diff --git a/benchmark/events/ee-add-remove.js b/benchmark/events/ee-add-remove.js
index 99d85367cb8d6f..e1bef0b9aa314d 100644
--- a/benchmark/events/ee-add-remove.js
+++ b/benchmark/events/ee-add-remove.js
@@ -2,24 +2,26 @@
 var common = require('../common.js');
 var events = require('events');
 
-var bench = common.createBenchmark(main, {n: [25e4]});
+var bench = common.createBenchmark(main, {n: [25e4], listeners: [10]});
 
 function main(conf) {
   var n = conf.n | 0;
+  var listeners = conf.listeners | 0;
 
   var ee = new events.EventEmitter();
-  var listeners = [];
+  ee.setMaxListeners(listeners + 1);
+  var fns = [];
 
   var k;
-  for (k = 0; k < 10; k += 1)
-    listeners.push(function() {});
+  for (k = 0; k < listeners; k += 1)
+    fns.push(function() { return 0; });
 
   bench.start();
   for (var i = 0; i < n; i += 1) {
-    for (k = listeners.length; --k >= 0; /* empty */)
-      ee.on('dummy', listeners[k]);
-    for (k = listeners.length; --k >= 0; /* empty */)
-      ee.removeListener('dummy', listeners[k]);
+    for (k = listeners; --k >= 0; /* empty */)
+      ee.on('dummy', fns[k]);
+    for (k = listeners; --k >= 0; /* empty */)
+      ee.removeListener('dummy', fns[k]);
   }
   bench.end(n);
 }
diff --git a/benchmark/events/ee-emit.js b/benchmark/events/ee-emit.js
index 87772222f0a467..e1d36e6863ace2 100644
--- a/benchmark/events/ee-emit.js
+++ b/benchmark/events/ee-emit.js
@@ -2,15 +2,17 @@
 var common = require('../common.js');
 var EventEmitter = require('events').EventEmitter;
 
-var bench = common.createBenchmark(main, {n: [2e6]});
+var bench = common.createBenchmark(main, {n: [2e6], listeners: [10]});
 
 function main(conf) {
   var n = conf.n | 0;
+  var listeners = conf.listeners | 0;
 
   var ee = new EventEmitter();
+  ee.setMaxListeners(listeners + 1);
 
-  for (var k = 0; k < 10; k += 1)
-    ee.on('dummy', function() {});
+  for (var k = 0; k < listeners; k += 1)
+    ee.on('dummy', function() { return 0; });
 
   bench.start();
   for (var i = 0; i < n; i += 1) {
diff --git a/benchmark/events/ee-listeners-many.js b/benchmark/events/ee-listeners-many.js
deleted file mode 100644
index 063732e1facb4b..00000000000000
--- a/benchmark/events/ee-listeners-many.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,21 +0,0 @@
-'use strict';
-var common = require('../common.js');
-var EventEmitter = require('events').EventEmitter;
-
-var bench = common.createBenchmark(main, {n: [5e6]});
-
-function main(conf) {
-  var n = conf.n | 0;
-
-  var ee = new EventEmitter();
-  ee.setMaxListeners(101);
-
-  for (var k = 0; k < 100; k += 1)
-    ee.on('dummy', function() {});
-
-  bench.start();
-  for (var i = 0; i < n; i += 1) {
-    ee.listeners('dummy');
-  }
-  bench.end(n);
-}
diff --git a/benchmark/events/ee-listeners.js b/benchmark/events/ee-listeners.js
index e91ca5078f5f98..aca70effd7686c 100644
--- a/benchmark/events/ee-listeners.js
+++ b/benchmark/events/ee-listeners.js
@@ -2,15 +2,17 @@
 var common = require('../common.js');
 var EventEmitter = require('events').EventEmitter;
 
-var bench = common.createBenchmark(main, {n: [5e6]});
+var bench = common.createBenchmark(main, {n: [5e6], listeners: [10, 100]});
 
 function main(conf) {
   var n = conf.n | 0;
+  var listeners = conf.listeners | 0;
 
   var ee = new EventEmitter();
+  ee.setMaxListeners(listeners + 1);
 
