Hey everyone! 



I’m back for another update, and we’ve got some exciting stuff to go over today! You may have already noticed some of the new changes to the site, so let’s dig into some of them, shall we?



## New Mod Hub - Runs Awaiting Verification



We’re finally releasing the Mod Hub! With the first entry in a series of Mod Hub updates, we’ve released our first new mod tool — the new Runs Awaiting Verification (RaV) page! For quite some time now, there has been a 50 run cap within every moderator's RaV page. This cap is now removed, with additional runs being paginated for a more organized experience for those of you who moderate large boards.



Speaking of organized, you can now select individual game queues to view *only* the runs from the games you want to see! No longer will the RaV have buried runs you can’t access. Stay efficient and stay organized, fellow moderators!



Also as a note, the new RaV page is under the link https://www.speedrun.com/modhub but if for whatever reason you would like to stick to the legacy RaV page, you can do so here: https://www.speedrun.com/runsawaitingverification. If you run into any issues with the new RaV Page/Mod Hub, please let us know over at [https://www.speedrun.com/knowledgebase/supporthub/report-bug](https://www.speedrun.com/knowledgebase/supporthub/report-bug)

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/d3ek5rex.jpg)

## Coming Soon™️

Coming very soon, we have a new game page update! This game page update includes multiple quality-of-life changes to help organize game pages more neatly, as well as bring a fresh new look to it. 

On top of aesthetic changes to the game pages, the much-requested game page news will be coming as well! Moderators, you will now have the ability to update your community directly through the Game Page News feature.

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/v5e12mn0.jpg)

The days of community updates through stickied forum threads are now over! Speedrunners, fear no more. Follow and optionally receive notifications about the latest news from your favorite leaderboards!

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/qoeo54zg.jpg)

Once again, I want to thank you for helping us improve the site with your bug reports and feedback. You're helping us improve the site by both directing us to bugs in need of squashing AND by letting us know which features and tools you'd like to have!



## Moving Forward



We are actively working on adding improved variable management, better Individual Level support for the site, mass run management, and more as part of future updates. Have another idea you want to see on the site that’s not mentioned here? Head on over to https://www.speedrun.com/knowledgebase/supporthub/give-feedback and let us know what you’d like to see!



## Bug Fixes & Feedback



This past weekend, we got reports of users who were running into issues logging into the site due to a weird bug with the session ID cookie, but it was thankfully fixed this morning so we don’t have to worry about that anymore. This quick-fix was largely in thanks to you, the community, for being vocal about it - and I want to thank you for that! 



Your bug reports and feedback are incredibly appreciated by the entire team, so please keep up with that. You can submit [bug reports here](https://www.speedrun.com/knowledgebase/supporthub/report-bug) or give us [your feedback here](https://www.speedrun.com/knowledgebase/supporthub/give-feedback) As usual, I’m staying active in the forums and on [Discord](https://discord.gg/0h6sul1ZwHVpXJmK). Also, if you’d like to contact me directly on any of my social media, I have most things connected over on my [user profile](https://www.speedrun.com/user/Meta). I’ll see y’all around!



Meta // Cam

Introducing the new Mod Hub with the first tool: a new Runs Awaiting Verification page. Let's also discuss a bug fix and some planned features for the Mod Hub.

The First Mod Hub Update: Runs Awaiting Verification

This month, we're featuring a community of speedrunners who focus on games from developer Team Ico.

Spotlight: Team Ico Speedruns

Hey everyone! 



I hope your week is going well. 



I started as Community Manager on August 16th and, while it’s been a busy time, it’s also been *awesome* chatting with everyone. You should see me bouncing around the forums and Discord more often now. Please feel free to reach out to me via the Support Hub, the forums, Discord, or even Twitter. I want to hear from you about all things speedrunning and site-related!



## Site Update



You may have noticed the site is running smoother after our data migration on August 13th. We know the site performance had been affecting everyone, and we’re pleased to report that the migration and some ensuing tweaks have led to a significant overall improvement. We still have more to do on this front, but this was a massive step in the right direction. Big thanks to the engineers working on this!





## User profile assets endpoint update



Some community tools were unfortunately broken for a short while due to the data migration process changing how some assets were being stored. The site API has been updated to reflect this, particularly in relation to user profile images!



## Uneditable guides, invisible forum posts



An issue occurred where users were not able to create or edit forum posts or guides, and once again we thank the community for flagging this so quickly for us, it helps out a lot!



Thank you for your patience as we continue to improve and expand on the site. We’re constantly working on improving site performance, squashing pesky bugs, and developing some... *much-requested features.*



That’s it from me this time, but I plan on making many more of these community updates as well as staying active in the forums and on [Discord](https://discord.gg/0h6sul1ZwHVpXJmK). If you have additional bugs to report, or feedback you’d like to give please head over to the [Support Hub](https://www.speedrun.com/knowledgebase/supporthub) and create a ticket. It really helps us out! Also, if you’d like to contact me directly on any of my social media, I have most things connected over on my [user profile](https://www.speedrun.com/user/Meta). I’ll see y’all around!





