ENCORE: Billy Mitchell: Truth or Kong-sequences | 196

Scamfluencers

Audible

Society & Culture

4.1 • 7.7K Ratings

🗓️ 12 January 2026

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We’ll be back next week with a brand new episode. In the meantime, we’re taking you back to a time when arcades were sacred – and Donkey Kong was king.

Billy Mitchell became the king of arcade games when he achieved a perfect Pac Man score, and held the highest score in Donkey Kong. But in the early 2000s, a documentary about an upstart trying to be the best at Donkey Kong leads fans to examine how Billy actually achieved those high scores. Nearly two decades later, the jury is still out on whether Billy was ever truly the King of Kong.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, Scamfluencers fans, Sachi here. If you live for the outrageous stories and unbelievable cons that we cover, you need Wendry Plus. It's like sitting in the room with us as we unravel every twist, ad free a week ahead of everyone else, and packed with exclusive content you won't hear anywhere else. Start your free trial in the Wendry app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify now.
0:20.3	We'll be back next week with a brand new
0:22.1	episode of scam influencers, but today we're rewinding the tape. Back to our episode on Billy Mitchell,
0:28.5	the video game king whose Donkey Kong record sparked one of the messiest scandals in competitive gaming.
0:34.4	Billy was an arcade legend accused of faking his high scores and using emulators instead of
0:39.0	real arcade hardware. His story set the gaming world on fire and split the community into
0:44.8	believers and skeptics. Well, since our episode first aired, there's been a major update. Earlier this
0:51.5	year, Billy Mitchell won his defamation case against Australian YouTuber Carl
0:55.6	Yopst. A judge ruled that Carl's video accusing Billy of cheating was recklessly based on a false
1:01.6	claim. And the ruling wasn't small. The court ordered Carl to pay $350,000 plus interest and
1:09.3	costs. That is truly insane.
1:12.5	I mean, just this has been going on for so long.
1:16.1	Yeah, and I mean, the case became its own kind of boss battle.
1:19.8	But with legal filings instead of fireballs and expert testimony instead of high scores.
1:26.0	In this round, Billy came out on top. You know, if there's
1:29.2	one thing gamers love, it's justice, so, you know, maybe it was served. I don't know. Well, with that
1:35.3	twist in mind, we thought this was the perfect moment to revisit our episode on Billy Mitchell,
1:39.6	the controversies, the rivalries, and the decades-long fight over what it means to be a true champion.
1:47.5	Enjoy this encore and join us next week for a brand-new story, one with fewer barrels, but just as many surprises.
1:55.3	A heads up to our listeners. This story includes mention of suicide. Please listen with care.
2:12.6	Sarah, I'm afraid to ask this because I already know the answer, but are you a gamer by chance?
2:15.6	Oh, you know I am.
	...

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