Cheese (speedrunner)

Allan Alvarez
Alvarez performing a speedrun at Summer Games Done Quick, 2016
Born (1995-02-26) February 26, 1995 (age 29)
Venezuela
Occupation(s)Livestreamer, speedrunner
Years active2013–present

Allan Alvarez (born February 26, 1995),[1] more commonly known as cheese (originally cheese05 until 2018), is a Venezuelan-born Trinidadian-Spanish speedrunner and podcaster known for his Super Mario 64 records.

Personal life

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Born in Venezuela, Alvarez moved to Trinidad when he was two years old. His parents divorced early in his life, which proved to be difficult for Alvarez in his speedrunning endeavors, as his step-father was not supportive at first. This has since changed. Alvarez now describes his step-father as someone he can recognize as his real father and someone who has taught him in life how to be persistent and disciplined at whichever craft he wants to pursue. He always was a very strict and tough figure towards Alvarez, but Alvarez said it helped him to be the strong person he is today.[2] Alvarez is openly gay,[3] and he grew aware of the anti-gay culture in Trinidad and Tobago and felt he could not live his true life in the country. He felt more inclined to live a city life and decided to move closer to his father's side of the family in Madrid, Spain. Alvarez made the move in February 2016, just before his 21st birthday, and he currently lives with his grandmother, mother, and brother.[2]

Career

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Cheese began streaming his Call of Duty gameplay on Twitch in 2013.[4] In 2014, he started speedrunning and publishing videos to his first YouTube channel.[5] He started uploading to his main channel in 2016.[6] He typically streams around midnight in Spain, which is peak viewing hours for the United States.[2]

In May 2017, Cheese achieved the world record time (one hour, 39 minutes, 57 seconds) in Super Mario 64 120-star category (essentially 100% completion of the game), and the first time in the category to reach under 100 minutes.[7] In June, fellow streamer Puncayshun set the world record time, beating Cheese's world record time by eight seconds, but lost the world record the following day, after Cheese obtained a time that was 20 seconds faster than Puncayshun's time.[8] Cheese was recognized by Red Bull that month for his Super Mario 64 gameplay.[9]

In Super Mario 64, Cheese achieved the world record time in the 70-star category in January 2018.[10] He focuses mostly, however, on the 120-star category, where he has held the world record on many occasions throughout his career.[11][12]

In February 2018, Cheese uploaded the first episode of his podcast with speedrunner Ryan Reeves, better known as "Simply", titled Two Dads One Show, a podcast centered on speedrunning and the mentality and work ethic associated with speedrunning. The name was later changed to The Two Dads Podcast.[13] The following day, cheese broke the 120-star world record time for Super Mario 64.[14] It was later taken by speedrunner Liam in March. Later that year, he officially changed his username from cheese05 to his current username.

Cheese held the world record time in Super Mario 64 120-star category from February 28, 2022, to November 18, 2022, when it was beaten by speedrunner Weegee.[15][16] As of August 15, 2024, cheese is ranked 3rd in the 120-star category.

In addition to Super Mario 64, Cheese has also completed speedruns for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Super Mario Odyssey, and Celeste.[17][18]

Cheese is featured in the 2023 documentary film Running with Speed, narrated by Summoning Salt.[19][20]

References

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  1. ^ "bc - ches05 on Twitter".
  2. ^ a b c "The life of an elite 'Super Mario 64' speedrunner". October 23, 2017.
  3. ^ cheese051 (August 22, 2016). "My first gf omfg i cant believe i found this. She's actually a lesbian now and im a gay boy. how did that happen?". Twitter. Retrieved August 20, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ "Streamer Allan Alvarez Is Not Your Average Speedrunner". Lifewire. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
  5. ^ "Allan Alvarez". YouTube. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  6. ^ "cheese05 Speedrunning". YouTube. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  7. ^ Frank, Allegra (May 5, 2017). "Speedrunner breaks Super Mario 64 world record in a landmark, emotional stream". Polygon. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  8. ^ Frank, Allegra (June 5, 2017). "Super Mario 64 speedrun record broken twice in one weekend". Polygon. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  9. ^ Sillis, Ben (June 9, 2017). "The world's best Mario 64 player isn't done yet". Red Bull. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  10. ^ *Former WR* Super Mario 64 70 star in 47m 34s., retrieved November 22, 2022
  11. ^ cheese, C. L. G. (January 28, 2021). "I cannot believe how clutch I am, we did it already. New 120 star WR. LET'S GO RACE TO 1:37!!!!". Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  12. ^ "120 Star in 1h 37m 50s by cheese - Super Mario 64 - speedrun.com". www.speedrun.com. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  13. ^ cheese05 Speedrunning (February 7, 2018). "Speedrunning Podcast Ep.1 Introduction". YouTube. Retrieved August 20, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ "Super Mario 64". Speedrun.com. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  15. ^ "120 Star in 1h 37m 35s by Weegee - Super Mario 64". speedrun.com. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  16. ^ Binkowski, Justin (March 1, 2022). "Cheese reclaims Super Mario 64 120-star world record with sub-1:38 run". Dot Esports. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
  17. ^ cheese05 Speedrunning (December 14, 2017), OoT 100% in 4:18:08 (N64 1.0), retrieved October 27, 2018{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ "Twitch". Twitch. Retrieved October 27, 2018.
  19. ^ Lope, Patrick; Mross, Nicholas (January 6, 2023), Running with Speed (Documentary), Allan Alvarez, Torje Amundsen, Devin Blair, Wild Arrow Media, retrieved April 4, 2024
  20. ^ Myers, Andy. "Running With Speed - Speedrunning Documentary 2023 with Summoning Salt - Official Site". Good Deed Entertainment. Retrieved April 4, 2024.

Further reading

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