We’re just a few days into [Summer Games Done Quick 2021](https://www.twitch.tv/gamesdonequick) and things got off to an incredible start! At the time of publishing, the marathon has raised more than $380,000[update!] for [Doctor’s Without Borders](https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/).



You never can go wrong with GDQ but with so many great runs to choose from, we’ve narrowed down a few highlights worth checking out just in case you missed them!



## Sunday



### [Dragon Age: Inquisition -- Any% - PC by Lemuura with commentary by A Flyin Coconut, bryonato and LettersWords (0:39:02)](https://youtu.be/BTO8ArCIocE)



How many times have you seen a speedrun switch game patches mid run? Combine a fascinating run with Lemuura’s excellent execution (including a ridiculously quick final boss fight), and this is definitely worth checking out.



### [F-Zero -- Snaking All Tracks - Gamecube by 1davidj with commentary by Valyssa0, Naegleria, and AKC12 (1:06:43)](https://youtu.be/WLq4NWzbnNM)



Somehow this run manages to be pretty chill considering it features 1davidj flinging his F-Zero machine off of the track only to land on a later portion as well as an intentional death at the end of the track in order to send the vehicle careening over the finish line. The run ended up just 14 seconds behind 1davidj’s PB.



### [Spyro the Dragon (1998) -- Any% - PS1 by Dayoman (0:45:03)](https://youtu.be/WKzwEFviq4k)



Dayoman brings heaps of charm and skill to this classic Spyro title. In addition to the entertaining run, make sure to checkout Kungfufruitcup’s interview with Dayoman which can be found [here](https://youtu.be/DDlExHbDiuE?t=2790).





## Monday



### [Sundered -- Resist% - PC by JeviLevee with commentary by Denezen, dyindude and Medlife (1:08:35)](https://youtu.be/Hhv7u7II8jg)



Jevilevee moves with swift grace through the procedurally generated pathways of Sundered with a friendly virtual couch commenting the whole way. Keep an eye out for when Thunder Lotus Games, the gamedev collective behind Sundered, pops in to donate $1000 and wish JeviLevee good luck!



### [Cave Story 3D -- Reverse Boss Adventure - 3DS by Supreme Dirt (1:16:34)](https://youtu.be/rB6NClurRiI)



Check out this fun performance of a lesser-known 3DS remake Cave Story to learn some of the interesting history of Supreme Dirt’s efforts to route the run. “Almost all of my routing of this game happens in a hex editor," she says.



### [Shadow of the Colossus -- Any% Hard - PS4 by TikTak with commentary by RUBIEHART and FoxyZilla54 (1:41:11)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zm3Ol9-rSQk)



Not only is this game always a cinematic treat to watch, but TikTak and the virtual couch have so much fun and friendly chemistry. This is a great showcase from the Team ICO Speedruns community. Additionally, the donation incentive to pet the in-game horse, Agro, raised more money than the total raised at the first GDQ back in 2010!



### [Paper Mario -- Stop 'n' Swop - N64 by JCog with commentary by Iycewynd and Rain (0:26:12)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhH-UsSz69M&list=PLz8YL4HVC87V6OQSXXmP-a0qtUVaLZouR&index=34)



It might be confusing at first to see a Paper Mario speedrun that begins with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time but thanks to some clever usage of the N64’s expansion pak, JCog is able to use a game crash from one cartridge to execute code in another. Ok, even after watching the whole thing it is still pretty confusing but fascinating nonetheless and worth a watch!



## Tuesday



### [FAITH -- 100% - NES by Vynn (0:05:53)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMls30ESTWg&list=PLz8YL4HVC87V6OQSXXmP-a0qtUVaLZouR&index=38)



The spooky vibe of this short run alongside the calming commentary by Vynn is perfect for anyone who likes some horror in their speed games. Vynn shows off a few of the game’s endings without missing a step.



## [Gone Golfing -- True Ending - PC by Teddyras with commentary by Jeff_in_3D (0:13:06)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isV1v-TGTjo&list=PLz8YL4HVC87V6OQSXXmP-a0qtUVaLZouR&index=39)



This short run is not hiding anything. It starts off just like any other mini-golf game with Teddyras putting one hole at a time. Then it moves into a dark, industrial space where he has to run from a human-sized golf ball named Mr. Golfy. Enjoy equal parts scary and funny with the relaxing commentary you would expect for gold. In the words of commentator Jeff_in_3D, “I’m seeing some comments from the chat saying that they’re questioning how much this is golf. Umm, y’all it might have been a long time since a lot of us have gone outside and seen sports, it’s been about a year and a half, but rest assured this is normal golf play.”



### [Battletoads by TheMexicanRunner with commentary by JC586 (0:35:43)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yQLiSDpEPc&list=PLz8YL4HVC87V6OQSXXmP-a0qtUVaLZouR&index=55)



TMR delivers a skilled performance including that incredibly tense "Turbo Tunnel Blindfold" segment of the run. The chat, along with JC586 and host Skybilz provided tons of positivity while TMR does a fantastic job with a truly grueling game.



