History Main / DickDastardlyStopsToCheat

* The video "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iL7sNPGKksc These World Record Super Mario 64 Speedrunners Were All Caught Cheating]]" by [=YouTuber=] charliebrown64 touches up on a couple of cheaters across ''VideoGame/SuperMario64''[='=]s entire speedrunning history, ranging from well-known ones like [=ShadowOfMyles=], [=WhiteAris=] and Akikan, to lesser-known ones like fraglilicism. But a particular noteworthy case brought up in the video involves a speedrunner by the name of Marius M. (better known as holymoly2207), who at the time was the only person to contest kirbykarter's 20:46 16-Star record with a 20:00 run in 2005 complete with video proof. However, Holymoly's run was rejected by the admins of Speed Demos Archive because of SensoryAbuse with the video's audio, but it was never suspected to be cheated until 2017 when Holymoly bragged about his record on Cheese's 1:39:57 120-Star world record run. This prompted one of the mods of ''[=SM64=]''[='=]s leaderboards named [=GothicLogic=] to investigate his claim even further, eventually discovering that his 20:00 16-Star run was spliced. The only reason Holymoly partially got away with cheating was because of his relative obscurity and silence over the decade, only getting caught once [[StreisandEffect he broke that silence on someone else's record]].

* The video "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iL7sNPGKksc These World Record Super Mario 64 Speedrunners Were All Caught Cheating]]" by [=YouTuber=] charliebrown64 touches up on a couple of cheaters across ''VideoGame/SuperMario64''[='=]s entire speedrunning history, ranging from well-known ones like [=ShadowOfMyles=], [=WhiteAris=] and Akikan, to lesser-known ones like fraglilicism. But a particular interesting case brought up in the video involves a speedrunner by the name of Marius M. (better known as holymoly2207), who at the time was the only person to contest [=KirbyKarter=]'s 20:46 16-Star record with a 20:00 in 2005 complete with video proof. However, Holymoly's run was rejected by the admins of Speed Demos Archive because of SensoryAbuse with the video's audio, but it was never suspected to be cheated until 2017 when Holymoly bragged about his record on Cheese's 1:39:57 120-Star world record video. This prompted one of the mods of ''[=SM64=]''[='=]s leaderboards named [=GothicLogic=] to investigate his claim even further, eventually discovering that his 20:00 16-Star run was spliced. The only reason Holymoly partially got away with cheating was because of his relative obscurity and silence over the decade, only getting caught once [[StreisandEffect he broke that silence on someone else's record]].

->''"No Muttley, we can't win fairly! [[CardCarryingVillain We are villains!]] Ergo, we '''have''' to cheat!"''

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph'': In the climax, Turbo does this to stop Vanellope from crossing the finish line. Even though he has access to shortcuts to the finish line and multiple power-ups to slow her down, he insists on personally ramming her to ensure she can't finish. This leads to his true form being revealed, and Vanellope learning how to control her glitching to defeat him.
[[/folder]]

* ''Series/KamenRiderGeats'' centers around participants in a DeadlyGame where the player with the lowest score at the end of a round may be [[DeadlyEuphemism eliminated]], with the second round having the two lowest scores belong to [[TheChick Neon]] and Sumida, the resident {{Griefer}}. Both also become {{Zombie Infectee}}s during the round and believe they'll die soon regardless of their scores. While Neon is encouraged to bank on previously-established NoOntologicalInertia and puts in a valiant effort to end the final wave of the round before she turns, Sumida takes a DoomedDefeatist attitude and attacks the other players in an attempt to [[TakingYouWithMe drag them into (un)death with him]]. While the players succeed in wiping out the zombies and causing the infection to vanish, the end result between Neon's zombie-killing spree and Sumida's penalties for attacking other players is that Neon narrowly edges out Sumida in points and the latter is eliminated. Given that his backstabbing was responsible for Neon getting bit in the first place, even the people running the game express relief that his cheating finally killed him off.

* The various murders in ''Film/HotFuzz'' are revealed to have the motive of bumping off people who might reflect badly on [[spoiler:the town winning an annual competition for Village of the Year. Given that the town was in basically tip-top shape, it's unlikely it'd need the edge or that it'd lose it because of one tacky house or annoying street performer. Needless to say, when the murder plot is discovered, it ends up impacting the town's standings in that competition far more than any house or performer might]]. It's mostly due to [[spoiler:Frank Butterman]] being madly determined to ''never'' go below first place in that competition.

