Speedrunner rallies to take Super Mario Odyssey world record

Two days ago, LilKirbs14, a speedrunner whose history on speedrun.com only goes back a year, took a swing at Super Mario Odyssey’s Any% record. He missed by six seconds.

Then yesterday, LilKirbs14 struck gold, dethroning speedrun all-star NicroVeda and taking the top slot with a 1:01:42 that you can watch below.

To be fair to everyone here, following speedrunning, even for the most-run games, can be a hectic affair — and Super Mario Odyssey is the third-most run game on speedrun.com. Players are constantly taking shots at a game at home; it’s not like only scheduled events like Awesome Games Done Quick are where new records are set and recognized. That’s part of speedrunning’s all-comers, egalitarian charm. Anyone can participate.

So even while LilKirbs14’s mark is a record made to be broken, like all the rest, it’s caught speedrunning fans’ attention because he’s a fresh face to the game’s leaderboard. The most-run and the most-watched games are, like any other sport, filled with longtime star competitors. (Though it should be noted, LilKirbs14 formerly held the world record in New Super Mario Bros. U and is now second place, and was for one day the world champion in Warp World on Super Mario Maker. He appears to have devoted his time to Super Mario Odyssey since its launch in October, however.)

“Kirbs has been one of the top runners and in position to get a run like this for a while,” wrote wehopeuchoke on the r/speedrun subreddit. “Hes been grinding really hard. Honestly not all that surprising. Real happy for him.”

“Happy to see another top player, and this will likely not be the last WR he gets!” wrote RockinJack18.

“Good to see yet another Odyssey juggernaut make their mark on the 1st place spot. Seems like a three-way battle now,” said AllIWantIsCake.

Maybe we’ll see LilKirbs14 at the next AGDQ in January? Super Mario Odyssey has yet to be a main event run for either AGDQ or Summer Games Done Quick. It was a bonus event at SGDQ 2018, run by NicroVeda in 1:03:58.

If you’re looking to get in on Super Mario Odyssey speedrunning, check out this helpful guide for moving quickly across the game’s world.