Undisputed: Wes Copeland Sails Past Donkey Kong's Finish Line With A Score Worthy Of The Ages

May 7th, 2016 - This is the one we were waiting for.

The end of the Donkey Kong world record chase has been promised, prophesied, argued about, and speculated over for years.

We knew that the run to do it would have to mate flawless play with exceedingly good fortune in order to birth a score that could never occur with just one of the two. A score about which we could confidently say, even if not definitively, "this will never be beaten."

On Thursday night, Wes Copeland gave us that score.

Copeland not only finally surpassed the 1.2 million threshold on an original 1981 arcade machine (a feat considered by many to be impossible until only a couple of years ago), he stormed through Donkey Kong's defensive artillery in truly spectacular fasion: without the involuntary loss of a single life.

To be exact, Copeland collected 1,173,800 points, blowing past 24 of the preceding 28 world records... before losing even one of his four men.

This meant that, after over three hours of maximum point pressing, and upon reaching the penultimate board on his first man, Copeland was in position to execute the ultimate "cash-in" scenario—a tactic where the player intentionally sacrifices his spares (since they are unnecessary at that point) in order to replay the final round of barrels and milk them for every last drop.

It's rare enough to get there with one spare. Copeland had all three. After exchanging his lives for points and completing the final touches, Jumpman number four died as he always must, to the kill screen bug that strikes seven seconds into the first board of Level 22.

Those of us on hand for the stream had witnessed a just-about-perfect game of Donkey Kong.

The performance, in particular the final few levels, was like seeing a poker master, already crushing the table with what he's being dealt, start to catch straights and flushes hand after consecutive hand. Or like repeatedly re-reading the happy denouement of a fairy tale. Copeland cheerfully breezed though, with everything going his way, and then some.

And while their back-and-forth rivalry over the record is now over, former champ Robbie Lakeman may never let Copeland hear the end of it.

Following the game, Copeland announced that he was finished with Donkey Kong outside of tournaments. He also settled a bet between himself and a forum poster who had put $1,000 on the proposition that Copeland would not crack 1.2 million by the end of the year. Copeland asked that the money be donated to a charity of the bettor's choice, suggesting specifically Doctors Without Borders.

Resolving The Dispute

On July 8th 2009, Dean Saglio, playing on the MAME emulator, surpassed Billy Mitchell's then-standing record score. But since he did so on a PC, he could not be declared the "official" world champion. That business was transacted between Hank Chien, Lakeman, and Copeland, who would go back and forth besting each other for the highest score on their arcade machines. Saglio, though, remained untouched on MAME, consistently putting himself far beyond the competition.

The "true" world record was an awkward situation for nearly seven years, leaving to spirited debate (and public confusion) the matter of who really held it—was it the guys on the cabinets, or the guy on the keyboard?

With this performance, Copeland made the question moot. His 1,218,000 surpassed Saglio's 1,206,800 best from 2013, and by a rather wide margin. Copeland is now at the absolute top, and unless Saglio beats this score, the "arcade vs. MAME" issue can be put to rest... at least for the time being.

A practical joke dropped on Dean's cabinet at Kong Off 3

Never Say Never

In 2013, right after Saglio got his 1.2, I wrote: "All that remains now is to bring this 30-year war full circle by matching Saglio's score (or getting as close as possible) on the original arcade hardware... Can it be? And who is willing?"

At the time, we barely knew Wes, who was only just beginning to emerge. He has now completed that final task.

Will his score eventually meet the same fate?

Saglio has the best shot, at least on MAME. In fact, he seems to have been rekindled. I am listening to live audio from his Twitch channel even at the moment of this writing. "1.22" is the newly-posted target.

But Saglio may be the only player with the means and the motive, and unless he starts playing regularly on a cabinet, there is no other heir apparent. No player in the current competition pool has expressed any intention or expectation of beating Copeland with a joystick in the foreseeable future. Many of those, like Lakeman, who were not quite ready to surrender their world record aspirations before Thursday, are now conceding.

Having said that, if the score can be achieved once, it can, necessarily, be achieved again, and with a cherry on top. The question is, does it need to be? Copeland's run is, for all intents and purposes, a practical maxout. That's what we wanted to see, and it exceeded expectations. This is a world record that leaves nothing to complain about, and so much to praise. The theoretical possibility of better is one thing; summoning the insane and blazing fire of motivation it will take to realize it is another.

If someone, someday, surpasses his score, Copeland himself will not be the one to do it, and he has stated he will not attempt a reclamation. In his words, "this is the last personal best I will ever get." Copeland will continue to play in tournaments, but his record-hunting days are over.

The Monkey Will Keep Climbing

The apparent end of the world record chase does not spell the end of competitive Donkey Kong. This event alone will not cause a wholesale decline in interest. Most players have no aspirations of breaking the record and never did, so an "unbeatable" score is no threat to the viability of continued competition. There's a lot more to play for than taking down the all-time best.

Nonetheless, now that the long-awaited 1.2 has been achieved on an arcade cabinet, it can never again be achieved for the first time. In that sense, Donkey Kong is dead.

Long live Donkey Kong!

Selected Coverage

Here is a sampling of some of the media coverage about this score. The list is far from complete, and will continue to grow. Thanks to all for heping the story spread, and especially to the outlets citing Donkey Blog as a source.