Meta // Cam



Checking in this week to follow up on the data migration earlier this month, some bug fixes, and more from our new Community Manager!

Site performance improvements, bug fixes, and more!

Hello everyone!



We’re eight months into 2021 now, and we’ve enjoyed some truly incredible speedrunning in that time. We have a few updates for you today:



## Site Update



We’ve also been working diligently on some changes to the site. You may have noticed the site entered a read-only state for a few hours today. This was because of a data migration taking some of the necessary steps to address some of the performance issues the site has been experiencing. We’ll be monitoring the results in the days to come.



## Farewell, LewisAndSpark



Next, we have some news to share.



LewisAndSpark has decided to move on from Elo. We are grateful for all of their insights and passion in advocating for the speedrunning community. Their hard work and dedication have helped lay a solid foundation for the future of Speedrun.com. 



We know LewisAndSpark will continue to do great things in future opportunities and wish them all the best!



## Community Manager



Now, we are thrilled to announce that effective immediately, Cam “Meta” Enright will be stepping into a new role: Community Manager for Speedrun.com. 



Many of you will recognize Meta from his previous position as Site Support Staff. He’s an active moderator, speedrunner, and has written several articles for the site as well. He’s been a passionate and enthusiastic advocate for the community and has impressed us with his work as a member of our Support Team.



In this new role, as Community Manager, Meta will be an invaluable resource for the community. He’ll be providing updates as well as being available to take questions and feedback. You can find him active across the site as well as in our community Discord. 



We’re looking forward to working closely with him as we continue to improve performance across the site and develop some long-desired features and tools.



Please join us in welcoming Meta as our new Community Manager!



Cheers,  

Speedrun.com

We've updated the site as part of addressing some of the performance issues; we also say farewell to Lewisandspark and welcome Meta in a new role.

Community Update: Data Migration and Community Manager

[Kanno](https://www.speedrun.com/user/KANNO) broke the 6m30s barrier this past Friday, August 6th in the wee hours of the morning making Super Mario 64 history once again, sneaking in just under the wire with a [6:29.950](https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1109747627)



So what made this feat possible? Let’s take a dive into the details of Kanno’s most recent SM64 world record.



## A True Classic



Super Mario 64 is one of those classic speedgames that’s been around forever and yet is still somehow being optimized. It really goes to show speedrunners will always find a way. 



Japanese speedrunner Kanno has been optimizing all the short categories for the past three years and has gotten so incredibly skilled at the categories that he has a *full* ***sweep*** including the 0 Star, 1 Star, and 16 Star world records — with 0 Star being the “Any%” category in SM64.

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/v5e1yme0.jpg)Kanno’s execution in this run was incredible, near perfect even. Overall, his movement was impeccable but there are two things to highlight from this run that stand out above everything else; getting the fastest version of the Dire Dire Docks skip, and the KASLJ short for the **Kanno Tool Assisted Speedrun Long Jump**.



## DDD Skip

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/qoeoj4ng.jpg)

Dire Dire Docks Skip is the oh-so-difficult skip that separates the 0 Star category from the 1 Star category, and there are multiple setups for it. The main variation in setups is the speed required to clip through the door, and Kanno’s setup requires the least amount of speed out of all of them - making it the fastest. You can view a [comparison of the setups here](https://youtu.be/vvu40CTOLos)



## KASLJ

KASLJ is [Kanno’s newer setup for the TASLJ](https://youtu.be/fmJCWHs36P4) (Tool-Assisted Long Jump) which is about one third of a second slower than the TASLJ, but a **lot** more consistent, making it much more human viable to its Tool-Assisted counterpart — and faster than any other strat by over a second.

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/d3ekprzx.jpg)## An Electric Fire Sea

Of course, with everything that went right in this run, that’s not to say it wasn’t without its hiccups. There’s a little bit of RNG with the Amp obstacles in Bowser in the Fire Sea and unfortunately, this RNG was not in Kanno’s favor this time around - losing him 2 seconds to bonking on the Amp, locking him in the zap animation.

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/3xz0yxel.jpg)

## Star Door BLJs



In the 0 Star route, runners use Backwards Long Jumps (BLJs) to clip through doors and Kanno mentioned that his BLJs were not the best, losing another 2 seconds to the optimal route. These two things were the only things Kanno mentioned as hiccups for the 6:29 speedrun, which honestly is pretty good when you consider that 2 out of the 4 seconds time loss came down to RNG. Kanno says that his next goal is a 6:25, which would've been this run if not for those 4 seconds lost to the RNG and BLJs.

