Karl Jobst

Jobst began playing video games at age two and a half; his first gaming experience was with the PC game Ultima V, and his first console was a Nintendo 64 he received in 1997. He briefly studied IT and psychology at university and spent time working at a chicken factory, a mobile phone shop, and a call centre.{{Cite web |last=Rogers |first=Ian M. |date=23 May 2022 |title=Speedrunning Legend: An Interview with Karl Jobst |url=https://butialsohaveadayjob.com/2022/05/23/speedrunning-legend-an-interview-with-karl-jobst/ |access-date=23 August 2022 |website=...But I Also Have a Day Job |language=en-US}}

Jobst began speedrunning in 1999 when competing for fast times in GoldenEye 007 with a friend before moving on to Perfect Dark.

He is ranked fifth by number of GoldenEye 007 world records by the game's speedrunning authority.{{Cite web |title=The GoldenEye World Record Leaders - The Elite Rankings |url=https://rankings.the-elite.net/goldeneye/leaders |access-date=25 February 2022 |website=The Elite Rankings}} Jobst was recognised as the "Perfect Dark Champion" (meaning he was statistically deemed the number-one player in the world at the game, according to the community's rankings) from 10 November 2002 – 24 December 2003; 26 July 2016 – 30 July 2016; 31 July 2016 – 19 March 2020; and 21 March 2020 – 25 March 2020 (tied).{{Cite web |title=Karl Jobst - The Elite Rankings |url=https://rankings.the-elite.net/~Karl+Jobst |access-date=25 February 2022 |website=The Elite Rankings}} As of 11 March 2022, Jobst had set 199 individual level world records throughout his career, of which 9 remain.{{Cite web |title=The Goldeneye and Perfect Dark World Record Database |url=https://wrs.the-elite.net/perfectdark/players.php?year=2022&month=03&day=10&pub=0 |access-date=10 March 2022 |website=wrs.the-elite.net}}

Jobst set the world record for the first level of GoldenEye 007 on 2 December 2017, completing the run in 52 seconds on the Agent difficulty, beating a 53-second record set by former Perfect Dark world champion Bryan Bosshardt on 27 September 2002. This feat was described by Owen S. Good of gaming magazine Polygon as "akin to the sub-four[-]minute mile, multiplied by breaking the sound barrier."{{Cite web |last=Good |first=Owen S. |date=3 December 2017 |title=GoldenEye 007's most untouchable speedrun record falls after 15 years |url=https://www.polygon.com/2017/12/3/16730066/goldeneye-007-52-seconds-dam-agent-karl-jobst |access-date=25 February 2022 |website=Polygon |language=en-US}}

In late 2021, Jobst started a speedrunning podcast called The Legends Podcast. In September 2021, Legends co-host Tomatoanus announced the cancellation of future episodes and the taking down of previous episodes after Jobst was accused of racism. In a video, Jobst denied the allegations, stating that messages had been taken out of context.

On 23 August 2021, Jobst released a YouTube documentary alleging fraud and conflict of interest between Heritage Auctions, a company selling retro video games for record-breaking prices (including a copy of Super Mario Bros. for over {{usd|2 million}}); Wata Games, an agency that grades rare games; and video game collectors who intend to manufacture a bubble of retro games.{{Cite web |last=Gach |first=Ethan |date=25 August 2021 |title=YouTuber Accuses Million-Dollar Retro Game Sales Of Being Scams |url=https://kotaku.com/youtuber-accuses-million-dollar-retro-game-sales-of-bei-1847557296 |access-date=25 February 2022 |website=Kotaku }} Jobst alleged that Wata CEO Deniz Kahn and Heritage Auctions co-founder Jim Halperin manipulated the market through press releases and television appearances on Pawn Stars while limiting the availability of information by purchasing and shutting down retro gaming site NintendoAge.{{Cite web |last=Epps |first=DeAngelo |date=25 August 2021 |title=The $2 Million Mario Bros. Auction May Have Been Rigged |url=https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/2-million-super-mario-auction/ |access-date=25 February 2022 |website=Digital Trends |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Scullion |first=Chris |date=25 August 2021 |title=Report alleges auction and grading 'fraud' is behind recent surge in retro game prices |url=https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/report-alleges-auction-and-grading-fraud-is-behind-recent-surge-in-retro-game-prices/ |access-date=25 February 2022 |website=Video Games Chronicle }} Wata Games denied the claims immediately after Jobst published the video. In a statement made to Video Games Chronicle, Heritage Auctions responded to Jobst's video by saying they had not engaged in any illegal activity. In a June 2022 follow-up video, Jobst detailed a class-action lawsuit filed against Wata Games and its owner Collectors Universe in May 2022 for market manipulation and other alleged financial impropriety.{{Citation |title=Wata Games SUED For Market Manipulation! | date=30 June 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMtjl0O2a4Q |language=en |access-date=1 July 2022}} In September 2022, Jobst made another video rebutting claims of lies.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ete5DzlZL8&list=TLPQMTYwMTIwMjVm11HiHMqoLg&index=2 |title=Video Game Collector Calls Me A Fraud |date=2022-09-17 |last=Karl Jobst |access-date=2025-01-16 |via=YouTube}}

