Curious, he decided to purchase it – but his first attempts didn’t go too well.
“I threw it aside for a while, then turned to YouTube for help. I think it was about two weeks before I managed to solve it for the first time,” Lim recalled with a laugh.
That got him thinking: just how quickly could he do this?
His next attempt went much better. Lim solved the puzzle in around three minutes – and he was hooked. Beating his previous times then became both a challenge and a highly rewarding pastime.
Lim is now 19, which means he has been active in the sport of speedcubing for over half his life. The college student has proven to be truly adept at solving the puzzle, whether in its standard 3x3x3 form (three squares in each row on each side), or the more complex 6x6x6 and 7x7x7 versions.
He has gone on to win over 365 competition medals for speedcubing, including a bronze at the 7x7x7 cube event at the World Cube Association (WCA) World Championships in 2023 and 2025.
More recently, Lim set a world record under official WCA regulations in the 7x7x7 cube event with a single solve time of 1:32.92.
He followed this up with another achievement, clocking an average of 1:04.94 for the 6x6x6 cube.
And here’s a fun fact: in 2019, when he was just 11, he became the first Malaysian to win a speedcubing world title for his prowess at solving a 3x3x3 Rubik’s cube … with his feet!
He shared that he would practise every day, spending anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours on training sessions, with breaks in between.
“People ask me whether it’s boring playing with that cube over and over. I tell them no – it’s not a chore, it’s something I like doing to pass the time,” Lim expressed.
“When I come back from school, or when I finish studying, or when I cannot sleep, I cube. It’s something I love.”
Cubing, he added, has helped him in various aspects of life such as analytical thinking, time management and hand-eye coordination. He is also glad to have supportive friends in the local cubing community – a scene he believes is growing steadily
While it all looks colourful on the surface, things haven’t always been rosy for the young cuber: Lim revealed that he recently experienced burnout.
“When you go into a competition with very high expectations, even if you end up achieving decent results, you can’t accept it. I couldn’t achieve the result I wanted, and it took a lot out of me mentally,” he recalled.
“Thankfully, I took a short break and came back with a clearer head. I never imagined you could get burnt out from something you’re so passionate about.”
This experience, he said, has taught him the importance of resting and taking breaks, and not being afraid to admit you are tired and need help.
Asked about the future, Lim said he is setting his sights on winning a gold medal at the WCA World Championships.
He also hopes speedcubing will continue to grow in popularity in Malaysia, and that it becomes more of a spectator event.
“I think it’s on its way now – it’s becoming a lot more popular,” he said. “If you watch live streams of certain competitions, like the 2019 world championships vs the 2025 one, I feel like we’ve really come a long way.
“It’s at the point where it feels like you’re watching a sport now, instead of just looking at people solve cubes.”
Follow Lim Hung on Instagram.