### [Grand Theft Auto III -- Any% - PC by KZ_FREW with commentary by Anti (1:16:29)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpp5aih-r0M&list=PLz8YL4HVC87V6OQSXXmP-a0qtUVaLZouR&index=59)



Between flipping cars and driving on train tracks, this run is as hilarious as it is explosive. Just what you might expect from a GTA speedrun. Expect jumping through concrete and mildly disorienting camera shifts, plus an KZ_FREW tosses a grenade through a car window in just one try. Definitely worth the watch!



There are still more incredible speedruns to come and plenty of more opportunities to tune in and support Doctors Without Borders. Tune into SGDQ [here](https://www.twitch.tv/gamesdonequick).



*Header image includes the GDQ logo, and at the bottom, a segment of the SGDQ interactive crowd, a clever solution to create a digital, interactive audience while the event remains fully online.*



Summer Games Done Quick 2021 got underway July 4 and runs through July 11. We've compiled some early highlights from the first three days of the event. Let's take a look!

Early highlights from SGDQ 2021

This past weekend, [Power Up With Pride](https://powerupwithpride.org/) wrapped up an incredible marathon and raised $21,526.27 for [The Trevor Project](https://www.thetrevorproject.org/). The donation total marks a new record for the event, which is in its fifth year.



As is customary at charity marathons, Power Up featured donation incentives of both the exciting and silly variety. 



During the [Hades -3 Weapons RTA](https://www.speedrun.com/hades#3_Weapons) run on Friday, runner Moonblazewolf got to pet Cerberus for every 100 dollars donated. Of course, the audience made sure that incentive was maxed out to give that three-headed pup some well-deserved attention.



Along with plenty of speedrunning classics, the marathon featured games that don’t always get as much attention including a Turbographic-16 block with Neutopia, Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, and Legend of Hero Tonma.



On Saturday, the event saw two WRs set. The first by Crrool in his run of [Finding Paradise - Full Game](https://www.speedrun.com/finding_paradise) and the second by SkullsAndCupcakes in her run of [SEGA AGES Sonic the Hedgehog 2 -  Knuckles All Emeralds NMG](https://www.speedrun.com/segaagess2/full_game#Knuckles).



Repeatedly throughout the marathon RNG and runner skill combined to finish scheduled runs with plenty of extra time, but event staff and runners kept everything going smoothly with improvised bonus runs and other entertaining segments.



On Sunday, Power Up’s Community Segment was hosted by TokyoScarab who used Mario Paint to follow along with an episode of Bob Ross. The audience was encouraged to join in with whatever art tools they had handy and the full segment served as a relaxing break from the excitement and an opportunity for community bonding and engagement.



When Power Up eclipsed its previous all-time donation record of a little over $17,000 later that day, the event staff came up with another donation incentive on the fly to carry the event to the end. They announced that if the marathon breached $20,000, the event staff would perform a dramatic reading of The Bee Movie in the near future. Additionally, at $21,500, runner Jaxler would speedrun [Bee Movie Game](https://www.speedrun.com/the_bee_movie_game) alongside the reading.



At the time, the goal seemed impossible anyways, so they figured it couldn’t hurt to have fun, but by the end of the night, they had reached the incentive, so look forward to a silly Bee Movie themed broadcast from Power Up in the next few weeks.



Power Up co-founder Celyying says the event was a success. “I've definitely poured my heart into this event over the years and I'm glad that people connect with and enjoy it so much,” she said. “...I'm so proud of everyone, from staff, to volunteers, the runners, and everyone watching and supporting.”



Check out videos from Power Up With Pride over on their [Twitch channel](https://www.twitch.tv/powerupwithpride) and follow them on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/pwerupwithpride) to find out more about the upcoming events from their team.



*Header image used with permission from [TokyoScarab](https://twitter.com/TokyoScarab).*

Power Up With Pride 2021 was a success with plenty of entertaining speedruns, including new World Records, and an incredibly wholesome Community Segment.

Power Up With Pride, an Un-BEE-lievable Hit

[Power Up With Pride](https://powerupwithpride.org/) is a charity speedrunning marathon created by members of the LGBTQIA+ community to support LGBTQIA+ charities. This year’s Summer marathon will run from Friday, June 4 through Sunday, June 6, and will raise money for [The Trevor Project](https://www.thetrevorproject.org/).



According to Power Up co-founder Celyying, the event has grown significantly since its inception in 2016. Noticing a gap in charity marathons, she sought to create a new marathon event that would serve the LGBTQIA+ community.



“When we started out it was three of us,” but since that first event, Power Up has grown in size and evolved.



In fact, the first Power Up with Pride wasn’t intended to be speedrun focused, but Celyying says leaning into speedrunning helped give the event the structure it needed.



“A lot of my close friends were speedrunners at the time. And so it kind of ended up turning into a speedrunning thing,” she says.



