It was a thrilling day of videogames action, live record-breaking and social media fandom at the inaugural Legends of Gaming event last Saturday, as multiple new Guinness World Records were smashed for Minecraft and Rocket League.
The packed-out live show saw seven of the world’s biggest YouTube stars descend on London’s Alexandra Palace to battle it out in such games as Splatoon, Mario Kart and PES 16.
Included in the line-up were current Guinness World Record holders Ali-A and Dan The Diamond Minecart, both of whom hold viewing records for their hugely popular Call of Duty and Minecraft channels, respectively.
Meanwhile, GWR was celebrating the launch of Guinness World Records 2016 Gamer’s Edition by inviting members of the public to try and beat Ali-A’s recent Minecraft record for ‘Most wood collected in 3 minutes’.
Given that the record-breaking area was mobbed throughout the day, it was perhaps little surprise that Ali-A’s record of 78 blocks of wood was smashed not just once, but FOUR times over as competitive levels for the quick-fire challenge hit fever pitch.
Minecraft-record-holder
At 11am, in the day’s first official adjudication, 10-year-old Rhys Flynn pipped Ali-A’s record by collecting 79 blocks of wood. Then at 1pm, Dylan Kalabza celebrated his 13th birthday in style by bagging 91 blocks of wood, and therefore snatching Rhys’ moment of glory.
However, Dylan’s own record was to last only two hours as Nathan Dowdall raised the benchmark even further by collecting 98 pieces of wood, much to the delight of his mates who mobbed him with hugs as his timer reached zero.
Minecraft record holder mobbed
As subsequent record attempts ended in failure, it seemed that Nathan would go home an undisputed Minecraft record holder, but there was to be one final, unexpected twist.
At 8:50pm, at the very last adjudication of the day, Enkil Fernando Ceron Alvarez provided a spectacular climax by collecting 99 blocks of wood – and thus gazumping Nathan’s seemingly unassailable score by just one block of wood.
But it wasn’t just the public setting new Guinness World Records in gaming. Onstage, social media superstars Dan TDM and Syndicate smashed in 11 goals in the popular vehicular football game Rocket League, to set the standard in ‘Most goals scored in a game of Rocket League for a team of 2’.
As a brand new category, GWR had given the guys a minimum of 11 goals to score against the computer, which they just about managed. Dan TDM netted 10 of the duo’s goals – much to his teammate’s noticeable relief.
Syndicate-and-Dan-TDM
However, with Rocket League being a huge hit with gamers across the globe, GWR is welcoming applicants to try and better the duo’s record. And if you do, don’t forget to send in the evidence!
Syndicate and Dan TDM with Stephen Daultrey
Syndicate and Dan TDM with Guinness World Records Gamers Edition Editor Stephen Daultrey
Elsewhere, twin brothers Jake and Liam Thompson aka TWiiNSANE were presented with a certificate for their ‘Fastest time to capture the flag on Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (shared controller, team of two)’ record, which they set back in June 2015.
Twiinsane with Stephen-Daultrey
Twiinsane with Stephen-Daultrey
All in all, the first Legends of Gaming event was a resounding success – and a fine testament to the power of these YouTube gaming personalities.
Guinness World Records 2016 Gamer’s Edition which is out September 10. To find out more about the book and pre-order your copy, head to www.guinnessworldrecords.com/2016