At this point, Super Mario Bros. any% might just be the most notable category in speedrunning, with a small but absurdly dedicated group of runners pushing the time, frame by frame, ever closer to literal perfection. A $5,000 bounty offered by – of all things – a woodworking company has injected a whole lot of fresh energy into the scene, bringing a runner called Niftski back to the category to prove why he's such a legend.
The Super Mario Bros. any% speedrun category is especially competitive both because the runs are so short – under five minutes, now – and because of what runners call the frame rule. In the most basic terms, the frame rule puts a hard floor on how fast you can beat each level, and the gulf between the theoretical perfect run as determined by tool-assisted speedruns isn't so far from what a human playing the game in real time could accomplish. (If you want a more thorough explanation of the frame rule, this video from Kosmic will give you a detailed understanding.)
Earlier this year, Niftski was the runner closest to perfection, getting just 18 frames away from the limit in a January run. Niftski had been the only world record holder since 2021, gradually setting new personal bests that were virtually uncontested by other runners. He took a break from SMB any% after the January record, pursuing other categories and games in the meantime.
Then, in August, we got a new Super Mario Bros. any% world record holder for the first time in 4 years, when averge11 set a time just 15 frames away from perfection. It wasn't clear what would happen next. Everyone's been waiting for the day when the perfect run finally happens, but progress toward that milestone was starting to seem pretty slow.
But then, on September 30, something truly weird happened: a nerd-focused woodworking company specializing in D&D tables decided to put a bounty on the SMB any% record. In a YouTube video, Wyrmwood announced that it will offer three prizes to whoever holds the top three spots on the leaderboard as of January 1, 2026: $5,000 for first place, $2,500 for second place, and $1,000 for third. The top runner will also get a very slick-looking Mario-themed desk.
"I'm really intrigued to see how this revives the competition," speedrun historian SummoningSalt said on Twitter. "The obvious contenders for this are averge and Niftski, but there are others further down that have a chance.The theoretical perfect run is 4:54.26, current WR is 4:54.51. I wonder how close we'll get."
The $5,000 bounty was enough to get Niftski back to regular any% record attempts, which he started on October 8. On just the second run of his very first day back, he tied the new world record averge11 set in August. Just two hours later, he set a new world record of his own with a time of 4:54.515. For those of you keeping track of the race to perfection, the human record is now just 13 frames away from the TAS
"Two records in a day! Two records in a day! I'm him! If this isn't proof that I'm him, I don't know what is, dude," Niftski screamed as the reality of his new record set in. He soon started trying to rip his shirt open, Hulk Hogan-style, letting out a guttural scream just before admitting "I can't rip the shirt, bro. It's too hard. It's too hard. L aura, bro."
But a W aura quickly followed as he made a second attempt at getting the shirt open, this time successfully peeling it apart to reveal, well, what can only be described as a torso appropriate for an apparent gaming god. What a (literal) flex to casually drop two world records in one day and reveal that you also bodybuild in your spare time.
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