Viewers left open-mouthed by Rubik's Cube World Cup gold medalist on BBC Breakfast who completes the block in under EIGHT SECONDS live on air

  • Speedcuber Chris Mills, 18, from East Hoathly, stunned viewers this morning
  • Engineering student won re-scramble category at Rubik's Cube World Cup
  • Reveals he solves 50 Rubik's cubes a day and has put in 5,000 hours of practice

Viewers were left open-mouthed this morning after a teenager solved a Rubik's Cube in under eight seconds live on TV.

Chris Mills, 18, from East Hoathly in Sussex, recently took gold in the re-scramble category at the Rubik's Cube World Cup.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast hosts Dan Walker and Louise Minchin, Chris said he was 'blown away' by his performance in the competition - and admitted he's put in around 5,000 hours of practice since he began 'speedcubing' in 2014.

Challenged to solve a cube live on air, Chris took it in his stride, completing it in under eight seconds - though his personal best is closer to five. 

Chris Mills, 18, from East Hoathly in Sussex, recently took gold in the re-scramble category at the Rubik's Cube World Cup

Chris Mills, 18, from East Hoathly in Sussex, recently took gold in the re-scramble category at the Rubik's Cube World Cup

'For me now, that was all just muscle memory,' he said afterwards. 'I could basically do that in my sleep.'

Many wowed viewers took to Twitter, with one remarking: 'On live TV. No pressure then! Impressive.'

Chris told how he probably averages 50 solves a day, but sometimes will do up to 500, especially if he's preparing for a competition.

He previously told the BBC: 'To get to my level you need to put a lot of practice into it, you've got to really enjoy the process of just sitting down, learning new techniques and solving.'

In the build-up to the re-scramble event at the Rubik's Cube World Cup, he spent between four and five hours every day working on his skills. 

Challenged to solve a cube live on air, Chris took it in his stride, completing it in under eight seconds - though his personal best is closer to five
Challenged to solve a cube live on air, Chris took it in his stride, completing it in under eight seconds - though his personal best is closer to five

Challenged to solve a cube live on air, Chris took it in his stride, completing it in under eight seconds - though his personal best is closer to five

Many wowed viewers took to Twitter, with one remarking: 'On live TV. No pressure then! Impressive'

Many wowed viewers took to Twitter, with one remarking: 'On live TV. No pressure then! Impressive'

The event sees players given two cubes, one of which is scrambled and the other solved. The aim is to make the solved one look like the scrambled one.

'It's kind of like doing it backwards,' Chris said. 'It's quite a unique event but I really enjoy it.'

Chris had hoped to place in the top three, but was 'blown away' to make it to the finals. 

'I was super happy. So at that point I think all my nerves just went away,' he said.

'I solved it incredibly and I managed to get 2-0 in the best of three. I was just blown away with my performance, I was extremely happy.

'All my friends were congratulating me, I could hear my parents cheering downstairs, it was scary. If you put your mind to it you can accomplish anything.'

Chris had hoped to place in the top three, but was 'blown away' to make it to the finals - and win

Chris had hoped to place in the top three, but was 'blown away' to make it to the finals - and win

Chris said he hopes he can make a career out of speedcubing, through sponsorships and working for different companies

Chris said he hopes he can make a career out of speedcubing, through sponsorships and working for different companies

As part of the prize, Chris was awarded a share of £20,000 and revealed he intends to spend some of it on a trip to New Zealand. 

'The goal is to beat my previous self; obviously it's nice to be best in the country and best in the world at some events, but I mean I just like to better myself and see how far I can take my speed,' he said.

'I do hope that I could possibly make cubing a job through sponsorships and working for different companies and stuff like that. That is just a dream but hopefully I'll be able to take it that far.'  

Callum Goodyear, vice chair of the World Cube Association, revealed they've seen 'exponential growth' in competitor numbers since 2004. 

Callum Goodyear, vice chair of the World Cube Association, revealed they've seen 'exponential growth' in competitor numbers since 2004

Callum Goodyear, vice chair of the World Cube Association, revealed they've seen 'exponential growth' in competitor numbers since 2004

'Obviously this year has been hard hit for holding competitions where we all have to be in close proximity to each other, so Red Bull did a good job of moving this online,' he said.

'Hopefully this pandemic with people locked inside can get people to learn.

'There's lots of different methods [to solve it] but, as with anything nowadays, if you want to learn, just go to YouTube, there are many good tutorials to find.'

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