Donkey Kong world champion defends title for second year running
Jeff Willms continues his reign as the barrel-hopping, hammer-wielding champion of Nintendo's 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong after coming in first place at the recently concluded Kong Off 3 competition in Denver, Colorado.
Willms finished first with a score of 1,096,200, edging out his closest competitor by more than 20,000 points. This year marks the second Kong Off win for Willms, who took home the top prize in last year's competition.
Willms currently holds the fourth-highest Donkey Kong score on record, while fellow Kong Off competitor Dr. Hank Chien boasts the highest score ever achieved, 1,138,600. Chien took third place in Kong Off 3 with a score of 1,056,900, losing out to runner-up Ross Benziger.
Noted Donkey Kong enthusiasts Billy Mitchell and Steve Wiebe also competed in the event, continuing a rivalry famously dramatized in the 2007 documentary film The King of Kong. Wiebe ranked in at fifth place by scoring 1,048,800, while Mitchell lagged far behind at 22nd place with a score of 598,800.
