Billy Mitchell, a competitive video game player widely regarded among the best, has claimed vindication after having several of his previously rescinded world records reinstated.
Mr. Mitchell, whose achievements in the arcade have spanned several decades, rejoiced Thursday upon reclaiming multiple titles recognized by Guinness World Records.
Guinness had stripped Mr. Mitchell of the records in 2018, including high scores in “Donkey Kong” and “Pac-Man,” prompting the contested video game champion to mount an appeal.
Craig Glenday, Guinness’ editor in chief, stated that an investigation into the records ultimately resulted in a complete reversal.
“In the end, we found that there just wasn’t sufficient evidence to support the disqualification across the board,” Mr. Glenday said in a video statement.
Mr. Mitchell, 54, has been among the best-known names in the relatively niche field of competitive video gaming since essentially its infancy, having set a longstanding “Donkey Kong” record as a teenager in 1982 and breaking and establishing several other records during the decades that followed.
Twin Galaxies, an organization that acts as a scorekeeper for professionals gamers like Mr. Mitchell, stripped him of those titles in early 2018, citing concerns over the hardware he used to achieve his high scores. Twin Galaxies then notified Guinness, which similarly followed suit and sparked Mr. Mitchell’s ultimately successful appeal.
“I wanted to clear my name and resume my role as one of the key personalities and promoters of competitive eSports,” Mr. Mitchell said in a statement. “It took more than two years and an abundance of indisputable facts, eyewitnesses, and expert testimony to prove all of my records were legitimate.”
“I respectfully thank Guinness World Records for its professionalism and truthful diligence, and of course, the reinstatement of my records,” Mr. Mitchell said in the statement.
By reversing course, Guinness recognizes Mr. Mitchell once again as having set the first “Donkey Kong” record in 1982, then again in 2005, 2007 and 2010. Guinness has also reinstated his record for achieving the first “perfect score” during a game of “Pac-Man” in 1999, as well as being the first gamer to reach a so-called “kill screen” on “Donkey Kong” in 1982 and the first to score 1 million points in the game in 2005.
More recently, Mr. Mitchell recreated both the “Pac-Man” and “Donkey Kong” records while successfully appealing his disqualification by Guinness. He has also filed a defamation suit against Twin Galaxies, which remains pending in Los Angeles County Court. Twin Galaxies did not immediately return a request for comment.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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