The History of the Mario Kart DS World Champion

[@SummoningSalt]

Check out the REDMAGIC 9s Pro Phone: bit.ly/3W6PaeJ Thanks to the following people for help with research! Check out their channels: MKDasher: kzbin.info Puddings: www.youtube.com/@Puddings/featured abel: www.twitch.tv/abel Watch abel’s documentary about MKDasher - kzbin.info/www/bejne/r37GoWeef7ytaa8 Keverage: www.twitch.tv/keverage max: kzbin.info Giulio Centrone: kzbin.info/door/xPBTVEv9iSSKvUf3JpCQWg?app=desktop Fabien Da Silva: www.youtube.com/@FabienDaSilva Thomas Bolton: www.youtube.com/@TiBiUan

[@virusvirtualxd]

Hi

[@404Errored]

I'd rather buy a nokia brick...

[@ozzy_12345]

ok

[@shadowtheultimatelifeform1313]

Always 👍🏿

[@souler4224]

I always love your video

[@turkia6148]

Legends say that Sascha has all 64 world records, he is just waiting for the best moment to release them.

[@inthefade]

It would be epic.

[@user-os7ec4dm8x]

They gang up and call him a no life loser, meanwhile he fucks off to get on with his life and they carry on for years trying to beat the same records, guess they were the no life losers after all!

[@OctaHeart]

​@@inthefadeIt would be awful in 64 different ways.

[@Ghekkoo]

😄😎

[@Frostbytedigital]

We all know they killed sascha

[@traviswilliams2348]

I kinda just wanna point out the INSANITY of the guy doing weekly update newsletters on Mario Cart ds, for years and years and years. The sheer dedication is insane. Through the highs and lows, dry spells and wr spam. Weekly updates on people's movements and activity. Props.

[@Kavilion]

Nothing makes me happier than when people find a passion project

[@xxhobocatxx2869]

Right? I'm honestly just shocked that the forum is still around at all nearly 20 years later. Absolutely insane.

[@amogus956]

Thought the same thing, shoutouts to the people running the site!

[@SumnerTube21]

Well Sami Cetin has been doing it for Super Mario Kart since the 90s, he started up the entire thing. We still play IRL to this day, I even leave for Europe in 2 weeks. The commitment on the Players Site is total insanity

[@MaxMKDS]

Thanks! It's easier when you know that other people also care and that somebody is reading them.

[@mkdasher]

It was so nice to see my favourite game covered in a SummoningSalt's video, thank you for that! Also.. time really flies, can't believe it's been 16 years since I joined this community :o

[@despg]

well hello there

[@MintiesPoopin]

Legend

[@duck.mp4656]

un genio David

[@giatoyama]

OH MY GOD ITS MKDASHERRRR BEJEGDJDND

[@AnyborGG]

Damn it's the GOAT himself

[@hassannaeem101]

Shout-out to taiga's parents for recognizing their kid's abilities and making the effort to post those vids. I can imagine many other kids would have their parents brush it off and not realize the level of achievement

[@josue1996jc]

i never really apreciated it but my mom asked me once or twice if was really good at any of my games, i allways said no and dismissed her. a couple years ago i saw the history of DMC3 speedruning and i'm pretty sure i was years ahead the competition on 2010 (i had a beef with a cousin plaing it) but i didnt knew there was a speedrun comunity.

[@thekiran6176]

@@josue1996jc be the ben stoneman of dmc3, you probably still have what it takes to compete

[@josue1996jc]

@@thekiran6176 nah i saw the level rigth now and it just reached levels of complexity that i just don't wanna get in to anymore, they are teleporting entire maps and shit now xd.

[@oliverfalco7060]

The fact that you included Mark Jones in the overall graph is really sweet, at the end he was the one starting the website so I think he deserves it

[@robfortune6]

he's the best player in this entire video, of course he was going to feature!

[@mr.thumbsup8335]

Bro really had me all hyped up about a possible comeback at 43:28 lol

[@sarysa]

Yeah, that fakeout was the best part. 😹 Actually had me believe the founder had a inspiration moment complete with a Rocky montage.

[@bmac4]

To be fair, he's *still* active in Mario Kart speedrunning, setting a personal best on a track 4 months ago in MK64, not to mention the site work.

[@ExoticChaotic]

In before Sascha is revealed to be Taiga’s dad who disappeared to train his son for revenge.

[@sosogo4real]

The Mario Kart DS Axis.

[@costantinocarnevale3289]

Ah, yes, the Jos Verstappen mk.2. This time without life scarring abuse, hopefully

[@Mogeli]

@@costantinocarnevale3289Taiga has been setting all of his WRs from outside a petrol station

[@FranciGitGud]

The story of MKDS is peak

[@Zharque]

The long con strategy

[@mkdsabel]

Thank you so much for covering Mario Kart DS! It's a huge honour for our community. Still can't believe the game is nearly 20 years old now.

[@AutisticJesusGaming]

Shits almost as old as I am and I played that bitch haha.

[@tonys6620]

No way I only started watching your world record videos just days ago. And now you're in the newest SS world record video 💀 You're legendary

[@JumbojayMK]

It's gotta be disheartening for the Mario Kart 8 community and time trialers their game will never get a Summoning Salt video but tbh the game just doesn't have Aura

[@silverflight01]

Me neither, time flies a lot, Abel

[@beatziegraham6928]

Mkds was my childhood. I still play just for fun. Happy almost 20th anniversary for all of us!

[@kaseyau]

Still can't believe Sascha moved to Japan and had a child who he trained to play Mario Kart DS

[@bigfishy7624]

true redditor mentality

[@ajddavid452]

I was thinking that too lol

[@angel_of_rust]

the only other good kind of grooming

[@alejandroo.2358]

project lebron but for mario kart ds

[@Lssr933]

Project MKDS

[@Magic_Pickle123]

Taiga just casually became world champion while still in middle school, what a legend

[@rawr51919]

I can see him being champ into adulthood too

[@colossaldonut5190]

Chad recording his footage with his phone pointed at his DS.