Twin Galaxies: Wes Copeland Submits The Greatest Donkey Kong Performance of All Time! (First published report)
Polygon: Donkey Kong's All-Time Record Broken Again, With a 'Perfect' Game (First press report, and most highly-cited)
Ars Technica: Is This The World’s First “Perfect” Game of Donkey Kong? (Recommended reading, the community's top pick)
IGN: Donkey Kong World Champ Achieves Perfect Score
Slashdot: New "Perfect Game" Donkey Kong Record May Be Unbeatable
Wired: Donkey Kong Player Sets 'Perfect Score' on Classic Game
Huffington Post: Don’t Even Bother Trying To Beat This Guy At ‘Donkey Kong’
Digital Trends: Donkey Kong Crown Reclaimed: World Record Score Breaks 1.2 Million
Uproxx: Wes Copeland Reclaims His ‘Donkey Kong’ World Record With A Near-Perfect Game
Slashfilm: Steve Wiebe and Billy Mitchell Will Never Be ‘The King of Kong’ Again
Bad Gamer: Donkey Kong Player Reckons He's Posted the Perfect World Record High Score
Den of Geek: Donkey Kong Player Posts "Perfect" World Record Score
GoNintendo: Donkey Kong - New World Record Score Achieved By Wes Copeland
Attack of the Fanboy: Donkey Kong Record Regained by Wes Copeland
Destructoid: All Hail the New, Possibly Last King of Kong

Lakeman And Copeland Hit New World Records In The Race To Donkey Kong's Maximum Score

April 23rd, 2016 -The month of April will (probably) end as it began, with Wes Copeland the reigning Donkey Kong world record holder, but not without a surprise reappearance from former champ Robbie Lakeman, who reclaimed the title and held it for just over a week before an unstoppable Copeland seized it right back.

In the dead of night on Monday April 11th, Lakeman's Twitch.tv channel sprang to life with a streamed replay of a game he had just finished. The live audience for the broadcast was sparse, due to the late hour for Stateside classic arcaders, and the replay had no sound, but it served its purpose.

A single 300-point barrel smash on the first board of Level 22, less than two seconds before the game's famous kill screen bug ended the run, allowed Lakeman to inch past Copeland's 1,190,000 score by a mere 200 points. It was the narrowest margin of victory in the history of record-breaking Donkey Kong games, and not a sure thing until the final point-award. One time out of four, the game's random number generator would have rolled the decisive barrel right past the ladder that Lakeman needed it to come down, leaving his hammer dry just 100 points short, but the odds were on his side, and the outcome fell in his favor.

Copeland awoke the next day to find himself out of a title. But being at the top of his game, and still playing nearly every day, he did not waste a moment in mounting a comeback, announcing his intentions in a Twitch chat:

True to his word, Copeland spent the next week in a ferocious spree of attempts, playing an average of nearly eight hours a day before teh urn that pushed the Donkey Kong high score up another 4,900 points to 1,195,100.

And so, after not even eight days had passed, Lakeman was playing from behind again. The retaliation had been swift and pitiless; Copeland's way of making Lakeman answer for beating his first world record so quickly last September.

The joke was made on Donkey Kong Forum that the higher the record goes, the more often it seems to get broken. Indeed, while Hank Chien had the top spot to himself for nearly four years, the high score has been topped by either Lakeman or Copeland an unprecedented nine times since September of 2014.

The situation is counterintuitive, given that each new record requires increasingly favorable randomness, but also understandable, given the current circumstances.

While Dean Saglio scored 1.2 million points on the MAME emulator almost three years ago—a virtual maxout—Copeland and Lakeman both want to be the first to achieve it on original arcade hardware. And while each may do it for himself eventually, only one can be the first to do it.

Lakeman has been less-than-transparent, evidently having changed his mind about his self-reported "retirement," and preferring to make attempts off-stream from what he calls "Secret Private DK Island." His approach is more low-key, almost reclusive. Lakeman is haunted with a fear of the jinx, and is convinced that bad fortune will befall him if a live audience is watching, talking about, linking to, or even thinking about a game in progress (particularly if that audience happens to include "Mr. Awestralia" Allen Staal).

Copeland, in contrast, is public and highly vocal, live-streaming every moment of his 1.2 attempts... but keenly aware that, behind closed doors on the Island, the cagey Lakeman could be up to anything.

Motivation for these two players is higher than it could ever otherwise be if they weren't pushing one another. The very next record-breaking game stands a good chance of being the last record-breaking game, and both of them know it.

Steve Wiebe World Record Attempt This Weekend in Bloomington, MN

July 9th, 2015 - This weekend, as part of his promotional efforts for the upcoming film Pixels (where he will cameo in a small role), Steve Wiebe will appear at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota.

On Friday, Wiebe will attend a screening of The King of Kong (directed by his friend and Pixels producer Seth Gordon), followed by a Q&A and autograph session.

On Saturday at 2 PM, attempts on Robbie Lakeman's recently-upgraded world record will commence live from "the Rotunda."

Dana Wessel of KTWN-FM (Go 96.3) interviewed Wiebe about the upcoming event. It's well worth the 13-minute listen, encapsulating where Wiebe stands among the competitive fray nowadays, and Wiebe's assessment of his chances against the score he'll be chasing on Saturday.

My take: it's great to see Wiebe back in the action. But since we have not been privy to his Donkey Kong play since the Kong Off 3 over a year and a half ago, it's impossible to say whether Wiebe actually has a realistic shot at the record (to say nothing of the challenges of executing a high-pace run in front of a crowd). It should be borne in mind that this event is, after all, timed around a movie release date, and not necessarily Wiebe having attained the ability to play at a 1.16 million-point pace.

