TTimofei Tarasenko has put together one of the best all-around opening days of any competition this year.
At Kuala Lumpur CC 2026, Tarasenko broke the 6x6 mean world record with 1:03.63 and lowered his own Megaminx average world record to 23.40.
Those were only the biggest results.
He also became just the second person in history to average under 1:40 on 7x7, recorded the fifth-fastest 7x7 single ever, and entered his final 5x5 solve with a best possible average faster than the world record.
Tarasenko Smashes the 6x6 World Record
The biggest result came in the 6x6 final.
Tarasenko opened with a 1:00.43, then followed it with 1:04.49 and 1:05.98.
1:00.43, 1:04.49, 1:05.98 = 1:03.63 mean
The result gave Tarasenko the 6x6 mean world record.
His opening 1:00.43 was also the third-fastest 6x6 single in WCA history and a new European record, beating the 1:00.80 set by Tymon Kolasiński earlier this year.
It also put Tarasenko into a very small group.
He is only the fourth person to record a 1:00.xx 6x6 single in 2026, joining Seung Hyuk Nahm, Kolasiński and Đỗ Quang Hưng.
Even Max Park, who still owns the 57.69 world record single, has not recorded a 1:00.xx result this year. His best in 2026 is 1:01.49.
The Fifth Sub-100 7x7 Mean Ever
Tarasenko was nearly as impressive on 7x7.
In the first round, he produced:
1:34.42, 1:40.72, 1:39.09 = 1:38.08 mean
That made Tarasenko just the second person in WCA history to average under 100 seconds on 7x7.
The other is Park.
In fact, Tarasenko’s 1:38.08 is only the fifth 7x7 mean under 1:40 ever recorded. The previous four all belonged to Park.
The 1:34.42 opening solve was also the fifth-fastest 7x7 single in WCA history.
Tarasenko had entered the competition with a 1:41.93 personal best mean. In one round, he cut nearly four seconds from it and crossed a barrier that nobody other than Park had reached.
Megaminx World Record Drops Almost a Full Second
Then came Megaminx.
Tarasenko’s first-round results were:
(22.47), (24.29), 23.57, 23.73, 22.91 = 23.40 Average.
That was his second world record of the day.
Tarasenko held the previous record at 24.38, meaning he lowered the mark by 0.98 seconds.
For an event already this fast, that is an enormous jump.
It is also a strangely familiar number.
Tarasenko’s previous world record improvement was also 0.98 seconds, when he lowered the record from 25.36 to 24.38 last year.
Now he has done it again.
One Solve Away on 5x5
Tarasenko nearly added another world record on 5x5.
His first four solves in the final were:
36.66, 33.98, 33.49, 33.26
That left him with a 33.58 best possible average entering the fifth solve.
The current world record, held by Tymon Kolasiński, is 33.73.
He needed one more clean solve.
Instead, his fifth attempt was a DNF.
The DNF became his dropped worst solve while the 33.26 was dropped as his best. The remaining three gave him a 34.71 average.
It was still an elite result, but 5x5 became the clearest example of just how close this performance came to being even bigger.
And Tarasenko Is Not Done Yet
As big as Saturday was, Tarasenko still has another full day of competition ahead of him.
Sunday includes 3x3, 2x2, 3x3 One-Handed, Pyraminx and Skewb.
The biggest one to watch is 3x3.
Tarasenko won Uzbekistan Nationals with a 5.59 average and has recorded averages as low as 5.42 this year. He also has a 4.18 single from June.
After breaking two world records and adding major results across Megaminx, 5x5, 6x6 and 7x7 on Saturday, 3x3 gives Tarasenko a chance to take an already historic weekend into speedcubing’s biggest event.
And he still has an entire day left.