The speedrunning scene had one of those weeks where every corner of the community delivered something different: historic optimization, bizarre categories, educational deep-dives, and the kind of world records decided by fractions of a second. From Super Mario Bros. TAS history to Hollow Knight tournaments and blindfolded chaos, here’s a roundup of the biggest stories from r/speedrun this week.
Lekukie Pushes Super Mario Bros. Closer to the Impossible
The headline achievement this week belongs to Lekukie, who became the first runner to tie the Super Mario Bros. Any% TAS from World 4-2 onward. That leaves only three levels separating human play from a full-game TAS tie — a concept that once felt completely unrealistic.
For years, SMB speedrunning has represented the peak of precision platforming. Every frame matters, every acceleration input matters, and runners have slowly chipped away at what looked like machine-only gameplay. The fact that players are now matching TAS segments in real-time is another reminder that the ceiling in classic speedrunning keeps moving upward.
The reaction across the community wasn’t just hype — it was disbelief mixed with admiration. The run feels like a landmark moment for one of the most optimized games in speedrunning history.
Cheese Continues the SM64 Grind
Another massive achievement came from Cheese, who posted a new personal best in Super Mario 64 120 Star with a blistering 1:35:55.
120 Star remains one of speedrunning’s most respected categories because it combines endurance, movement mastery, route optimization, and consistency. A single mistake can snowball into a lost run, and maintaining focus for over 95 minutes at top-level pace is brutal.
The run also arrived during a week where Mario 64 dominated discussion in other ways.
Pannenkoek Explains the 10-Day A Button Challenge TAS
One of the most talked-about videos this week was Pannenkoek’s breakdown of the infamous 10-day TAS related to the SM64 A Button Challenge.
Even outside the speedrunning scene, ABC content has become legendary internet lore — part mathematics, part game design exploitation, part psychological endurance test. The new video dives deeper into the absurd planning and technical problem-solving behind TAS production.
It’s the kind of content that reminds people speedrunning isn’t just about fast reactions. Sometimes it’s systems analysis, routing theory, and creative experimentation pushed to extremes.
RPG Limit Break Is Live
Marathon season keeps rolling, and RPG Limit Break officially went live this week.
RLB has carved out a unique place in the community by focusing entirely on RPG speedruns — a genre often overlooked in mainstream marathon events because of their length and complexity. But that complexity is exactly what makes them compelling. Whether it’s menu optimization, RNG manipulation, encounter routing, or sequence breaks, RPG runs showcase a different flavor of speedrunning mastery.
This week also saw interest around:
- The upcoming Hollow Knight Speedrun Tournament
- Timeless Marathon 2026 beginning this weekend
- The uploaded VOD playlist for the Winter SM64 ROM Hacks Marathon
The marathon ecosystem continues to grow beyond GDQ-style flagship events, and niche communities are thriving because of it.
Educational Speedrunning Content Keeps Growing
A noticeable trend lately has been the rise of highly-produced educational speedrunning videos, and this week delivered several strong examples.
Highlights included:
- “How to Actually Get Good at Speedrunning” by Ricky
- A breakdown of why Final Fantasy IV speedruns are surprisingly complex
- A parody/explainer titled “Speedrunning a Speedrun explanation”
This kind of content is helping bridge the gap between hardcore runners and casual viewers. Modern speedrunning media increasingly resembles esports analysis or documentary storytelling rather than simple gameplay uploads.
And honestly, that’s probably healthy for the scene. The more approachable optimization becomes, the easier it is for new players to jump in.
Tiny Margins, Huge Celebrations
Some of the most entertaining posts this week were pure “speedrunning energy.”
A runner achieved a The Impossible Quiz world record by just 2 frames, posting a time of 3:48.175 and celebrating exactly how you’d expect someone to celebrate a WR decided by 1/30th of a second.
Meanwhile:
- Star Wars: Racer Revenge runners found new skips and fast laps
- A blindfolded Trees Hate You speedrun appeared
- Someone speedran organizing 3,072 books in Librarian
- Subnautica 2 got an absurdly short Any% Creative run
That range is part of what makes browsing r/speedrun fun every week. One post is a historic technical achievement; the next is someone routing virtual library management.
The Community Side of Speedrunning Is Still Strong
Beyond records and marathons, several discussion threads highlighted something important: speedrunning remains incredibly community-driven.
Weekly beginner help threads stayed active, runners discussed what events and creators they were watching, and users asked everything from hardware setup questions to whether there are “hardcore theoretical math speedruns.”
Oddly enough, that last question perfectly captures the current state of the hobby. Speedrunning has evolved far beyond “beat game fast.” It now overlaps with programming, probability, puzzle solving, research, performance, and even academia in some cases.
Final Thoughts
This week felt like a perfect snapshot of modern speedrunning:
- Historic optimization in classic games
- Massive marathon events
- Deep analytical content
- Wild niche categories
- Tiny frame-perfect victories
- New players looking to join the scene
Whether you’re watching TAS-level Mario gameplay or someone trying to optimize virtual book sorting, the core appeal remains the same: people pushing systems to their absolute limits.
And somehow, every week, the community still finds new limits to break.
Source: reddit.com