* ''Roland and Rattfink'': Rattfink does this throughout "Flying Feet". He even nearly made the finish line, but his rocket boot malfunctioned just as he was about to cross it.

** Ironwood's entire plan in Volume 8 was to find a way to stop Salem by depriving her of an item she needs and lifting Atlas up into space, at the cost of the city that lives below it. Three quarters of the way into the Volume, however, not only is Salem defeated (temporarily) but also the problem with said city has been taken care of, all without Ironwood needing to lift a ''finger''. Seems the problems he has are taken care of and that he doesn't need to do anything else, right? Welp, he decides to be evil and [[spoiler:destroy the crafts that would have helped evacuate the people in the city. Not only that, but threatens to blow it up if his demands aren't met... Demands that are no longer fruitful since the person he's trying to get away from is currently regenerating on his landmass. This only results in him being swiftly defeated by the heroes and leading to a situation where Atlas falls ''and'' the item in question falling into Salem's hands]].

* Andrew Golota. A heavyweight boxer who was twice ahead of former world champion Riddick "Big Daddy" Bowe on points until he proceeded to [[GroinAttack low blow]] him until disqualification. Both times. One of these bouts ended [[PowderKegCrowd in a riot at Madison Square Garden]], with Creator/{{HBO}}'s commentators (including George Foreman himself) caught in the chaos.

* Andrew Golota. A heavyweight boxer who was twice ahead of former world champion Riddick "Big Daddy" Bowe on points until he proceeded to [[GroinAttack low blow]] him until disqualification. Both times.

* Lampooned in ''ComicBook/LiliPut'' - While all characters race towards a treasure (in a [[WackyRacing Wacky Races homage]] of all thing)s, Ivan and his gang of dwarfs gets ahead of everyone else. As they cross the bridge Ivan stops and orders his men to destroy the bridge. Rupert question this idea and gives a speach in which he deconstructs the practicality of this trope, just for long enough to all the rival cross the bridge without the dwarfs noticiing it... and then they decide to destroy the bridge anyway, never being aware they are far behind. Dosen't stop them from having an EvilLaugh.

* Lampooned in ''ComicBook/LiliPut'' - While all characters race towards a treasure (in a WackyRaces homage of all things, Ivan and his gang of dwarfs gets ahead of everyone else. As they cross the bridge Ivan stops and orders his men to chop down the bridge. Rupert question this idea and gives a speach in which he deconstructs the practicality of this trope, just for long enough to all the rival cross the bridge without the dwarfs noticiing it... and then they decide to do it anyway.

* In late 2019, the Houston Astros were discovered to have used cameras to steal signs throughout the 2017 season, including during their first World Series win. Several commentators noted that the Astros were a talented enough team that they could've won the Series legitimately, with several star players such as Jose Altuve, George Springer, Carlos Correa and Justin Verlander. Indeed, in the years since, they would consistently make deep runs in the playoffs the next several years with much of the same core, including several more World Series appearances and would finally win a legitimate title in 2022.

* In the series finale of ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'', Megatron has eliminated his greatest physical threat and is on his way to destabilize a StableTimeLoop, the result of which would retcon all of human and Cybertronian history into his personal victory. Instead, [[EvilIsPetty a thought]] crosses his mind: "Hmm, I suppose, given my imminent godhood, these primitives should really be beneath my intention. Ah, still, no score is too small to settle, I always say." As a result of this, he vaporizes two of his longest-serving subordinates, weakens his master weapon preventing it from being useful on his final plan, and is complicit in the stalling tactics that led to his defeat. And on top of that, he missed.

** Redd White in the first game had so much pull with the law that he was able to casually assault Phoenix and have him arrested, and he was only loosely related to a case where there was already someone being framed. If he'd just stayed out of the case or made an alibi, he'd likely have gotten away scot-free. However, after Phoenix confronts him, he decides that he's going to twist the knife by testifying in court that Phoenix is the real murderer. Once he's on the stand, though, his testimony ends up being placed under a magnifying glass, and it crumbles quickly.

** In ''Justice for All'', [[spoiler:Matt Engarde]]. He had a near-perfect plan: [[spoiler: hire a professional assassin to kill his rival]], blackmail Phoenix Wright into [[spoiler: acting as his attorney to clear his name]], and frame Adrian Andrews for the murder. However, he decides to clinch things by secretly filming the murder to get blackmail material of the killer to further extort him... [[spoiler:meaning he's now attempting to blackmail a highly-skilled professional assassin who does ''not'' tolerate betrayal. Once the truth comes out, he changes his plea to Guilty just because it's safer in prison]].