[@SAMPLETEXT285]

His parents are legends as well for supporting him as he sets those records

[@PrismHeartOfficial]

wait..... THAT TAIGA?? The Vtuber??

[@SlCKB0Y-sb1kg]

@@colossaldonut51903DS

[@baconlettucepotato69]

the only certainties in life: -death -taxes -an unknown japanese person suddenly yoinking the top spot of a speedrunning community and then disappearing randomly

[@panos21sonic]

Roses are red Violets are blue There is always an Asian kid Better than you

[@NeonManul564]

Lmao

[@xbatusai]

I was expecting a Matt Turk reference lol

[@freedomgoddess]

there was a german comment i once saw referring to the concept. i don't remember the entire comment but i do remember it reading at the end: _ein japaner besser kann_ (a japanese can do it better)

[@ThwipThwipBoom]

@@panos21sonic LOL so true

[@kulrigalestout]

It's kinda funny that twice in the game's history, the #1 spot was only in question because of literally one track someone had zero interest in playing.

[@YoutubePizzer]

fucking rainbow road, too

[@EGRJ]

"I I had a nickel for every time-"

[@viljamtheninja]

I have to admit, I love Thomas' nonchalant attitude about it that he held on to for the longest time.

[@ohritz3939]

for TB it was like 3 i think but mainly rainbow road

[@DarkTwinge]

I completely understand it - When I used to speedrun MK64 (at a much lower level), it was the same exact two tracks I never wanted to play: Moo Moo Farm & Rainbow Road. The old data is still there and they are literally my worst times 😅

[@sweetasbloodredjam]

Assuming Sasha used his real name and it had an ‘ä’ instead of the ‘a’ in ‘Brauninger’, wich would be the normal german spelling, he might have stopped because he had just started a physics degree and is now a PHD in physics, lol.

[@pineapplequeen13]

That would be absolutely wild, if true. Is that a common name?

[@JE281]

@@pineapplequeen13 no not really. Brauninger could also be a valid German last name

[@pocketlint60]

I want to believe this just because it's a hilarious payoff to the entire community telling him he no life beyond the game.

[@sweetasbloodredjam]

@@JE281 Neither are common, but ‘Bräuninger’ or ‘Breuninger’ you can at leat find a decent amount of. ‘Brauninger’, while technically a valid spelling, would be REALLY rare. If you look it up in the phonebook for example, there’s 148 results for the Various spellings of ‘Bräuninger’, but not a single one for ‘Brauniger’.

[@cedricdubois3485]

I was curious to see if this was really the case. Comparing his old speedrunner photo with the ones I saw on Google Image, it seems he's more of a senior project manager in a Pricing and Product Management team.

[@amarsofiane]

Taiga: the only reason you were the strongest, is because I wasn't born yet

[@TheGhostThatWas]

dude was born to be king 👑

[@MrMoron-qn5rx]

if god had wanted you to win he would not have created HIM

[@Flareonboii]

@@TheGhostThatWasBeing honest be Should have not been, MkDasher Truly was

[@viniciuslucio98]

JJK reference 🙌🏼

[@neuxze]

​@@Flareonboiihmmm nah

[@grantforester1864]

Michael and Miguel is like some sort of Mario/Wario naming scheme for rivals lmao

[@indignasmr7379]

I kept reading it as Michael with a G

[@poopybody1469]

They’re the same name

[@supersonicgaren]

illegal immigrant bros

[@Minty1337]

makes sense, it is mario kart after all

[@bibitta]

@@supersonicgarenracist

[@ZumoDePapaya]

The funniest part about the new shortcuts is it took us less than 5 hours from first having the idea of the Luigi's mansion shortcut to it being proven real by Guan and it was also my very first day with the game since playing as a child back in the day XD. Thank you for covering the greatest MK game, recently a technique to super bounce on flat ground was discovered by GOAT taser Suuper so more shortcuts may be on the way :)

[@biggiemac42]

oh no way suuper is back! That is exciting. I remember popping off at his tick tock clock shortcut

[@Eden-kw1kw]

Geez, that’s insane

[@ZumoDePapaya]

@@biggiemac42 yep Suuper and some other old tasers are back, alongside lots of new people (like me). To be honest the best part of the whole shortcut revolution has been the revival of MKDS TASing in general

[@8BitPlumber1]

I'm in another discord with Guan and he mentioned that he was in the video. I thought he was just one of the background people in 3rd or something. When I watched the video however, I was shocked by how important that find was and it was really cool to realize that I was talking to someone legendary like that and didn't even know it. I'm glad you guys could put it together to make that shortcut happen.

[@isocle]

Super cool to hear about. It makes sense that a game with a stronger non-sc scene could have great potential for remaining shortcuts even this far after release.

[@josephiroth89]

44:00 That's gotta hurt. Losing World Champion, not because your biggest competitor did something, but because a third party displaced you.

[@retrop0yt]

MKDasher having beef with a middle schooler is the funniest takeaway from this video

[@Altismous]

And he is most likely like a 30-40 year old too😭😭

[@white6505]

this is really wholesome tbh.

[@Altismous]

@@white6505 I think it’s sick I mean I wish I was good enough at a game to be grinding in my 40s

[@Arbaz3102]

Yeah haha that's wild (In a good way ofc) 💀

[@kuni2330]

Tbh the fact that he can still keep up with a kid this young is really impressive. Children have INSANE reaction times compared to adults.

