What Does Sub-20 Mean in Cubing?

The short answer: sub-X is a repeatable time goal

Sub-X is speedcubing shorthand for being under X seconds. Replace X with the number in the goal: sub-30 means under 30 seconds, sub-20 means under 20 seconds, and sub-15 means under 15 seconds. The phrase is informal community language, not a separate World Cube Association event or ranking category.

When cubers describe a milestone such as being sub-20, they normally mean an average under 20 seconds across multiple solves. That wording matters because one lucky single can be much faster than your normal solving level. A single is useful evidence that a time is possible; a consistent average shows that your recognition, turning, and recovery skills can produce it repeatedly.

Sub-20, sub-30, and sub-15 examples

Imagine these five 3x3 times: 18.42, 19.31, 20.06, 21.10, and 22.44 seconds. The fastest and slowest results are removed for an Average of 5, leaving 19.31, 20.06, and 21.10. Their arithmetic mean is 20.16 seconds, so this is not yet a sub-20 ao5 even though the solver has an 18-second single. The result says the next goal is close, not complete.

Now change the middle three to 18.90, 19.42, and 19.88. After dropping the best and worst, the average is 19.40 seconds. That is a sub-20 ao5 because the average, not every individual solve, is below 20. You can still have a 22-second counting solve in a sub-20 average; an average is designed to describe a group of results, not demand that every attempt beat the threshold.

The same logic applies to other labels. A sub-30 solver has an average below 30 seconds, while a sub-15 solver has an average below 15 seconds. A sub-20 result does not require a particular method, cube brand, or algorithm count. It describes the measured time, so use the label to describe your current results rather than as a rule about how a solver must practice.

Single, PB, ao5, and ao12: the terms around a milestone

A single is one solve time. Your single PB, or personal best, is the fastest single you have recorded. It is a fun number to track, but it is vulnerable to a favorable scramble, an unusually smooth solve, or a lucky last layer. If someone says they got a sub-20 single, they mean one solve finished below 20 seconds; that is different from saying they are sub-20 overall.

An ao5 is an Average of 5: take five consecutive attempts, remove the fastest and slowest, and average the remaining three. The WCA uses Average of 5 as the full-round format for 3x3 and several other events. An ao12 is a useful practice statistic built from twelve solves, with the fastest and slowest removed before averaging the middle ten. It gives you a steadier snapshot than an ao5, even though it is not the full-round format for 3x3 competition.

Do not confuse an average with a mean of 3. The WCA uses Mean of 3 for 6x6 and 7x7, where three results are averaged without dropping one. For everyday 3x3 practice, ao5 and ao12 are usually more useful when you want to know whether a sub-X milestone is becoming repeatable. The important habit is to name the statistic beside the milestone: sub-20 single, sub-20 ao5, or sub-20 ao12 are different claims.

How WCA results and penalties affect the number

Official WCA results are rounded or recorded according to the event format and regulations, so do not compare a home statistic and a competition result as if they were produced by identical conditions. For an Average of 5, one DNF can count as the worst result and be removed, but more than one DNF makes the average DNF. A +2 remains part of the timed result according to the applicable result rules. Record penalties honestly so your averages describe the session you actually completed.

For a simple example, 18.20, 19.40, 20.10, 21.00, and DNF can still produce an ao5 from the three counting numeric results after the DNF is treated as the worst result. If two of those five attempts are DNFs, the official average becomes DNF instead. This is why a practice tracker should preserve the penalty rather than silently deleting a bad attempt: hiding the result makes the milestone look more stable than it is.

Is sub-30 good? Use milestones without turning them into grades

Yes, sub-30 can be a meaningful milestone, especially if your previous average was 40, 50, or 60 seconds. But there is no universal point at which a time becomes good. Your experience, practice time, puzzle, event, and goal all change what a useful target looks like. A milestone should answer a personal training question: can I now repeat a solve level that used to feel out of reach?

Avoid using another solver's label as a verdict about your own progress. A new solver who moves from a two-minute average to sub-60 has made real progress even if they are not near sub-30. An experienced solver who moves from 20.4 to 19.9 has also crossed a meaningful boundary. Track your average, consistency, and the skill you are practicing together; the label is a compact description, not a score for your worth as a cuber.

How to measure whether you are really sub-X

Start with a clearly named statistic. For a quick check, complete an ao5 using five fresh scrambles and write down every result, including +2s and DNFs. For a more stable view, complete several ao5s or an ao12 in the same session. Do not stop after a single fast average; repeat the test on another day so you can separate a good session from a real shift in your baseline.

Use https://www.cuberpal.com/tools/average-calculator to calculate the trimming consistently, especially when a session includes a +2 or DNF. Keep a small log with the date, event, statistic, and average. The log makes it easier to see whether your ao5 is repeatedly near 20, whether your ao12 is still above it, or whether one result is carrying the label. Consistency across sessions is more useful than a screenshot of one unusually good number.

When an average is close to the next threshold, review the solves that counted instead of only celebrating the best one. Ask whether the slow result came from a long inspection, a missed F2L pair, a last-layer pause, or a penalty. Then choose one practice focus. The cluster guide https://www.cuberpal.com/guides/how-to-get-faster-at-cubing explains how to find the phase costing you time, while https://www.cuberpal.com/guides/how-to-get-sub-20-on-3x3 covers a more specific sub-20 training path.

What to read next for each milestone

If you are working toward sub-30, continue with https://www.cuberpal.com/blog/sub-30-rubiks-cube for priorities such as cross planning, intuitive F2L, and a dependable last layer. If sub-20 is the goal, use the dedicated guide after you can finish solves reliably and want a more structured checklist. If you are already approaching sub-15, https://www.cuberpal.com/blog/sub-15-rubiks-cube can help you think about advanced priorities without treating a single algorithm set as a universal requirement.

The best next step is the one that matches your measured bottleneck. If your average is inconsistent, repeat more controlled averages. If your times are stable but slow, inspect phase splits and pauses. If you are learning a method, give the new skill time to settle before judging it by one session. Use the labels to choose a next experiment, then check the data again.

Frequently asked questions

The two most common mistakes are calling a fast single an overall milestone and comparing averages that use different rules. State the number and the statistic together, keep penalties visible, and use repeated sessions to decide whether your result is durable.