Something to look forward to: Kosmic said that although he may not be the one to do it, he sees humans eventually taking the record down to at least 18:54 someday. Realistically, he believes an 18:58 or 18:57 is attainable based on his skill set.

Renowned speedrunner Kosmic recently became the first person ever to post a sub 19-minute warpless run of Super Mario Bros with a time of 18:59:856.

To put the achievement into perspective, all warpless runs of Super Mario Bros. for more than 12 years have been 19 minutes and change. Breaking into the 18-minute realm, even if just barely, is a significant milestone in speedrunning.


The second fastest time according to the speedrun.com leaderboard is 19:00:954 by GTAce99

Once someone has put the blueprint out for a way to accomplish a specific goal, it usually doesn't take long for others to refine the method even further.

If you recall, Kosmic last September became the first person to break the 4:55 barrier in Super Mario Bros. (using warps, of course) with a run of 4:55:913. Nearly a year later, Kosmic has fallen to third place in the any percent category as two others - somewes and tavenwebb2002 - have since turned in faster times of 4:55:796 and 4:55:746, respectively.

Sure, you're splitting hairs at that point but hey, faster is faster and a record is a record. Heck, I'm doing good just to beat the game period, much less at a world record pace.