[@baykkus]

43:31 Dude the way you mislead us to think it was Mark Jones was so evil. "That's right, it was Ben Stoneman" 10/10 writing

[@Grimmmmy-boy]

I laughed pretty hard 💀💀💀

[@frozenpeak1524]

I shouted 'fuck you' at my screen after that fake out. I jokingly said 'its gotta be mark jones' and with that slow fade in, i thought it was.

[@Typhoon7274]

They had us in the first half not gonna lie.

[@I0NE007]

And here I was thinking it would be Matt Turk.

[@eldritchzora]

I was expecting it to be the SummoningSalt himself, fresh from conquering MTPO

[@celestialwaffle1491]

"That's right, it was Ben Stoneman" absolutely killed me.

[@deejaytheman6142]

I swear to God when he started zooming in I said mark Jones like a scooby doo gang when they unmask a villan only to be bamboozled

[@wholelottawhale4103]

I don’t think summoning salt has ever done that before, good bit was v funny

[@Absolute_Zero7]

​@@wholelottawhale4103There was that Matt Turk fake out in the SM64 video...

[@sergio_henrique]

@@wholelottawhale4103 I might be misremembering, but I do think he's done this bit before, just don't remember in what video. But I could also be straight up having false memories xD

[@Anaklusmos42]

I half expected him to say "That's right, it was Matt Turk"

[@CommanderButter]

I like imagine Taiga and MKDasher both have a lot of fun competing against each other given how it's hard to be angry against Taiga since it's really impressive he's able to set world records as a literal child

[@pat2rome]

Was not at all mentally prepared for that "for the last 20 years.. " part of my brain still thinks of the DS as new.

[@codymurp8766]

the 3DS is still cutting edge technology you can’t tell me otherwise

[@jeremytitus9519]

@@codymurp8766to this day, the 3DS makes my brain sneeze its own guts out like how the hell do you put all that _space_ in there and make it _move_

[@Game_Hero]

we're so old now

[@metroidjones122]

Buahaha. Good point. Feels like, I don’t know, 8-10 years ago. We are all dying. Make sure you’re experiencing life and enjoying it. Before you know it Switch will 20 years old and so much will be behind us.

[@metroidjones122]

@@codymurp8766Dude, did you hear that they put out Ocarina of Time in 3D? I didn’t even think it was possible. I don’t think Nintendo could ever top this.

[@__thebadger]

Newtons 4th law of motion: If any player seeks to take all mario kart world records. An Anti 1 Alliance will naturally be created.

[@joggle4321]

The price of the number one headband.

[@BarakZero]

But only if no.1 is a german

[@__thebadger]

@@BarakZero who has an arch nemesis with the initials DB

[@jeffsauer4114]

Hoping someday Salt will go back and cover MK64 and what came to light after his original video

[@GajeelRedfox]

@@jeffsauer4114 What came to light? :O

[@DJ4x]

For some reason, every time Salt said "But there was a new name entering the picture..." part of me still expected it to be Matt Turk.

[@Tootbook]

It probably still is

[@KittyKatty999]

Can you prove it *ISN'T* Matt Turk?

[@joshuagagnon8387]

Lmao

[@BradMeyerlive]

"...and that racer ... Was me."

[@nixel1324]

@@BradMeyerlive Nah, this isn't Karl Jobst.

[@Deathshuck]

The way the community treated Sascha was just utterly childish. Just because he played a lot and loved to play, shouldn't be a cause to give him so much grief. Even amongst nerds, when somebody is "too much" of a nerd, they get shunned. It's really pathetic. I'm sure he felt really bad about how the other 3 competitors ganged up on him and caused him to quit. He must've felt really alone in that community, just because he was the best.

[@TheGhostThatWas]

Did you even read his comments? dude was intentionally being smug to literally every other player. he had no interest in even lowering times unless someone else was ahead of him, he just wanted to make other people feel inferior with taunts and sarcastic comments. dude was asking for the community to hate him lmao

[@TheGhostThatWas]

also you didn't see the community bully Taiga, Abel or even Thomas just because they were ahead

[@Flexy59]

@@TheGhostThatWas tbf taiga was 11 years old when he joined and it was also in the 2020's so the standard for internet etiquette has changed since that being said, sascha's comments did indeed invite the community's disdain lmao

[@Eryncerise]

The issue seems to be more Sascha's smugness combined with the scarce amount of proof to back up his times. Not saying this justified the other players' actions, but my guess is that they felt like a lot of his times weren't legitimate and only posted just to take the wind out of other people's sails. That's a little more understandable to me than simply them being jealous.

[@s4mpson]

Wait, a community of unhinged speedrunners acted childish? Say it ain't so. Do you cry when Elon Musk gets treated like trash? Sascha comes off as a turd and was literally treated as such.

[@Doom_16]

19:14 you understand times have changed when 6 hours a day of gaming is considered abnormal

[@RobertMcBride-is-cool]

Yeah, 6 hours a day in the speedrunning community is abnormal now as well, just abnormally low.

[@yakoobhrapko]

“He has no life” “all he does is play all day” My reaction watching the history of Lego Star Wars WRs when Salt talks about the kid that decided he had to go from 14 hour to 16 hour to 18 hour grinds

[@thewafflegamer6152]

8 hours is now considered normal lol

[@ohritz3939]

well i think that was more for speed running. back then there were a lot of degens who played all day but speedrunning wasn’t as popular so speedrunners didn’t do that

[@busterbackster1]

A couple hours a week on the internet used to be considered addicted

[@silverflight01]

43:27 Ok…that was actually a pretty funny bait-n-switch. Kinda cool that Ben, who had been there for almost the entire time, was able to get the top spot after years of sitting in the background of the top players

[@jivjov]

I was popping off haha

[@matthewgriffith8795]

I was tweaking as the camera zoomed in and then died at the switch - very well executed

[@thespokanekid]

I was saying, "no fuckin way..." 😂

[@Fay7666]

I went "Imagine it's Mark oh wait oh s--- HAHAHA" and then stopped paying attention for a couple of seconds so when I went back and saw Ben I was like "ah yeah classic salt"

[@MasterJohnam]

Me: "No wayyyyyyyy......." Me: "Ok that was good."

