Watch Gaming Speedrunning Event to Support Charity

Charity speedrunning event Awesome Games Done Quick returns today for its first event of 2016.

Awesome Games Done Quick 2016, physically taking place in Virginia, will see expert gamers speedrunning though classic and new games to raise money for charity.

The event begins today at 11:30 AM EST with a pre-show. Tones Balones will perform the first speedrun, for Wii U's Splatoon, starting at 12 PM EST. Other games on today's schedule include Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz, Rayman Legends, Super Mario 64, and Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, among others.

AGDQ 2016 runs through January 10. You can see the full schedule here. All events will be streamed though the Games Done Quick website and via this Twitch channel.

Speedrunning is the process of playing through a game as quickly as possible. They are particularly fun and sometimes bewildering to watch because they require expert skill, lots of planning, and often the use of tricks.

The most recent event, Summer Games Done Quick in summer 2015, raised $1.2 million for Doctors Without Borders. It was the biggest and most successful Games Done Quick in the event's history. Other events have benefited the Prevent Cancer Foundation.

We'll update this post when we learn what charity Awesome Games Done Quick 2016 benefits.