* ''Series/KamenRiderGeats'' centers around participants in a DeadlyGame where the player with the lowest score at the end of a round may be [[DeadlyEuphemism eliminated]], with the second round having the two lowest scores belong to [[TheChick Neon]] and Sumida, the resident {{Griefer}}. While Neon puts in a valiant effort to raise her score in the final wave of the round, she's still 200 points below Sumida's at the end...or she ''would'' be, if Sumida hadn't shown up purely to attack one of the other players, which was already established to come with a 2000 point penalty. Even the people running the game express relief that his cheating finally killed him off.

** Adam Taurus would be a much better leader for the White Fang if he'd focus on actually promoting their cause instead of ordering hits on [[EvilIsPetty his ex-girlfriend's]] [[RevengeByProxy parents]]. Even if they hadn't been a BadassFamily and kicked his assassains' asses, that would have been serious trouble for him.

** In [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E13FallWeatherFriends "Fall Weather Friends"]], Rainbow Dash stops to cheat in the Running of the Leaves by way of a RoadSignReversal, and then stands perfectly still as every other racer runs past her. Rainbow and Applejack attempt to sabotage each other back and forth throughout the race, ultimately tying for last place. This is despite Rainbow and Applejack being far and away the fastest runners in the group, all because they couldn't try and run the race fairly.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Postkinght}}'', in the second entry of the series, [[KnightTemplar Osric]] wants the Postknights dismantled for the Greater Good and acts like an asshole to them. He even shamelessly exploits [[DiscOneFinalBoss Dark Knight Kraig's]] attempt to defame them. However, he doesn't get comeuppance because he technically did nothing wrong. Until he, two scenarios later, has the brilliant idea of repeating Kraig's scheme and personally endanger people through a scheme to frame the Postknights. That is foiled and [[KarmaHoudiniWarranty gets him arrested]].

** [[spoiler:Dahlia Hawthorne]] is a clear case of this, along with CrimeAfterCrime. The original crime they killed to cover up didn't even involve murder, ''and'' there was no clear evidence incriminating them. They then killed an accomplice and got away with it [[spoiler: by blaming her boyfriend and getting him to commit suicide before the trial could end]]. That could've been the end of it, but [[spoiler: Dahlia]] couldn't stand even the ''potential'' of anyone finding out (even if they couldn't get enough evidence for a conviction), so they poisoned a defense lawyer investigating them, then killed the guy who'd unwittingly helped them get the poison and framed someone for it. This brought them ''back'' to court, where Mia Fey was able to prove their guilt [[spoiler: and get Dahlia executed]].

* In ''VideoGame/Postkinght'', in the second entry of the series, [[KnightTemplar Osric]] wants the Postknights dismantled for the Greater Good and acts like an asshole to them. He even shamelessly exploits [[DiscOneFinalBoss Dark Knight Kraig's]] attempt to defame them. However, he doesn't get comeuppance because he technically did nothing wrong. Until he, two scenarios later, has the brilliant idea of repeating Kraig's scheme and personally endanger people through a scheme to frame the Postknights. That is foiled and [[KarmaHoudiniWarranty gets him arrested]].

* The various murders in ''Film/HotFuzz'' are revealed to have the motive of bumping off people who might reflect badly on [[spoiler:the town winning an annual competition for Village of the Year. Given that the town was in basically tip-top shape, it's unlikely it'd need the edge or that it'd lose it because of one tacky house or annoying street performer. Needless to say, when the murder plot is discovered, it ends up impacting the town's standings in that competition far more than any house or performer might]]. It's mostly due to Skinner being madly determined to ''never'' go below first place in that competition.

-->-- '''[[TropeNamer Dick Dastardly]]''' (while his car is three feet away from the finish line), ''WesternAnimation/WackyRaces Forever'' {{pilot}}

->''"No Muttley, we can't win fairly! We are villains! Ergo, we '''have''' to cheat!"''