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/9kzww8zq.jpg)

## Tracking Progress



Once again massive congratulations to Kanno for making SM64 history by becoming the first person in the world to beat the game in under six and a half minutes. Also a massive thank you to Kanno from me, for helping me out with the research for this article — I couldn’t have done it otherwise. 



If you’d like to follow Kanno's progress in the journey towards the goal of the 6:25 speedrun for 0 Star in Super Mario 64, you can do so on [his Twitch channel](https://www.twitch.tv/kanno) or keep an eye on [his Youtube channel!](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC04k2wolWHbXUYKqUQhohkg)



Kanno made history by breaking the 6:30 barrier in Super Mario 64. Let's take a look at how this impressive feat was possible.

Kanno breaks the Super Mario 64 6:30 Barrier

The European Speedrunner Assembly’s Summer 2021 marathon has come to an end having raised over $67,000 for [Save the Children](https://www.savethechildren.org/) and marking the most successful online ESA marathon to date.



In case you missed it, here are some highlights from the last three days of the marathon:



## Thursday

### The Legend Of Spyro: The Eternal Night - GBA

### Any% (Dark)

*Race between CDRomatron and lovebot*  

*Commentary by CountCreep*  



Check out this incredible race between two skilled runners and watch for the new World Record set at the end. Dark Mode in The Legend Of Spyro: The Eternal Night is unlocked after defeating the game’s Hard Mode. It keeps the enemies just as strong while starting Spyro with an overpowered form that makes those enemies satisfyingly simple to dispatch.



Watch it [here](https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1100518946?t=32h23m43s).



### Super Mario 64 - WiiVC

### Power Star Pathway (Randomizer)

*Race between 360chrism vs. bird650*  



Using a seed of 38666 (based on the donation total at the time), two runners compete to fill up their board with the right stars to earn a win. Expect plenty of Mario-themed puns from the donations and watch the run carefully because you never know what the runners will encounter next! 



Watch it [here](https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1100518946?t=36h37m35s).



### The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD WiiU

### 100%

*Run by mralberto*  

*Commentary by Joaish and gymnast85*  



Mralberto and his commentators do a great job introducing and explaining the tricks and glitches as they appear. With some great RNG and impressive frame-perfect tricks, this is definitely a run worth checking out!



Watch it [here](https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1100518946?t=37h29m16s).



## FRIDAY, JULY 30TH, 2021

### Metal Gear Solid - PC

### Any% (Easy)

*Run by NickRPGreen*  

*Commentary by bruschetta_bros*  



Running a route that was reworked just a week beforehand, NickRPGreen skips a huge chunk of the game just five minutes into the run. But the end of the game is no cakewalk and will have you on the edge of your seat!



Watch it [here](https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1102592903?t=0h58m48s).



### Deal or No Deal - PC

### Win Big Money!



*Run by BigJon and TheBlacktastic*  



While it’s not quite a speedrun, this is a great chance to watch the hosts you know and love from Super Boss Bros as they play a game of Deal or No Deal where the prize money will actually be donated to the marathon. It’s just as fun, silly, and suspenseful as you could want!



Watch it [here](https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1102592903?t=16h59m30s).



##  SATURDAY, JULY 31st, 2021

### Super Mario 64 - N64

### 16 Star (Drum%)

*Run by czr_drums*  

*Commentary by Ownasaurus*  



If you haven’t seen czr_drums play his way through Super Mario 64 with a drum instead of a controller, you have got to check it out! With well-executed drum rolls and cymbal crashes, he plays through a familiar game in an unfamiliar way. Make sure to stick around for the end when he jams out to the game’s credits.



Watch it [here](https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1102592903?t=27h0m19s).



### Resident Evil Village - PC

### Hardcore (Glitchless) v2

*Run by gidano*  

*Commentary by ThatAccountBlaBlaBla*  



Originally meant to happen earlier in the week, gidano’s run was cut short by a local blackout. Luckily, the marathon staff offered to add a donation incentive to give gidano another shot at running RE:V to close out the marathon. It’s an enjoyable run of a still-new game and of course, it’s a chance to see everyone’s favorite 9-and-a-half foot tall villainess, Lady Dimitrescu.

Watch it [here](https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1102592903?t=42h30m35s).



The whole marathon was incredible and there are so many cool runs worth checking out. For more about ESA Summer 2021, check out our early marathon highlights [here](https://www.speedrun.com/news/861-2021-7-30-esa-summer-2021-early-highlights).





ESA Summer 2021 wrapped up successfully, having collected more than $67,000 for charity. Let's take a look at some of the highlights in the final days of the event.

