new wave of organized speedcubing events, which include regular national and international competitions. There were twelve competitions in 2004, 58 more from 2005 to 2006, over 100 in 2008, and over 1150 in 2018. Since Budapest's 1982 competition, there have been nine further World Championships traditionally held every other year, the most recent in Melbourne, Australia. This new wave of speedcubing competitions have been and still are organized by the World Cube Association (WCA). Since speedcubing's rise in popularity, numerous entrepreneurial ventures have sprung up, specializing in either the making or selling of speedcubes, creating international competition between these brands and Rubik's. Dozens of cube manufacturers have begun improving the cube's technology to allow for smoother turning and faster solving. This has helped to facilitate the eventual rise of the Rubik's Cube as not just a toy, but also a lucrative business. Solving methods The standard 3x3x3 can be solved using a number of methods, not all of which are intended for speedcubing. Although some speedsolving methods (such as CFOP) employ a layer-by-layer system in tandem with algorithms, other significant (though less widely used) methods include corners-first methods and the Roux method. CFOP, Roux, and ZZ are known as the "Big 3" methods, as they are the most popular and can be used to achieve the fastest times. The "Big 3" used to be a "Big 4", previously including the Petrus method, but this method has waned in popularity in recent years. The CFOP method is used by the majority of today's speedcubers. CFOP method The CFOP (Abbreviation for Cross – F2L – OLL – PLL) method, also known as the Fridrich method, was named after one of its inventors, Jessica Fridrich, who finished second in the 2003 Rubik's Cube World Championships. Although it is known as the Fridrich method, its origins are actually credited to David Singmaster, who was one of the first to publish a layer by layer method of solving in 1980, and Guus Razoux Schultz, who built upon this and developed a more efficient system for the first two layers (F2L). Jessica Fridrich then finished developing the method and published it online in 1997, an event that was very influential in the revival of competitive speedcubing. The first step of the method is to solve a cross-shaped arrangement of edge pieces on the first layer. The remainder of the first layer and all of the second