Billy Mitchell Wins $237K in Defamation Suit Against YouTuber Karl Jobst

Arcade legend Billy "King of Kong" Mitchell has been awarded nearly a quarter of a million dollars in damages after an Australian court ruled that YouTuber Karl Jobst had defamed him through a video with over 500,000 views. As first reported by PC Gamer, the video in question—titled “The Biggest Conmen in Video Game History Strike Again!”—contained claims that the court found to be misleading and unsupported by evidence.

Mitchell initially lost his world records back in 2018 when Twin Galaxies removed his scores from its leaderboards. The decision came after allegations that he used MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) instead of original arcade cabinets to set records in classic titles like Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, and Donkey Kong Jr.—a clear violation of competition rules. However, following six years of appeals and legal battles, Mitchell successfully regained recognition for his achievements as part of a "historical database" on Twin Galaxies’ site. His records were also reinstated by Guinness World Records in 2020.

This recent defamation case, however, did not center on the legitimacy of Mitchell’s gaming accomplishments. Instead, it focused on statements made by Jobst regarding Mitchell's prior legal action against another YouTuber, Benjamin "Apollo Legend" Smith. Mitchell alleged that Jobst’s 2021 video falsely claimed Mitchell was responsible for pressuring Smith into paying $1 million in damages and implied Mitchell took pleasure in Smith’s suicide in 2020.

In response to Mitchell’s threat of legal action, Jobst edited the original video. Additionally, Smith’s brother clarified publicly that no financial settlement had occurred. In a statement posted on X/Twitter, Jobst acknowledged the court’s ruling, noting that he had not accused Mitchell of cheating and that his earlier assertions about Smith were based on “incorrect information from multiple sources.”

“I lost. The judge found Billy to be a credible witness and believed his entire testimony,” Jobst wrote. “From that point on, unfortunately, there was really nothing that could have saved me. I will now obviously consider my options. I know many of you will be upset with this and I am sorry for that. Thank you again for all the support I have received and I will endeavor to work as hard as I can to repay all that you are owed. I am proud that I never backed down and never allowed a bully to control my free expression,” he later added in a follow-up post.

As part of the ruling, Jobst was ordered to pay AU$300,000 ($187,800) for non-economic loss, AU$50,000 ($31,300) in aggravated damages, and AU$34,668.50 ($22,000) in interest, totaling approximately $241,000. The judge noted that Mitchell may have even been entitled to more than AU$50,000 in aggravated damages but limited the award to the amount Mitchell had specifically requested.

Mitchell rose to fame during the 1980s for achieving a perfect score in Pac-Man and later became a household name thanks to the critically acclaimed 2007 documentary *King of Kong*, which chronicled his intense rivalry with fellow gamer Steve Wiebe.