Summer Games Done Quick lineup leaves Super Mario Odyssey outside main event

The organizers of Summer Games Done Quick have announced the lineup of games and speedrunners (but not yet the schedule and times) for Summer Games Done Quick 2018, which is taking place a little more than two months from now.

A notable omission, somewhat, is that Super Mario Odyssey is a bonus game and not in the main event. Super Mario Odyssey is the second-most run game on Speedrun.com and has seen a rather intense battle for first place in its Any% category over the past month. The current record holder, NicroVeda, will take a crack at Any%.

On the speedrun subreddit, reaction has been mixed. Some are scratching their heads that something as popular as Super Mario Odyssey would be left out. Others speculate that Super Mario Odyssey is being held out as a bonus to drive donations.

“Prepare for what will definitely be the largest donation incentive of all time,” said Redditor PicanteLive. Summer Games Done Quick is a charity marathon benefitting Doctors Without Borders, and donation incentives are frequently offered on popular runs to get the runners to alter their attempts or do so under trick conditions.

Notable games include:

• Celeste: Any% runs (fastest to completion by any means) by TGH and yoshipro, currently Nos. 1 and 2 in that category on Speedrun.com.
• Cuphead, two runs: All Flags (Regular difficulty, Legacy branch) and 100% (Legacy) by TheMexicanRunner, world record holder in three categories of Cuphead.
• Super Mario Maker: A fan favorite returns with three Blind Relay Races, plus a Hard Level speedrun as a bonus game by veteran runner Carl Sagan.
• The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD: Another crowd-pleaser returns with an Any% run by current record holder Linkus7 (who retook the crown just 10 days ago in an ongoing, two-month duel with gymnast86).

Summer Games Done Quick will run from June 24 to July 1 in Bloomington, Minnesota. It’s one of two charity marathons held by Speed Demos Archive each year. SGDQ’s 2017 marathon raised $1.7 million for Doctors Without Borders, another record total. Awesome Games Done Quick 2018, held in January, raised $2.29 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation, also a record.