[@slacky4931]

“Mark Jones wasn’t particularly good at Mario Kart DS, but became world champion by default” My kind of Matt Turk

[@dntn31]

I wasn't particularly good at MKDS and I'm still not particularly good at MKDS.

[@HeyGuyNiceShot]

Mark Jones caught so many strays in this video

[@justtrying44]

@@dntn31 holy shit, are you Mark Jones?

[@dntn31]

@@justtrying44 👍

[@surprisedlobsta8543]

"By default! My Favourite way to win!"

[@jeremygrainger5437]

You got me! Genuinely thought Mark Jones was making a comeback - great editing 😂

[@chefkochjay]

I love how each game's community has their own methods of documentation, leading to a very different style of Storytelling each video

[@dntn31]

Hey everyone, Mark Jones here. People often ask me, “Mark, what's the secret to being a former Mario Kart DS world champion?” I think most expect my response to be something along the lines of “thousands of hours of grinding, years of developing calluses, the constant battle against carpal tunnel and having the mental strength to weather the unhoarding of times by your closest rivals.” But I am all about subverting expectations and it often surprises people when I tell them that the true secret to being a former Mario Kart DS world champion is

[@cyphate]

@@dntn31 nobody else will ever be first. The GOAT

[@BagelEnjoyer]

@@dntn31 oh hi mark

[@HajileMalach]

@@dntn31 Its THE Mark Jones??

[@watcher314159]

Absolute legend

[@float32]

Dang. I think his battery died while he was writing his comment.

[@itchy7879]

I loved the "little kid beats up several grown men who have been playing for years" saga. hilarious.

[@3dstaco]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/l2TCgYOan6lpo8k

[@fosterdawson7339]

You know its a good video when a relevant plot point is "preteen plays Moo Moo Meadows"

[@Diamond-OSCandMarblestuff]

​@@fosterdawson7339farm not meadows

[@-AirKat-]

Local child good at game designed for his age range

[@ThePond135]

@@-AirKat- I mean yeah but that doesn't mean it is reasonable to expect that a child would also do better than adults at that game

[@tielmaster7879]

Yo, imaging Sascha sees this video and comes roaring back 😂

[@robertoazuaje9279]

Dropping world records for every course at the same time, as revenge for what happened to his title reign

[@wireycoyote3544]

No.

[@DrMarioMKDS]

0:49:48 thats me there at rank 24. Salt, I want to thank you so much for what you do. Watching your MK64 videos introduced me to speedrunning. Now more than 5 years in this great community its come full circle. PRB is nice, but I am a NON-PRB player, currently ranked 6th. Maybe one day ill be the NON-PRB Champion lol.😂

[@sethbossert1266]

Do it bro

[@DrPepperMann]

You should go for it! It would be so cool!

[@Chwarles]

Let's goo doc

[@phoenix-quennazula3919]

Even 6th is mindblowing

[@Samantha-vlly]

Go for it!!

[@BwompityBwomp-ev1xq]

"These are the best players to ever touch MarioKart DS" Mark Jones: 🥶

[@matthewroth4078]

43:30 I was joking about Mark Jones with the comeback and for a second I thought I just made the craziest prediction in my life lmao

[@LukaQuinnbusiness]

@@matthewroth4078me 2 haha

[@gotchamatcha]

Perfect timing, I now have something to watch while procrastinating the 1000 things I need to do

[@eggomyeggo]

real bro

[@Dram1984]

I was worried for a minute I’d have to actually do some of my work.

[@archsiertgkcoer]

What a coincidence ! Same here.

[@Rhineson]

Time to play the mini games again

[@makotroid108]

I should work on my video essays.. SS: "put these foolish ambitions to rest."

[@MapleJonas]

NAAAAA, they did my boy Sascha dirty as fuck. He kept up the competition for all of them. And he was left alone just to get stabbed in the back. RIP Sascha

[@RealCutieMutie]

I feel bad for Sasha, all his opponents went silent so he was playing alone and end up losing interest, just to find out they where playing together behind his back. That must be a giant sucker punch that just killed his interest in the game.

[@MapleJonas]

@@RealCutieMutie EXACTLY! Amen brother

[@_piranha]

Eh, to me he just got hit with his own move, it was pretty funny and with just the context of this video, he didn't seem the greatest at being humble

[@Keijii1]

That guy sounded like he was just an asshole tbh. Zero humility and bragging 24/7. Maybe they were all kids back then, lacking in maturity. Still

[@Squant]

The idea of anybody thinking they should police how quickly or frequently times are submitted is a total joke to me. You get the best time, you're the best. That's it.

[@SpeckObstler]

As someone who competed against Sascha in the German scene, it felt good to know that he was a beast even on a global scale. Dude never talked about it in the local scene. He was pretty shy and friendly. Winning every single tournament, even by late 2007. Absolutely sucks what they did to him. Sascha deserved better.

[@Mychron93]

Why, what happened to him?

[@Cyrus_III]

​@Mychron93 I think it's just the generally poor treatment he got from the community while he held the PRB title. The whole "loser who only plays mkds" thing. Even if you're bar-none the best at something, hearing someone, or a group of people denigrate you because of that accomplishment can take a real mental toll. Sascha might have been coy with how he interacted with the community (😎 and not providing videos), but seeing people you at least respect enough to compete with constantly just go to personal criticisms and attacks hurts.