** The Renault team hadn't won for nearly two years when two senior team members conspired with driver Nelson Piquet Jr. to deliberately crash during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix to assist teammate Fernando Alonso to win the race. When the truth emerged in 2009 there was a huge uproar, the plotters were banned from racing, sponsors pulled out early and Renault's brand image was tarnished. Funny thing is that Alonso and Renault won the next race in 2008 (in Japan) entirely fair and square.
** Renault's forerunner Benetton tried their best to cheat despite them and Michael Schumacher being the best car/driver combination in 1994 after Ayrton Senna died. The Benetton was found to have illegal traction control software hidden in its computer. The team's left out a filter in their refueling rig to speed up pit stops. Schumacher overtook Damon Hill on the formation lap at the British Grand Prix (when rules state no-overtaking), then ignored the penalty and was disqualified from the race and excluded from two more. In the end Schumacher won by one point over Hill after their controversial collision in Australia.
** Perhaps the most literal F1 example ever happened in the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Monaco_Grand_Prix#Top_10_shootout 2006 Monaco GP qualifying.]] Simply put, ''Michael Schumacher stopped to cheat'' (yeah, him again). After setting fastest lap in qualifying, he parked his car against the wall running wide in the Rascasse corner and stalled his engine, which spoiled rival Alonso's faster flying lap. Schumacher alleged [[BlatantLies it was an accident]]. Needless to add, it didn't fly. Cue Schumacher starting from the back of the grid. Where he finished fifth. Of course had he not stopped in qualifying, his speed in the race was such that he could still have won or at least finished on the podium.
** After clinching pole on the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix qualifying, the [=McLaren=] team forced Lewis Hamilton to stop on his in-lap because he hadn't enough fuel to get back to the pits AND produce the minimum 1-litre fuel sample to the FIA. Unfortunately, the team said it was "force majeure" (Act of God) rather than human error to the stewards. Didn't cut the mustard and he was slung out to the back of the grid as punishment. The same thing happened to Lewis in Canada 2010 which he got away with but since then the rules changed so mistakes like that don't happen again.
* Jimmie Johnson has hands-down the best car in NASCAR, especially since it's financed by Rick Hendrick and Jeff Gordon. So why crew chief Chad Knaus was caught illegally altering the car prior to the 2006 Daytona 500 is anyone's guess. Knaus was suspended, the car was impounded, Johnson had to start the race from the rear of the field in a backup car -- and he won the race anyway.
* Much like Schumacher, [[UsefulNotes/{{Rallying}} rally]] racer Andrew Nesbitt [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2eGTJIMH0c literally stopped by to cheat,]] i.e. blocked other cars from passing a stage in the 2004 Donegal Rally.

* Andrew Golota. A Heavyweight boxer who was twice ahead of former world champion Riddick "Big Daddy" Bowe on points proceeded to [[GroinAttack low blow]] him until disqualification. Both times.

* ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2'': [[ColonelKilgore General Shepard]] would've likely gotten away with everything if he had simply [[RevealingCoverUp not tried to wipe out Task Force 141]]. Everyone already knew Shepard assigned PFC. Allen to infiltrate the Russian Ultranationalists and participate in the Moscow airport massacre, but no one would have known [[AllAccordingtoPlan Allen getting killed and revealing America's involvement in the attack was part of the plan]]. Even if the DSM recovered by Roach and Ghost had anything on it that could reveal the plan, he could have simply given it to the Shadow Company soldiers who were also in on it and have them delete anything incriminating. It's possible the DSM really did have info on it that could lead them to Makarov and he would have gone down as a hero. Instead, he needlessly tries to kill some of the most [[BullyingADragon dangerous soldiers on Earth]] and gets himself killed for the trouble.

* ''VideoGame/FZero'': This can actually happen to the player: attack your opponents in the wrong place and you might send yourself flying off the track. X and GX actually encourage such behavior by not only giving you an extra life if you smash five people off the track, but placing a huge RIVAL sign above the opponent who is highest on the leaderboard. Should that racer suffer an unfortunate "accident", the sign moves to the highest remaining opponent... Even then, it's still played straight if you're going on the offense: Attacking costs you speed -- a LOT of it (especially the Spin Attack), and even on [[HarderThanHard Master]] difficulty, the best way to win is simply to stay on the course, and use as much boost as physically possible whenever you can -- not wasting speed to attack... not that killing your rival doesn't help, especially since the game's RubberBandAI will often put the two of you in striking range of one another regardless of how well you're driving. (Not to mention that in ''X'', the controls are finicky enough that [[SomeDexterityRequired it's genuinely difficult to attack]].)