Arcade gaming legend Billy "King of Kong" Mitchell has successfully won a defamation lawsuit against Australian YouTuber Karl Jobst, securing damages amounting to nearly a quarter of a million dollars. 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 Jobst's video contained defamatory content and made inaccurate and unsubstantiated claims against Mitchell.

Mitchell's gaming achievements came under scrutiny in 2018 when his scores were removed from Twin Galaxies' leaderboards due to allegations that he used a 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 competition rules. After a six-year battle, Mitchell successfully had his accolades reinstated in a "historical database" on Twin Galaxies' site, and his high scores were also recognized again by the Guinness World Records in 2020.

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

However, Mitchell's defamation lawsuit against Jobst was not about the validity of his Donkey Kong scores. Instead, Mitchell took legal action because he claimed that Jobst's 2021 video falsely suggested that Mitchell's earlier lawsuit against another YouTuber, Benjamin "Apollo Legend" Smith, resulted in Smith having to pay $1 million in damages and contributed to his suicide in 2020. The video allegedly also implied that Mitchell took pleasure in the thought of Smith's death.

After Mitchell threatened legal action, Jobst edited the video, and Smith's brother confirmed that no money had been paid. Jobst later admitted on X/Twitter that he lost the case, stating, "The judge found Billy to be a credible witness and believed his entire testimony." Jobst clarified that he did not accuse Mitchell of cheating, and his claims about Smith were based on "incorrect information from multiple sources." He expressed regret and vowed to continue working hard to repay his supporters.

In his subsequent update, Jobst 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) for non-economic loss, $31,300 (AU$50,000) for aggravated damages, and $22,000 (AU$34,668.50) in interest, totaling around $241,000.

Mitchell, who achieved a perfect score in Pac-Man during the '80s, gained further fame through the 2007 documentary, King of Kong, which highlighted his rivalry with Steve Wiebe.