Benchmark Almanac

MRCR v2

Muse Spark 1.3 98.5% leads since Sep 2026 In use

Multi-round coreference: retrieve the n-th of several similar requests hidden in a long synthetic conversation, up to 1M tokens.

Google's internal 8-needle MRCR, reported as up to 128K average and 1M pointwise since the Gemini 2.5 GA cards. Google open-sourced it in eval_hub on 2026-02-18. OpenAI's dataset is a separate test (openai-mrcr).

In the authors’ words

We introduce Michelangelo: a minimal, synthetic, and unleaked long-context reasoning evaluation for large language models which is also easy to automatically score. This evaluation is derived via a novel, unifying framework for evaluations over arbitrarily long contexts which measure the model's ability to do more than retrieve a single piece of information from its context. The central idea of the Latent Structure Queries framework (LSQ) is to construct tasks which require a model to “chisel away” the irrelevant information in the context, revealing a latent structure in the context. To verify a model's understanding of this latent structure, we query the model for details of the structure. Using LSQ, we produce three diagnostic long-context evaluations across code and natural-language domains intended to provide a stronger signal of long-context language model capabilities. We perform evaluations on several state-of-the-art models and demonstrate both that a) the proposed evaluations are high-signal and b) that there is significant room for improvement in synthesizing long-context information.

Abstract of Michelangelo: Long Context Evaluations Beyond Haystacks via Latent Structure Queries (arXiv:2409.12640, CC0)
Made by Google DeepMind Released Jun 2025 Finding facts in long inputs All tasks public Last in a launch post Oct 2026 Last model added Oct 2026
Level
Everyday Most adults, without training
Scored
Checked automatically A program checks the result against an answer key, unit tests or the expected final state.
Answers
Short answer A number, word or short string matched to a key.
27
Models scored in lab cards
25
Launch posts list it, from 8 labs
16
System cards report it, from 6 labs

Muse Spark 1.3 leads with 98.5%

Best score per model as labs report them in their own cards. Labs pick their own settings, so these compare less cleanly than independent runs.

  1. 1 Muse Spark 1.3 98.5%
  2. 2 Gemini 3.7 Flash 97%
  3. 3 Qwen 3.8 Max 92.9%
  4. 4 Gemini 3.6 Flash 91.8%
  5. 5 Qwen3.7-Plus 91.7%
  6. 6 Qwen3.7-Max 90.4%
  7. 7 Gemini 3.1 Pro 84.9%
  8. 8 DeepSeek-V4-Pro 83.5%
  9. 9 Ling-2.6-1T 80.4%
  10. 10 DeepSeek-V4-Flash 78.7%
  11. 11 Gemini 3.5 Flash 77.3%
  12. 12 Gemini 3 Pro 77%
  13. 13 Mercury 3 75.5%
  14. 14 Gemini 2.5 Flash Jun 2025 74%
  15. 15 Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite 72.2%
  16. 16 Gemini 3 Flash 67.2%
  17. 17 Gemma 4 31B IT 66.4%
  18. 18 Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite 60.1%
  19. 19 Gemini 2.5 Pro Jun 2025 58%
  20. 20 Muse Spark 1.1 54.1%
  21. 21 Seed2.0 Pro 54%
  22. 22 Gemini 2.5 Flash Sep 2025 52.4%
  23. 23 MiMo-V2-Flash 45.7%
  24. 24 Gemma 4 26B A4B 44.1%
  25. 25 DiffusionGemma 26B A4B 32%
  26. 26 Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Jun 2025 30.6%
  27. 27 Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Sep 2025 25.6%
#ModelScoreSettingDateSource
1 Muse Spark 1.3 98.5% Sep 2026 Model card
2 Gemini 3.7 Flash 97% Aug 2026 Model card
3 Qwen 3.8 Max 92.9% Aug 2026 Model card
4 Gemini 3.6 Flash 91.8% Jul 2026 Model card
5 Qwen3.7-Plus 91.7% Jun 2026 Model card
6 Qwen3.7-Max 90.4% May 2026 Model card
7 Gemini 3.1 Pro 84.9% Feb 2026 Model card
8 DeepSeek-V4-Pro 83.5% Apr 2026 Model card
9 Ling-2.6-1T 80.4% Apr 2026 Model card
10 DeepSeek-V4-Flash 78.7% Apr 2026 Model card
11 Gemini 3.5 Flash 77.3% May 2026 Model card
12 Gemini 3 Pro 77% Nov 2025 Model card
13 Mercury 3 75.5% Oct 2026 Model card
14 Gemini 2.5 Flash Jun 2025 74% Jun 2025 Model card
15 Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite 72.2% Jul 2026 Model card
16 Gemini 3 Flash 67.2% Dec 2025 Model card
17 Gemma 4 31B IT 66.4% Apr 2026 Model card
18 Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite 60.1% Mar 2026 Model card
19 Gemini 2.5 Pro Jun 2025 58% Jun 2025 Model card
20 Muse Spark 1.1 54.1% Jul 2026 Model card
21 Seed2.0 Pro 54% Feb 2026 Model card
22 Gemini 2.5 Flash Sep 2025 52.4% Sep 2025 Model card
23 MiMo-V2-Flash 45.7% Dec 2025 Model card
24 Gemma 4 26B A4B 44.1% Apr 2026 Model card
25 DiffusionGemma 26B A4B 32% Jun 2026 Model card
26 Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Jun 2025 30.6% Jun 2025 Model card
27 Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Sep 2025 25.6% Sep 2025 Model card

