A Mario Kart 8 Deluxe speedrun stalled out right at the finish line, seconds away from a new world record. It’s an ending that reminds us all that blue shells are absolute bullshit.


The moment came this weekend at the very end of speedrunner Skilloz_’s run, as he raced towards the finish line on Wario Mountain. Shooting down the slopes as Donkey Kong and recovering from a slight setback, Skilloz_ prepared to claim a new world record for the Star Cup circuit at 200cc speed. As he got closer to the finish line, he started to realize that this could be a world record run. At the same time, he noticed an incoming blue shell on his mini-map.



“Blue shell is coming but I think we can outrun it,” he said on stream, hitting jumps and rushing towards the finish line.


Instead of attaining a new world record, the blue shell smashed into DK right before the finish line, derailing the speedrun and preventing the world record. Instead, the run finishes at 7 minutes and 38 seconds, one second away from the world record, earning him a personal best. On stream, Skilloz_ worked through his surprise before outlining a few ways that he might have succeed: if he was drifting sooner, if he had a boost available. After doing some processing, he immediately started a new run. It’s a small moment, but a reminder that even some of the best players run into the same problems that we all do.

Thanks a lot, blue shell. We’re so glad you’re in the game.