Arcade gaming legend Billy "King of Kong" Mitchell has secured a significant victory in court, winning nearly a quarter of a million dollars in damages after a defamation lawsuit against Australian YouTuber Karl Jobst. As reported by PC Gamer, Jobst, known for his content on competitive and speedrunning gaming, featured Mitchell in a video titled "The Biggest Conmen in Video Game History Strike Again!" which garnered 500,000 views. The court ruled that the video contained defamatory, inaccurate, and unsubstantiated claims against Mitchell.

Mitchell's journey has been tumultuous. In 2018, he was stripped of his gaming titles when his scores were removed from Twin Galaxies' leaderboards amid allegations that he used MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) instead of arcade cabinets to achieve his records in games like Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, and Donkey Kong Jr., which violates the rules. However, after a six-year battle, Mitchell successfully had his accolades reinstated in Twin Galaxies' "historical database" and his high scores were also recognized again by the Guinness World of Records in 2020.

Billy "King of Kong" Mitchell has won a defamation lawsuit against Australian YouTuber Karl Jobst. Photo by David Greedy/Getty Images.

The defamation lawsuit against Jobst, however, was not about the legitimacy of Mitchell's Donkey Kong scores. Instead, Mitchell claimed that Jobst's 2021 video falsely suggested that his previous legal action against another YouTuber, Benjamin "Apollo Legend" Smith, led to Smith owing $1 million in damages and contributed to Smith's suicide in 2020. The video also allegedly implied that Mitchell took pleasure in Smith's death.

In response to Mitchell's legal threats, Jobst edited the video, and Smith's brother later confirmed that no money had been paid. Jobst took to X/Twitter to acknowledge his loss, stating that the judge found Mitchell to be a credible witness and accepted his entire testimony. Jobst clarified that he did not accuse Mitchell of cheating and that his claims about Smith were based on incorrect information from multiple sources.

Jobst expressed his determination to explore his options moving forward and apologized for any disappointment caused to his supporters. He emphasized his pride in standing up against what he perceived as bullying and defending his right to free expression.

The court ordered Jobst to pay $187,800 (AU$300,000) in damages for non-economic loss, $31,300 (AU$50,000) in aggravated damages, and $22,000 (AU$34,668.50) in interest, totaling approximately $241,000. The judge noted that Mitchell could have justified a higher amount for aggravated damages but awarded the amount Mitchell sought.

Mitchell, who achieved a perfect score in Pac-Man in the '80s, rose to fame with the 2007 documentary, King of Kong, which chronicled his rivalry with Steve Wiebe.