Streamer Cheats At His Own Speedrun Competition And Gets Caught Seconds Before He Wins

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Speedrunning isn’t merely about completing a game swiftly; it encompasses a unique approach to gaming with its own dedicated community, guidelines, and moral code. Platforms like GDQ (Games Done Quick) not only showcase this style of play but also serve as effective channels for raising funds for charitable organizations and noble causes.

In every form of speedrunning, it’s essential to adhere to the strict rule against using unfair methods, often referred to as cheating. Although there might be varying definitions of what constitutes cheating (for instance, some runs may exploit game glitches, while others avoid them), playing a pre-recorded game is universally considered cheating.

Regardless, instances of cheating are commonplace in the process, with players employing various tactics to achieve world records. As a result, the speedrunning community remains perpetually suspicious and vigilant, scrutinizing every fresh attempt. This very circumstance led to the unfortunate demise of a live streamer.

A Tournament With A Predetermined Winner

Diego, a Twitch streamer, expressed his desire to bring positivity to his audience and the Donkey Kong Country 2 speedrun community. To accomplish this, he initiated his personal DKC2 Speedrun Competition.

The winner’s prize? $100 donated by his own viewers and most importantly, the glory of victory.

After the announcement, several smaller “let’s players” quickly stepped forward to collaborate on deciding who would assist Diddy and Dixie in their quest to locate their friend Donkey, just a few days later. Since they couldn’t gather together physically for this tournament, each participant streamed their gameplay from their own homes instead. Although this was an unusual approach, it was crucial for Diego’s plan.

Even though they didn’t aim to set a new DKC2 world record, the competitors were eager to discover who could complete the levels most quickly amongst themselves. They poured all their effort into powering through each level at top speed.

A Perfect Run

It soon became evident that Diego, serving as both organizer and competitor in the tournament, was unstoppable. He executed each challenging maneuver flawlessly – every tricky jump, every rope swing, every barrel aimed at a kremling. His successes were impressive, marked by spectacular performances.

The community mirrored Diego’s tension, with their attention fixed on the game. As Dixie Kong narrowly avoided a lethal bee attack, the streamer clenched his teeth, directed his entire body towards where Diddy was rolling, and winced swiftly as soon as the virtual monkey was struck by a boss.

It was confidently assumed that Diego would easily win his own competition with a considerable lead, provided he didn’t commit any major errors. Once he reached the final round, his victory appeared virtually assured.

And indeed: Diego managed to defeat the crocodile boss with his two monkeys without any problems.

Absolute Monkey Business

After Diego’s stress and thrill dissipated, he leapt from his seat, tossed his gamepad onto the table, and broke into a triumphant dance – a small dance where it seemed like Dixie Kong joined in. Even though Diego had set down his gamepad, Dixi Kong continued to jump – an action that wouldn’t usually be possible.

As soon as my actions were questioned, I was accused of cheating by viewers – a claim that led me to bar any viewer making such allegations. Other competitors became aware of this through their chat discussions, yet I remained oblivious to the situation.

He attempted to clarify that the gap between the game action and its YouTube streaming gave an impression that the monkey character was leaping even though he hadn’t been pressing the controller buttons at that moment, however, no one found his explanation convincing.

Instead, even more evidence emerged that made the whole thing look like fraud.

Videoplayer And Splicing

Initially, viewers pointed out that throughout the entire stream, there was no lag between Diego’s gameplay and his live feed. In fact, they were perfectly synchronized. His supposed effort to reveal his monitor was unsuccessful because even if he briefly filmed his screen, a single clear frame was sufficient to recognize the video player used to broadcast a pre-recorded run and present it as live footage of him gaming.

However, his deception didn’t end with just cheating. Upon closer examination by astute viewers after the fact, it was evident that they had spotted indications of edited footage, suggesting manipulation or splicing.

In speedrunning, some individuals employ a technique known as ‘compiling’, where they piece together various attempts from different sessions. By carefully selecting and merging the most impressive sections (stitched together), they can construct a single run that gives an illusion of flawlessness and smoothness.

Multiple speedrunners observed that the animated heads in DKC2’s hubworld seemed to close their mouths unusually quickly in Diego’s recordings. This discrepancy strongly suggested that he edited, or “spliced,” his speedrun.

The Community Never Forgets

Regardless of the clear proof, Diego remained steadfast in his stance that he hadn’t deceived anyone. He even took steps like blocking long-term viewers of his stream and severing connections with other competitors from the tournament.

It’s uncertain if the other players are still engaged with this, but one thing is certain – the speedrunning community will keep this in mind.

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2025-07-01 22:10