Nonetheless, most of us DKheads love Steve and wish him the very best of luck. We hope, if nothing else, that he regains a spot among the all time top 10. Over the last 5 years, Wiebe has fallen all the way from 1st to 15th position, and as the "face" of our game, we'd all like to see him right back in the thick of things at the highest level of play. We know that he can, the question is whether he will.

Twin Galaxies will be streaming the attempt live this Saturday at tglive.com.

The Pixels film—in which a group of classic arcade gamers from the "golden age" reunite to fend off an alien invasion—opens July 24th, one week before The Kong Off 4.

Lakeman Breaks His Own Record Live at Funspot, One Month Before Kong Off 4!

June 25th, 2015 - Honoring the tradition set by former champions Steve Wiebe (who did it in front of the King of Kong cameras in 2005), followed by Hank Chien in 2011, Robbie Lakeman sat down yesterday morning at the fabled "possessed" Donkey Kong machine at Funspot in New Hampshire and broke the Donkey Kong world record.

Lakeman (right) during the attempt, with none other than the legendary Brian Kuh

Lakeman's final score of 1,158,400, pushes the record 13,600 points higher than his previous mark, set in December of last year, which, in turn, came after Lakeman first became champion in September.

That makes three in a row, with Lakeman's reign beginning to take on a Chien-like tone: he beats himself... and then he beats himself again.

Here, in a chart that only a Donkey Kong player could love, Jeremy Young, following along diligently during the replay streamed tonight on Twitch TV, breaks down the action board-by-board (click to enlarge, if you dare):

Are There Any Points Left?

In a word, yes. But not many.

While Dean Saglio essentially buried "keyboard DK" using the MAME emulator almost two years ago with his immaculate 1,206,800 performance (a virtually perfect game of total mastery), and while Lakeman's score today is going to be an ornery one to top with an arcade-style control panel, nobody is ready to formally call off the hunt on the original, "official" arcade machine record.

Hank Chien seems to have moved on from Donkey Kong after abdicating the title last year, but Lakeman still has close rivals with an active interest, namely Wes Copeland (pictured right) and Ethan Daniels, who are today's hardest-working Donkey Kong grinders.

Copeland finally cracked the "1.1" barrier in January, but is still working on improving his scoring pace. Even after Lakeman's imposing fortification today, Copeland has pledged to continue undaunted in his quest to beat him.

Daniels, meanwhile, was poised to crack into the top 10 with his own 1.1 million-plus score just a couple of weeks ago, when a passing thunderstorm asserted itself with a kill screen of its own. Just 8 boards away from Donkey Kong's famous game-ending programming bug (and with Daniels on the live stream audibly coaching himself not to think about the flashing and rumbling outside), his worst fears were realized when a power-cycle kicked him in the teeth and the game was suddenly, horribly over. Daniels took it in stride, and will, no doubt, soon push one of his high-pace runs to the end. This particular game would not have beaten the record (it would only have been a personal best) but Daniels has shown himself to be capable of a run that could.

January's Near-Miss

It was only a few months ago that Lakeman was in considerable jeopardy of losing the position that he shored up today.

As reported previously, Dean Saglio travelled to Ethan Daniels' home in January to try for an unprecedented $3,000 world record bounty offered during the 6th and final Donkey Kong Online Open tournament.

Over a grueling four days of play, Saglio came agonizingly close in not one, not two, but three close but ill-fated attempts. Nerves, fatigue, and bad luck stopped him painfully short, over 90% of the way to the target in each case. Not a heart was left unbroken among the fans watching online, many of them believing Saglio to be the true King of Kong since late last decade, based on his emulator scores, and seeing this as his chance to make it undisputable on original arcade hardware. It was not to be.

One might wonder after Saglio's close-call torture and Daniels' power outage, compared to today's relatively smooth victory by Lakeman, if perhaps the demon haunting the Funspot Donkey Kong might have moved to the Daniels residence?

There was, at any rate, no cash prize for Lakeman in the context of today's attempt, nor even a single spectator to be found in that same corridor where Wiebe and Chien preceded him in making history. The prize was simply to raise the bar. But for a classic arcade competitor, that's quite enough. Anything else is a bonus.

Kong Off 4 Next Month

The new world record stands as the perfect prelude to the Kong Off 4, which will take place at the ReplayFX Arcade and Gaming Festival next month in Pittsburgh (note the Steelers-themed color scheme).

More information on the event (which will feature a high score contest, followed by an exciting bracket-style competition on its final day) can be found at kongoff.com.

Congratulations once again to Robbie Lakeman! If the record is never broken again—and I must admit to having my doubts, with the score now so close to the ceiling—we could not have hoped for a more fitting way for it to come to rest: live and in person, on the same machine that two previous records were set, in one of the last great classic arcades in the world.

The Top 10 Is Fully-Loaded As The Limelight Shines On DK

January 5th, 2015 - Competitive Donkey Kong is getting "face time" yet again—and on this occasion, it's the ink-and-paper kind!

A little over a week after Robbie Lakeman broke the world record in September, I was contacted by Sam Rowe, a journalist from the UK who was interested in preparing a feature on the high score chase.

It just so happened that Lakeman and other top players Hank Chien, Ethan Daniels, Vincent Lemay, and Wes Copeland were about to meet in New Jersey in October for an informal "mini-Kong Off" at Richie Knucklez Arcade. Sam spent a few days with them, getting to know the players and more about their world.