Highlights from the end of ESA Summer 2021

ESA Marathon Summer 2021 kicked off Friday, July 23 with a miniature Break The Record Live event followed by an awesome Pre-Show, all before the main event. Since then (and at the time of publication), ESA has raised an incredible $43,000 for [Save The Children!](https://www.savethechildren.org/)

## Friday



***Persona 5***  

**True Ending Hard**  

*Ran by neviutz*  

*Commentary by Darkkefka, FOG, Metako, Pottoww, RoboSparkle, TatsuyaAct, Ghoul02, NocFrost, Mulsqi and Darkkefl*  

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/r1n86xzq.jpg)The Persona 5 speedrun is among some of the longest speedruns, with True Ending (Hard) being the longest category. Neviutz kicked off ESA Summer 2021 with this incredible feat of endurance, coming in under estimate with a 15:39:07 — yes, that’s FIFTEEN HOURS. 15 hours may sound like a lot, but considering casual playthroughs often taken well over 100 hours, 15 is blazingly fast.



## Saturday



***Alan Wake’s American Nightmare***  

**Any% New Game+**  

*Ran by TaintedTali*  

*Commentary by Demonic*  

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/83nv01em.jpg)Kicking off the main event of ESA Summer 2021, TaintedTali got an incredible time of 56:09 getting herself a new **personal best**. Running at a marathon can be nerve wracking which usually leaves PBs off the table, but TaintedTali conquered those nerves with a run that came *just* shy of a world record!

## Sunday



***Dark Messiah of Might and Magic***  

**Any% Relay Race**  

*Ran by Team Duncan VS Team Percy*  

*Commentary by Moonstruck and Xoneris*  

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/0dz44wz6.jpg)Never before have I seen a Relay Race at a speedrunning marathon, but boy was I ever missing out. This incredible showcase includes multiple runners from world record holders to brand new runners, alongside the energetic commentary from Moonstruck and Xoneris. Not to mention, Dark Messiah is a hilarious demonstration of a variety of entertaining glitches worth watching on their own. In the end, Team Percy ended up clutching out the Race with a time of 28 minutes 42 seconds.

## Monday

***Titanfall 2***  

**All Helmets**  

*Ran by Lord Fluffy*  

*Commentary by Bryonato*  

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/0wzx9rzr.jpg)If you’ve never seen a Titanfall 2 speedrun before, this is a great place to start. Lord Fluffy and Bryonato premiered the All Helmets category at a marathon, showcasing the game's incredible skill ceiling and high octane movement with some of the best commentary at ESA so far.

## Tuesday



***DOOM 2016***  

**Any%**  

*Ran by Heny*  

*Commentary by Danejerus*  

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/qrz268e0.jpg)DOOM Any% is a brutally difficult speedrun involving a lot of precise skips, navigating out of bounds and flying the Slayer through the air at mach 5 by abusing the mantle mechanic. If you haven’t seen DOOM’s speedtech before, you’re missing out, and this is the perfect introduction from Heny and Danejerus.

## Wednesday

***Alien Isolation***  

**No Major Glitches Nightmare Steering Wheel Race**  

*Ran by Nikoheart & Drayux*  

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/2yzrjje4.jpg)Having met a donation incentive, Nikoheart and Drayux bumped up their race from Novice difficulty up to the max Nightmare difficulty while navigating ***with a steering wheel***. This showcase has **MULTIPLE** elements combining to make for an extremely entertaining run, but perhaps the most entertaining is Nikoheart’s googly-eyed steering wheel twisting and turning for 3 hours.



## Forging Forward



ESA Summer ‘21 has been a blast so far, and if I could write about every single run so far I would’ve because it’s been a non-stop ride of entertainment — but not to worry because ESA is still going on! If you want to see more runs like the ones in this article, head on over to [ESA’s Twitch channel](https://www.twitch.tv/esamarathon), and we’ll see you there!



ESA Summer 2021 has already featured some pretty incredible speedruns. We've selected some highlights here, covering the first half of the event.

ESA Summer 2021 early highlights

On February 26, 2020 [MrCheeze](https://www.speedrun.com/user/MrCheeze) bet [Savestate](https://www.speedrun.com/user/Savestate

) that the Ocarina of Time speedrun would never go under 7 minutes. On July 22, 2021, Savestate ***won*** this bet, getting their name in the history books and completing [The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in 6:59.767](https://www.speedrun.com/oot/run/zxgej3ky)

# A Rich History

OOT might be the speedgame with the most documentation and mainstream attention surrounding its world record history. [Narcissa Wright’s 18:10](https://www.speedrun.com/oot/run/emkjx7ly), [Torje’s 16:58](https://www.speedrun.com/oot/run/y215p47z), and now the biggest barrier broken since the discovery of Stale Reference Manipulation (aka SRM, we’ll get more into that in a bit) — Savestate’s 6:59. It’s safe to say there was a lot that led up to what might be the last minute-barrier to ever be broken in OOT, but if I was to cover [everything from the beginning](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DgefbvS3X4geDxfwdE-K6CnGvNcDwZSmiZz_u2KGDcI/htmlview?pli=1#) we’d be here forever. Instead, let's take a brief overview of what the route looks like today.