[@maruwapofilms815]

It's so upsetting to me the more I hear about it because he seemed like they were mad he was just better than everybody. That's so exciting for a player to be that good, it makes me so mad what they did.

[@cftpafan]

Yeah it feels shitty, like yeah he plays a lot but that’s how you become the best in the world. And for a world record holder 6 hours a day really isn’t that insane. But he got bullied off the server and probably didn’t come back because of that poor treatment and how the community responded to the record coup, which was undoubtably a really shitty move.

[@slaughtermelon2716]

Pretty hypocritical of them to accuse Sascha of having no life, whilst simultaneously caring so much about MKDS that they pulled a stunt like this.

[@AImpatientMan]

I already know who one guy is Imagine finding some person destroying a decade+ worth of records online and every interaction with him you find out its actually from his mother telling you what he's saying because she won't let him talk to strangers online since he's literally 13 years old. So all your records are getting destroyed by some guy half your age who can't even vote or drink or sign up yet

> So all your records are getting destroyed by some guy half your age who can't even vote or drink or sign up yet Legal drinking ages are much lower in much of Europe, where many of our champions are from. (There are some limits on who can purchase alcohol, but it's typically fully legal for your parents to let you have small amounts of non-distilled alcohol, eg beer or wine. And even the ages limits on purchasing by yourself are much lower than in the US.) Edit: oh, you are talking about the eleven year old Taiga from Japan. Legal drinking age is 20 there.

[@Akatagavor]

🤓

[@veryscaryreaper8883]

i play in a band and we have been absolutely mogged live by a collection of 14 year olds doing a note-for-note perfect cover of megadeth's tornado of souls

[@darkrrred]

fucking legend, in my game of choice rocket league the pro scene is dominated by 12 yr old prodigies and if you are over 18 your an old washed player its actually insane why are these kids sooo fucking good...

[@supershaw09]

@@veryscaryreaper8883 I saw that video too 😭

[@_XVIII_]

Sascha and MKDasher: "Oh I...thought you were dead?" Thomas Bolton: "My death was...greatly exaggerated."

[@timob1681]

"but at least... Thomas Bolton...!" "...is dead?"

[@notTerabyte]

thomas, guilio, fabien: we're back b-tch

[@RubænCaptor]

Somehow, Thomas Bolton returned.

[@rich.wishes]

he should've been banned for his underhanded tactics

[@jakefromstatefarm6969]

​@@rich.wishesseems odd to ban someone for something that wasn't against the rules and was tolerated and encouraged by a majority of the community.

[@Snaggums]

I just learned of Sascha’s existence and I already miss him.

[@Xaddre]

I like to imagine that Sascha has been silently grinding for 17 years just building up the records to release them all at once.

[@jacobbrouillette4307]

Every time there’s a long pause before a name is revealed, I always expect it to be Matt Turk

[@lucasZr113]

The boogie man of speedrunning lol

[@richieshaffer6881]

*Bro says a name I’ve never heard before* Me: … *Bro says a name I’ve never heard before but with intense synth behind it* Me: LETS GOOOOOOO

[@labitandrew]

I cannot wait to see a Mario Kart Wii History. Tears will fall when I see that post notification

[@CowMaam]

frfr it needs to happen, im expecting a pt 3 to ultra shortcuts bc many have been found!

[@Alex-ot1tf]

Im waiting for the Reflex interview on Evul :D

[@ZainTheRapper]

It’s literally already out. You know maybe check his most popular video? Might be too much to expect from an influencer tho

[@MarcusXD100]

​@@ZainTheRapper5 year diference tho Perhaps he meant as in a update me thinks

[@labitandrew]

@@ZainTheRapperfor ultra shortcuts yeah. but not world record holders

[@clancamper]

"...but that was nearly 20 years ago" The collective sounds of old bones crackling could deafen an entire stadium you don't gotta do us like that man

[@Anca_lol]

14:09 “you only win because you play the game more!!!” I don’t believe that poster thought that one through real well lmao

[@paulelderson934]

No fair, you just have better finger coordination than I do!

[@pokeman123451]

Its an argument a lot of people make at grassroots level competition. "Natural talent vs nerd". Obviously its not a legitimate criticism but its funny how often that mentality cropped up in the early 2000s

[@kode-man23]

@@pokeman123451100%. I used to hear it in Smash all the time. You couldn’t play the game too much or take it too seriously back in the mid 2000s. That being said, I also don’t care for the sweaty, optimize-the-fun-out-of-every-game approach that we have now, so who knows what’s really best.

[@prestigeicathius4660]

@@kode-man23 As long as the goal is to win, people will find a way to remove the fun out of any game be it video games or actual sports for the sake of optimizing your play. It doesn't have to be in a tournament setting for it to be the case either. Since the only fun that matters is you winning.

[@illford]

​@kode-man23 I mean its a competition. Thi is how every competition works, this is like telling athletes they're not as fun as they used to be

[@chelosoyyo5099]

Thomas Bolton violated Swiss neutrality with that comeback

[@EvilApple567]

One of my absolute favorite things about these gaming docs is the inevitable crossover between communities. Hearing Azen's name (6:50) and then seeing Zgetto's tag and name shortly after (7:56) was a welcome surprise (very accomplished Melee players, Azen was probably 2nd in the world around the time he held the champion title). Great piece as always, continues the streak of fantastic MK stories from you.

[@pokeman123451]

Ahaha i knew it. I just commented asking a few minutes ago. Thats sick.

[@funnyperson4027]

Damn I never noticed that azen was there I knew he was just good at games but did t expect this one

[@Keverage]

Being part of the Mario Kart DS community since 2006 has been so fun, and seeing the game get its chance in the spotlight has been such a pleasure. Thank you for sharing our community's story with the world!