## The Schedule



[The schedule for this Summer’s Power Up](https://horaro.org/puwp2021/schedule) is, in Celyying’s words, “the definition of stacked,” with a good mix of popular titles and some exciting runs you might be less familiar with.



Of course, franchises like Sonic and Castlevania will be represented at the event but there will also be games like Squidlit, Gimmick!, Bugsnax, and Mindseize.



Additionally, Frozenflygone, one of the runners mentioned in [our article about the SGDQ schedule](https://www.speedrun.com/news/761-2021-5-26-sgdq-s-schedule-has-a-speedrun-for-everyone), will be performing the same run of Celeste Custom Maps: Glyph any% at Power Up with Pride as well so make sure not to miss that one either.



## Community Segments



Every Power Up with Pride also features a unique “community segment” that sets it apart from a lot of other charity marathons. The contents of these segments remain a secret prior to the event and aim to get audience members involved in the fun.



Previous community segments include blindfolded races, origami, and a randomizer race through The Legend of Zelda; A Link to the Past with crowd-control elements.



Celyying hints that, “the event this time will be creative focused. It will be something that everyone can participate in.”



The community segment is scheduled for Sunday, June 6 at 9:52 a.m. PT / 12:52 p.m. ET.



Celyying’s favorite part of Power Up is “being able to raise money for a charity while having fun and just the community. All the people that help with Power Up, and all the people that watch Power Up or tell their friend about Power Up. They’re the best. I appreciate all of it. From the start it was very community focused and it stayed that way.”



*Catch Power Up with Pride June 4-6 at [https://www.twitch.tv/powerupwithpride](https://www.twitch.tv/powerupwithpride).*

Look no farther for a good way to spend the first weekend of June: Power Up With Pride kicks off the month with a charity speedrunning marathon.

Power Up With Pride 2021: 5 years strong

[The schedule for Summer Games Done Quick 2021 is live](https://gamesdonequick.com/schedule) and, as always, the week-long speedrunning marathon is packed with exciting runs to raise money for [Doctors Without Borders](https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/). SGDQ will take place from July 4-11, 2021.



With such a packed schedule, you truly cannot go wrong watching any part of SGDQ. That said, here are just some of the runs to look out for this year.



---



## [Mega Man X - 100% -- SNES (Race)](https://www.speedrun.com/mmx) by Tiki, Darrenville, Luiz Miguel, and Clipper

### *Sunday, July 4 - 12:36 P.M. PT / 3:36 P.M. ET*

Mega Man X is a GDQ staple but that does not mean we have seen it all. This race will showcase a new route, Chameleon 3rd which the runners say is, “an exciting route which maximizes strat execution and minimizes RNG.” The race will be a fun time for all.



---



## [Kirby Super Star - Any% -- SNES](https://www.speedrun.com/kss#Any) by Nippo

### *Sunday, July 4 - 2:25 P.M. PT / 5:25 P.M. ET*

Everyone’s favorite pink hero from the planet Popstar will be making several appearances throughout SGDQ including this run which features some amusing shenanigans including one-hit KO mini-bosses and wall-clipping. Nippo and Kirby are sure to be entertaining.



---



## [Sundered - Resist% -- PC](https://www.speedrun.com/sundered#Resist) by JeviLevee

### *Monday, July 5 - 10:48 A.M. PT / 1:48 P.M. ET*

Taking advantage of the game’s layered movement and combat mechanics, second-place runner JeviLevee will show off Sundered’s interesting interplay between Metroidvania and Roguelite mechanics while defying the will of an eldritch being. In this game, knowing the destination isn’t enough. Sundered runners need the quick thinking required to adapt to changing pathways.



---



## Castlevania Block (plus Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night)

### *Tuesday, July 6 - 5:18 A.M. PT / 8:18 A.M. ET*

### [Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night - Miriam Any% MG --PC](https://www.speedrun.com/bsrotn) by Bane (5:18 A.M. PT / 8:18 A.M. ET)

### [Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow - Soma All Bosses -- DS](https://www.speedrun.com/cvdos#Soma) by Diagon (5:53 A.M. PT / 8:53 A.M. ET)

### [Castlevania 64 - Reinhardt vs. Carrie bidwar — N64](https://www.speedrun.com/cv64) by Ty2358 (6:49 A.M. PT / 9:49 A.M. ET)

### [Castlevania: Bloodlines - any% Eric Normal — Genesis](https://www.speedrun.com/castlevania_bloodlines#Any_Eric) by Mannix86 (7:46 A.M. PT / 10:46 A.M. ET)

### [Castlevania: Rondo of Blood - Any% — Wii VC](https://www.speedrun.com/rondo) by AgentWyvern (8:31 A.M. PT / 11:31 A.M. ET)

### [Castlevania - Any% Race — NES](https://www.speedrun.com/cv1) by 2snek, Freeland, and Shockra_tease (9:16 A.M. PT / 12:16 P.M. ET)

The Castlevania series (and its spiritual successor Bloodstained) are speedrunning favorites, and this block of incredible top-ranking runners playing titles from throughout the series is going to be a treat. Definitely a must-see.



