13-Year-old gamer makes history by conquering tetris, achieving remarkable milestone

In a groundbreaking achievement, 13-year-old competitive gamer Willis Gibson, known as "blue scuti," has registered his name in gaming history by becoming the first human to reach the elusive "kill screen" in the Nintendo version of Tetris. This feat, previously accomplished only by artificial intelligence, unfolded as Gibson's gameplay captivated online spectators.

Gibson's 40-minutes of gameplay on YouTube video showcases the intensity of the moment, with the teenager exclaiming, "Oh my God!" in pure and excietement towards the end. Breathless and unable to feel his fingers, his emotional reaction contrasts sharply with the preceding 35 minutes of focused gameplay.

The significance of this accomplishment is not lost on the Tetris community, both online and in-person tournament enthusiasts. Classic Tetris World Championship president Vince Clemente remarked, "It's never been done by a human before," highlighting the once-perceived impossibility of this achievement.

Tetris, a classic game created by a Soviet software engineer, challenges players to rotate and manipulate falling blocks to create solid lines inside a box. As the blocks descend faster with advancing levels, reaching Level 29 was historically considered the game's end point. However, recent innovations and player strategies have pushed the limits, revealing a glitch in the game's ancient code.

All the competitive players have long known about a point where the code falters, causing the game to freeze, but only computers had reached it—until December 21. Gibson, on Level 157, dropped a piece that triggered the glitch, causing a single line of blocks to vanish and the game to freeze.

The excitement among fellow players was palpable, with Classic Tetris World Champion fractal161 (Justin Yu) exclaiming, "He did it, he did it!" on his livestream. Tetris chief executive Maya Rogers celebrated the achievement, noting its fitting timing ahead of the game's 40th anniversary in 2024.