History Main / BestedByTheInexperienced

'''This is mostly a DeathTrope, so be warned of unmarked spoilers.'''

!!Examples

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* "Series/{{Fargo}}":

* ''ComicBook/Robin1993'': Edmund Dorrance, a BlindWeaponmaster who is skilled enough to give ComicBook/LadyShiva a fun fight, is defeated in a fight by Tim while he's still in training due to Tim's meticulous planning. Tim was also careful not to run in, only approaching Dorrance after he had already fought and beat to death a more impulsive attacker.

* ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody'': In ''The Suite Life on Deck', when Cody is temporarily distracted during his chess championship, he puts London in charge. Despite being a BrainlessBeauty, she pulls a move that wins the match against her intelligent and experienced opponent -- unfortunately for Cody, this means she wins the title for herself instead of him.

-->-- '''Sir Gawain / Knuckles the Echidna''', ''VideoGame/SonicAndTheBlackKnight''

# '''Non Fatal''': The non-lethal variety. Sometimes, a new guy in chess can put someone with practice in checkmate.

* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'': In ''Stardust Crusaders'', Jotaro faces off against Telence T. D'Arby, a highly skilled pro video gamer, in a baseball video game, despite having '''never''' played '''any''' video game before. He predictably bungles up most of the first round... until he finally says that he's "gotten the hang of it" and scores a home run, then proceeds to prove that it wasn't blind luck, just [[InstantExpert ridiculously fast rate of learning]]. It's only when Telence starts cheating with his mind-reading Stand that Jotaro starts cheating himself (via [[spoiler: having his grandfather Joseph surreptitiously hijack the controller]]).

* In the final chapter of ''Manga/{{Holyland}}'''s story, [[TheHero Yuu]], after battling his way to the top of the street fighters' hierarchy of badassitude, is taken down by a cheap shot from a random nobody with a knife [[ThePerilsOfBeingTheBest trying to make a name out of having defeated the "Thug Hunter"]]. [[spoiler:TheStinger at the end of the WhereAreTheyNow epilogue chapter reveals he survived.]]

[[folder:ComicBooks]]
* ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'': Former superhero Hollis Mason (Nite Owl I) is killed by a gang of street thugs who over power him. Justified because its one against many and he is much older. But he still puts up a good fight.

* ''WesternAnimation/Cars3'': [[spoiler:Non race car Cruz Ramirez switches out with Lightning [=McQueen=] and is able to win her first race against a number of experienced racers.]]

* ''Film/TrueGrit'': Young girl Mattie kills Chaney, an experienced outlaw.

* ''Film/RamboIV'': A missionary kills a soldier with a rock.
* ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'': Commodus attempted to invoke this; he stabs Maximus before their fight to ensure his unlikely victory and thus make it seem like the weaker/less experienced fighter would win. However, Maximus holds out long enough to kill Commodus before succumbing to his wound.
* ''Film/ANewHope'': With the InformedAbility of Stormtroopers, Luke is surprisingly able to take them down. Not as surprising in later films.
* ''Film/TheProfessional'': Formidable badass Leon is killed when Stansfield cowardly shoots him in the back of the head.
* ''Film/{{Whiplash}}'': Andrew loses his position as lead drummer to Connolly. A weaker drummer. Zig-zagged since it was Fletcher's tactic to push Andrew to the edge.
* ''Film/TheTerminator'': Sarah Connor is able to beat an unstoppable death machine without any real training. Somewhat downplayed in that by the time she faces off with the terminator alone, it has been seriously damaged (in fact it's been blown in half) by Kyle Reese, who is not only an experienced soldier but has faced off with terminators before.
* ''Film/{{Logan}}'': Wolverine gets his ass kicked and eventually killed by X-24, his perfect clone. While X-24 is a perfect clone, he doesn't have the experience that Logan has. A running theme in the film is that Logan is DentedIron.
* ''Film/GreenRoom'': Pat and Amber are able to kill a few Neo-Nazis without any 'real' combat experience. [[spoiler: Pat went paintballing and used his tactic of rushing his opponents for that against the neo-nazis.]]

* ''Literature/{{Savages}}'': Pacist turned badass Ben is able to kill numerous cartel soldiers only about two days after learning how to shoot properly.

* Discussed in ''Literature/AConnecticutYankeeInKingArthursCourt'', where it's mentioned that the best swordsman in the world has more to fear from the novice rather than the second-best swordsman, precisely because the novice is more likely to do something unpredictable.
* ''Literature/TheMeaningOfLiff'' defines "Aboyne" as "to beat an expert at a game of skill by playing so appallingly that none of his clever tactics or strategies are of any use to him".