---



## [Untitled Goose Game - 100% Co-op -- PC](https://www.speedrun.com/goose#Any) by Tasselfoot and Thundar001

### *Tuesday, July 6 - 9:39 P.M. PT / Wednesday, July 7 12:39 A.M. ET*

Co-operative speedrunning takes a ridiculous amount of coordination and together these runners hold first place in this two-player category. Make sure to catch their chaotic romp through an English village as they terrorize NPCs and exploit glitches to give us a show.



---



## [Coca-Cola Kid - Any% — Game Gear (Race)](https://www.speedrun.com/cck) by Sharif and Grumpmeister

### *Wednesday, July 7 - 3:27 A.M. PT / 6:27 A.M. ET *

Coca-Cola kid is one of those weird license games that is already interesting for its oddness alone and the speedruns of this game are a treat to watch with the titular Coca-Cola Kid jumping and rushing through levels. Just two years ago the run was more than 40 minutes long, but Sharif and Grumpmeister have sub-12-minute times on the board. Do not miss this fast-paced race!



---



## [Ristar - Any% Race - Genesis](https://www.speedrun.com/ristar) by Chronoon, Lizstar, ShimeGabriel, and Haram_Scaram

### *Thursday, July 8 - 7:10 A.M. PT / 10:10 A.M. ET*

Four top runners will face off to rush through this Genesis gem with plenty of fun tricks, tech, and skips throughout. It’s been two years since Ristar’s last appearance on the GDQ stage and this is a great chance to see how the run has evolved since then!



---

## Sonic Block

### *Thursday, July 8 - 8:37 A.M. PT / 11:37 A.M. ET*

### [Sonic Colors (DS) - All Red Rings — DS](https://www.speedrun.com/sonic_colors_ds#All_Red_Rings) by Speedbreaker55 (8:37 A.M. PT / 11:37 A.M. ET.)

### [Sonic 3D Blast - Beat the Game 2 Players 1 Controller with TGH — Sega Genesis (Wii VC)](https://www.speedrun.com/sonic3dblast) by TGH and AmberCyprian (9:37 A.M. PT / 12:37 P.M. ET)

### [Sonic CD 1993 - Beat The Game — Sega CD](https://www.speedrun.com/scd) by JoeyBaby69 (10:32 A.M. PT / 1:32 P.M. ET)

### [Sonic Adventure 2: Battle - Hero Story vs Dark Story Bidwar — PC](https://www.speedrun.com/sa2b) by Dage4 (11:07 A.M. PT / 2:07 P.M. ET)

Who could forget this past January when Sonic speedrunnners made history with GDQ’s first ever back-to-back record break. I guess we should expect it from runners of a franchise that’s already about going fast. The Sonic speedrun community is queued up for four runs on Thursday with a Sonic Heroes TAS showcase happening later on Friday.



---



## [Pokemon Black/White - Any% Black vs. White Race — Nintendo DS](https://www.speedrun.com/pkmnbw1) by PulseEffects and Swiftalu

### *Thursday, July 8 - 4:44 P.M. PT / 7:44 P.M. ET*

It’s always fun to compare the different Pokemon versions in a generation and now is a chance to compare the fifth gen games side-by-side as PulseEffect plays Pokemon Black and Swiftalu plays Pokemon White. Which version will prevail this time?



---



## [Celeste Custom Maps - Glyph All A-Sides --PC](https://www.speedrun.com/glyph_pack#All_A-Sides) by Frozenflygone

### *Friday, July 9 12:49 P.M. PT / 3:49 P.M. ET*

Celeste runs are always full of visual spectacle, exciting movement tech, and tense gameplay. And the modding community is just as impressive with all kinds of cool custom maps. Frozenflygone is first on the leaderboard for this run so you know there is going to be some serious skill on display. 



---

## [Spongebob’s Truth or Square - Any% -- Xbox 360 (Race)](https://www.speedrun.com/sbtos) by Jaxler and BubbleBass

### *Friday, July 9 10:07 P.M. PT / Saturday, July 10 1:07 A.M. ET*

Developed by the same studio behind the speedrunning icon, Battle for Bikini Bottom, this race will pit two top runners against one another as they skip entire levels and take the game’s physics to new heights (with spin boosts that give Spongebob a big vertical boost).



---



## [Storks and Apes and Crocodiles - 100% -- SNES](https://www.speedrun.com/storks) by Superben

### *Friday, July 9 10:47 P.M. PT / Saturday, July 10 1:47 A.M. ET*

There are plenty of cool Mario speedruns scheduled throughout SGDQ but don’t miss this Kaizo ROM hack of Super Mario World. Kaizo ROM hacks are notoriously difficult and often require near-perfect inputs, so the tensions will be high throughout the run!