The next month, Sam's story made it into a few different publications—including two of the UK's more widely-read lifestyle magazines, Forever Sports and ShortList.

Soon to come will be an interview with Robbie Lakeman for AskMen, as part of his continuing rounds as the reigning King of Kong.

Robbie Riding High

Strange as it may seem, it would appear that the people of Earth still want to know who their Donkey Kong champion is.

The story of Robbie Lakeman's new world record spread wider than I thought it would, to blogs, websites, and newswires large and small.

The hype continues up to the present moment. This past week, Robbie was picked to be one of Polygon's 50 Admirable Gaming People of 2014.

Here's Robbie talking about his achievement with his local TV affiliate:

Speaking for myself, being the source to break a "new world champion" announcement was one of the last of the to do's that I needed to cross off of the bucket list for this blog. It was a pleasure to tip off the first domino.

I love this community, my close, personal connection to it, and am happy to be known as "the guy who writes articles" on its behalf. I was thrilled to be there with Robbie and my friends as his game played out on Twitch. The blog post was an all-nighter, but needless to say, well worth it. (The highlight for me: a write-up in The AV Club, a sister publication of The Onion, which had some very kind words for my work.)

What has not been widely-reported is that on December 1st, Robbie actually managed to push his own record a bit further (by 3,000 points), in a run that ended with 1,144,800 points. This new score, having occurred so quickly after the game that beat Chien, and not being much more than a cherry on top, admittedly happened very quietly. In fact, word did not spread outside of the DK community. Congratulations were forthcoming nonetheless, and the record will now be that much tougher to beat.

Kiehl Crashes Into The Chien Force Field

Hank Chien may have finally lost the world record for the arcade platform, but his mythical "force field" seems to still be menacing everyone whose name isn't Robbie Lakeman.

Mark Kiehl, who has been his characteristically-quiet self ever since taking 4th place on the all-time list over two years ago, recently reclaimed that very same spot on the much tougher leaderboard of today.

In so doing, Kiehl dutifully honored what is quickly becoming a bona fide tradition... just barely missing Hank Chien. He managed to slip into the impossibly tight space between "Dr. Kong" and Ross Benziger, coming 1,000 points shy of Chien's former world record.

(Almost) Ten 1.1s

I must confess, I never thought that I would see it come to pass.

The ten highest-scoring Donkey Kong players in the world are now all sporting personal bests within the "max-out" range - that once-elusive 100,000 point corridor between 1.1 and 1.2 million points.

10th place—now held by Wes Copeland at 1,099,500—technically falls just short, but he's clawing to push through (more on that below). Copeland's score, along with the aforementioned recent performance by Mark Kiehl, and Steve Wiltshire several months ago, have loaded the bases going into the 6th (and final) Donkey Kong Online Open which begins this week.

Just a little over two years ago, when the Kong Off 2 was about to get underway, only two players other than then-champ Hank Chien had crossed 1.1: Dean Saglio and Jeff Willms. The rest of the field (headed by Steve Wiebe in 4th with 1,064,500) was quite a distance behind.

The gap has closed in the 26 months since, and now the traffic snarl around the top score has gotten even more chaotic.

Coping With Copeland

Copeland (left)
with world champion Robbie Lakeman and Vincent Lemay

Wes Copeland, a young programmer analyst from Arkansas who came in second place in the Donkey Kong Online Open #2 earlier in 2014, took down first place in DKO #4 this past August.

Copeland's aforementioned 1,099,500 point performance came a little over a month later on September 30th, and now rounds out the all-time top 10.

Having only played Donkey Kong for about a year and a half, "Copie" is blowing minds. Suddenly the field has (yet another) world record-capable player to contend with.

The road to cracking 1.1 has been tough, but Copeland's determination is tougher. As he recently put it on Donkey Kong Forum:

"Truth be told, playing at 1.1 pace on a daily basis has removed all joy and fun from the game for me. The game feels more like a job at the moment because of how hard I'm grinding on a daily basis, but I mentally can't stop until I know my score reflects what I think my potential is."

Copie is currently locked in a full-time battle with the game, his goal being to play every day, often for 8 hours or more, until he crosses the 1.1 mark. None of us doubt that he will do it soon enough.

Saglio's Fingerprint On The Big Bang Theory

As the recent magazine articles were being prepped, competitive Donkey Kong managed to find its way (by the subtlest of measures) onto primetime network television.

A brief scene on a recent episode of CBS's hit sitcom The Big Bang Theory depicted Leonard locked into "the game of his life" on a Donkey Kong arcade cabinet.

A brief shot of the monitor caught the eagle eye of none other than Vincent Lemay, who noted that the score read 464,100 on Level 9. Lemay, knowing that only one player had ever accomplished such a feat, checked to confirm his suspicion, and discovered that the game footage being piped into the cabinet for the scene was indeed none other than Dean Saglio's MAME world record!

How, why, and by whom the footage was inserted in the show remains a mystery, but it was a fun moment for the community, and a great homage (even if unintentional) to Saglio's epic performance.

(Skip to 1:30 to check out the scene.)

The Donkey Kong Online Open #6 Starts Wednesday!

Check back here soon, as the 6th and final installment in the Donkey Kong Online Open tournament series (which began last February) will kick off Wednesday night at 9 PM Pacific. A brief event preview will be posted prior to the start time.