-  for (var k = 0; k < 10; k += 1)
-    ee.on('dummy', function() {});
+  for (var k = 0; k < listeners; k += 1)
+    ee.on('dummy', function() { return 0; });
 
   bench.start();
   for (var i = 0; i < n; i += 1) {
diff --git a/lib/events.js b/lib/events.js
index 1609d66192e333..5f9b2214919baf 100644
--- a/lib/events.js
+++ b/lib/events.js
@@ -86,74 +86,18 @@ EventEmitter.prototype.setMaxListeners = function setMaxListeners(n) {
 };
 
 function $getMaxListeners(that) {
-  if (that._maxListeners === undefined)
+  const maxListeners = that._maxListeners;
+  if (maxListeners === undefined)
     return EventEmitter.defaultMaxListeners;
-  return that._maxListeners;
+  return maxListeners;
 }
 
 EventEmitter.prototype.getMaxListeners = function getMaxListeners() {
   return $getMaxListeners(this);
 };
 
-// These standalone emit* functions are used to optimize calling of event
-// handlers for fast cases because emit() itself often has a variable number of
-// arguments and can be deoptimized because of that. These functions always have
-// the same number of arguments and thus do not get deoptimized, so the code
-// inside them can execute faster.
-function emitNone(handler, isFn, self) {
-  if (isFn)
-    handler.call(self);
-  else {
-    var len = handler.length;
-    var listeners = arrayClone(handler, len);
-    for (var i = 0; i < len; ++i)
-      listeners[i].call(self);
-  }
-}
-function emitOne(handler, isFn, self, arg1) {
-  if (isFn)
-    handler.call(self, arg1);
-  else {
-    var len = handler.length;
-    var listeners = arrayClone(handler, len);
-    for (var i = 0; i < len; ++i)
-      listeners[i].call(self, arg1);
-  }
-}
-function emitTwo(handler, isFn, self, arg1, arg2) {
-  if (isFn)
-    handler.call(self, arg1, arg2);
-  else {
-    var len = handler.length;
-    var listeners = arrayClone(handler, len);
-    for (var i = 0; i < len; ++i)
-      listeners[i].call(self, arg1, arg2);
-  }
-}
-function emitThree(handler, isFn, self, arg1, arg2, arg3) {
-  if (isFn)
-    handler.call(self, arg1, arg2, arg3);
-  else {
-    var len = handler.length;
-    var listeners = arrayClone(handler, len);
-    for (var i = 0; i < len; ++i)
-      listeners[i].call(self, arg1, arg2, arg3);
-  }
-}
-
-function emitMany(handler, isFn, self, args) {
-  if (isFn)
-    handler.apply(self, args);
-  else {
-    var len = handler.length;
-    var listeners = arrayClone(handler, len);
-    for (var i = 0; i < len; ++i)
-      listeners[i].apply(self, args);
-  }
-}
-
 EventEmitter.prototype.emit = function emit(type) {
-  var er, handler, len, args, i, events, domain;
+  var er, fn, i, events, domain;
   var needDomainExit = false;
   var doError = (type === 'error');
 
@@ -189,9 +133,9 @@ EventEmitter.prototype.emit = function emit(type) {
     return false;
   }
 
-  handler = events[type];
+  fn = events[type];
 
-  if (!handler)
+  if (!fn)
     return false;
 
   if (domain && this !== process) {
@@ -199,28 +143,93 @@ EventEmitter.prototype.emit = function emit(type) {
     needDomainExit = true;
   }
 