---



## [Pokemon Emerald - any% Glitchless — Gamecube](https://www.speedrun.com/pkmnemerald#Any_Glitchless) by AmoebaUK

### *Saturday, July 10 - 5:56 A.M. PT / 8:56 A.M. ET*

In addition to the vast array of knowledge and adaptability that any Pokemon speedrun requires, Pokemon Emerald features the mach bike which allows for quick but dangerously tight movement through the overworld. Also, as AmoebaUK’s run submission notes, “It also uses Mudkip. People love Mudkip.” I couldn’t agree more.





With a packed schedule, SGDQ is coming to our screens July 4-10. We've picked a few highlights, but you cannot go wrong watching any of these awesome speedruns.

SGDQ 2021's schedule has a speedrun for everyone

This past weekend Break the Record Live (BTRL) put seven top Minecraft speedrunners head to head over a 30,000 dollar prize pool. It had everything you could want from a speedrunning competition: high stakes, tense competition, and a fun group of rotating commentators. For more details about the event, [check out our pre-BTRL coverage](https://www.speedrun.com/news/699-2021-4-28-btrl-returns-with-minecraft).

The event unfolded over three days, so let’s revisit some highlights.

## Day One

The first day was packed with action. Early on, Couriway nearly took the first $4,000 Dream bounty, but some bad luck with the dragon pushed his time to 16:13, not quite eligible for the sub-15 reward.

It would not be too long, however, until Reignex successfully took the first Dream bounty with an incredible run of 12:38. The run brought Reignex to the top of the event leaderboard and marked a new personal best for the runner.

Throughout the day, the leaderboard continued to shift as competitors performed run after run.

Later on, Sizzler took the second bounty and jumped into second place with a run of 14:42. But that would not hold for long because Ninjabrain took back second place with a 13:31 run which also claimed the third bounty.

Not to be outdone, Sizzler managed another sub-15 run before the end of the day making him the only runner in the event to take home two Dream bounties.

## Day Two

With just one Dream bounty left, the tension was higher than ever. So high, in fact, that Feinberg was the only runner who completed a full run that day.

## Day Three

Early on the third day, Illumina improved his event PB and nearly took the last Dream bounty with a 15:13 run. Undeterred, he went on to snatch up the final bounty less than two hours later with a run of 14:19.

clips.twitch.tv/OpenSpicyBibimbapBudBlast-uDifO5c6cJPo3M-H

This was the first BTRL that did not have a new leaderboard record set for the featured category, but Feinberg provides because on that last day he broke the record for Minecraft 1.16 Any% All Logs Random Seed Glitchless with a run of 4:38.

clips.twitch.tv/AmorphousStylishSeahorseLitFam-mu7clPIzRVMyumjW

---

Overall, the event was a blast. With plenty of charismatic commentators and incredible moments, this BTRL was a success. Check out clips, highlights, and more from the event [here](https://www.twitch.tv/esamarathon).

*Note: an earlier version erroneously identified the event as "Beat the Record Live" rather than the correct "Break the Record Live."*

This past weekend, Break the Record Live gave us hours of Minecraft speedrunning with serious prize money on the line. Let's review some of the event's highlights!

Break the Record Live highlights

With European Speedrunner Assembly (ESA)’s winter event coming to a close last week, 400,000 SEK ($47,000 US) was raised for the Swedish Alzheimer’s Foundation. [Alzheimerfonden](https://www.alzheimerfonden.se/) is an organization that supports research and projects to eventually find a cure for Alzheimer’s and other Dementia-related diseases. The money raised will have a huge impact on people’s lives, and personally, it’s times like these when I am extremely proud to be part of the speedrunning community that constantly works to make the world a better place. With our passion and contributions, we can change the world via speedrunning and that is incredible. Let’s take a look at some highlights for the event, shall we?



## Incredible Luck



We’ll start off by looking at some incredible luck in some of the runs featured at the event. It’s no secret that speedrunning takes an incredible amount of skill to execute well, especially in front of an audience of thousands. The confidence and talent required to remain calm under the pressure is astounding, but sometimes runners do make errors and need a bit of good fortune to bring them back into the game. 



clips.twitch.tv/PopularDeterminedBobaAsianGlow-4XYn8ADFkjlnTwfT



Here, we have MedicCasts’s run of *Hades*, where Medic made a mistake early on by filling the dash slot of his character’s build with a dash that is almost useless in the run. This cut down his damage significantly, making boss fights much slower as a result. However you are offered replacement dashes later on as seen in this clip, and thankfully Medic was offered the Poseidon dash which is a huge boost back in the right direction. Getting Poseidon Dash this early is calculated to be around a 14% chance, so lady luck was definitely on Medic’s side to bring it home!



clips.twitch.tv/ObliqueWildEagleSMOrc-OpwRuuPdIWnwH2ZY



Onto another stroke of fortune, many speedruns done at a marathon will involve a “farming” segment (attempting to get a rare drop over and over as they cannot reset if they get bad luck). This section of a run can sometimes be circumvented, but some games require you to grind the old-fashioned way. In this clip of *Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow*, Diagongdx is getting ready to farm the Black Panther ability, as it’s significantly faster than any other movement type in the game. You can hear in the clip that he and his commentators are preparing the chat to sit back and relax as they will likely be there for a while. 