9 models have held number one since its release in Jun 2025

Lab claims count from the day the card came out, independent runs from the model’s release.

Google DeepMind Qwen Meta
Lab claims Passed 85% in May 2026, by Qwen3.7-Max

The best score passed 85% in May 2026

All the scores we have, one dot each, so a model tested at several settings appears more than once.

Reported by the lab in its model card Best so far
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 2025 2026 Near the ceiling (85%) Muse Spark 1.3 Qwen 3.8 Max Gemini 3.1 Pro Gemini 3 Pro Gemini 2.5 Flash 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 2025 2026 Near the ceiling (85%) Muse Spark 1.3 Gemini 3.6 Flash

4 labs put it in a launch post in the last six months

Launch posts from every lab that has listed it, one tick per post. Tall colored ticks include it, and short gray ones leave it out.

Google DeepMind
Xiaomi Corp
ByteDance Seed
DeepSeek
Ant Group
Qwen
Meta
Inception Labs
DateLaunch postScoreAs the post writes it
19 Oct 2026 Mercury 3 75.5 MRCR v2
2 Sep 2026 Muse Spark 1.3 98.5 Best of MRCR 256K-512K (Long context) / MRCR 512K-1M (Long context)
13 Aug 2026 Gemini 3.7 Flash 97 GDM-MRCR v2 (8-needle), 128k (average)
3 Aug 2026 Qwen 3.8 Max 92.9 MRCR v2 256K (8-needle)
21 Jul 2026 Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite 72.2 Best of GDM-MRCR v2 (8-needle), 128k (average) / GDM-MRCR v2 (8-needle), 1M (pointwise)
21 Jul 2026 Gemini 3.6 Flash 91.8 Best of GDM-MRCR v2 (8-needle), 128k (average) / GDM-MRCR v2 (8-needle), 1M (pointwise)
10 Jun 2026 DiffusionGemma 26B A4B 32 MRCR v2 8 needle 128k (average)
1 Jun 2026 Qwen3.7-Plus 91.7 MRCR-v2 128k
20 May 2026 Qwen3.7-Max 90.4 MRCR-v2 128k
19 May 2026 Gemini 3.5 Flash 77.3 Best of MRCR v2 (8-needle), 128k (average) / MRCR v2 (8-needle), 1M (pointwise)
29 Apr 2026 Ling-2.6-1T 80.4 MRCR (16K-256K)
24 Apr 2026 DeepSeek-V4-Pro 83.5 MRCR 1M (MMR)
2 Apr 2026 Gemma 4 26B A4B 44.1 MRCR v2 8 needle 128k (average)
2 Apr 2026 Gemma 4 31B IT 66.4 MRCR v2 8 needle 128k (average)
3 Mar 2026 Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite 60.1 Best of MRCR v2 (8-needle), 128k (average) / MRCR v2 (8-needle), 1M (pointwise)
19 Feb 2026 Gemini 3.1 Pro 84.9 Best of MRCR v2 (8-needle), 128k (average) / MRCR v2 (8-needle), 1M (pointwise)
14 Feb 2026 Seed2.0 Pro 54 MRCR v2 (8-needle)
17 Dec 2025 Gemini 3 Flash 67.2 Best of MRCR v2 (8-needle), 128k (average) / MRCR v2 (8-needle), 1M (pointwise)
16 Dec 2025 MiMo-V2-Flash 45.7 MRCR
18 Nov 2025 Gemini 3 Pro 77 Best of MRCR v2 (8-needle), 128k (average) / MRCR v2 (8-needle), 1M (pointwise)
25 Sep 2025 Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite 25.6 MRCR v2 (8-needle) 128k (average), Thinking (1M pointwise 7.7)
25 Sep 2025 Gemini 2.5 Flash 52.4 MRCR v2 (8-needle) 128k (average), model card
17 Jun 2025 Gemini 2.5 Flash 74 MRCR v2 128k (average), earlier non-8-needle version (1M pointwise 32)
17 Jun 2025 Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite 30.6 MRCR v2 (8-needle) 128k (average), Thinking (1M pointwise 5.40)
17 Jun 2025 Gemini 2.5 Pro 58 Best of MRCR v2 (8-needle), 128k (average) / MRCR v2 (8-needle), 1M (pointwise)

16 system cards report it, from 6 labs

Besides launch posts, we read the system cards, model cards and technical reports labs publish with a release. They report far more, including safety and frontier-risk tests.

