They came, they saw, they Super Horned! The Mario Kart World: Knockout Tour Streamer Showdown, sponsored by Nintendo, stormed onto IGN Entertainment channels last Friday, leaving a trail of discarded bananas, Spiny shells and (virtual) burnt rubber in its wake.
24 variety and gaming influencers from across the UK took part in the contest, which saw competitors completing all 8 rallies in the Knockout Tour mode of the game. With a holiday to Universal Orlando – home to Super Nintendo World at Epic Universe – up for grabs, racers had to contend with high-pressure rounds of elimination in each sprawling race, as they fought for the all important top spot on the leaderboard. But there was additional pride at stake, as streamers were also split into six teams of four, with unique commemorative trophies for the quartet who racked up the most points throughout the competition.
On hand to oversee proceedings were IGN UK’s George Forsyth-Nash (aka Nash) and Outside Xtra’s Jane Douglas. And stepping up to the mics on colourful commentary duties were Jane’s OX colleague Mike Channell and presenter Jules Hardy, who both provided juicy tidbits of analysis in race previews and debriefs.
Amidst the racing action, the IGN Guides team shared some expert Mario Kart World tips, and the Nintendo Life crew tested their friendship with a track session of their own, using the Switch 2’s GameChat feature for some lighthearted trash-talking (as is Mario Kart tradition).
But the Knockout Tour was the main event, and it began with a tense tussle in the Golden Rally, with Purple Team’s TooBizyGaming stealing the win from Blue Team’s GetMadz right at the finish line. There was a strong showing from the Blue Team in the follow up Ice Rally, with KickThePj avoiding a Blue Shell that obliterated Green Team’s OwengeJuiceTV to emerge victorious, and GetMadz again having to settle for second place.
As a result, ahead of the third race Blue Team were leading the pack, with Purple Team in second and a solid set of results in the upper half of the field pushing the Orange Team into third. The Moon Rally turned up the heat with lava-lined tracks and a resurgence in the use of Bullet Bills, and Team Purple triumphed again with SeaPeeKay taking the crown. However, a second, third and fifth placed finish for the Orange Team (with Solidarity, InTheLittleWood and Ravs landing those spots respectively) saw them shuffle up the team rankings, falling just shy of Purple’s two-point lead.
The Spiny Rally marked the midway point of proceedings, and the final leg in the tricky Wario Shipyard saw first place switch hands multiple times, before TheOrionSound chalked up another win for the Orange Team. Adam Savage took second for the seemingly ever-present Purple Team, with Beky rounding out the top three with another important result for Team Green.
In the Cherry Rally, TheOrionSound flew to the finish line unchallenged to make it two wins on the trot, with DeanDobbs grabbing second for Blue Team. ChocolateKieran gave the Yellow Team their highest placement yet, finishing in third, whereas previous contender InTheLittlewood tumbled out in twenty-second place.
The Acorn rally dialled up the drama, with InTheLittlewood making a comeback surge to secure first, with his Orange teammate Solidarity taking second. The top three was completed by Purple Team’s ReadySetBen, to the dismay of Green Team’s Mac_griffiths, who led the race in the approach to the final elimination checkpoint. Upon passing through the gate that whittled down competitors from eight to four, he mistook it for the finish line and began celebrating, before clocking his slip up and facing the insurmountable task of regaining ground.
This left teams jostling for positions entering the penultimate Cloud Rally. Only two points separated competitors in the individual standings, with Team Orange’s InTheLittlewood and TheOrionSound edging ahead of Purple Team’s new frontrunner SeaPeaKay. Orange had also built up a 15 point lead on Purple, who were opening a similar gap ahead of Team Blue.
TooBizGaming landed a decisive win, with OwengeJuiceTV delivering a boost to Team Green with a second place finish. A strong performance from MayPlaysTV gifted Yellow Team some much needed points, but he just missed out on a podium place thanks to another strong result for TheOrionSound.
With everything still to play for going into the final race, the demanding Heart Rally beckoned. A frantic battle for the lead involved at least seven racers switching places at the front of the pack, before a final leg struggle emerged between Solidarity, OwenegeJuiceTV, ChocolateKieran and InTheLittlewood. Previously sacrosanct alliances between team members crumbled, as they kept one eye on the track, and the other on the finishing position that would land them a trip to Florida.
At the end of the nail-biting six-track run, OwengeJuiceTV crossed the line in Peach Stadium first, closely followed by InTheLittleWood and ChocolateKieran. But a consistent run of results since his Race 5 crash-out meant that InTheLittlewood sealed his – and Orange Team’s – overall victory.
The final standings were as follows:
Congratulations to Martyn aka InTheLittlewood and his Orange Team compatriots! If you feel like luck is also on your side, enter our Streamer Showdown giveaway over on X, where there’s a top of the range OLED TV up for grabs (perfect for hosting your own Mario Kart World race-off). Entries close on 14th December and are open to UK residents aged 18 and over, so make sure you’re following IGN, and simply repost to enter. Full T&Cs can be found here.
Hungry for more Mario Kart World? You can watch the full run of Streamer Showdown programming – featuring even more diabolically timed Lightning strikes and fiendishly deployed Bloopers – at your leisure over on our YouTube and Twitch channels. And look out for selected highlights across our social accounts throughout the rest of the week.
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