Over the weekend, the Classic Tetris World Championship finals were held. During the CTWC, Tetris players face off against one another in NES Tetris. It wasn’t all NES Tetris this year, though.
On Saturday, a tournament for Tetris Effect: Connected took place where Lazermonkey beat out Tetris pros Koryan, Jonas Neubauer, and Greentea for the win.
Moving on to Sunday, the CTWC’s Top 8 battled it out for the chance to earn a beautiful t-shaped Tetris trophy (not the only prize, but the T-Tetrimino trophy is pretty rad).
In a grand finale like no other, the winner was determined via a match between two brothers, and it was absolutely incredible to witness. Here’s a quick recap!
Classic Tetris World Championship Ends In Brother Versus Brother Showdown
Two brothers, Michael “dogplayingtetris” Artiaga (13) and Andrew “PixelAndy” Artiaga (15) were the top two finalists at this year’s Classic Tetris World Championship.
In many ways, 2020’s CTWC didn’t go as planned, having to take place online this year instead of the Portland Retro Game Expo which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prior to seeing which of the Top 8 would win, many favored two-time winner Joseph Saelee who defeated Jonas Neubauer in 2018 and Koryan in 2019. After a heated battle with Jacob “Huffuluffugus” Huff, Joseph Saelee was ultimately defeated and Huff moved on to face the youngest of the Top 8, dogplayingtetris.
After winning against Huff, dogplayingtetris moved on to the finals. At this point, the question of whether his brother PixelAndy would likewise make it to the finals hung in the air.
Going toe-to-toe with Nenu, who suffered a power outage during the tournament and had to relocate to a friend’s house to continue, PixelAndy emerged victorious and the fate of the CTWC 2020 finals was sealed… it was going to be a brother vs. brother showdown.
It’s incredible that the first online tournament for CTWC, with competitors competing from all over the world, would come down to two players competing right down the hall from one another. Two brothers who practiced for the CTWC by playing against one another.
The finals were extremely close, with PixelAndy taking the lead early on, winning 2 back-to-back. Catching up, dogplayingtetris won 2 back-to-back as well. At 2 – 2 it all came down to one final round to determine the winner.
Both brothers were, as CTWC commentators would say “neck and neck” during that last match, but in the end the winner was none other than 13-year-old dogplayingtetris.
Congratulations to the 2020 CTWC winner… dogplayingtetris! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/XUq6CHqfQ4
— Tetris (@Tetris_Official) December 7, 2020
We want to congratulate both brothers on their amazing performance at this year’s CTWC, and we look forward to seeing what will happen at 2021’s CTWC.
Could we see a brother vs. brother rematch next year? Anything is possible!
To see one of the best stories in esports this year, be sure to check out the VOD over on the CTWC Twitch channel, and follow @ClassicTetris on Twitter for updates about future events.
Published: Dec 7, 2020 09:09 pm