DateDocumentScoreAs the document writes itSection
13 Aug 2026 Gemini 3.7 Flash model card 97 GDM-MRCR v2 (8-needle), 128k (average) (results table, p.5) Capabilities
24 Jul 2026 Gemma 4 31B IT technical report 66.4 MRCR v2 8-needle, 128k, thinking (Table 5) Capabilities
24 Jul 2026 Gemma 4 26B A4B technical report 44.1 MRCR v2 8-needle, 128k, thinking (Table 5) Capabilities
21 Jul 2026 Gemini 3.6 Flash model card 91.8 GDM-MRCR v2 (8-needle), 128k (average) (results table, p.4). 1M (pointwise) = 54.0% Capabilities
21 Jul 2026 Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite model card 72.2 GDM-MRCR v2 (8-needle), 128k (average) (results table, p.4). 1M (pointwise) = 21.3% Capabilities
9 Jul 2026 Muse Spark 1.1 system card 54.1 MRCR Long Context (1M context window) (Figure 44). MRCR version not named Capabilities
13 Jun 2026 Ling-2.6-1T technical report 80.4 MRCR(16K-256K), mean over 16K to 256K (Table 5) Capabilities
19 May 2026 Gemini 3.5 Flash model card 77.3 MRCR v2 (8-needle), 128k (average) (results table, p.4). 1M (pointwise) = 26.6% Capabilities
26 Apr 2026 DeepSeek-V4-Flash technical report 78.7 MRCR 1M (MMR), DeepSeek-V4-Flash Max (Table 7). Figure 9 prints 8-needle MMR by context length Capabilities
3 Mar 2026 Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite model card 60.1 MRCR v2 (8-needle), 128k (average) (results table, p.4). 1M (pointwise) = 12.3% Capabilities
19 Feb 2026 Gemini 3.1 Pro model card 84.9 MRCR v2 (8-needle), 128k (average) (results table, p.4). 1M (pointwise) = 26.3% Capabilities
14 Feb 2026 Seed2.0 Pro model card 54 MRCR v2 (8-needle) (Table 3) Capabilities
6 Jan 2026 MiMo-V2-Flash technical report 45.7 MRCR, 2, 4 and 8 needles, maximum 128K (Table 9) Capabilities
26 Sep 2025 Gemini 2.5 Flash model card 52.4 Long context MRCR v2 (8-needle), 128k (average), 1M (pointwise) 16.3 (Table, p.5) Capabilities
7 Jul 2025 Gemini 2.5 Pro technical report 58 MRCR-V2 (8-needle), <=128K average (Table 3); 1M pointwise = 16.4% Capabilities
7 Jul 2025 Gemini 2.5 Flash technical report 54.3 MRCR-V2 (8-needle), <=128K average (Table 3); 1M pointwise = 21.0% Capabilities

Versions

More in Long context

All 66 in Long context
  • LongBench v2 In use 503 multiple-choice questions over 8K-2M-word contexts (QA, dialogue, code repos, structured data). Accuracy. Beam 1.0 66.9%
  • GraphWalks In use A graph is given as an edge list in long context. The model answers BFS or parent queries, scored by F1. Claude Fable 5 100%
  • OpenAI MRCR v2 In use Models read a long synthetic chat that hides 2, 4 or 8 identical writing requests and must reproduce the response to the i-th one. Scored by mean string match ratio per context bin. K-EXAONE 2.0 94.4%
  • CL-bench In use Model must learn new knowledge from a supplied long context (rules, procedures, data) and solve tasks. Strict LLM-verified rubrics. GPT-5.4 27.9%
  • AA-LCR 1.1 In use Models answer 100 questions that need reasoning across sets of real documents of about 100K tokens. An LLM equality checker with a fixed system prompt compares each answer with the key. Step 5 Preview 88.3%
  • LOCA-Bench In use Agentic tasks whose environment state is scaled to grow context length while task semantics stay fixed. Success rate versus context length. GPT-5.2 21.3%