In December 2017, Mexican media network Badabun uploaded a video purportedly showing network member Tavo Betancourt speedrunning Super Mario Bros.; in January 2020, Jobst uploaded a video revealing that the Badabun video had been faked, showing various inconsistencies and irregularities found within the alleged speedrun footage and demonstrating that the footage was spliced from videos by several actual world record holders in the game, as well as from a tool-assisted speedrun.{{cite news |last1=Pixel |first1=Martin |date=14 January 2020 |title=Badabun, el canal de YouTube mexicano es acusado de mentir en un SpeedRun de 'Mario Bros', utilizando clips de otros jugadores |language=es |work=Xataka México |url=https://www.xataka.com.mx/videojuegos/badabun-canal-youtube-mexicano-acusado-mentir-speedrun-mario-bros-utilizando-clips-otros-jugadores |access-date=26 February 2022}}

American gamer Billy Mitchell was accused by Jobst of cheating to obtain his records in the arcade games Donkey Kong and Pac-Man, allegations that had already been made for years.{{Cite web |last=Irorita |first=Franz Christian |date=23 September 2021 |title=Karl Jobst cancelled by speedrunning community, sued by Billy Mitchell |url=https://clutchpoints.com/karl-jobst-cancelled-sued-billy-mitchell/ |access-date=25 February 2022 |website=ClutchPoints }}{{Cite web |last=Bevan |first=Rhiannon |date=18 September 2022 |title=YouTuber Karl Jobst Sued By Billy Mitchell |url=https://www.thegamer.com/billy-mitchell-sued-karl-jobst/ |access-date=25 February 2022 |website=TheGamer |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220225063222/https://www.thegamer.com/billy-mitchell-sued-karl-jobst/ |archive-date=25 February 2022 |url-status=live}} Jobst's allegations against Mitchell also included claims that Mitchell's lawsuit against YouTuber Apollo Legend (real name Benjamin Smith) contributed to his poor mental health and suicide. Mitchell sued Jobst for defamation, seeking damages of $450,000, having also sued Smith, known as Apollo Legend, and speedrunning site Twin Galaxies for similar grievances. Ultimately, Jobst was sued once,{{Cite web |last=Bevan |first=Rhiannon |date=6 November 2022 |title=Billy Mitchell Is Suing YouTuber Karl Jobst Again |url=https://www.thegamer.com/billy-mitchell-donkey-kong-sues-karl-jobst-youtuber/ |access-date=21 February 2023 |website=TheGamer |language=en}} having already spent about $180,000 on legal fees, and he had estimated a further $100,000 in legal costs to defend himself. Jobst set up a legal defence fund on GoFundMe to mitigate the financial damage to his family due to the lawsuit. As of August 2023, it has raised A$143,176.{{Citation |title=Billy Mitchell Accuses Me Of Fraud During Insane Rant! | date=19 August 2023 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tjWUCUDVjk |language=en |access-date=20 August 2023}}

