The race for the fastest Doom Eternal player is on in Break The Record Live

James Busby
Doom Eternal official artwork



Some of the fastest FPS players in the world are attempting to break the Doom Eternal speedrunning record. They’re bidding to qualify for Break the Record Live on 26 July, an open event in which players duke it out to become the quickest to finish Bethesda’s bloody blaster.

 

Check out the launch video above narrated by Game of Thrones actor, Pilou Asbæk.

Brought to you in collaboration with cybersecurity company Kaspersky, the action will be broadcast live on Twitch. You’ll be able to witness the intense pressure that the top speedrunners will be under as they race to finish the entire campaign with the fastest time possible, break records, and win a cash prize of up to $2,500. All in a single session.

Last summer’s event, which saw players tackle iconic games like Super Mario 64, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Dark Souls, and Tony Hawk’s Underground, helped raise $85,945 for the Swedish Alzheimer Foundation. This time around, players will be ripping and tear their way through the blood-soaked arenas of Doom Eternal, and, once again, raising money for  Alzheimer’s. This isn’t just for seasoned speedrunning pros, though – if you think you have the skills to compete, you can take part as well by signing up at breaktherecordlive.com.

What it takes to be the best

Speedrunning
It takes a certain caliber of person to become a speedrunner.

Setting the best record on the day won’t be an easy feat, especially when so many talented players will be vying for the first-place crown. Speedrunning is notoriously competitive and it takes a certain caliber of person to achieve the very best times – after all, one wrong button press can ruin even the cleanest of runs. If you lose your focus for a split second, your dreams of winning could be over in an instant.  

For many, this adrenaline-fueled side of esports is as fascinating as it is wholly alien, especially when you see players pull off intricate glitches and skips. While these exploits take a tremendous amount of skill to master, the Break the Record: Live event will only feature no-major-glitch runs, which many believe is the purest form of speedrunning as players can’t take advantage of bugs in the game.

The Doom Eternal no major glitches speedrun has already been broken in qualifying by BloodShot9001, who managed to beat the game on Classic in a mere 1h 16m 47s. This record-breaking run combined movement-boosting bunny hops with incredibly precise mouse flicks to achieve a ridiculously fast finish time. If that wasn’t enough, BloodShot9001 made fighting Doom Eternal’s monolithic bosses look incredibly easy. 

A great deal of concentration was shown in the run as the speedrunner methodically cycled through their arsenal, barraging foes with deadly attacks and effortlessly sidestepping any lethal hits. It’s a real sight to behold, and one you’ll need to learn from if you wish to dethrone the current record-holding king at Break the Record: Live.

How can I sign up?

Break the Record Live

If you want to test your mettle against the best Doom Eternal speedrunners and think you have what it takes to set a lightning-fast clear time, then head on over to breaktherecordlive.com to register. 

Once registered, make sure you check out the Modern DOOM Discord server to discuss your entry, game strategy, and gossip about the upcoming competition. 

Lastly, spectators can watch this year’s Break the Record: Live event live on ESAMarathon.com, so be sure to tune in on July 26, 2020 at 10:00 am  – July 27, 2020 @ 1:00 am CEST to see the gripping action as it happens. We’ll keep you up to date with all the records as they’re broken. 

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About The Author

James is Dexerto's Associate Games Editor who joined the website in 2020. He graduated from university with a degree in Journalism, before spending four years freelancing for GamesRadar+, PCGamesN, RPS, LoL Esports, Red Bull Gaming, and many more. You can find him covering everything from CoD, Apex Legends, Genshin Impact, and Monster Hunter. Need to get in touch? Email James at james.busby@dexerto.com.