Follow this link to Donkey Kong Forum for more information on how to register and compete.

NEW WORLD RECORD! Robbie Lakeman Finally Topples Hank Chien For The Donkey Kong Title!

Donkey Kong World Champion Robbie Lakeman
(Photo: Dave Danzara)

September 6th, 2014 - Robbie Lakeman called Hank Chien on Friday morning to break the news personally: "Dr. Kong" was no longer the world champion.

Hours before, alone in a late-night session that he opted not to stream to Twitch TV, Lakeman finally cracked the score that he'd barely missed on two prior occasions, becoming the fifth player—following Billy Mitchell, Tim Sczerby, Steve Wiebe, and Dr. Chien—to set the world record on a Donkey Kong arcade machine.

Late on Friday evening, with rumors and speculation swirling, a crowd gathered in Lakeman's Twitch channel as it wordlessly came to life. A nearly silent, awkwardly-angled, "TV cam" rebroadcast of the previous night's three-hour performance began.

A less-than-ideal presentation, but more than enough to electrify the Donkey Kong faithful as they realized what was unfolding. Nobody knew what the final score would be, only that they were about to witness arcade gaming history.

1,141,800, as it turned out. A number that will hold very little meaning to those unschooled in the Donkey Kong dark arts, but Lakeman's 3,200 point-lead over Chien finally brings to an end the reign of the player who spent four years terrorizing the top spot by beating his own top score again and again, and who some suspected might never be defeated.

The Road to the Record

Photo: William McEvoy

It started two and a half years ago as a bar bet between Lakeman and a friend—get into the Donkey Kong top 20, or at the very least to the kill screen.

Already an avid golfer and poker player, Lakeman took up competitive classic gaming and quickly established a formidable resume. After attaining several world records and putting in regular strong showings at the annual Funspot Tournament, Lakeman eventually gravitated to Donkey Kong, the game being, in his words, "where all the competition is."

Lakeman proved to be a quick study. His first kill screen came just before the Kong Off 2 in 2012, and by the time of the Kong Off 3 one year later, he had earned a spot among the top 12... though not without one hell of a fight.

While boasting since August of 2013 that he felt capable of taking on Hank, it wasn't until the middle of this year that Lakeman started making serious attempts.

His near-nightly sessions—all streamed in public—continued for months, with Lakeman throwing himself against a score that refused to yield. As frustration mounted, he exploded into foul-tempered rants at the game and desperate pleas to his viewers to refrain from announcing games-in-progress on the Web, for fear of jinxing.

Finally, almost immediately after making the decision to go off-stream and play in private, Thursday night's session came together, and with it the culmination of Lakeman's ambition.

The Swings That Missed

Lakeman was not the only player in the hunt for the Donkey Kong record in recent times.

Vincent Lemay's attempt in January 2013 was a week long affair, spent holed up at the 1up barcade in Colorado. Lemay missed the record by 2,700 points then quit playing, deciding to wait until someone else pushed it higher.

The attempt made some noise in the gaming press, and Lemay and Chien's rivalry became the subject of a short documentary by Vice Magazine.

Lemay intends to try again for the record this October... though now he'll be targeting a different player.

Ross Benziger's close call came nine months after Lemay's, at the Kencade in Oregon. Benziger's objective wasn't even to beat Chien's score, but simply to attain a "top 12" position in the arcade standings in order to secure a spot at the Kong Off 3.

Finally, just two weeks ago during the Donkey Kong Online Open #4, MAME champion Dean Saglio found his way to a machine at Richie Knucklez' arcade in New Jersey when, approaching the end of a run that was on pace to break the record (and with Chien himself only a few feet away on an adjacent machine) the game reset:

The rumored Hank Chien "force field" never seemed more intimidating than after this horrifying incident, but evidently, this burst of electromagnetic interference was its last, glorious gasp.

What Next?

As long as it took for Chien's score to finally go down, and with how narrowly it was beaten, it's possible that Lakeman's may not stand for very long. With the players that are already parked right behind him, and up-and-comers on the approach, Lakeman could be a short-lived champion.

To that possibility, Lakeman says: "it's a great feeling to say that I was on top at one point. Even if it's gone a couple days from now."

Congratulations Robbie! Your journey over the past two and a half years (the last few months in particular) has been an inspiring lesson in persistence, and the potential of the competitive spirit.

I often find it difficult to express to outsiders what it is that we're actually doing, and why we're doing it, when we play this game.

Thanks for expressing it so well.

Robbie and Hank
 

Robbie's recent Arcade Impossible master class on
Donkey Kong point-pressing techniques
 

Coverage

Kotaku: A New World Record Ends Hank Chien's Reign As Donkey Kong Champion

The Verge: Gamer claims 'Donkey Kong' world record, ending plastic surgeon's four-year reign

Polygon: Newcomer sets all-time high score in Donkey Kong

Game Informer: The World Record For Highest Score In Donkey Kong Has Been Beaten

Joystiq: On like Donkey Kong; new champion crowned with record score

Digital Trends: There's a New World Record-Setting High Scorer in Donkey Kong

Thanks to all of the above (and many more) for crediting Donkey Blog as the source of this story.

"This Is Not Over, Hank!" Lakeman Held Off By Dr. Kong's Force Field As DKO #4 Approaches

August 21st, 2014 - There is an old superstition among Ms. Pac Man players that bananas placed atop the machine can act as an offering to the gods of the random-number generator, who will look favorably upon the pious and bestow good fortune.