# The Route

Once Savestate is out of the 3-minute introduction, they do a backflip off of Link’s house and side jump to grab two rupees. The start of this run is all about grabbing some items and rupees to buy more items needed later in the run.

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/l1n7m9n5.jpg)Savestate then continues on to grab the sword from a chest, grabbing more rupees along the way.

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/97n62meq.jpg)Next, it’s time for some rupee farming. Savestate grabs every permanent rupee in Kokiri Forest (the first area in the game) plus two random ones for a total of 55.

It’s possible to farm some more of the random rupees and save an additional 5 seconds, but Savestate intentionally opts not to for this run since it only has about a 14% chance of success. With the 55 rupees, Savestate buys a Deku Shield, which is needed to get Mido out of the way for a setup later in the run, as well as a Deku Nut, which is used for a glitch later on.

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/7rnq5wnj.jpg)This is where things get ***wild*** and *VERY* technical.

Ocarina of Time is quite a long game casually, but a *short* speedrun while running under the Any% ruleset. This is because runners are now able to warp to the final credits from within the first area through an ***INCREDIBLY*** complicated process.

The tech behind this process is complex enough that after a few hours of research, I still feel as though I’ve only scratched the surface of it. I want to thank Savestate, MrCheeze, dannyb, and the Ocarina of Time Speedrunning Discord for assisting me with this information, and I’m going to do my very best to boil it down as best I can. I’ve also listed some documents and videos explaining everything with greater detail at the end of this article.

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/67e9g1n1.jpg)After leaving the shop, Savestate manipulates the actor heap at the transition between Kokiri Forest and the Great Deku Tree in order to set up the game’s memory appropriately, performs a glitch called [Return A](https://youtu.be/5A51_byMBXs?t=437) and then heads back up to the crawlspace where they grabbed the sword.

On the sign by the crawlspace, they use a glitch called [Walking While Talking](https://youtu.be/5A51_byMBXs?t=497) which, when combined with Return A, is able to create a Stale Reference from a rock, and then load a fairy in its place, modifying its data.

Normally when fairies are unloaded, they run a function in the unloading process. This function modifies memory in two places, and runners use SRM to modify memory based on the first and second halves of the player's filename.

Players use the first half of the filename to set all the grass polygons to a specific exit within Kokiri Forest, and the second half to set the current cutscene value to 7, which when combined with the exit mentioned previously, wrong warps the runner to the credits. Running back over to the Great Deku Tree unloads the fairy and activates the effects of the SRM.

# ![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/3ynl7mz6.jpg)Technical Marvel

When Stale Reference Manipulation was discovered, there were sub-categories created that banned its use due to how powerful it was, even spawning a new category representative of the route before SRM's discovery. The majority of the community and even the runners of Any% don't seem to *enjoy* the new Any% category in the traditional sense.  However, there is certainly something to be said for the amount of effort, knowledge, and talent that exists behind this run.

So many people spent a combined hundreds of hours into the routing of this run. Even beyond that, the execution required to match up angles precise enough to allow for this glitch is astounding.

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/r7z34led.jpg)What lies ahead?

Well, as I was in the middle of writing this very article, prolific speedrunner DannyB who has also held many world records in the past was able to achieve a sub-7 time of his own — lowering the Ocarina of Time world record by a further 2 seconds with a [6:57.400.](https://www.speedrun.com/oot/run/yj5j413m)

Danny was even a contender to be the first person for a sub-7-minute time, but unfortunately due to a caching error (no fault of his own) he had two sub 7 pace runs die right at the end.  He finally managed to get it on July 23, just one day later than Savestate. At the end of this run, Danny mentioned that Any% can be lowered by a further 5 seconds but that it won’t be him that does it.

So what’s to come? No one really knows. Will someone come along and lower the record right after this article gets published? Maybe. One thing is for sure, it seems the last minute barrier for Ocarina of Time has *finally* been broken.

No one’s ever claimed that before — right?

## Resources

***An overview of SRM, ACE and more***

**By Fig**

[Link](https://youtu.be/SPi_d0zhNFc)

***Stale Reference Manipulation Explained at GDQ***

**By ZFG, Savestate, & dannyb**

[Link](https://youtu.be/TAj1cuz7jXs?t=300)

***Reach the Credits from Kokiri Forest using ACE (Ocarina of Time Glitch Explained)***

**By GlitchesAndStuff**

[Link — shows older route, but still great information](https://youtu.be/wdRJWDKb5Bo)

***Ocarina of Time Speedrun World Record History Spreadsheet***

**By Ocarina of Time Speedrunning Community**

[Link](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DgefbvS3X4geDxfwdE-K6CnGvNcDwZSmiZz_u2KGDcI/htmlview?pli=1#)

***OoT Speedunning Discord Server***

**By Ocarina of Time Speedrunning Community**

[Link](https://discord.gg/7FYGh3d)

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/2qnykdzp.gif)

On July 22, 2021, Savestate broke the 7-minute barrier for the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Any% speedrun.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 7-minute barrier broken

The cycle of speedrunning marathons raising money for amazing causes is infinite, and there’s no better time to enjoy such content than during the summer. Both GamesDoneQuick (GDQ) and the European Speedrunner Assembly (ESA) have major events in the summer where the finest talent from all around the world comes together. 



