the finals. However, he achieved a 2nd place finish in the 7×7×7 event with an average time of 3:46.99.^[7] At the 2012 US Nationals, he won the 4×4×4, 5×5×5, 6×6×6, and 7×7×7 events while finishing third in the traditional 3×3×3 event. Between 2012 and 2016, Hays consistently claimed the US national champion title in the 5×5×5, 6×6×6, and 7×7×7 events and maintained a top-three placement in these events for ten consecutive US Nationals from 2010 to 2019.^[1]

At the 2013 World Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada, Hays became the first competitor to win the 5×5×5, 6×6×6, and 7×7×7 events at a single championship.^[8] At the 2015 World Championship in São Paulo, Brazil, he defended his titles in the 6×6×6 and 7×7×7 events and finished second in the 5×5×5 event behind Feliks Zemdegs.^[9] During the 2017 World Championship in Paris, France, Hays once again defended his 6×6×6 title and placed as runner-up in the 7×7×7 event behind Feliks Zemdegs. In 2019, at the World Championship in Melbourne, Australia, he finished second in the 6×6×6 event, with Max Park emerging as the champion.^[10]

Throughout his career, Hays broke the 6×6×6 world record single time on six occasions and improved the average record nine times. From December 10, 2011, to December 17, 2016, he was the sole record holder of the 6×6 single event, improving his record from 1:54.81 to 1:32.77. On March 10, 2018, Hays set a milestone by becoming the first person to solve a 7×7×7 cube in under two minutes in an official competition, with a time of 1:59.95.^[11]

On August 10, 2019, Hays announced his retirement from elite speedcubing to focus on the hobby aspect of the sport,^[12] and he later confirmed his retirement from professional speedcubing on January 1, 2022.^[13]

Notable results

World records

Event[1]	Single	Average	Competition	Date	Times
6×6×6		1:34.21	Lexington Summer 2017	July 1, 2017	1:40.66, 1:32.77, 1:29.19
6×6×6	1:32.77	1:42.36	Asian Championship 2016	October 1, 2016	1:45.93, 1:48.39, 1:32.77
6×6×6		1:45.98	World Championship 2015	June 14, 2015	1:43.03, 1:51.66, 1:43.23
6×6×6		1:46.41	World Championship 2015	July 17, 2015	1:48.99, 1:48.66, 1:41.58
6×6×6	1:33.55		Indiana 2015	June 12, 2015
6×6×6	1:40.86	1:51.30	Vancouver Summer 2013	August 3, 2013	1:40.86, 2:01.94, 1:51.11
6×6×6	1:49.46	1:55.13	Couve Cubing 2012	May 5, 2012	1:53.88, 2:02.06, 1:49.46
6×6×6		2:00.43	Lynden Open 2012	February 4, 2012	1:57.96, 2:02.38, 2:00.94
6×6×6	1:54.81	2:02.13	Vancouver Winter 2011	December 10, 2011	2:00.93, 1:54.81, 2:10.66
6×6×6	2:02.31	2:09.03	US Nationals 2009	August 12, 2011	2:13.68, 2:11.09, 2:02.31
7×7×7	1:57.76		Rose City 2018	June 9, 2018
7×7×7	1:59.95	2:08.71	CubingUSA Heartland Championship 2018	March 10, 2018	2:13.91, 2:12.27, 1:59.95
7×7×7		2:15.07	Puget Sound Fall 2017	September 23, 2017	2:23.33, 2:07.77, 2:14.12
7×7×7		2:42.85	Clock N' Stuff 2015	May 23, 2015	2:45.87, 2:37.56, 2:45.11
7×7×7		2:54.77	World Championship 2013	July 28, 2013	2:42.80, 2:56.39, 3:05.31

World Championship podiums

Year[1]	Event	Place	Single	Average	Times
2019	6×6×6	2	1:18.42	1:27.02	1:18.42, 1:30.94, 1:31.69
2017	6×6×6	1	1:32.00	1:35.34	1:32.00, 1:36.27, 1:37.75
2017	7×7×7	2	2:21.55	2:25.83	2:28.18, 2:21.55, 2:27.76
2015	5×5×5	2	51.26	55.66	51.26, 57.76, 54.77, 54.45, 1:02.12
2015	6×6×6	1	1:43.04	1:45.98	1:43.04, 1:51.66, 1:43.23
2015	7×7×7	1	2:41.89	2:45.36	2:45.36, 2:41.89, 2:50.43
2013	5×5×5	1	1:00.53	1:01.81	1:01.43, 1:01.64, 1:10.17, 1:00.53, 1:02.35
2013	6×6×6	1	1:52.42	1:56.14	1:52.92, 2:03.09, 1:52.42
2013	7×7×7	1	2:42.80	2:54.77	2:42.80, 2:56.39, 3:05.13
2011	7×7×7	2	3:37.52	3:46.99	3:37.52, 3:51.19, 3:52.27

Official personal bests

Event[14]	Category	Time	Competition name
3×3×3	Single	5.89	PDX Cubing for Dougy 2016
	Average	7.68	WCA World Championship 2019
4×4×4	Single	21.73	CubingUSA Nationals 2018
	Average	27.19	Rubik's WCA World Championship 2023
5×5×5	Single	42.36	Vancouver Big Cubes Open 2019
	Average	47.11	Kirkland Pyra Fest 2024
6×6×6	Single	1:14.06	Vancouver Big Cubes Open 2019
	Average	1:21.24	CubingUSA New England Championship 2023
7×7×7	Single	1:50.62	CubingUSA Northwest Championship 2024
	Average	1:56.03	Empire State Winter 2024