Robbie Lakeman echoed that tradition a few weeks ago. Having reached a point of desperation in his quest to finally dethrone Hank Chien for the Donkey Kong world record, he seems willing to try just about anything:

"Took all the money I had that was laying around the apartment and put it on my cab. Hopefully this will be enough to buy the DK record."

Twin Galaxies Returns With New Owner Jace Hall

March 29th, 2014 - The rumor had been rattling around for several weeks, evolving more recently into an "open secret", and now it has been confirmed in a four thousand word flourish of glorious definitude: Jace Hall, film and television producer best known for his online reality series The Jace Hall Show, has personally come forward with an official statement as the new "Head Custodian and Caretaker" of Twin Galaxies.

In his lengthy introductory address to the competitive gaming community, Hall lays out his vision for the future of the organization under his ownership, highlights of which include:

• The reinstatement of FREE score submissions. To quote his statement: "As long as Jace Hall is the Head Custodian and Caretaker of Twin Galaxies, Twin Galaxies will never be charging for score submissions or adjudication ever again. Period." (The new policy may even entail refunds to those who paid to submit scores during the previous ownership.)
• The anticipated return of the website within the next 30 days.
• Increased transparency and consistency in the organization's behavior and processes.
• A new adjudication system, entailing an overhaul of the refereeing procedure and the elimination of secrecy in gameplay.
• The return of material that has been dearly missed—including classic news articles, and the treasure trove of history and community that was the original Twin Galaxies forum.

Hall also made it clear that ownership is now his alone, meaning that there will be no internal conflicts, competing imperatives, or nagging financial entanglements.

A recent article on KitGuru.net that had spread through the community in the weeks prior to yesterday's announcement shed something of a lurid light on these matters. Jon Martindale's very intriguing piece reported infighting, bad-faith intercessions, looming litigation, and even Walter Day "fleeing to India" with tens of thousands of misappropriated dollars. A downright scandalous chain of events seemed to be unfolding.

Many accused the KitGuru piece of intentional sensationalism at best, shameless lying at worst, but it was clearly relating at least a piece of the truth, and with it came a palpable dip in the gaming community's already low morale.

Hall's letter, however, has sounded the all-clear: according to him, any previous "loose ends" and points-of-contention regarding Twin Galaxies ownership and renumeration have been resolved. So much for a scandal (we can hope).

Any doubts about a disgruntled or on-the-lam Walter Day have been dispelled as well, with Day himself personally composing a letter in which he endorses Hall with great enthusiasm, confidently handing off the reins of his creation and (re)announcing his retirement from competitive gaming to pursue his musical ambitions (a retirement which, some might skeptically note, has been promised for nearly a decade).

The consensus reaction to the statement has been almost unanimously positive. Gamers are celebrating Twin Galaxies' return, and seem to have taken an instant liking to Hall.

While still a new acquaintance to much of the community, even gaming's lifetime cynics must concede that Hall's mission statement demonstrates an unmistakably personal and intimate understanding of the community's history and its ongoing problems, as well as the promising hope of intelligent, creative solutions. Hall's resumé in the entertainment industry, and with video games in particular, speaks for itself. He brings with him a wealth of talent and resources.

In other words, he gets it, and has what it takes to make great things happen. All of us have grown at least a little weary of "new era" promises—first after Bouvier in 2009, then Adler/Knucklez in 2012, and the turbulence throughout which persistently refused to settle.

But now, five years into this rough ride, as we once again begin anew, we can hope that the third time will be the charm.

McCrary and Lakeman Dominate 2014's First Donkey Kong Open, KO4 Is On, and Twin Galaxies Is Alive!

March 6th, 2014 - Here's a quick overview of the first Donkey Kong Online Open for 2014, along with some updates on recent developments regarding the future of the Kong Off and Twin Galaxies.

Steve Wiltshire Ushers In the "Post-Twin Galaxies" Top 20

February 16th, 2014 - Steve Wiltshire—who grabbed every eye in the standing-room-only crowd as the "last man standing" at the Kong Off 3—found himself in an awkward position a few weeks ago: he'd just achieved 7th place all time in the Donkey Kong standings, but there was no official referee to whom he could submit the score.

Four months into its mysterious disappearance (which I wrote about in January), Twin Galaxies ownership has yet to utter a peep about its whereabouts. Every day that passes brings more gamers into the growing camp who have come to believe that the organization is gone for good.

Where Is Twin Galaxies?

January 7th, 2014 - "Twin Galaxies closed", "down", "offline", "sold", "gone"....

Over the past several weeks, this blog has been receiving a steady stream of traffic from Googlers searching under these and similar phrases.

Anyone who types twingalaxies.com into their address bar can see for themselves that the Twin Galaxies website has indeed disappeared; offline for almost two months as of this writing.

Kong Off 3 Tournament In Review

The third Kong Off proved to be the biggest and best yet, with more competitors, much bigger scores, and suspense right up until the last minute. Donkey Kong's finest "brought it" last weekend, putting on a show for which Twin Galaxies and the gaming community should be beaming with pride.

Robbie Lakeman, Shaun Boyd, and Jeff Willms on "Kong Off Row" (Photo: Dave Danzara)

Within hours of the first quarter drop on Day 1, former Top 12 competitor Kyle Goewert asserted his place among the big boys—despite his demotion to the Wildcard Division—by turning in the first million-point game of the weekend. With Corey Chambers already having taken an early lead with almost 900,000 points, it was clear that the wildcards had stepped up to give the Top 12 lineup a run for their money.