* ''Series/TheWire'':
** In "[[Recap/TheWireS05E08Clarifications Clarifications]]", Omar Little, a KarmicThief who has spent a decade or more stealing from other criminals and survived numerous shootouts, ambushes, and other predicaments is killed when a kid he doesn't know shoots him in the back of the head to earn some [[VillainCred street cred]].
** 14 year old Michael Lee is just being taken into a life of crime during the episode "[[Recap/TheWireS04E12ThatsGotHisOwn That's Got His Own]]" when he is put into a simulated gunfight against Chris Partlow and Snoop, [[ProfessionalKiller the top assassins/enforcers]] for the Stanfield gang, which has large swathes of Baltimore in an iron grip. It ''should'' be an UnwinnableTrainingSimulation, but by cleverly using debris in an abandoned building for concealment, Michael manages to lure them into an improvised trap and shoots them both with paintball rounds, winning the "fight".
* ''Series/{{Hannibal}}'': In the Season 2 finale, Hannibal Lecter is able to escape from two well trained FBI agents.

* ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOnDeck'': When Cody is temporarily distracted during his chess championship, he puts London in charge. Despite being a BrainlessBeauty, she pulls a move that wins the match against her intelligent and experienced opponent -- unfortunately for Cody, this means she wins the title for herself instead of him.
* ''Series/BreakingBad'': Walter White is able to use his knowledge of chemistry to create an explosive substance and intimidate veteran cartel member Tuco Salamanca into working with him despite being a mere high school teacher.
* ''Series/TheTwoRonnies'': Played for laughs in one sketch where Ronnie Corbett's character, a squash champion, is incensed that Ronnie Barker's character, a newbie so clueless he can't even get the name of the game right, has effortlessly beaten him.

** Duncan himself against the 1500+-year-old Grayson. Duncan is not inexperienced by any means, having been a soldier and warrior for several centuries, but compared to Grayson, who has been a warrior and warmonger all the way back to [[TheOlderImmortal before the fall of the Roman Empire]], he is at a disadvantage. He isn't sure he can beat Grayson until he actually manages to do it, and several seasons later members of [[TheWatcher The Watchers organization]] mention that they viewed Duncan's victory as an enormous surprise.
** A stronger example involving Duncan is his very first fight against another Immortal, before he even knew what an Immortal was. He faced off against Kanewulf the Viking, an Immortal who was several hundred years old and much more experienced. Duncan beat Kanewulf by a combination of BeginnersLuck and pure rage, since Kanewulf had just killed his adoptive father, the Chief of his clan.
* ''Series/MyWorldAndWelcomeToIt'': Narrowly averted in "Little Girls Are Sugar and Spice — and Not Always Nice." John feels the need to connect more closely with Lydia and proposes they play chess together as a bonding experience. Even though the girl is new to the game, she puts her far more experienced father on the ropes, to the point where John finds excuses to interrupt the game and later consults with a chess-expert friend of his at work to try and figure out how to beat her. Lydia only lets up when her mother suggests she go easy on John to spare his pride.
* ''Series/StarTrekPicard'': In "The End Is the Beginning", Dr. Agnes Jurati is a non-combatant, but she kills a Zhat Vash assassin by shooting him InTheBack with a disruptor rifle.

** While VERY unlikely, the player can be beaten by someone younger than them.

* Most online shooters will have this but mostly from either luck in a one on one gunfight or because someone is sitting in a corner.

[[folder:Web Video]]
* ''WebVideo/VideoGameHighSchool'': When Brain returns from being AFK, he kills The Law with minimum effort. Granted The Law was toying with him for being AFK and not fully paying attention.
* ''WebAnimation/BattlefieldFriends'': The N00b, of all characters, is the one who is able to kill the 100 Colonel. In fact, it's the only time the 100 Colonel is shown dying on screen.

** Played with when Aang first runs into Toph in an earthbender fighting competition while he's looking for someone to teach him [[DishingOutDirt earthbending]]. He uses [[BlowYouAway airbending]] and beats her. However, neither knew the others skillset but both were the best, so whoever won would have been this trope. [[spoiler:In the sequel series, Toph can now ''dodge'' airbending.]]
** Much of Avatar consists of Aang, who is an excellent airbender (and the youngest airbender to ever be awarded the rank of master), but is still a 12 year old boy who has no experience with the special powers that come with being the Avatar and little time to train with any elements besides air overcoming seasoned combatants and masters of various elements.

* The NVA and Viet Cong in the Vietnam War were able to keep the better armed forces of the US at bay and eventually causing them to retreat due their knowledge and use of the enviroment.

