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Lachlan Gibson Lowers Rubik’s Clock World Record Average to 2.26 in Auckland

Lachlan Gibson solving a Rubik’s Clock on a Stackmat timer at a New Zealand competition with a WCA judge in the background.

New Zealand’s Lachlan Gibson has pushed Rubik’s Clock to new heights, setting a world record average of 2.26 seconds in Auckland on August 16, 2025. The mark was achieved at the local competition “2x2 in Tāmaki Makaurau 2025,” where Gibson delivered an exceptionally tight set of times: 2.27, (1.82), (3.01), 2.26, 2.24. The fastest and slowest were dropped under WCA rules, leaving a 2.26 average that improves his own world-leading standard from earlier in the year.

Background/Context

Rubik’s Clock, a mechanical 18-dial puzzle introduced in the late 1980s, has undergone a renaissance in competitive speedcubing over the past few seasons. Once considered a niche event with modest participation and incremental progress, the discipline has recently surged thanks to stronger regional scenes, improved practice regimens, and a wave of technical refinements. New Zealand has been particularly influential: its community has staged frequent competitions, cultivated a high-performing cohort, and in 2024–2025 produced a string of record-caliber Clock solvers.

Gibson emerged as the standout name of 2025. He first lowered the world record average to 2.38 seconds in April (Auckland Autumn 2025), then cut it to 2.28 in May (Puzzling Papatoetoe 2025), and now to 2.26 with his August performance. Beyond averages, he capped a meteoric season by securing the Clock single world record at 1.53 seconds on September 27, 2025, at Hasty Hastings 2025, edging the prior 1.64 set in May. The single and average records together underscore his consistency and peak speed—two pillars of dominance in the Clock event.

How Gibson Did It: The Details

The Auckland outing was all about control. After opening with 2.27, Gibson posted a blistering 1.82—an Oceanian record single that, while discarded for average, signaled the pace he could sustain. A rare outlier of 3.01 was neutralized as the dropped worst, and he closed with 2.26 and 2.24 to lock in the historic 2.26 average. On paper, the spread shows a solver who can withstand variance; in practice, it reflects exacting turning technique, efficient pin setting, and precise hand transitions on and off the timer.

A key storyline of the past two years has been refinement in approach. Top solvers have widely adopted more structured planning and optimized execution patterns, and training now emphasizes both sides of the puzzle without time-consuming flips. That shift—paired with deep competition schedules in Oceania and abroad—has produced a dramatic compression of elite times. The result: finals and even preliminaries where near-record splits are increasingly common, and where a single lock-up or hesitation can swing podiums.

Gibson’s season-long progression illustrates the trend. In April, he moved the average record down to 2.38, then to 2.28 in May, and finally to 2.26 in August—three improvements in roughly four months. Weeks later, he added the 1.53 single, further cementing his status at the top of the event. These performances have also helped reframe expectations for what is possible in Clock: sub-2 singles are no longer anomalies, and averages flirting with the low 2.2x band are now on the table.

Significance/Impact

  • For the event: The 2.26 average sets a new benchmark for competitive pacing. In practical terms, it means that even elite contenders must now plan for multiple solves well under 2.4 to stay in touch during finals, raising the strategic demands on consistency and nerves.
  • For Oceania: New Zealand’s presence in Clock continues to grow. The country’s competition cadence and supportive infrastructure have converted local depth into world-leading peaks, with Gibson’s record haul serving as a showcase for the region’s development.
  • For the community: The accelerating record cycle in 2024–2025 has galvanized interest in a puzzle once perceived as static. Tutorials, reconstructions, and method discussions have proliferated, and organizers have responded with more Clock-friendly schedules, giving specialists opportunities to aim at high-stakes rounds.

Beyond the immediate headlines, Gibson’s run highlights the balance between innovation and regulation that characterizes modern speedcubing. As solving techniques and hardware evolve, WCA competitions provide the standardized environment and officiating rigor that make performances comparable across borders and seasons. That framework is essential when progress is measured in hundredths of a second.

What’s Next/Conclusion

With the 2025 season winding down and national calendars filling for early 2026, attention turns to whether the average can dip further. On current form, a sub‑2.25 average seems plausible if conditions align—clean scrambles, confident pin management, and no late-round nerves. Meanwhile, the 1.53 single leaves minimal room at the top, but history suggests even world records that feel unassailable often fall sooner than expected when the field closes in.

For now, Gibson’s August 16 performance in Auckland stands as the new global standard for consistency on Rubik’s Clock. It crowns a breakthrough year for the Kiwi solver and underscores how quickly the event has evolved. Whether 2026 delivers another reset or a consolidation phase, Clock has firmly rejoined the speedcubing spotlight—and New Zealand remains front and center.