[WATCH] Zhen Chen “Keatons” Crimson Arradaza as OH Average World Record Falls Below 7 Seconds
Arradaza tied the 7.72 world record in the Philippines before Chen recorded a stunning 6.99 in China on the same day.
The 3x3 one-handed world record was matched and then demolished across two Asian competitions on July 25.
Crimson Arradaza started the record-breaking day at GAN Tarlac Speedcubing Open 2026 in the Philippines, recording:
(8.18), 7.97, 8.02, 7.16, (6.82) = 7.72
With the fastest and slowest solves removed, Arradaza’s 7.72 average exactly matched the world record set by Luke Garrett at Chicagoland Newcomers 2025.
Arradaza appeared to have joined Garrett as co-holder of the OH average world record. However, another competition was already underway in China.
Later that day, Zhen Chen delivered the first sub-7 one-handed average at Wuhu Open 2026:
7.27, 7.07, (6.12), (9.48), 6.64 = 6.99
Watch Zhen Chen’s historic 6.99 OH average:
Chen’s 6.99 cut 0.73 seconds from the previous world record and broke one of OH’s largest remaining barriers.
Chen Entered the Day With an 8.22 Personal Best
Chen’s 6.99 was not the continuation of an already established sub-7 pace. Entering Wuhu Open 2026, his official one-handed personal records were an 8.22 average and a 6.47 single.
That 8.22 ranked him 10th in the world, fourth in Asia, and first in China for OH average.
Chen first made a major breakthrough in the opening round:
(8.40), 8.11, (7.33), 7.67, 8.18 = 7.99
The result lowered his personal best by 0.23 seconds, broke the eight-second barrier for the first time, and set an Asian record.
In the final, Chen went exactly one second faster, dropping the Asian record from 7.99 to 6.99. He also lowered his 6.47 personal-best single to 6.12 during the average.
Across two rounds, Chen went from an 8.22 personal best to the first sub-7 average in OH history. His final result represented a 1.23-second improvement in one competition, an enormous jump at the highest level of the event.
It also “Keatoned” Arradaza.
What Does It Mean to Get “Keatoned?”
The term comes from one of the most famous record days in speedcubing history.
At River Hill Fall 2015, Keaton Ellis recorded a 5.09 3x3 single, faster than Collin Burns’ existing 5.25 world record. Later that day, Lucas Etter recorded a 4.90 in the semifinal, becoming the first person to officially solve a 3x3 in under five seconds.
Because both solves occurred on the same calendar date, only Etter’s faster result was recognized as breaking the world record. Ellis’ 5.09 remained a valid official solve, but never entered the WCA record history as a world record.
“Getting Keatoned” has since become cubing shorthand for setting what appears to be a world record, only for someone else to record a better result later that same day. The term is also used when a competitor improves their own record multiple times during one date, effectively “Keatoning” themselves.
Arradaza is now part of the same strange record history.
Why Won’t Both World Records Count?
WCA Regulation 9i2 states that when a regional record is achieved multiple times on the same calendar date, only the best result is recognized as breaking the record.
The regulation considers the local calendar date of each round, not the exact time when the results occurred. Since both Arradaza and Chen completed their averages on July 25, it does not matter which performance happened first. Chen’s 6.99 was the faster result, so it will be the only one recognized as breaking the world and Asian records.
Once the results are officially processed:
Zhen Chen’s 6.99 should receive the world and Asian records
Crimson Arradaza’s 7.72 should receive the Philippine national record
Arradaza’s result will not officially receive a world or Asian record designation
WCA Live displayed a world-record tag beside Arradaza’s result when it was entered. However, live record tags are not the final determination when multiple record-level results occur on the same date.
Ruihang Xu Lowers the Chinese 4x4 Record
Ruihang Xu also delivered a major performance at Wuhu Open 2026, setting a Chinese national record with a 20.23 4x4 average:
19.82, (18.73), (21.62), 20.52, 20.34 = 20.23
The result improved Xu’s previous 20.58 personal best by 0.35 seconds. He remained second in Asia and sixth in the world, behind Đỗ Quang Hưng’s 20.02 Asian record.
Xu also finished second behind Chen in the OH final with a 9.32 average.
Arradaza matched a world record that had stood for more than a year. Just hours later, Chen pushed the event into entirely new territory.
More than a decade after Lucas Etter “Keatoned” Keaton Ellis with speedcubing’s first sub-5, Zhen Chen repeated the story with OH’s first sub-7.