-  var isFn = typeof handler === 'function';
-  len = arguments.length;
-  switch (len) {
-    // fast cases
-    case 1:
-      emitNone(handler, isFn, this);
-      break;
-    case 2:
-      emitOne(handler, isFn, this, arguments[1]);
-      break;
-    case 3:
-      emitTwo(handler, isFn, this, arguments[1], arguments[2]);
-      break;
-    case 4:
-      emitThree(handler, isFn, this, arguments[1], arguments[2], arguments[3]);
-      break;
-    // slower
-    default:
-      args = new Array(len - 1);
-      for (i = 1; i < len; i++)
-        args[i - 1] = arguments[i];
-      emitMany(handler, isFn, this, args);
+  var len = arguments.length;
+  var args;
+  if (typeof fn === 'function') {
+    switch (len) {
+      case 1: fn.call(this); break;
+      case 2: fn.call(this, arguments[1]); break;
+      case 3: fn.call(this, arguments[1], arguments[2]); break;
+      case 4: fn.call(this, arguments[1], arguments[2], arguments[3]);
+        break;
+      default:
+        args = new Array(len - 1);
+        for (i = 1; i < len; i++)
+          args[i - 1] = arguments[i];
+        fn.apply(this, args);
+    }
+  } else {
+    var fnlen = fn.length;
+    fn = arrayClone(fn, fnlen);
+    switch (len) {
+      case 1:
+        fn[0].call(this);
+        fn[1].call(this);
+        if (fnlen === 2) break;
+        fn[2].call(this);
+        if (fnlen === 3) break;
+        fn[3].call(this);
+        if (fnlen === 4) break;
+        fn[4].call(this);
+        if (fnlen === 5) break;
+        for (i = 5; i < fnlen; ++i)
+          fn[i].call(this);
+        break;
+      case 2:
+        fn[0].call(this, arguments[1]);
+        fn[1].call(this, arguments[1]);
+        if (fnlen === 2) break;
+        fn[2].call(this, arguments[1]);
+        if (fnlen === 3) break;
+        fn[3].call(this, arguments[1]);
+        if (fnlen === 4) break;
+        fn[4].call(this, arguments[1]);
+        if (fnlen === 5) break;
+        for (i = 5; i < fnlen; ++i)
+          fn[i].call(this, arguments[1]);
+        break;
+      case 3:
+        fn[0].call(this, arguments[1], arguments[2]);
+        fn[1].call(this, arguments[1], arguments[2]);
+        if (fnlen === 2) break;
+        fn[2].call(this, arguments[1], arguments[2]);
+        if (fnlen === 3) break;
+        fn[3].call(this, arguments[1], arguments[2]);
+        if (fnlen === 4) break;
+        fn[4].call(this, arguments[1], arguments[2]);
+        if (fnlen === 5) break;
+        for (i = 5; i < fnlen; ++i)
+          fn[i].call(this, arguments[1], arguments[2]);
+        break;
+      case 4:
+        fn[0].call(this, arguments[1], arguments[2], arguments[3]);
+        fn[1].call(this, arguments[1], arguments[2], arguments[3]);
+        if (fnlen === 2) break;
+        fn[2].call(this, arguments[1], arguments[2], arguments[3]);
+        if (fnlen === 3) break;
+        fn[3].call(this, arguments[1], arguments[2], arguments[3]);
+        if (fnlen === 4) break;
+        fn[4].call(this, arguments[1], arguments[2], arguments[3]);
+        if (fnlen === 5) break;
+        for (i = 5; i < fnlen; ++i)
+          fn[i].call(this, arguments[1], arguments[2], arguments[3]);
+        break;
+      default:
+        args = new Array(len - 1);
+        for (i = 1; i < len; i++)
+          args[i - 1] = arguments[i];
+        fn[0].apply(this, args);
+        fn[1].apply(this, args);
+        if (fnlen === 2) break;
+        fn[2].apply(this, args);
+        if (fnlen === 3) break;
+        fn[3].apply(this, args);
+        if (fnlen === 4) break;
+        fn[4].apply(this, args);
+        if (fnlen === 5) break;
+        for (i = 5; i < fnlen; ++i)
+          fn[i].apply(this, args);
+    }
   }
 
   if (needDomainExit)
@@ -230,7 +239,6 @@ EventEmitter.prototype.emit = function emit(type) {
 };
 
 function _addListener(target, type, listener, prepend) {
-  var m;
   var events;
   var existing;
 