By evening, Goewert had slipped, finding himself in the middle of a "Steve sandwich" as Steve Wiltshire grabbed first place ("I just took the lead. Holy crap, I'm winning!" Wiltshire told Facebook), and Steve Wiebe rounded out the top 3 just 800 points shy of Goewert.

Ross Benziger struggles on Day 1 (Photo: William McEvoy)

Before the day was out though, world champion Hank Chien had pushed ahead of the field with 1,056,900, and less than twenty minutes later, Jeff Willms realized everyone's worst nightmare: an enormous 1,096,200.

With first place now higher than the all-time personal bests of all but five of the competitors, the field groaned at the imposing task before it. It felt to many that this year's title would go to Willms again, with Billy Mitchell himself declaring "nobody's going to beat that score."

In reality, Willms was not actually as safe as he might have seemed. The defending champ even admitted that he had "gotten lucky" and would have to remain so to hold the lead. With such a high mark established at the end of Day 1, it was no longer "anyone's tournament", but by no means was a Willms victory a foregone conclusion.

Indeed, Chien and Saglio showed up for Day 2 ready for war, and both pushed deep into games that could have taken first had they reached the kill screen.

Willms (left) discreetly checks in on Saglio (right) via one of the overhead TVs

Saglio had the closest call, reaching 1,033,000 in a game that ended on the last board of Level 20. If Saglio had cleared that board, he would have needed a Level 21 worth about 60,000 points in order to bridge the gap. Considering that Saglio's level averages have routinely exceeded 61,000 in his "1.2" runs (with level maximums often close to 70,000), Willms was likely only minutes away from losing first place if bad luck hadn't gotten in Saglio's way.

Meanwhile on Day 2, Dave McCrary (who, like Goewert, was another former Top 12er pushed into the Wildcard Division for this year's installment) had the game of his life, turning in 1,032,000 which earned him first place for the division (a $250 prize), a new personal best, as well as a bump up to 13th place on the all time scoreboard.

The "Team Wiebe Girls" make an appearance (Photo: Westword)

Steve Wiebe, not content with his standard (but frighteningly consistent) "flat million" with which he has been gracing live events for years, decided to push a little harder on Day 2. He got a hold of a strong run that was on pace to beat Chien for second, as well as push past his (now three year old) personal best, but the game, unfortunately, ended prematurely. Wiebe nonetheless pulled back into third position with 1,048,800.

Then, in a game that went into overtime after "last quarter" at 6:00, Kong titan Ross Benziger rose all the way from dead last in the standings to second place (where, incidentally, he also sits on the all-time scoreboard). With the pressure on to prove himself, and despite being "sick as a dog all weekend", Benziger's run was good enough to overtake Chien and the $1,000 second-place prize.

Steve Wiltshire: Last Man Standing

As player after player finished his last run, stepping away from their machines as the live streams went dark, attention turned to Steve Wiltshire—the "last man standing" at the Kong Off 3.

Steve Wiltshire with his wife Jessi. (Photo: Westword)

As he crossed his earlier score of 1,016,700 with only a few boards left to go, it was clear that there were not enough points left between Wiltshire and the kill screen to win the tournament, but if he could hold on to his spare man and cash it in for extra points on the last barrel board, he had an outside shot at Hank Chien (now in third) and Wiebe was well within striking range.

With hundreds of eyes on him, flashes popping, and the crowd on the edge of its seat, Wiltshire's cash-in succeeded. He then pushed through a troublesome final rivet board (one close call in particular eliciting an awed gasp that swept the room), hit the kill screen, and snatched fourth place from Wiebe.

Big, Big, Big

The final leaderboard tells the tale of just how serious these competitions are getting. While no new world record was set over the weekend, this was, by far, the toughest Donkey Kong tournament ever held.

For perspectve:

At the first Kong Off, not a single player broke a million points.

At Kong Off 2, just three players managed to roll the score.

This year though, an unprecendented nine competitors were able to breach seven digits, with two (Wiebe and Wiltshire) doing it twice, for a total of eleven million-point games.

The Kong Off 3 was also a much tighter race than KO2: Willms and Saglio ran away with it in 2012, with Wiebe's third place trailing them by 73,000 points. This year, in contrast, that same gap represented the total span from 1st all the way to 8th.

In the Spotlight

Media interest in the Kong Off 3 was high (and is actually still underway, with two major pieces by Vice Magazine and The Verge expected in the coming weeks).

The tournament was front page news in The Denver Post, Denver's ABC, CBS, and Fox affiliates covered the event, Westword featured a photo gallery, the Lincoln Journal-Star interviewed Steve Wiltshire, major technology websites like Ars Technica followed the action (and were kind enough to link to this blog!), and other gaming/sports outlets such as RetroDomination, Polygon, Kitguru, and One World Sports ran stories as well.

Here's CBS 4 Denver's brief segment (note the anchor introducing the story with the exact same joke that he used last year! We love you, TV news...)

What About Me?

I was one of the Wildcard Division competitors in this year's tournament, having won my spot during the Online Qualifiers this past summer.

Saturday, however, proved to be one of my worst playing-days in a very long time, in terms of luck, energy, focus, mood, and every other factor you can name. I had failed to put in any practice in the lead-up to the tournament, had barely slept the night before, and my head, as they say, "was not in the game." None of this helped.

