A massive relay reveal, big-name WRs, brand new glitches, and a surprise return of a cult-classic speedgame — this week in speedrunning had a little bit of everything. Here’s everything you might have missed from r/speedrun.
🏁 Major Event News
AGDQ 2026 Reveals Its 70-Runner Relay Lineup
The biggest community announcement of the week came from Kingjo444, who dropped the full roster and running order for the 70-person relay at AGDQ 2026, scheduled for January 10th.
A full lineup spreadsheet is available, and the hype is already building as fans try to predict which segments will be the most explosive. Big relays like these often end up being the most memorable moments of a GDQ — and this one looks stacked.
💥 Tool-Assisted and Glitch Tech Highlights
Celeste “Farewell” Gets a Massive TAS Improvement
A six-minute improvement in a TAS of Celeste’s notoriously demanding Farewell DLC was posted this week by carrarium, who also happens to be a GDQ Socials Assistant.
Even in the TAS world, six minutes shaved off a single-chapter run is huge — showing how far optimization and mechanical understanding have come since the DLC’s release.
New Sonic 2 (SMS) Glitch Skips an Entire Boss Fight
One of the most exciting discoveries this week:
A new trick by QueenPiB allows players to skip the Gimmick Mountain Act 3 boss entirely.
The result?
Werster used it to take Any% down to 9:19, slicing 53 seconds off the previous WR — an eternity in a short run. Others like Flying Fox and Chrezm quickly followed up with optimized ILs at 0:22.
🏆 New World Records
Halo 2 LASO – 2:13:42
Two posts this week centered on MisterMonopoli’s blistering 2:13 Halo 2 LASO, one of the most brutal challenge categories in any speedgame.
This run is so tight that another user posted it specifically as a WR update — a testament to how legendary it is.
Super Pitfall – First Sub-5 in 9 Years
After nearly a decade of uncontested dominance, Super Pitfall finally has a new champion.
A second-ever sub-5-minute run resets the leaderboard thanks to an incredible performance shared by Idontusereddit.
Might & Magic VII Dominates the Week
Runner Xenoras posted two major WRs:
- Any% – 2:17
- All Awards NMG – 1:49:57
An all-time great week for Might & Magic fans.
Hyper Light Drifter Any% NMG NG+ – 27:31
neonflowr delivered a clean and beautifully executed WR for HLD fans.
TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge – Arcade Mode Any% (Gnarly Raph)
4n6 pushed the category down to 51:40, showing there’s still plenty of optimization left in modern beat-em-ups.
Kirby Air Riders – All Tracks (Glitched) – 28:52
Bluekandy brought a polished new WR to one of the fastest-moving, most chaotic Kirby titles ever made.
Persona Series WR Continues With SMT: Persona (SEBEC Route)
LonneSurvivor set a new WR at 2:38:26, continuing the string of strong Persona speedrun improvements in 2025.
Evil Islands Any% – 47:18
A game you don’t see often in leaderboards, but Hachimen_ pushed a fresh WR here this week.
Snowboard Kids NG+ Track Records Fall
Runner Mozu posted improvements on multiple tracks — Silver Mountain, Grass Valley, and Night Highway — shaving around 2 seconds from each PB. Work continues on the elusive sub-33 Copper Pass.
Rave Racer: City Time Trial – 2:32.664
ALZERI28 posted a slick new WR in the City TT category.
🎮 Game Spotlight: A Classic Returns
Jet Force Gemini Speedrunning Is Back in 2026
In one of the more surprising revivals of the week, caneras announced a return to Jet Force Gemini speedrunning.
The video outlines why the community is looking at a resurgence next year — nostalgia, new routing ideas, and fresh interest from new players. A forgotten Rare classic might be making a comeback.
🩸 Challenge Runs & Personal Bests
- Bloodborne All Bosses (Restricted) — A stylish screenshot post showing off a clean completion.
- Total Recall (NES) – joons88 posted a new PB with classic NES jank front and center.
- SpongeBob: Titans of the Tide Any% – 52:01
- Bleed 2 Story Freestyle Very Hard – New WR By 0.25s
🧠 Discussions & Community Questions
Mario Discussion: Could You Bring a Star to Bowser?
A fun theorycraft thread posed the question:
Are there Mario games where you could start a Bowser level with a Super Star and kill him before the invincibility runs out?
Players noted SMB3’s star-dropping mechanics might invalidate it, but the discussion sparked lots of creative routing ideas.
Research Project: Turning TAS Inputs Into a Rhythm Game?
User Remarkable-Finance10 asked whether a perfectly timed TAS could be turned into a fully structured rhythm game using each input as a “beat.”
The community offered various insights on frame-perfect TAS input logs and existing attempts to visualize run input data.
Watch Thread: What Are You Watching This Week?
The usual weekly viewing thread highlighted several popular runners and streams, helping people discover lesser-known creators.
GTA V Flight School Leaderboard Hunt
A small thread asked whether flight school lessons have their own official leaderboard — the community chimed in with suggestions for unofficial timing hubs and externally hosted boards.
🔥 Final Takeaway
This was a loaded week in speedrunning:
Multiple WRs, a major GDQ relay reveal, a big glitch shaking up a Sonic leaderboard, and even the rediscovery of a beloved N64 classic. Early December is rarely quiet in speedrunning — and 2025 is finishing strong.
See you next week for more records, routing discoveries, and wild community stories.
Source: reddit.com