In January 2023, Jobst made a video that showcased evidence in the form of an old photograph that purportedly demonstrated that Mitchell did not play his claimed world record runs on original hardware despite claiming so for many years, including a photograph that he claimed showed that an arcade cabinet Mitchell played on had an 8-direction joystick (as opposed to the original 4-direction joystick), which would have made the game much easier to play.{{Cite web |title=Former Donkey Kong Record Holder Billy Mitchell Accused Of Cheating Yet Again |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/former-donkey-kong-record-holder-billy-mitchell-accused-of-cheating-yet-again/1100-6511134/ |access-date=21 February 2023 |website=GameSpot |language=en-US |last=Benfell |first=Grace |date=2 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204102612/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/former-donkey-kong-record-holder-billy-mitchell-accused-of-cheating-yet-again/1100-6511134/ |archive-date=4 February 2023 |url-status=live}} Mitchell has refuted these claims.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkBGSNux5OA "A Statement From Billy Mitchell: Karl Jobst (Part 1/2)"], YouTube

On 1 April 2025, Jobst was found liable for defaming Mitchell, in particular for the imputation that Mitchell had contributed to Smith's suicide, and was ordered to pay A$350,000, with the judge saying that Jobst had "caused substantial additional damage to Mitchell's reputation and caused him distress".{{cite news |last=Martinich |first=Rex |date=April 1, 2025 |url=https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/arcade-champion-wins-lawsuit-against-queensland-youtube-creator-20250401-p5lo8a.html |title=Arcade champion wins lawsuit against Queensland YouTube creator |work=Brisbane Times |access-date=March 31, 2025}} Writing on Twitter, Jobst wrote:

"I lost. The judge found Billy to be a credible witness and believed his entire testimony. From that point on unfortunately there was really nothing that could have saved me. I will now obviously consider my options. I know many of you will be upset with this and I am sorry for that. Thank you again for all the support I have received and I will endeavor to work as hard as I can to repay all that you are owed."{{Cite news |last=Prescott |first=Shaun |date=2025-04-01 |title=YouTuber Karl Jobst to pay more than $230,000 to Donkey Kong record holder Billy Mitchell in defamation ruling |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/youtuber-karl-jobst-to-pay-more-than-usd230-000-to-donkey-kong-record-holder-billy-mitchell-in-defamation-ruling/ |access-date=2025-04-01 |work=PC Gamer |language=en}}

Jobst has covered other cheating scandals in the gaming community, including an incident of cheating by the most popular Minecraft speedrunner at the time, Dream.{{Cite news |last=Watts |first=Rachel |date=7 January 2021 |title=A brief summary of the cheating scandal surrounding YouTube's biggest Minecraft speedrunner |work=PC Gamer |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/a-brief-summary-of-the-cheating-scandal-surrounding-youtubes-biggest-minecraft-speedrunner/ |access-date=25 February 2022}}

In November 2023, Jobst uploaded a video alongside YouTuber Mutahar "SomeOrdinaryGamers" Anas investigating the Open Hand Foundation, a charity which YouTuber Jirard "The Completionist" Khalil actively led alongside his family. Khalil hosted the IndieLand

fundraiser under the organization, claiming that the proceeds went towards dementia research. However, Jobst and Anas discovered through public tax filings that the organization

had not donated any of the money accumulated since its inception as a non-profit in 2014, which totalled $655,520.{{cite web |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/youtuber-the-completionists-open-hand-foundation-accused-of-keeping-charitable-donations |title=YouTuber The Completionist's Open Hand Foundation Accused of Keeping Charitable Donations |first=Ryan |last=Dinsdale |work=IGN |date=14 November 2023 |access-date=14 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231114133028/https://www.ign.com/articles/youtuber-the-completionists-open-hand-foundation-accused-of-keeping-charitable-donations |archive-date=14 November 2023 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://dotesports.com/general/news/gaming-youtuber-the-completionist-admits-to-not-donating-over-600000-to-charity |title=Gaming YouTuber The Completionist admits to not donating over $600,000 to charity |first=Andrej |last=Barovic |website=Dot Esports |date=14 November 2023 |access-date=30 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231117054254/https://dotesports.com/general/news/gaming-youtuber-the-completionist-admits-to-not-donating-over-600000-to-charity |archive-date=17 November 2023 |url-status=live}}

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Category:Living people

Category:1986 births

Category:Video game speedrunners

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