Only the 10 highest-scoring players in the Wildcard Division would move on to Sunday, and it became clear to me, as evening fell, that it wasn't meant to be. I decided to stop throwing myself and my "F" game at a machine that was refusing to work with me, and instead turn my attention to other things.

The world-famous Allen Staal!
(Photo: William McEvoy)

I quickly made peace with the decision, and it was an easy peace, as I'd actually been feeling for weeks prior that I was going to the event primarily to experience it, with competition being a distant afterthought. I'd cared much more about doing well in the online preliminaries; to prove that I could "make the cut" and earn a place in the big show. I wasn't so concerned about what would happen once I got there.

My real priority in Denver was to spend time with this group of friends who, up to this weekend, I'd only known online. I wanted to have Steve Wiebe autograph my King of Kong DVD, to shake Billy Mitchell's hand, to personally thank Walter Day for his part in creating this strange and amazing world. I also wanted time to get into the trenches and follow the action for the blog.

In other words, I wanted to do anything and everything but play Donkey Kong! So my elimination on Saturday ended up being the best thing that could have happened, as I got to check all of the "to do"s off my list, and wouldn't have been able to otherwise. I could not care less that I finished lowest in my "online pre-qualifier" division. I came back from the event with my own trading card, an award certificate recognizing my "tremendous contributions to the world of competitive arcade gaming", and unanimously positive memories.

Certificate Awards (Photo: Cat DeSpira)

I want to extend my thanks to Richie Knucklez, Jourdan Adler, the crew at The 1up, and my fellow players. It was an exceptionally wonderful weekend, and I have a new appreciation for how much blood and sweat go into an event like this. I'm looking forward to doing it again someday!

The Kong Off 3 is Set!

November 11th, 2013 - The October 25th deadline to crack the Twin Galaxies Top 12 has come and gone, and the three Wildcard Qualifier tournaments are in the books.

After months of spirited action, 22 players—12 for coveted "dedicated machine" honors, and 10 online pre-qualifiers for the Wildcard Division (who will play on shared machines)—are headed for Denver and their chance at a share of the Kong Off 3 prize purse of over $5,000.

The battle begins in just four days.

Saglio and Benziger: The Ladder's Final Rung

"We started off on this march pretty much at the same time. Glad you could be here."

     - Dean Saglio to Ross Benziger, October 4th, 2013

Within a single week of one another, the two pioneers of extreme Donkey Kong point-pressing have at last plucked the fruit that has been growing and ripening for over five years with two history-making scores.

On Thursday, September 26th, live at the Kencade in Hillsboro, Oregon, Ross Benziger scored 1,136,500 on a Donkey Kong arcade machine, a performance that not only more than qualifies him to be in the main lineup at this year's Kong Off 3, but came just short of beating Hank Chien's reigning world record.

Only one week later, in the early morning hours of October 4th, Dean Saglio forever shut the door on Donkey Kong on the MAME platform, rolling the score to "1.2" for the first (and very probably last) time.

1,206,800

October 4th, 2013:

The stream

The scoreboard

The celebration

Congratulations, Dean.

On behalf of all of us with whom you have shared your brilliance at this game, and for the friendship, learning, debate, competition, and inspiration over the extraordinary five-year journey from zero to "1.2" that reached its triumphant end tonight: thank you.

More on this history-making performance soon.

Saglio Pushes Donkey Kong to the Breaking Point

September 11th, 2013 - Just one final nail remains to be hammered into place before Dean Saglio seals Donkey Kong's coffin once and for all.

On September 4th, Saglio topped the MAME world record for the seventh time in a row, the latest step in a journey of unprecedented high score triumphs that began half a decade ago.

Robbie Lakeman: "I Feel Like I Could Take On Hank"

August 4th, 2013 - Last October, four days after the door closed on the one million point cutoff for getting a dedicated machine among the main lineup at the Kong Off 2, I wrote a tribute to those who weren't able to "roll it" in time.

During the very moments when I was readying that post, an up-and-coming Donkey Konger named Robbie Lakeman was in the midst of a live stream that would end with his first-ever kill screen.

Steve Wiebe Returning to the Record Chase?!

June 20th, 2013 - The Donkey Kong community is abuzz with intrigue today after Steve Wiebe posted the following to his Facebook page:

4 New Millionaires, 2 Sweet Cabinets

June 20th, 2013 - 2013 has been an exciting year for the Donkey Kong faithful. With the arrival of the Donkey Kong Forum, the community is now all together in one place, sharing news, scores, strategies, and stoking the competitive fires.

For those who are not regulars and may be out of the loop on the latest happenings, here's a little catch-up...

Gender-Bending Donkey Kong Hack Makes The Leap To The Arcade!

April 16th, 2013 - Spurred on by Mike Mika's recent "Pauline Edition" remix of the NES version of Donkey Kong - which casts Pauline as the hero and Mario as the damsel in distress - Clay Cowgill, co-owner of Portland's Ground Kontrol arcade, has successfully reworked the original arcade version to do the same.

Like Mika, Cowgill produced a detailed report describing every step of the process (which also happens to be a fascinating look into the inner workings of the game code and the hardware on which it runs).

Freshly-reprogrammed EPROMs containing Cowgill's adaptation have already been successfully installed into a vintage Donkey Kong boardset and the game is soon to be up and running "on location" for the public's enjoyment at Ground Kontrol.

All that's missing now is the new paint job and art set that was Photoshop-prototyped by This Old Game two weeks ago: