Kosmic, formerly Kosmicd12, (born June 12, 1995[1]) is an American video game streamer, YouTuber and speedrunner. He was the first person to beat Super Mario Bros. in 4 minutes, 55 seconds, a time that was previously called impossible. Kosmic is considered one of the world's top Super Mario Bros. speedrunners. He is also known for his technical knowledge of Super Mario Bros. and other games, having helped discover various glitches and exploits.

Kosmic
Kosmic in 2021
Born (1995-06-12) June 12, 1995 (age 31)
Other nameKosmicd12
OccupationsLivestreamer, speedrunner
Known forSuper Mario Bros. speedrunning
Twitch information
Channel
Followers68 thousand
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2009–present
Subscribers283 thousand
Views66 million
Last updated: 14 April 2026

Life and career

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Kosmic is a computer science student from the United States.[2] Before Kosmic started speedrunning the game, Andrew Gardikis, known online as andrewg, was the current world record holder.[3]

Speedrunning

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Kosmic starting speedrunning in 2011. He got his start by mimicking glitches and tricks he found on YouTube, before eventually streaming attempts live on Twitch. One of Kosmic's earliest runs of Super Mario Bros. streamed through SpeedRunsLive beat the game in an hour and ten minutes. Over the course of the next six years, Kosmic would steadily improve his personal best to below five minutes.[4]

In 2016, the Any% world record for the game would go back and forth between Kosmic and American speedrunner Brad Myers, known online as darbian. darbian first got a time of 4:57.427, then 3 months later he got 4:57.260, which he beat by a frame 3 months later.[5] In September 2016, Kosmic tied darbian's world record of 4:57.244,[6] which he beat 4 days later with a 4:57.194. This record would only last 2 days before darbian took it back with a time of 4:56.878, the first ever 4:56.[5]

In January 2018, Kosmic set another world record with a time of 4:56.462.[7] In April, Kosmic set a world record for Super Mario Bros. in Super Mario All-Stars, beating it in 5:01.370. It was 360 milliseconds faster than andrewg run of 5:01.701 set on July 2017.[8][9] In May 2018, Kosmic got the first sub-five minute run of Super Mario Bros. using just one hand.[10]

Kosmic was the first person to complete Super Mario Bros. in 4 minutes, 55 seconds (pictured in March 2019, 5 months after achieving his record).

On September 25, 2018, Kosmic became the first person to break the 4:56 barrier, achieving a time of 4:55.913.[11][12][13] It was an achievement that had previously been called "impossible".[14] Kosmic implemented a wall clip in World 1-2 to get to the warp zone faster.[11] He completed the run on his ninth attempt after tying the world record of 4:56.245 held by somewes.[2][15] In August 2019, Kosmic became the first person to beat Super Mario Bros. in under 19-minutes without using warp zones, with a final time of 18:59.806.[16] Kosmic is considered one of the world's top Super Mario Bros. speedrunners.[17][18] As of 2018, he had attempted over 30,000 speedruns of the game.[4]

Other achievements

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In February 2025, Kosmic managed to complete the 117th stage in Donkey Kong previously believed to be impossible due to an integer overflow glitch.[19] In October 2025, Kosmic uncovered over 20 extraneous levels in the Super Mario All-Stars version of Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, ranging from repeats of existing levels, similar to the Minus World in Super Mario Bros., to highly unstable levels that display extreme graphical corruption and could even crash the game.[20] In March 2026, Kosmic released a YouTube video essay explaining how arbitrary code execution (ACE) was discovered in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, and later in the Famicom Disk System version of Super Mario Bros.[21] Polygon named it the "biggest glitch in the game's 40-year history."[17]

See also

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Other top Super Mario Bros. speedrunners:

  • andrewg, a speedrunner who was the first player known to have beaten the game in under 5 minutes
  • darbian, an American speedrunner known for setting the world record multiple times
  • Niftski, an American speedrunner known for being the fastest person in history to ever complete the game

References

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  1. "Hi now I'm 25 (@Kosmicd12) / X". X. Retrieved Jun 12, 2020 via X.
  2. 1 2 McLean, Max (25 Sep 2018). "This guy just completed the fastest Super Mario Bros speedrun of all time". Belfast Telegraph.
  3. Gach, Ethan (2022-08-17). "Witness Every Incredible Super Mario Bros. Speedrun Record Simultaneously". Kotaku. Retrieved 2026-04-13.
  4. 1 2 Klepek, Patrick (February 20, 2018). "The 33-Year Quest for the Perfect Run of 'Super Mario Bros.' Is Almost Over". Vice. Retrieved April 17, 2026.
  5. 1 2 Gach, Ethan (2016-10-10). "Why The Super Mario Bros. World Record Has Been Broken So Many Times Recently". Kotaku. Retrieved 2026-04-13.
  6. Gach, Ethan (2016-10-02). "World Record For Super Mario Bros. Broken By A Single Frame [UPDATE]". Kotaku. Retrieved 2026-04-13.
  7. Alexandra, Heather (2018-02-16). "Super Mario Bros. Speedruns Are One Step Closer To Best Possible Time". Kotaku. Retrieved 2026-04-13.
  8. Good, Owen S. (2018-04-08). "Top Super Mario Bros. speedrunner notches another world record". Polygon.com. Retrieved 2026-04-12.
  9. Carter, Chris (2018-04-09). "Super Mario Bros. speedrun master Kosmic sets another world record". Destructoid. Retrieved 2026-04-14.
  10. Good, Owen S. (2018-06-01). "Speedrunner breaks 5-minute barrier in Super Mario Bros. — using one hand". Polygon.com. Retrieved 2026-04-13.
  11. 1 2 Alexandra, Heather (2018-09-25). "Speedrunner Achieves 'Impossible' Super Mario Bros. Record Time". Kotaku. Retrieved 2026-04-12.
  12. McDonald, Andy (Oct 1, 2018). "This Gamer Beat 'Super Mario Bros.' In A World Record Time Many Thought Impossible". Huffpost.
  13. "Watch: Player speed-runs 'Super Mario' in 4 minutes, 55 seconds - UPI.com". UPI. Retrieved 2026-04-14.
  14. Alexandra, Heather (2019-08-05). "It's Been A Spectacular Few Days For Mario Speedrunning". Kotaku. Retrieved 2026-04-13.
  15. Gault, Matthew (2018-09-25). "Watch a Speedrunner Break the 'Super Mario Bros.' World Record". VICE. Retrieved 2026-04-13.
  16. Good, Owen S. (2019-08-15). "Speedrunner breaks major Super Mario Bros. record". Polygon.com. Retrieved 2026-04-12.
  17. 1 2 Colantonio, Giovanni (2026-04-02). "Super Mario Bros. players uncover the biggest glitch in the game's 40-year history". Polygon.com. Retrieved 2026-04-12.
  18. Frank, Allegra (2018-09-26). "Super Mario Bros. speedrunner sets 'impossible' new world record". Polygon.com. Retrieved 2026-04-13.
  19. Yarwood, Jack (2025-02-03). "Mario Speedrunner Figures Out A Way To Beat Donkey Kong's Famous Kill Screen". Time Extension. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  20. Valentine, Rebekah (2025-10-07). "'What Am I Playing, Dude?!' Speedrunner Finds Previously Undiscovered Mario Levels After 39 Years". IGN. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  21. Zollner, Amelia (2026-04-02). "Super Mario Bros. Fans Are Still Uncovering Secrets 40 Years Later". Kotaku. Retrieved 2026-04-13.