Feliks Zemdegs is an Australian Rubik’s cube speedsolver and world champion. Thanks to his unrivaled achievements, he holds a Guinness World Record for speedsolving and is regarded as the greatest speedsolver of all time in the cubing community.
Let’s explore who Felix Zemdegs is, his achievements, why he’s famous, and some fun facts about Feliks Zemdegs.
Who is Feliks Zemdegs?
Feliks Aleksanders Zemdegs, also known as Faz, was born on December 20, 1995, in Melbourne, Australia. He’s of Latvian descent, with a Lithuanian maternal grandmother.
The Australian speedcuber developed an interest in the Rubik’s cube at an early age.
Feliks first picked up a cube when he was 12 years old, and it took him around three hours to solve it while watching YouTube tutorials. He was inspired by speed solvers with tutorial videos on YouTube and bought his first speed cube at 13.
He started practicing two to three hours a day with his first speed cube. Through practice and improvement, learning advanced methods, algorithms, and techniques from tutorials, he has become one of the most successful competitive speedcubers.
Feliks Zemdegs’ Achievements
Feliks is the only speedcuber in history to win the World Cube Association (WCA) World Rubik’s Cube Championship twice, in 2013 and 2015.
He unparalleled dominance, setting more than 100 world records in different speed-cubing events throughout his career.
His achievements include:
- Winning his first competition at the New Zealand Championships in 2009 with an average time of 13.74 seconds for the 3×3.
- Winning the 2×2, 4×4, 5×5, 3×3 one-handed, and 3×3 blindfolded in 2009.
- Setting his first world records in the next competition for the 3×3 and 4×4 at the Melbourne Summer Open in 2010 with times of 9.21 seconds and 42.01 seconds, respectively.
- Holding the average world record for the 3×3 from 2010 to 2017 and improving it repeatedly to 6.45 seconds.
- Holding multiple world records simultaneously, Feliks set 12 world records at once in 2011.
- Winning the 2×2, 4×4, and 5×5 at the next World Championship in 2011. He came third in both the 3×3 and the 7×7.
- Winning the World Championship 2013 in Las Vegas for the 3×3, 4×4, and 3×3 one-handed.
- He won the 3×3, 3×3 one-handed at the Canberra Autumn 2015, and the 4×4 at the World Championships 2015 in Sao Paulo, and came second in the Megaminx, 6×6, and 7×7.
- He came first at WLS Lato 2016 with 6.45 seconds for the 3×3.
- He came first at the Adelaide Summer 2017 World Championships for the 5×5 and 7×7. He was second in the Megaminx, 3×3 one-handed, and 6×6 cube. He was third in the 4×4.
- He only competed in the 5×5 cube in the World Championships 2019 and came in third place.
- He’s won first place in over 600 national and international cubing competitions, ranking 2nd in 105 matches and 3rd in 60 other Rubik’s cube contests.
- He singlehandedly reduced the 3×3 world record time in a year from 10.07 to 7.91 seconds in 2010.
- He became the first speedcuber to record averages below 10, 9, 8, 7, and 6 seconds. He has improved on his records repeatedly before anyone can reach his level.
Why is Feliks Zemdegs Famous?
Feliks has been featured in over 20 news and media articles from 2009 to 2021 in Australia and worldwide.
He’s made appearances in the United States, Great Britain, China, and South Africa, inspiring other speedcubers to keep practicing and improving their skills.
Zemdegs was one of the inspirations of the 2020 Netflix documentary The Speed Cubers, which was shortlisted for an Oscar award. The documentary rotates between Zemdegs and American Max Park, two of the fastest to solve cubes in competitions.
The documentary recounts his achievements in the 2013 and 2015 World Cube Association World Championships and how Park unseated him in 2017.
It builds toward the 2019 WCA World Championship, where they were set to go head-to-head. It explores more than just competition, diving into the supportive relationship between the two.
Park is on the autism spectrum and currently ranks top worldwide in many cubing disciplines, except the 3×3 single. He considers Feliks his best friend and idol, and their unlikely bond, instead of rivalry, has been transformative in his emotional and social development. A true inspiration of pure, wholesome goodwill and sportsmanship worldwide.
Through his website, CubeSkills, Feliks also helps thousands of speedcubers worldwide. It’s an instructional website that teaches people how to solve cube puzzles and become speedcubers. He shares tips and knowledge, and you can find tutorials to solve the Rubik’s cube puzzles.
The site is suitable for beginners, intermediate and advanced speedcubers, with modules arranged chronologically to guide your progression effectively. You can find heaps of free content, including tutorial videos and free algorithm sheets.
Feliks Zemdegs Personal Life
Zemdegs has maintained a relatively private personal life. He lives with his father, an IT consultant, and mother, a dentist, in the Melbourne suburb of Armadale. He also has a younger brother who has no interest in speedcubing but can solve the cube.
Zemdegs’ father describes him as a quiet kid, and you wouldn’t know he’s a speedcubing world rockstar if you met him on the street. He was an avid reader who didn’t harbor childhood dreams of being a fireman or astronaut. He was more of a perfectionist and learned to play the saxophone and piano early. He maintains a single-minded work ethic that helps him excel at anything he puts his mind to.
He has always been gifted and was moved up a grade in primary school, attending the Catholic boys’ school St Kevin’s in Toorak, where he finished with an ATAR of 99.90
He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne and has majored in Economics with a Mechanical Engineering breadth study track. He’s currently employed as an alternatives analyst at Future Fund and has been on the job for less than a year.
While most speedcubers are teenagers, Feliks still maintains an interest in the game and often attends competitions despite his busy work life. His other hobbies include skiing, golf, and hanging out with friends. He’s also a die-hard fan of the AFL club Essendon.
Fun Facts About Feliks Zemdegs
What methods does Feliks Zemdegs use?
Since he was 12, Zemdegs has used the CFOP method to solve 3×3 cubes layer by layer, the Yau method to solve 4×4 and 5×5, the CLL approach to solve 2×2, and the reduction or free speed method to tackle larger cubes like 6×6 and 7×7. He solves one-handed problems with his left hand and is familiar with many CFOP subsets such as COLL and ZBLL.
Which cube does Feliks Zemdegs use?
Feliks uses a top-of-the-range Gan 365 XS Cube for competitions, regarded as the crème de la crème of speedcubes.
Is Feliks addicted to speedcubing?
Zemdegs mother describes his relationship with the Rubik’s cube as an obsession-addiction. His Twitter profile notes that he’s addicted to the Rubik’s cube. He owns over 80 cubes at any given time and has had over 500 over the years, receiving so many from manufacturers that he’s forced to give them away.
Feliks’ huge fan base?
Feliks has a huge fan base worldwide thanks to his speedsolving skills and charming personality. He has many engagements on social media, with over 126k followers on Instagram, 91k on Facebook, and over 21k on his Twitter account. He found himself under the spotlight and was already signing autographs at a young age, forcing his parents to become his default media managers.
Is Feliks a YouTuber?
Zemdegs has a YouTube channel with over 470,000 subscribers. He posts speedcubing videos, solves, competition footage, tutorials, reviews, and other cubing-related content and has had over 120 million views since 2008.
Feliks Zemdegs’ net worth?
The net worth of Felix Zemdegs is estimated to be around $1 million to $5 million, but no exact figure is available. He has won many endorsements from Rubik manufacturers and sports brands over the years. He earns royalties from his competitions, website, and YouTube channel through ads served by Google.
Can Feliks solve the Rubik’s cube while skiing?
In a 2019 interview with Redbull, Feliks admits that he’s solved the Rubik’s cube a few times while skiing.
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