However, Diagongdx calls that he will get the ability first try and does just that. This ability has a less than 5% drop chance so getting it first try is extremely rare, calling the first try at a live event is even rarer. Definitely a moment to remember as it’s not just a stroke of luck, but perhaps even a stroke of runner intuition as well.



## Dealing With Downtime



clips.twitch.tv/BenevolentSillyReindeerAMPTropPunch-awymNxz42iNYr-Bf



Taking a little break from the crazy luck and insane plays we’ve seen from the event, our next clip is simply a nice little moment from Kyoslilmonster’s *Final Fantasy XV: Royal Edition* run. Usually, during runs like this, runners can do whatever they like in the downtime of unskippable cutscenes or sequences, as long as they keep the timer running. Some runners use these moments to take bathroom breaks, or mentally prepare themselves for more difficult sections ahead. Kyo has a personal tradition where they like to do something out of the box such as cooking or long marathons, especially if it comes to raising money for charity. In this particular cutscene, we got to meet Freya the ferret. She’s only a few months old but has apparently taken a liking to sleeping in her own little race car bed, so maybe we can see a co-op run from Kyo and Freya in the future?



## Friendly Competition



clips.twitch.tv/JazzyBadCrabRalpherZ-k4kRPcD-lNgsPFNP



Bobby Cruz (otherwise known as TheBlacktastic) is a well-known community member in both the esports scene as an event producer and the speedrunning scene as a top-level runner in many games. It is quite rare you see these two communities have a large amount of overlap due to how different each scene is, but that wasn’t the case during Bobby’s *Mega Man* run at the event.



During the run, a good friend of Bobby’s who is a member of the fighting game scene by the name of TuboWare donated and created some great banter on the stream. BOWIEtheHERO (another well-known esports commentator) was reading donations at the time, and even he was caught off-guard by Tubo’s donation calling out Bobby for “speedrunning away from this UMVC3 rematch for months now!” It seems that poor Bobby cannot get away so easily for this *Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3* rematch, and both communities will be sure to remind him!



## Solving the Impossible



clips.twitch.tv/NurturingRoughMooseUWot-pBUTNtQZRhthW_Ws



Kainalo is well known within ESA for his outstanding humor and overall silliness, and what better clip to showcase this than him solving puzzles as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. This particular TMNT game is known for its overall jankiness, so it’s not out of the realms of reality that a puzzle could be bugged in a way to make it impossible. However, in this particular instance, the game is definitely working as intended as Kainalo quickly realized. 



The puzzle itself is very similar to the extremely popular “Flow” games that blew up on app stores a number of years ago, where you must simply connect the colors together like a pipeline without crossing any colors over. This usually means starting from the outside and finishing in the center to avoid any overlap. Kainalo’s turtle has an ability to make these puzzles extremely simple, as usually there are a larger number of colors you must deal with. Applying the aforementioned logic to this puzzle makes it extremely trivial, but as someone who has done marathon runs in front of thousands, I can absolutely relate to sometimes making silly mistakes as a result. We still love you Kainalo, keep your head held high!



## Not for the Faint of Nikoheart



*Alien Isolation* on the Nightmare difficulty setting is no laughing matter, or is it?



Nikoheart is an absolute mastermind at *Alien Isolation*, his coverage of this clip is so in-depth with mechanics that I was absolutely mind-blown at the deep knowledge and understanding of something that seems so simple. 



clips.twitch.tv/TangentialAgitatedStapleKippa-wR-CBvl9nrr0AOIr



In this clip, the Xenomorph proves that even the most knowledgeable can still be caught by surprise on occasion. On the Nightmare difficulty setting, the Xenomorphs are extremely prone to noise and movement so some strategies are used in order to move quickly while making minimal noise. These strategies, unfortunately, didn’t work for Niko in this case, so he had to quickly think of a backup solution before he was caught. In this section of the run there are two Xenomorphs you must escape from, one as the door opens and another on the bottom floor of the facility. The one below should in theory be distracted by a flare that Niko has thrown prior to the clip. While Niko was waiting for the first Xenomorph to head up into the vents, he attempted to silently run down the stairs in hopes that he could also avoid the second Xenomorph. To his extreme surprise, it was two steps ahead and was waiting for him behind the doors. Personally, I would have turned the game off at that point, but I respect Niko for sticking it out and finishing strong.



ESA raising almost $50,000 for a great cause is an awesome way to kick off 2021, and I hope that this positivity continues in a time period where we definitely need it. This will not be the only event we will see from ESA this year, as their schedule is consistently filled with smaller events even when the big ones are being prepared. Not to mention other fantastic organizations that raise money for amazing causes around the world all in the name of speedrunning. If you missed the marathon and want to watch it on demand, check out [ESA’s Twitch channel](https://www.twitch.tv/esamarathon) in order to find all the runs available to watch whenever you like. You can also [follow this link](https://linktr.ee/esamarathon) in order to find them on social media and find the latest news from ESA directly.