[@dntn31]

Since only 2006? What a noob. ❤

[@float32]

What’s your favorite track and character?

[@Chuck_Nastee]

We miss you, Kmacc. 😢

[@Ruinatior]

@@dntn31 who are you

[@HanialOnYt]

@@Ruinatior Mark Jones

[@GuanlongX]

I was uh not expecting to show up in a Summoning Salt video anytime soon, I'm gonna be honest.

[@hexacockadrom_7898]

The first player to do the Luigi's Mansion shortcut right here, and one of the three players to find the rest. Thank you for your contributions to history! 👍

[@GuanlongX]

@@hexacockadrom_7898 wowie thank you for the kind words!

[@tiger5869]

It's funny how this channel has gone from videos about people Summoning Salt is a big fan of to videos about people who are big fans of Summoning Salt

[@GuanlongX]

@@tiger5869 it's crazy innit

[@amberhernandez]

Seeing "Guanlong" just reminds me of Guan in Fossil Fighters, and now I want to go replay that game lol

[@alansmithee419]

14:10 "Oh well, the only reason you're ahead is you're more dedicated!" ???

[@Zinozad]

Mentalities were different back then. Gaming was not something you could be doing full time, if you did, you were considered a loser by society no matter what. I think this comment somewhat translates to "not fair you have free time to play because you have no life"

[@fleepity]

ty as always for making these, the way u put these videos into story arcs with peaks and falls its genuinely so well done its my favourite content to watch

[@jacobkrueger1022]

"the amount sacsha plays isnt normal" ofc the amount a world record holder plays isnt normal lmao

[@benh5541]

Kinda felt bad for him. Sounds like a socially awkward person who got bullied out of the game.

[@kpDiDDy]

Yeah hearing “he has no life and only plays the game” didn’t sit right with me. The whole point of competing for wr times is to master the game ???

[@PoolieMike1985]

@@benh5541 Yeah this was my first thought as well, feel bad for the guy.

[@LANBobYonson]

Not posting video footage (hiding strats) is super frowned upon though. There should've been a rule to require video footage. But that doesn't excuse bullying.

[@anonymoususer4682]

Maybe because no one as a world record played as much as Sascha?

[@skeepodoop5197]

Taiga showed up and straight up said "The future is now old man!"

[@offbrandDavid]

The reveal that David Roldan was MKDasher literally dropped my jaw.

[@Logboy2000]

Damnit stop scrolling through the comments, me

[@Bupboy]

​@@Logboy2000relatable, i didnt get spoiled but i scroll through the comments before finishing a video for some reason

[@Seanbyford]

audio kicks in and its already epic - thank you for what you do - its so enjoyable to watch and experience!!

[@TheMaker_1610]

43:30 I literally ROFLMAO'd after that whole thing with Mark Jones' name being zoomed in, signaling his return, just to inmediately shift to Ben Stoneman's right there 🤣 Amazing video! I really enjoyed it, keep it going !

[@klazyt]

23:10 moments like this always give me goosebumps. Seeing just a long blue line appear on a graph, but understanding that behind it lay YEARS of a single player dominating the competition - absolutely jaw-dropping... and the epic music as a cherry on top. Great video as always!

[@RandomStuf74]

agreed

[@PixelOverload]

That moment was pathetic and gross and those three cowards should feel ashamed, as should anybody who sees glory in such scummy behaviour

[@DisastrousIntentionally]

That long stretch of blue would be mad impressive if he didn't bully the player that was clearly better than him. He eliminated the better player rather than beat them.

[@NicolaTorre23]

Thank you for covering our community’s history so meticulously! Mario Kart DS has been a huge part of my teenage years; I’m proud to have served it with times and news updates for the PP back in the day, and I’m thankful for all the memories this game and its amazing players have given me. As we used to say back then: MKDS will never die :)

[@katepuddings2]

good to see you Nicola!

[@mkdsabel]

IDOLO

[@Hugomk]

hi Nicola

[@Mikeyekimaple]

Nicola!

[@NicolaTorre23]

@@Mikeyekimaple Hey! ❤️❤️

[@shanerichmond4433]

Does anyone else watch these over and over? First time I’m focused, then I just throw it on in the background while doing other things. I’m always anxiously waiting on the next speed run deep dive

[@Palontras]

In 2008 Sascha submitted some times for Mario Kart Wii, but after that no signs of living

[@pander3975]

Hopefully he's living and thriving in whatever he does now

[@ecciq]

He was so good they literally killed his entire interest in mario kart.

[@MadGosse59]

​@@pander3975 he could be playing with his children atm

[@maruwapofilms815]

​@@ecciq The more I think about it the more it makes me upset what they did. He was so insanely good that he was beating their records in 2 hours.

[@vomm]

@@maruwapofilms815 Yeah they were nothing but bullies

[@kit0134]

the irony of speedrunners of all people bullying a fellow speedrunner for having no life because they play the game so much lmao

[@vapecatt]

This was back in 2005 - 2007ish games and gaming as a hobby was much different.

[@67Dragonball]

@@vapecattbut the point stands that speedrunners especially tend to no life a game to an extent to get to the top tier.

[@RobertMcKinnonMainChannel]

Super cool video!! Taiga was really something else. I remember when he got a world record on Wario Stadium where each of the 3 laps was the best known split, and then did it again a month later or something. And his Figure-8 Circuit record that was within 2 frames of the sum of best known splits, which he has since beaten twice. And of course, his 1+ second lead on Bowser Castle that persists to this day. My jaw dropped at every video he uploaded. It makes it all the crazier that MKDasher was still- though barely- just better than him. It shined brightest with these shortcuts, MKDasher is a FREAK at those.. I remember when he hit 3/3 Luigi's Mansion shortcut, no one else had even hit it one time. Having top players like these two playing the game is such a treat, to me they are the best players of all time in any Mario Kart game. Thank you so much for this video!! I'm glad this story can be shared with more people :) and it was cool to learn more of the history of the game as well!!