As ESA’s biggest event of the year comes ever closer, let’s take a look at what I'm most looking forward to as someone who played a large part in the scheduling process!



## Honorable Mention - Persona 5 - True Ending (Hard) by Neviutz - July 23 10:30 pm CEST / 4:30 pm EST

ESA is continuing with the pre-shows as they did with Winter earlier in the year, allowing them to showcase much longer runs that would usually have a hard time fitting into the schedule. Kicking off the event is Neviutz with Persona 5, and it’s a big speedrun. This run chooses the hardest difficulty, where you do 20% less damage and take a whopping 60% more compared to normal mode. It also explores the true ending of the game in order to make sure no stone is left unturned inside the world of Persona 5. We’re ready to go through a year of the protagonist’s life, are you?



## Bloodborne - All Bosses (Unrestricted) by Yarthow - July 24 5:30 p.m. CEST / 11:30 a.m. EST

Kicking off the first day of ESA Summer 2021 is a first day full of crazy runs, and what is crazier than beating every Bloodborne boss in 90 minutes? To those unfamiliar, Bloodborne is an entry into the *Souls* franchise. These games are extremely difficult, and Bloodborne is absolutely no exception. 



As the game is a Playstation exclusive, users of other platforms might not be as haunted by the names of some bosses when compared to something like *Dark Souls*. However, The Old Hunters DLC that comes with the package is well known to include some of the most difficult bosses in the entire series. Bloodborne puts a new spin on Souls combat and forces players to be much more aggressive in order to survive. This makes it all the more of a spectacle to watch, and all the more breathtaking when Yarthow showcases his exceptional talent.



## Minecraft - Random Seed (Glitchless, 1.16+) by Sizzler - July 24 8:30 p.m. CEST / 2:30 p.m. EST

Shortly after Bloodborne, we will take a large turn from a bleak and hopeless landscape filled with terror to a much more relaxing childhood favorite of many in Minecraft. In recent times, Minecraft has taken the speedrunning world by storm and has become by far the most popular speedrun to exist. At the forefront of this craze is RSG, otherwise known as Random Seed Glitchless. RSG is quite simple; you spawn into a random world and kill the ender dragon as quickly as you can. No glitches, no prior preparation, just you and the tools the game gives you.



Version 1.16 changed the landscape of Minecraft speedrunning forever, as it allowed for trading within the Nether in order to receive ender pearls rather than farming them from Endermen. Nowadays, it gets even deeper (pun fully intended) with runners using ocean monuments to farm gold for the aforementioned trading. It remains to be seen what Sizzler will be able to pull off when he only gets a single shot to take down the dragon.



## Resident Evil Village - Hardcore (Glitchless) by Gidano - July 25 2 a.m. CEST / 8 p.m. EST

It is one thing to master a game that has been around for years and possibly even decades, but what happens when a game is only two months old? The newest entry in the *Resident Evil* franchise is Village, the eighth installment into the main series. Already runners are doing their best to complete the game in record time. This game has made many a headline in the gaming world, discussing how ruthless and unforgiving the Hardcore difficulty is. The enemies are quicker, deal much more damage and won’t give you a moment to breathe. Fortunately for us, we will be safe in the hands of Gidano, who has mastered this exceptionally hard difficulty and will use nothing more than the hand he is dealt in order to overcome the gargantuan challenge he will be faced with. Everything is planned carefully to the last bullet, will you be there to see where they land?



## Honourable Mention - JP Block by quino_w / stone_clive / fuso_wasedr09 / swordfish464 / cicada - July 26 2 p.m. CEST / 10 a.m. EST

This block of games is definitely a first for ESA, and possibly even most western speedrunning events. On July 26, ESA will feature a number of top-level Japanese speedrunners in their own segment of the event to showcase their skills to the western world. There usually isn’t much overlap due to language barriers and travel costs for in-person events, but one of the upsides of us all being home is that these sort of crossovers are much more doable. 



At the time of submission, we contacted the runners and all of them were extremely friendly when we were trying to make sure English commentary was possible and to schedule tech checks. Every single one of them had a plan in mind, whether it be speaking English themselves or having a dedicated commentator to bridge the language barrier, so I’m super excited to see these guys showcase their exceptional talent to a world that might have never seen them otherwise.



