A Melbourne teenager has broken his personal best and set a new world record for solving the Rubik's cube.
Feliks Zemdegs, 14, completed the 3 x 3 x 3 Rubik's cube in just 6.77 seconds at the Australia Cube Day held in RMIT University in Melbourne last Saturday.
Incredibly another teenager, Rowe Hessler, also broke the world record on the same weekend, while competing in a separate competition in Massachusetts.
Zemdegs managed to pip Hessler, 19, by 0.17 seconds to clinch the world record, previously set by Dutchman Erik Akkersdijk in 2008.
But Hessler was magnanimous in defeat, telling ninemsn that Zemdegs was "an amazing cuber".
"I believe he will be top of the world for many years. It is a shame that I got my 6.94 a few hours after his, but he deserved the world record far more than I did. He has extraordinary speed and reflexes and is considered by many, including me, to be a God of cubing," Hessler said.
Zemdeg's father David said he was very proud of his son.
"He's happy to set the times, but he doesn't seem to know what the fuss is about," he said.
"I'm obviously happy for him as he's been getting under 7.08 seconds everyday at home but to do it during competition is a different matter… it's both luck and nerves."
World Cube Association President Ron van Bruchem said Zemdegs was a humble competitor, despite having found fame on the internet with his cube-solving feats.
"He is kind of a legend, but he is still a young man… if he can get his nerves right, I think he can be the next world champion. He's setting the world standard right now. He broke 5 world records this weekend, he's just amazing," Mr van Bruchem said in a phone interview with ninemsn from Amsterdam.
"Cubing is not at all about mathematics. You can use mathematical principles - but you don’t need to have a brain for mathematics to do it," Mr van Bruchem said.
"It's not like tennis, where you play against another competitor. With cubing, it is more that you compete against yourself, you have to do your best to set your own record," he said.