[@jupiterslight7746]

23:15 bro was talking about how sascha had no life the proceeds to play more than him 💀

[@basecowboy]

i have had a really rough month and honestly being able to watch this and eat my noodles really helped me calm down so i can focus on finding a new job thank you man

[@toneyblaze]

Enjoy your noodles man, hope you find a new job soon, good luck to ya!

[@basecowboy]

@@toneyblazethank you i’m actually doing much better now !

[@adamjohnson2117]

You’re clearly in a class of your own. Basically inventing this genre of content. The opening tone of your vids is a unique signature, and yet it gives me pangs of nostalgia.

[@jaycobobob]

"They said that Sascha had no life, that Mario Kart DS was his own passion". The irony of saying this while currently arguing in the Mario Kart speed running forums 😭

[@CommissarMitch]

And stockpiling records offline just so they could beat him. Sasha may have been an ass in some regards but I do hope he is well.

[@lotgxj9]

He had no videos lol​@@CommissarMitch

[@CommissarMitch]

@@lotgxj9 So? Neither did anyone else in that time. I hope he is doing well.

[@dddgaming885]

​@@CommissarMitch Did you watch the video at all??? The others actually submitted video proof of all their records. It's not a coincidence that soon after action replays enabled proper gameplay videos that he stopped getting new records. Then when the other three posted all of theirs, he just up and left the community without a trace.

[@CommissarMitch]

@@dddgaming885 Fair. Just find it silly in a way.

[@stormbread5096]

I’m glad that MKDasher and Taiga are the champions. They play fair and they’re good sports. Hope Sascha can make a return.

[@ThaRixer]

Pretty cool to see some of the early champs and top players be ancient melee players like Stelzig, Azen and Zgetto. Great video salt, this was a really cool spin on what you usually do. Was also nice to see a big focus on the people moreso than the game this time around, you're good at keeping people engaged no matter the topic

[@katepuddings2]

omg ricky :O as someone who got into melee and mkds at around the same time it was really weird to see that there was overlap between the players XD was gonna say hello at ESA this winter this year but I was just very busy :P

[@TheZeroDozer]

That moment when a 11YO strolls in and casually destroys people who were doing WRs when he was still in diapers.

[@terra_sussy255]

that's like Blue Scuti with tetris

[@rh7474]

It was kinda cathartic after they all had to collude and vault records to beat Sascha

[@666blaziken]

​@@terra_sussy255Tetris having 2 people under 18 playing the game completely is wild and amazing

[@tamed4171]

"That was almost 20 years ago!" Yeah never say something like that to me again please

[@srenechu]

youre honestly such an amazing storyteller- the way you can literally make me gasp from seeing a few new pixels appear on a graph (?) is so impressive

[@Hawkskull]

35:13 Shortcutting the word shortcut to make the video quicker? Salt, you cheeky lad! Yet another educational video from the best in the business.

[@amaressewastaken]

The MKDasher reveal near the middle of the video had me double taking at my screen irl like some insane plot twist in a video game. That was insane, love the video

[@a-3916]

50:50 wait, so that would mean that he was born in... Man I'm getting old

[@nurtington]

i appreciate that you got closer to the real pronunciation of "david roldan" instead of going with the full english pronunciation most people do. It's really the small details that make these videos really great :D

[@thewholecircus]

I can't believe they made a video about the world champion of Mario Kart DS, me at 8 years old playing past my bedtime.

[@jamiedoesstuff5871]

taiga?

[@Troubles2Go]

I've only sumbit a couple times to my players page a while back, but this was the first real speedrunning communtiy I felt I was apart of, everyone was so welcoming and answered all of my questions. My shock when i saw this video on my feed, it might just motivate me to finish out my timesheet!

[@MaxMKDS]

An excellent video and a beautiful documentation of what makes our community great. Thanks for making this!

[@caritahearts2405]

My man Sascha was bullied relentlessly, then ganged up on by 3 other players, who left the game and drained all the fun of playing from it, before coming back to take the record with vaulted videos. Insane to me that anyone was okay with this, let alone encouraged it. Only in 2007 ig

[@MrShyGuy_]

to be fair, as explained in the video, they were practically taking down everyone's records, always commenting on them as a kind of mock towards others with the constant emojis and that feel of overconfidence that surrounded them. also, we don't really know what happened to them after that comeback from the other top players all those years before, aside from a comment that clearly takes the movement with joy and a hint of a comeback from their part, so saying that it drained the fun out of them may be a bit of a stretch.

[@rh7474]

​@@MrShyGuy_None of what Sascha posted was anything more than friendly banter lol. If they got butt hurt over that they all need therapy. Normal human beings don't get offended by "thanks for the new strat 😎"

[@TheGhostThatWas]

​@@rh7474sounds like you're butthurt 😎

[@ArchLars]

First response here is accurate. I think there would be less antagonism if he was less snarky about it. Also a lot of his times had no proof whatsoever, so there is a chance when push came to shove he actually couldn't beat their times and actually gave up because of that.

[@yugimumoto1]

another thing that makes me a little bit more ok with it is that Sascha wasn't submitting runs with video proof either, and clearly at some point the emojis pissing people off would have made it clear that he was being seen as a villain and if he didn't want that he could have stopped with it. problem is that he kept doing it. Thomas doing it is still underhanded but I also don't think Sascha was entirely blameless, at least from the stuff in this video.

