You probably remember the headlines. The "King of Kong" versus the "Slayer of Cheats." It felt like a movie script. For years, the internet followed every twist and turn of the Karl Jobst Billy Mitchell lawsuit, usually through the lens of Jobst’s own YouTube updates. We all thought we knew how it would end. Jobst seemed untouchable, the investigative journalist of the speedrunning world, while Billy Mitchell was the guy everyone loved to meme on for his hot sauce and his "perfect" scores.
But reality hit hard in a Brisbane courtroom.
On April 1, 2025—and no, it wasn’t an April Fool’s joke—Judge Ken Barlow KC handed down a judgment that sent shockwaves through the gaming community. Karl Jobst didn't just lose; he was ordered to pay AU$350,000 plus interest and massive legal costs. If you’ve been following the drama, you might be wondering how the "good guy" ended up filing for bankruptcy just a month later.
Honestly, the story most people believe about this case is kinda wrong. It wasn't really about whether Billy Mitchell cheated at Donkey Kong. It was about something much darker.
The Viral Video That Started the Fire
In May 2021, Karl Jobst uploaded a video titled "The Biggest Conmen in Video Game History Strike Again!" It was classic Jobst: high energy, scathing, and backed by what seemed like a mountain of research. In that video, he went after Mitchell, but he didn't stop at the usual "MAME vs. Arcade hardware" debate.
He brought up the tragic death of Benjamin "Apollo Legend" Smith.
Jobst basically claimed that Mitchell’s previous legal actions against Apollo Legend had "hounded him to death." He told his audience that Apollo had been forced to pay Mitchell a "large sum of money" in a settlement, which allegedly left him in debt and contributed to his suicide in late 2020.
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Here’s the thing: that specific claim was factually incorrect.
The court found that the settlement between Mitchell and Apollo Legend didn't actually involve Apollo paying Mitchell any money. In fact, the judge described Jobst’s claims as being "based on a fallacy." When Mitchell’s team reached out to have the video corrected, Jobst didn't exactly make it easy. He eventually added a retraction, but it was tucked away at the end of a totally unrelated 30-minute Dark Souls speedrun video.
The judge wasn't impressed by that move. At all.
Why the "He’s a Cheat" Defense Failed
One of the most interesting parts of the Karl Jobst Billy Mitchell lawsuit was Jobst’s defense strategy. He tried to argue "contextual truth." Basically, the argument was: "Billy Mitchell already has such a bad reputation as a cheater and a litigious person that nothing I said could actually hurt his reputation any further."
It's a bold move. Essentially calling the plaintiff a "piece of trash" so you can claim you didn't get him dirty.
The judge actually agreed with part of that. Judge Barlow did find that Mitchell had an existing reputation as a cheat and for suing anyone who called him out. But—and this is a massive "but"—the judge ruled that there is a huge difference between being called a video game cheater and being accused of hounding a young man to his death.
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- The Cheating Allegations: The court didn't rule on whether Mitchell cheated. They didn't have to.
- The Suicide Link: This was the "defamatory imputation" that stuck. The judge found that Jobst acted with "clear malice" and was "recklessly indifferent" to the truth of these specific claims.
The Financial Fallout: AU$350,000 and Beyond
The money involved is staggering for a YouTuber. The breakdown of the $350,000 award looks like this:
- $300,000 for general damages (the hurt to Mitchell's reputation and his distress).
- $50,000 in "aggravated damages" because of how Jobst handled the situation after being warned.
Then you add the interest—over $40,000—and the legal costs. In Australia, the loser usually pays the winner's legal fees. We're talking about a total bill that likely cruised past the half-million-dollar mark.
Jobst had raised a lot of money through crowdfunding, but a lot of his supporters felt misled. Throughout the process, the narrative on social media was that Jobst was being sued for "exposing a cheater." In reality, the case that went to trial was focused almost entirely on the Apollo Legend claims.
By May 9, 2025, Jobst officially filed for voluntary bankruptcy.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Verdict
You’ll still see people on Reddit or X saying "Billy Mitchell won, so that means he didn't cheat."
That’s just not true.
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The judgment summary (Mitchell v Jobst [2025] QDC 41) is very clear: "The Court was not called on to decide, nor did his Honour decide, whether Mr Mitchell had in fact cheated." Mitchell’s scores remain a point of massive contention in the community, even though Guinness and Twin Galaxies eventually reinstated some of them under very specific "historical" categories following other settlements.
The case was a lesson in the "Find Out" phase of "F*** Around." Jobst’s ego was specifically cited by the judge, who described his actions as a "crusade" where he tried to act as the "knight who slew the Mitchell dragon."
Actionable Insights for Content Creators
If you’re a creator, or even just someone who follows this kind of drama, there are some pretty heavy takeaways here.
- Verify the "Nuclear" Claims: You can get away with a lot of opinion and "fair comment" in most countries. But when you move into the territory of blaming someone for a death, your evidence needs to be 100% airtight. "I heard it from multiple sources" isn't a legal defense if those sources are wrong.
- Retractions Must Be Sincere: Hiding a correction at the end of a different video looks like "malice" to a judge. If you mess up, own it loudly and clearly.
- Crowdfunding Transparency: If you’re asking for money for a legal defense, be incredibly specific about what the lawsuit is actually about. Misleading your donors about the "nature" of the case (e.g., saying it's about cheating when it's about a suicide allegation) is a quick way to lose your community's trust.
- Don't Rely on Geography: Jobst famously taunted Mitchell online, saying "I'm in Australia so good luck." Mitchell took that luck, hired a top-tier Queensland legal team, and used Jobst’s own backyard to win.
The Karl Jobst Billy Mitchell lawsuit isn't just a gaming story anymore; it’s a landmark case for how defamation works in the era of "investigative" YouTubers. It shows that even if you’re "right" about someone being a "bad guy" in one area (like gaming records), it doesn't give you a free pass to make unsubstantiated claims in another.
Next time you see a "documentary" on YouTube that makes a massive, life-altering accusation against someone, take a second to look for the actual evidence. Because as Karl Jobst found out, the cost of being "recklessly indifferent" to the truth is a price most people can't afford to pay.
To stay ahead of future legal developments in the gaming space, you should regularly check the Queensland Courts daily law lists and the official Judgment Summary database for any follow-up appeals or cost assessment hearings. Additionally, keeping an eye on Twin Galaxies’ official dispute archive will give you the technical context that often sits parallel to these legal battles.