## Pokémon FireRed/LeafGreen - Elite 4 Round 2 by Shiru - 5 a.m. CEST / 11 p.m. EST

There is nothing comfier than a good old-fashioned Pokemon speedrun. The amount of preparation required in order to efficiently level your Pokemon while also using a single team to sweep the entire game is really impressive. 



Runners will know every trainer they face, each move their Pokemon have and each item they carry. This knowledge allows for a limitless amount of potential when it comes to routing and creating a powerful team, and this is amplified when we look at Round 2. Most people will be familiar with defeating the Elite 4 in a playthrough, but in these titles you can have a rematch against them. During Round 2 their Pokemon will be at a higher level, and they will have switched out members of their team to have a more deadly lineup. This means that new strategies will need to be utilized in order to efficiently defeat the Elite 4 once again, so join Shiru as he takes them down.



## The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD - 100% by mralberto - July 30 midnight CEST / 6 p.m. EST

When it comes to speedrunning, Zelda speedruns have made up a huge chunk since the hobby’s inception. Some of the most well-known moments in speedrunning history stem from the Zelda scene. The 18:10 & the infamous barrier skip, to name just a few, with the latter all coming to a head within the HD version of The Wind Waker. Currently, if you take a look at the top of almost any Wind Waker HD leaderboard, you will see just one name and that name is mralberto. Alberto has been dominating WWHD for a long time now and shows no signs of slowing down, so it is an honor for us to let him show his skills to the masses as he collects every last hear, item, song, and upgrade on his way to 100% completion.



## Grand Theft Auto: Vice City - 100% by Mhmd_FVC - July 30 9 p.m. CEST / 3 p.m. EST

Continuing on from 100% runs you definitely should not miss, how about seeing a Grand Theft Auto title completed 100% in less than 5 hours? The Grand Theft Auto community is one of the largest on the planet, and Mhmd is one of the greatest of all time. We haven’t seen a 100% run of Vice City at ESA since 2015, and the difference between the two runs is going to be colossal. Huge amounts of mission duplication and memory corruption are segmented between casual Sunday drives through Ocean Beach. This run truly has it all. Ever wondered how to complete 100 taxi fares while only delivering one? How about completing the firefighter missions without using the water cannon, or completing the paramedic missions without saving a single patient? All will be revealed and much much more as Mhmd takes you on a trip to the eighties.



## GeoGuessr - Perfect Score (A Diverse World) by havrd - August 1 2 a.m. CEST / 8 p.m. EST

The finale of ESA Summer 2021 is quite a unique speedrun. We’ve all played GeoGuessr at some point I’m sure, putting our geographical skills to the rest by trying to pinpoint a location anywhere in the world purely by looking at Google Maps. It’s definitely not easy, and usually, I find myself sometimes guessing the wrong country or even wrong continent entirely. havrd is built different though. Not only will he get the country, but he will find the exact road he’s been placed on anywhere in the world within a few minutes. A perfect score is 5 maps, and he will guess perfectly for all 5 maps in order to complete a perfect run. Bonkers.



## Where Can I Watch?

ESA Summer 2021 will be taking place from July 23 - August 1 over at [ESA’s Twitch channel](https://www.twitch.tv/esamarathon), and will be running around the clock during those dates to bring you only the best of what speedrunning has to offer.



What we have mentioned in this list is not all you will be seeing at ESA, and you can find the entire [event schedule on their website](https://esamarathon.com/schedule/). The event will support [Save The Children](https://www.savethechildren.org/). Their goal is to improve the lives of children everywhere through better education, health care, and economic opportunities. Save the Children respond to major emergencies, deliver innovative development programs, and ensure children’s voices are heard through our campaigning to build a better future for and with children.



You can also find ESA on these platforms:



[Twitter](https://twitter.com/esamarathon)  

[Discord](https://discordapp.com/invite/0TZ2NlveujtasAqb)  

[YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/user/EuroSpeedAssembly)  

[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/europeanspeedrunnerassembly)  

[Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/esamarathon/)  



We hope to see you there!





ESA Summer 2021 gets underway on July 23. We've compiled a list of can't-miss speedruns from the week-long event that are sure to delight fans!

Runs at ESA Summer 2021 you don’t want to miss

Speedrunning is a niche, that we can say for sure. Some speedrunning concepts can be extremely hard to grasp without deep technical knowledge of a certain title. A lot of runners can possess this knowledge, but a viewer will need to seek out answers themselves. For many, speedruns become far more enjoyable to watch when you understand the technicalities of such a run, and appreciate all the work that goes into them. For this reason, there has been an increasing demand for glitch breakdowns and explanations from the experts as a method of bridging the gap between the well-versed communities and somebody fresh to the scene.



catalystz has been producing some of the best educational content covering speedruns I’ve ever seen. His videos include world record histories, glitch explanations and much more, all written in an easy-to-digest manner that makes it perfect for those unfamiliar with the specifics to learn and get involved. cata is well known as [one of the best *Dark Souls* players on the planet](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHqWjTcAlW0), but there is a whole other skill set that allows him to develop this internal knowledge into teaching resources for newcomers and veterans alike. Whether you’re someone who wishes to learn more about the world of speedrunning, or how to begin as a teacher yourself, cata has you covered with his fantastic perspective and advice.



*Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?*



> Hey, I'm catalystz and although I have a varied history of speedrunning different games dating back all the way to 2012, I am primarily known for my Dark Souls speedruns the past three and a half years. 



*What/who inspired you to start creating scripted content?*



> I was inspired by several fellow speedrunning content creators which I look up to, especially by what they are able to provide in terms of presenting speedrunning to casual audiences and being able to bring more interest towards our hobby, which can quite often 

be misunderstood, I mean just look at the YouTube comments at some popular speedrunning videos. I don't think people are ignorant towards what speedrunning is, I simply believe they need to be introduced to it in a proper way.



*What does the process usually look like for such content? How long does a project take?*



> The process always has to start with an idea of what to present. Luckily Dark Souls is so varied even before speedrunning comes into play, so there is always something interesting to be relayed to the audience. My videos serve both educational AND entertaining 

purpose, but the main concern is how to relay interesting information in an engaging way as concisely as possible while keeping the desired amount of detail. When I have a clear idea of what the video will represent, I sit down to draft a script. Starting with a rough outline is a must, followed by a couple of rounds of writing the actual text. Since my videos are highly produced, I script them word by word. Then I mark each section with corresponding video footage ideas. When most of the script has some footage assigned, I go ahead and record or otherwise collect it and then mark it off. In the meantime, I will also be recording my audio in small chunks, so that my voice does not get too tired during it, that does not sound good. After collecting all the video footage and going through a bit of post for audio (cutting out saliva noises, de-essing...), perhaps the most fun part of the process begins - the editing. 



> Premiere Pro and After Effects usually serve most of my needs for a project. During the editing process, many ideas might come up when it comes to presenting specific ideas throughout the video and the evolution of having an empty canvas gradually filled is very satisfying. When I'm done with the first version, I send it out for a round of feedback to some close friends, definitely recommend doing that. It helps if you can contact both people who know lots of things about the subject that is covered and also people who might be complete outsiders. After implementing the necessary changes, the video can pretty much go live.



*What have been your favorite and least favorite projects so far?*



> I do not have a least favorite project of mine, of course the quality of my videos has evolved through time, but every single project has been a stepping stone for my improvement as a content creator and has taught me many valuable lessons. You cannot 

get better at creating content just by observing or learning about it, you need to get out there and do it. My favorite project on the other hand is probably my [Force Quit World Record History video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtNdxuTieog), it took quite a while to produce, pretty much 6 weeks of nonstop work next to streaming and I really like the story I managed to tell there.



*Do you focus your content towards a casual audience, or towards the speedrunning community as a whole?*



> Produced speedrunning content presented in the correct manner can be a great way of bringing more eyes to the community. I always try to ensure that things which might not be clear to the general audience are properly explained. A lot of the "hate" speedrunning gets in places like youtube comments are in my opinion coming from a place of lack of knowledge, when people don't understand the concept of what we do. I think bridging this gap is something content creators can strive to do.



*Do you have any advice for new creators who wish to start producing educational speedrunning content in the future?*



> My advice for new content creators would be to just go for it, if they feel like they have something interesting to relay, they can always at least try. Plenty of speedrunners know fascinating things about their respective speedgames which they consider to be mundane, but you need to take an outer look and realize that these ordinary things for them might be fascinating to the right audience. Give it a shot and learn with every step of the way.





If you’d like to delve deeper into the mind of catalystz, I’m sure he’d be happy to see you. Whether it be on his [Twitch channel](https://www.twitch.tv/catalystz) where he frequently streams his attempts to break records and write history, or on his [YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA9uZZsfbQDbvW8Z9e3rFGA) where all of the teaching masterclasses happen.



Who is catalystz? He produces educational speedrunning content as well as being one of the world's best Dark Souls players. Check out our interview with this skilled speedrunning content creator!

Insight into the mind of catalystz

EBen

xwpw4y0l

summertimealice

SpeedrunCom

A Difficult Game About Climbing

Leaderboard will be closed for moderators to prepare for full game release.

The Outlast Trials

UEFN: Paranoid

Sorry, the page will be inaccessible for 2 hours, until 19:00 or 7:00 p.m (French hour). We are setting up the page!

That's not my Robloxian

An embargo is in place. Please come back when the embargo is open!

**Why?**: The embargo is in place to allow moderators and community members to properly set up the leaderboards. Don't want to rush it and make mistakes!