* ''WesternAnimation/Cars3'': Non race car Cruz Ramirez switches out with Lighting [=McQueen=] and is able to win her first race against a number of experienced racers.

* Several times in ''{{Series/Highlander}}'':

* ''[[VideoGame/SonicStorybookSeries Sonic and the Black Knight]]'': Sonic, an apprentice knight, manages to defeat a trio of Knights of the Round Table. The humiliation of being beaten by a "mere apprentice" is enough for Knuckles to be DrivenToSuicide.

[[/folder]]

* ''Film/{{Logan}}'': Wolverine gets his ass kicked and eventually killed by X-24, his perfect clone. While X-24 is a perfect clone, he doesn't have the experience that Logan has.

# '''Blind Luck''': Someone with little to no training picks up a gun, fires and kills someone who is far better trained. Similar to AccidentalAimingSkills.

* ''Series/{{House}}'': Primarily in season four, super-genius House is proven wrong by younger doctors trying to gain a career.

->''"To lose to a mere apprentice... I have been disgraced! [[DrivenToSuicide Only death can remove this stain upon my honor.]]"''
-->-- '''Sir Gawain / Knuckles the Echidna''', ''[[VideoGame/SonicStorybookSeries Sonic and the Black Knight]]''

** Richie manages to defeat Annie Develin after Duncan has just begun training him. Duncan shows him how to counter Annie's favorite technique and it works.

* ''Manga/{{Eyeshield21''}}: Most of the Devilbats are only in their first year of football and while some of them like Sena and Monta have experience that help transitioning to becoming aces they are behind the strongest team by miles in experience and talents. But they manage huge upset thanks to calculated risk and superior tactics of their quarterback Hiruma. One rival even notes most of their plays like option routes and wishbone are too advanced for high school football.

# '''Superior Tactics''': The inexperienced use tactics that the elites were not prepared for. They may not be the best but the elites can be surprised. Usually, this would be a CombatPragmatist.

Note: Cheating does not count because unlike just being normally inexperienced, cheating means that there are rules being broken and no skilled person can really beat a cheater.

-->--'''Sir Gawain / Knuckles the Echidna''', ''[[VideoGame/SonicStorybookSeries Sonic and the Black Knight]]''

* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'': After Mat (a fairly inexperienced combatant) manages to defeat two trained swordsmen with a staff, the teacher who observes this happen takes a moment to remind all the other aspiring swordsmen students present that the greatest MasterSwordsman ever to live -- an EmpoweredBadassNormal, veteran of 10,000 combats, who once defeated ten men simultaneously -- lost only one fight, to a farmer with a [[SimpleStaff quarterstaff]]. The point is to never underestimate any opponent, no matter their rank in life, their experience as a fighter, or what weapon they're using.

** Richie manages to defeat Annie Develin after Duncan has just begun training him. Duncan shows him how to counter Annie's signature move and it works.

** Duncan himself against the 1500-year-old Grayson. Duncan is not inexperienced by any means, having been a soldier and warrior for centuries, but compared to Grayson, who has been a warrior and warmonger all the way back to [[TheOlderImmortal before the fall of the Roman Empire]], he is at at disadvantage. He isn't sure he can beat Grayson until he actually manages to do it, and several seasons later members of [[TheWatcher The Watchers organization]] mention that they viewed Duncan's victory as an enormous surprise.

* ''VideoGame/UntilDawn'': A group of college students are able to kill numerous Wendigos with minimal knowledge in survival.

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': Played with. Aang first runs into Toph in an earthbender fighting competition while he's looking for someone to teach him earthbending. He uses airbending and beats her. However, neither knew the others skillset but both were the best, so whoever won would have been this trope. [[spoiler:In the sequel series, Toph can now ''dodge'' airbending.]]

* ''Series/TheWire'': In "[[Recap/TheWireS05E08Clarifications Clarifications]]", Omar Little, a KarmicThief who has spent a decade or more stealing from other criminals and survived numerous shootouts, ambushes, and other predicaments is killed when a kid he doesn't know shoots him in the back of the head to earn some [[VillainCred street cred]].

** Later, Richie gets his first kill against the 300-year-old Mako. Granted, Mako might have had the advantage until he wound up trapped by a broken piece of furniture, rendering him unable to maneuver as came to kill him.

* ''[[VideoGame/SonicStorybookSeries Sonic and the Black Knight]]'': Sonic, a mere apprentice, manages to defeat a trio of Knights of the Round Table. The humiliation of being beaten by a "mere apprentice" is enough for Knuckles to be DrivenToSuicide.