How to get sub-20 on 3×3
A data-driven roadmap to a sub-20 AO12. Concrete AO12/AO100 targets, the TPS and fundamentals you need, and the drills that close the gap.
Your sub-20 numbers at a glance
Prerequisites
Before sub-20 is realistic, lock these down:
- ✓Full PLL (21 algs) with sub-2s execution.
- ✓At minimum 2-look OLL solid; full OLL recommended above sub-22.
- ✓Dual color neutral (white + yellow). Modern consensus is that dual neutral offers most of the benefit of full CN for a fraction of the practice cost.
- ✓A current flagship 3×3 (MoYu WeiLong V11, GAN 16, or QiYi X-Man Tornado V4 M), tensioned to taste.
The single biggest thing slowing you down
Sub-20 is gated by F2L lookahead, not by alg knowledge. The pause between F2L pairs is where 80% of your time goes. Solve slow, look ahead, then speed up.
Drills that move the needle
F2L lookahead: 5 untimed slow solves daily
Do solves at 50% speed where you must already be tracking the next pair while inserting the current one. If you have to pause to find pair 2 after inserting pair 1, slow down further. This is the single most valuable drill for sub-20.
Last-slot keyhole / multislotting
Practice influencing OLL during your last F2L pair. Even simple edge-orientation tricks turn 1-look OLL into 50%+ of your solves.
Full OLL (57 algs), finger-trick optimized
Learn algs that suit your hand. Bad algs are slower than 2-look OLL. Drill each new alg 50 times before adding the next.
PLL recognition < 0.5s
Random-state PLL trainer: call out the case in under half a second. Bad recognition cancels the speed of a good alg.
Cross efficiency: avg 5 moves in 15s inspection
Use the Sub-X Cross Trainer. Goal: a planned, < 8-move cross every solve. Inspection is free TPS.
Track your progress to sub-20
Upload your csTimer session and Sub-X will project exactly how many more solves it takes to reach a sub-20 AO12, with a confidence band.
Start tracking for freeFrequently asked questions
How long does it take to go from sub-30 to sub-20?+
Typically 100–300 additional hours of focused practice. Sub-X tracks your AO100 trend and projects exactly when you will hit sub-20 based on your improvement rate.
Is sub-20 possible with 2-look OLL?+
Yes, but rare. Most sub-20 cubers use full OLL. If you average 22s with 2-look OLL, full OLL alone usually shaves 1–1.5s.
Do I need to be color-neutral for sub-20?+
No. The modern consensus is that dual color neutral (white + yellow) is the sweet spot for most cubers, since it captures most of the benefit of full CN without the long re-learning period. Many sub-20 cubers solve only on white.
What is the AO12 vs AO100 gap at sub-20?+
Most sub-20 cubers have AO12 ~1.5–2s faster than AO100. If your gap is much larger, you have a consistency problem more than a speed problem.
Does TPS matter more than algs?+
At sub-20, 4–5 TPS sustained is enough. Going from 4 TPS to 5 TPS with the same lookahead is worth ~2s. Going from 5 to 7 TPS without lookahead saves nothing.