[@flygonbreloom]

As someone that played Mario Kart DS's online a LOT in the 00s, I really appreciate this video. I remember hoping to rank up against the best of the Mario Kart DS scene back in that era, and whilst I don't know if I ever did, it was still a meaningful thing to've done. I never was that good at the time trials though, hahaha.

[@MKDSKairu763]

Do you remember your name and win losses? Perhaps we played :)

[@Couragethecowarddog]

This game left a permanent callus on my thumb from so much drift boosting.

[@fuhlash]

43:31 the zoom in on mark then the cut to ben made me audibly laugh😭😭

[@TheWanderer1000000]

43:31 I have to admit. When you zoomed into Mark Jones. I shouted "HE CAME BACK!?!"

[@stephanie_jjb]

Taiga being 11 literally made me do a spit take

[@LCSteeler16]

It’s absolutely amazing to see a Mario Kart DS world Champion video! I used to love this game back in the DS days, I spent so much time playing as ROB once I unlocked him

[@sirefirefly]

43:30 half expected you to say Matt Turk 😂😂😂

[@stuffbenlikes]

I'm always hoping for a Matt Turk appearance.

[@DriftAngelV]

It should totally be a running joke to say Matt Turk in every video lol

[@NeutralReacts]

i hated that i waited for that too lmao

[@N3cr0n0mIV]

the Mario Kart docs are my absolute favorites! just when I think they’re over, a new one pops up a few months later. thank you so much @summoningsalt … I hope there are more Mario kart topics to be covered in the future 😎

[@billcarson6954]

“….Ben Stoneman.” 🤣🤣 That took me out! The slow pan to Mark Jones was PERFECT

[@chaosmkmk]

22 second-old video, never been this early. But for Summoning Salt, you drop it all ❤️

[@Myhrrylyth]

Damn right lol, im telling my boss im sick

[@iRemainNameless]

Sure do. I commented the same this. I know what's important in life. Man. What a time to be alive.

[@cmurda]

Only creator I have notifications set on for

[@inthefade]

Yeah I just told my gf "sorry I know what I'm doing for the next hour."

[@tonys6620]

Can't get over how Sacha was so good the top 3 had to band together and bully him out of playing forever 💀

[@mikewebsters4119]

He was acting like a jackass so its cool💪💪

[@maruwapofilms815]

@@mikewebsters4119 was he doing anything beyond poaching peoples times and using emojis like he showed in the video? cause if the 2-4 runners spent genuine time shit talking him and then intentionally colluded to box him out because he was better than them and bragged about it that's not a fun speedrunning story that's just loser shit.

[@sammer1097]

@@maruwapofilms815 That is a toxic way of looking at it. They didn't collude to "box him out," they colluded to challenge and inspire each other to better themselves because they loved the game and were healthily passionate about the competition. You also must not forget that Sascha's records were lacking in proof while theirs weren't. It is absolutely wrong of you to believe that Sascha has any sort of moral high ground here it's both wrong and hypocritical of you to accuse his rivals of "loser shit."

[@Layla-gz4ed]

Idk man it feels more ‘loosery’ for you and your top leaderboard buddies to go offline, collude and grind records together without anyone knowing then drop them all at once to box someone out bc you got upset you couldn’t beat records or keep pace. Maybe it was weird Sasha didn’t have record proof at times, but this was pre 2010s WR which was common, and the emojis didn’t read passive aggresive to me. I think it’s Lame someone got pushed out bc three whole people couldn’t just take a challenge on the chin.

[@kumirei8715]

I'm so upset with Thomas. That was so mean

[@aaronekstrand758]

About halfway through the video and asking myself why I am less excited than I have been by previous SummoningSalt videos-I think the really interesting stuff to me is when there are many game mechanic discoveries and revolutions in play style, where the WR jumps ahead by leaps and bounds, or else there are specific trouble areas that require lots of precise timing or very lucky RNG.

[@ajalex38192]

Summoning Salt, I’d just like to say that every time a new video of yours pops up in my feed, I immediately make time to watch it ASAP. I love video games, and your content has given a whole new meaning of them to me. Your content brightens my day when I see there’s more to watch, and I cannot wait to see where it leads.

[@NinjaPopeXue]

Usain Bolt and Thomas Bolton. Perfect names for competitive racers. 43:30 Nah man, this transition was vile🤣

[@DesTr069]

13:02 Azen is on there? Like the old Melee legend? Seems he was just an all around god gamer hahaha

[@_Majunior]

Dude was good at everything he touched

[@adamice2526]

Chillin did mention he was just really good at any video game he picked up so I'm not surprised haha

[@BromanderInChief]

Azen and VoiD are smasher’s answers to god-gamerhood

[@TheRoguay]

Miguel R (Zgetto) was also one of the best melee players in Europe

[@illford]

​@TheRoguay yeah I saw that and was like "no way a top EU fox was on MKDS"

[@TheMaxd63]

Thanks for the video and the sponsor, I was looking for a new phone, just ordered it ☺️

[@LightslicerGP]

That moment when some 11 year old beats reigning champions out of nowhere And then leaves without elaborating 😭

[@mroostache]

reigning*

[@LightslicerGP]

@@mroostache thank you, updated

[@elpiedra1596]

In what world Taiga left?

[@UraniumFractal]

@@LightslicerGP np

[@LightslicerGP]

@@UraniumFractal why is bro here 💀💀

[@esteliu074]

WHAT THE FUCK IS BEING LATE🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️

[@Hp_359]

FR

[@pirigrinfalcon6029]

NOT EVEN POSSIBLE

[@Flabby913]

*Real 🗿*

[@KJPLAYZ]

Fr

[@c4rbin]

REAL

[@logandickerson6247]

Bro I just opened KZbin to watch a video to fall asleep to and this is the first thing to pop up, and it’s one of my favorite games of all time. Thank you so much.