Joseph Saelee, a 16-year-old Tetris prodigy, has just emerged victorious at the Classic Tetris World Championship, defeating a seven-time world champion in the process.
The event took place at Portland, Oregon this weekend, ending yesterday on 21st October, with Joseph taking on Jonas Neubauer in the grand final. The championship was played out as a 32-bracket tournament, after an intense batch of qualifying rounds the day before, with players battling it out on the 1989 NES version of the game.
Sickeningly for most of us, this means that Saelee has just become the world champion of a game released 13 years before he was even born, and he certainly took the crown in style. Each match was a best-of-three affair, with players setting their games to the rolled sequence and agreed upon level (15 or 18). From there, each contestant simply hits 'start' at the same time and the player who achieves the highest score wins.
You can see Saelee's moment of victory below.
If you want to see the skill and super-quick controller work up close, here's a video showing the direct feed footage, too.
As you can probably expect, Joseph didn't simply turn up and defeat a seven-time world champion out of nowhere; he's been playing NES Tetris at a high level for some time now, and has shared several videos online of his accomplishments, too. His win yesterday earned him $1,000 in prize money - and the Classic Tetris World Championship trophy, of course.
[source eurogamer.net]
Comments 20
Tetris prodigy? lol
world champion of a game released 13 years before he was even born
Very Depressing
$1000 he needs to take up a game that pays more. LOL or DOTA
I'd love to see a compilation port of a bunch of different Tetris games on Swiitch. From the NES version to the amazing Tetris DS to something new, maybe all with online multiplayer bundled in.
@kepsux that would be a licensing nightmare what with all of those games released by different companies.
$1000 for the champion sure is a measly amount... They should market the championship to Netflix or Amazon, and have the sponsor it...
Cool. I used to be pretty good at Tetris. I should pick it back up and see what my limit is.
@Tsurii Older millennials are starting to become the old people, and some might have a harder time accepting that than others.
"Sickeningly for most of us, this means that Saelee has just become the world champion of a game released 13 years before he was even born"
It's this kind of attitude that keeps video gaming from being recognized as more than a hobby. Let's also curse at the people who win any kind of sport or board game championship. How dare them be the best at games invented decades to centuries before any of us were born! They're not allowed to work hard at things they enjoy because I was born before they were!!!!
This is so neat. It's great to see another generation carrying on interest in these titles, and it shows how vibrant and alive the retro gaming scene still is.
"Sickeningly for most of us, this means that Saelee has just become the world champion of a game released 13 years before he was even born"
By "most of us," do you mean NL staff? Cos so far, these comments are mostly positive, and I think it's impressive for someone so young to accomplish such a feat against someone with decades of experience! This negativity towards Saelee isn't only uncalled for, it's disgusting.
The problem with major leagues for sports and gaming is that the younger guys will beat the old guys because they are getting older. Expected the experiences players getting beat by newcomers as the times go by. Only if we can pit them against each other at their prime age then we can say who is the best once for all.
At least we can remember those players.
I guess people don't understand sarcasm jeez
Look at those facial expressions. Tetris is serious business.
Two things you are gonna have to get used to in life:
1. Working for somebody younger than you, &
2. working for somebody of the opposite sex.
As you get older, the people doing things will start seeming to get younger and younger.
Don't worry! In case of an emergency, just yell, "Get off my lawn!"
Not sure what's more impressive, the staggering display of skill from both players, or the obvious respect and sportsmanship between them.
Good stuff. Gaming needs more of this.
@KayFiOS I think the article was just worded poorly. I don't think the writer meant that anything about Saelee or his performance is sickening. Just that the situation is a reminder of how old the rest of us are getting.
Kind of like "it sickens me to think that Jurassic Park is 25 years old."
That said, it's an otherwise unnecessary thing to note. Nobody needs to point out that chess was invented many hundreds of years before the current world champion was born. Tetris is timeless enough that it will outlive us all.
Wow, that was quick. Just the other day I was seeing vids of Joseph getting to levels 31 and 32 (which is insane, since 29 is the death screen) and commenting on how he should start preparing for tournament play. And now he beat Jonas? Damn, this guy is something else.
Thanks for the heads-up, NL. I need to check out the match.
On the one hand, I know games like these can foster massive competitive events and are on the forefront of the e-sports scene, but whatever happened to just simply having fun and taking things at your own pace?
@astrofan1993 Different people enjoy things in different ways. It's not hard.
This looks fun but £1000 is chump change in this day and age. If you gotta go to a different town for 3 or 4 days to do this tournament, you'd spend that much on accommodation and food.
Neubauer has nothing to be ashamed of. He played a great game and already was a 7-time champ. Love that he's also humble enough to lend support to Joseph even when it meant losing. Great sportsmanship.
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