@@ -275,7 +283,7 @@ function _addListener(target, type, listener, prepend) {
 
     // Check for listener leak
     if (!existing.warned) {
-      m = $getMaxListeners(target);
+      const m = $getMaxListeners(target);
       if (m && m > 0 && existing.length > m) {
         existing.warned = true;
         const w = new Error('Possible EventEmitter memory leak detected. ' +
@@ -497,16 +505,31 @@ function spliceOne(list, index) {
 }
 
 function arrayClone(arr, n) {
-  var copy = new Array(n);
+  switch (n) {
+    case 2: return [arr[0], arr[1]];
+    case 3: return [arr[0], arr[1], arr[2]];
+    case 4: return [arr[0], arr[1], arr[2], arr[3]];
+    case 5: return [arr[0], arr[1], arr[2], arr[3], arr[4]];
+  }
+  const copy = new Array(n);
   for (var i = 0; i < n; ++i)
     copy[i] = arr[i];
   return copy;
 }
 
 function unwrapListeners(arr) {
-  const ret = new Array(arr.length);
-  for (var i = 0; i < ret.length; ++i) {
-    ret[i] = arr[i].listener || arr[i];
+  const first = arr[0].listener || arr[0];
+  const second = arr[1].listener || arr[1];
+  const n = arr.length;
+  switch (n) {
+    case 2: return [first, second];
+    case 3: return [first, second, arr[2].listener || arr[2]];
+    case 4: return [first, second, arr[2].listener || arr[2],
+                    arr[3].listener || arr[3]];
+    default:
+      const copy = new Array(n);
+      for (var i = 0; i < n; ++i)
+        copy[i] = arr[i].listener || arr[i];
+      return copy;
   }
-  return ret;
 }
diff --git a/test/message/stdin_messages.out b/test/message/stdin_messages.out
index ad1688f15d09b8..3145d50894771b 100644
--- a/test/message/stdin_messages.out
+++ b/test/message/stdin_messages.out
@@ -9,10 +9,10 @@ SyntaxError: Strict mode code may not include a with statement
     at Module._compile (module.js:*:*)
     at evalScript (bootstrap_node.js:*:*)
     at Socket.<anonymous> (bootstrap_node.js:*:*)
-    at emitNone (events.js:*:*)
     at Socket.emit (events.js:*:*)
     at endReadableNT (_stream_readable.js:*:*)
     at _combinedTickCallback (internal/process/next_tick.js:*:*)
+    at process._tickCallback (internal/process/next_tick.js:*:*)
 42
 42
 [stdin]:1
@@ -27,9 +27,9 @@ Error: hello
     at Module._compile (module.js:*:*)
     at evalScript (bootstrap_node.js:*:*)
     at Socket.<anonymous> (bootstrap_node.js:*:*)
-    at emitNone (events.js:*:*)
     at Socket.emit (events.js:*:*)
     at endReadableNT (_stream_readable.js:*:*)
+    at _combinedTickCallback (internal/process/next_tick.js:*:*)
 [stdin]:1
 throw new Error("hello")
 ^
@@ -42,9 +42,9 @@ Error: hello
     at Module._compile (module.js:*:*)
     at evalScript (bootstrap_node.js:*:*)
     at Socket.<anonymous> (bootstrap_node.js:*:*)
-    at emitNone (events.js:*:*)
     at Socket.emit (events.js:*:*)
     at endReadableNT (_stream_readable.js:*:*)
+    at _combinedTickCallback (internal/process/next_tick.js:*:*)
 100
 [stdin]:1
 var x = 100; y = x;
@@ -58,9 +58,9 @@ ReferenceError: y is not defined
     at Module._compile (module.js:*:*)
     at evalScript (bootstrap_node.js:*:*)
     at Socket.<anonymous> (bootstrap_node.js:*:*)
-    at emitNone (events.js:*:*)
     at Socket.emit (events.js:*:*)
     at endReadableNT (_stream_readable.js:*:*)
+    at _combinedTickCallback (internal/process/next_tick.js:*:*)
 
 [stdin]:1
 var ______________________________________________; throw 10