**Personal thanks to Museus, romscout, Kyoslilmonster, BOWIEtheHERO, Kainalo & Nikoheart for help with accuracy and context for the clips.**



*Header screenshot from ESA Winter 2021.*

ESA Winter 2021 was a great success, entertaining us while raising funds for Alzheimerfonden. Let's check out some event highlights!

Highlights from ESA Winter 2021

As we have all properly got stuck into 2021, the yearly cycle of awesome charity-based speedrun marathons resets. Every year the [European Speedrunner Assembly](https://esamarathon.com/) (usually abbreviated to ESA) puts on several exceptional events that bring our community together to bond, showcase amazing talent, and raise money to support fantastic causes. ESA has two main events, that fall in both the summer and the winter times. Their winter event begins February 12th on their [Twitch channel](https://www.twitch.tv/esamarathon), so we thought it would be nice to put together a list of awesome runs (in no particular order) you absolutely should not miss. Whether you are a speedrunning marathon veteran or somebody completely new, this event will have something for everyone to enjoy.



## Honorable Mention - Skies of Arcadia: Legends — 100% by Pengy

### *February 12 - 4 p.m. CET / 10 a.m. EST*  

Before we get into the main list, it would only make sense to talk about the fact that ESA is planning a giant 20-hour long pre-show before the main event starts. What makes it even more mad is that this 20-hour block is a single speedrun! *Skies of Arcadia: Legends* is a GameCube port of the original *Skies of Arcadia* on the Dreamcast. 



This critically acclaimed title is notorious in the speedrun world for its length and complexity, as the Any% category (beating the game as quickly as possible) is already around 11 hours and 100% pushes most runners way over 20 hours. These types of games with such length are huge challenges to overcome due to the amount of planning involved both inside the game and outside in order to pull off a run like this. Pengy has a [Google Document](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hUdRrlRVo_tI6EYykdUYteOeIvkUVjEDmabtljcHZq4/edit?usp=sharing) with his notes for 100% speedruns and it is a staggering 45 pages of deep knowledge of the game’s mechanics. There’s even a tiny little 24 page [guide for beginners](https://www.dropbox.com/s/xtb6kfiskd8afyo/SoAL%20Notes_V12_ArcadiaLegend_Beginner.doc?dl=0) to get into speedrunning this game; so simple stuff, really.



## Dark Souls: Remastered — All Bosses by catalystz

### *February 13: 2 p.m. CET / 8 a.m. EST*

We’ve all heard about the Souls series by now, whether it be the first entry *Demon’s Souls* destroying controllers on the Playstation 3 or from unoriginal critics calling every game the *Dark Souls* of X and Y. These games are rock hard, and a regular playthrough usually takes runners anywhere from 60-100 hours due to the extreme difficulty and steep learning curve. Truly not a series for the faint of heart. This is what makes speedruns of such a difficult game so damn impressive. 



I’ve been familiar with the [Souls community](https://speedsouls.com/) for a number of years now, and Cata has blown the world away several times with how absurdly good he is at *Dark Souls*. Being able to tackle every single boss (including the DLC) in just over an hour is no easy task. Showcasing nifty out of bounds skips, early boss kills, frame-perfect wrong warps, and doing a majority of bosses while one hit away from death is even harder; but I’m sure cata will be up to the challenge.



## Super Mario 64 — 16 Star (Blindfolded) by Bubzia

### *February 13: 10 p.m. CET / 4 p.m. EST*

Gimmick speedruns are always a joy to watch, but right now no gimmick is greater than playing an extremely movement-focused game like *Super Mario 64* without ever seeing the screen. *Super Mario 64* has always been one of the most popular games to speedrun, and the elite few who speedrun the game blindfolded are on a whole other level of incredible. Even if you are familiar with SM64 speedruns, this run will blow you away. The run makes use of what we call "normalized" strategies which essentially means methods of knowing where you are in each stage without any sort of visual reference. This means that blindfolded runs look entirely different to even a standard speedrun, and there will be exceptional commentary provided to make sure you’re in the loop every step of the run.



## Fallout 3 — 100% by Jabo 

### *February 18: 7 p.m. CET / 1 p.m. EST*

When you think of Fallout, you usually think of the abomination that is *Fallout 76*, the chess club video, or extremely short and busted speedruns. Completing 100% of what these games have to offer is a gargantuan task, and tracking all the content is near impossible. This particular 100% run involves completing all quests, all DLCs, and collecting all 20 bobbleheads in the game. Considering the amount of quests there are in the Fallout games, getting them all done in a few hours is extremely impressive. Of course, no Bethesda title would be complete without a ridiculous amount of glitches and exploits, so allow Jabo to take you through each one on his way to 100% completion.



## Honorable Mention — Super Metroid - GT Classic by kekumanshoyu

### *February 19: 4 a.m. CET / 10 p.m. EST*



Fredrik “Edenal” Lidholt is one of the main organizers at ESA, and I reached out to him in order to seek what run he is most looking forward to for the upcoming event: "I'm super excited about Super Metroid! Keku (kekumanshoyu) is a very solid runner with a lot of other SNES games under his belt. Super Metroid encapsulates so much of what speedrunning is to me. Skill, sequence breaks, and the category is damn cool for ESA!"



To those unfamiliar with what [GT Classic](https://wiki.supermetroid.run/GT_Classic) is, it is a speedrun that utilizes the Golden Torizo (GT) code which provides runners with many items such as:



100 Missiles  

20 Super Missiles  

20 Power Bombs  

7 Energy Tanks  

3 Reserve Tanks  

All major items except Screw Attack  

  

Having all these items at your disposal means that runners can take the game to heights never seen before. If you’re a fan of Metroid or really pushing games to their limits, join Edenal in watching this timeless classic.



## Cyberpunk 2077 — Any% by nicnacnic

### *February 20: 1:30 a.m. CET / February 19, 7:30 p.m. EST*



Every run we’ve mentioned so far in this list has been all about putting a new spin on classic games. What happens when you switch gears to a game released only a matter of months ago? You get *Cyberpunk 2077*. Arguably the biggest disappointment from gaming in 2020, the release was riddled with bugs and glitches that made the game unplayable for a lot of angry users. However, as they say, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure and a growing community of Cyberpunk speedrunners was born. Many insane tricks were discovered very quickly including a way to gain so much momentum via bunny hopping that you can jump around faster than most vehicles. Seeing a modern game become so broken so quickly is something very unusual, so this run will definitely be worth a watch (if you don’t mind the spoilers)!



## Halo: Reach — Legendary by Two_EEzy

### *February 19: 9:30 a.m. CET / 3:30 a.m. EST*



***Your enemies outnumber you greatly and are hunting you down. Can you survive their onslaught?***



This is the message you receive when selecting to play on legendary difficulty in *Halo: Reach*. It is clear that this difficulty is not something that should ever be tackled unless you want one hell of a challenging fight. As someone who has completed every Halo on legendary, I can safely say that this is no lie; an onslaught is a perfect way of describing what awaits. 



Since the early days of speedrunning, there have always been two common ways to speedrun. The fastest difficulty for speed, and the hardest difficulty for bragging rights. This is no different in Halo, as the difficulty between easy and legendary is absolutely colossal, but that will not stop Two_EEzy blasting his way through Reach. AI Manipulation, sequence breaks, and exceptionally skilled combat await those who want to see Noble Six get to work.



## Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories — Any% by Joshimuz 

### *February 21: 12:45 a.m. CET / February 20: 6:45 p.m. EST*

The Grand Theft Auto (GTA) games have always been a staple at ESA and have one of the largest speedrunning communities around. The community brings with it a lot of notorious runners, but Joshimuz is likely a name known well by both veterans and newbies. Going all the way back to ESA 2013 where Josh [broke the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas world record live](https://youtu.be/4B-Qw_tgdcU) and fast-forwarding to the present day where he is a fundraising team leader, Josh has contributed an astonishing amount to both ESA and their respective charities. 



This year will be no different as he tackles *Vice City Stories*, a spinoff title that was originally released as a PSP exclusive back in 2006. *Vice City Stories* is well known to be one of the hardest GTA runs, but a recent discovery smashed the run into a million pieces and shaved around an hour off of the current world record. As the glitch is quite technically complex, we’ll let Josh do the honors on February 20th.



## Where can I watch?



ESA’s winter event will be taking place from February 12-20 over at [twitch.tv/esamarathon](https://www.twitch.tv/esamarathon), and will be running around the clock during those dates to bring you only the best of what speedrunning has to offer. 



What we have mentioned in this list is not all you will be seeing at ESA, and you can find the entire [event schedule on their website](https://esamarathon.com/schedule/). The event will be supporting [Alzheimerfonden](https://www.alzheimersgameover.com/), which is a Swedish organization supporting research into Alzheimer’s and other dementia diseases. You can also find ESA on these platforms:



[Twitter](https://twitter.com/esamarathon)  

[Discord](https://discordapp.com/invite/0TZ2NlveujtasAqb)  

[YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/user/EuroSpeedAssembly)  

[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/europeanspeedrunnerassembly)  

[Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/esamarathon/)  



We hope to see you there!



*Header image credit to [ThisIsProx](https://www.speedrun.com/user/ThisIsProx).*







ESA Winter 2021 runs February 12-20, showcasing amazing talent and raising money for Alzheimerfonden. Not sure where to start with the multi-day event? We've got a list of runs you will not want to miss!

Runs at ESA Winter 2021 you don’t want to miss

EBen

summertimealice

A Difficult Game About Climbing

Leaderboard will be closed for moderators to prepare for full game release.

The Outlast Trials

The leaderboards will open 2 weeks from launch to allow discussion about the categories we want to start out with.