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Willis Gibson

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American classic Tetris player (born 2010)

Blue Scuti
Headshot of Gibson facing slightly away from the camera to the right: wearing a green, blue, and black Tetris T-shirt and glassesBlue Scuti at the 2024 Heart of Texas regional
Personal information
NameWillis Gibson
Born (2010-01-27) January 27, 2010 (age 14)
Career information
GamesClassic Tetris
Playing career2021–present
Career highlights and awards

Willis Gibson (born January 27, 2010), also known online as Blue Scuti, is an American classic Tetris player from Stillwater, Oklahoma. He is best known for becoming the first person to "beat" the game on December 21, 2023, after he triggered a killscreen on the previously unreached level 157, crashing the game.

Gibson became interested in Tetris at 11 years old after he watched related content on YouTube. He later began to pursue the game competitively, adopting the rolling technique to move the game pieces faster, and participating in tournaments including the Classic Tetris World Championship in 2023, where he placed third. After fellow Tetris players, including Justin Yu, began to attempt to reach the game's killscreen, Gibson followed suit, where he was ultimately successful. He gained international attention after the achievement, being interviewed by The New York Times and Good Morning America. In one such interview, Gibson dedicated his achievement to his deceased father Adam. He is regarded as one of the best Tetris players in the United States.

Tetris career

Background

Gibson began to play the 1989 puzzle video game Tetris in 2021 when he was 11 years old. He became interested after watching content relating to it on YouTube. Before Tetris, Gibson had showed an interest in gaming from around 5 years old, playing other video games like Geometry Dash, Minecraft, and Rocket League. After showing greater interest towards Tetris, however, his mother acquired a RetroN console from a pawnbroker and a CRT display her workplace had discarded. Playing the game started out as "mainly a hobby", Gibson said in a 2023 interview, but later grew into competitive play online and against others. He eventually began to livestream under the gaming name "Blue Scuti", referring to the star UY Scuti.

Gibson accepting a fist bump from Commandeur, both smiling
Willis Gibson with Eve Commandeur ("Sidnev") at the 2023 Classic Tetris World Championship semifinals.

Before his game crash achievement, Gibson competed in several tournaments, including placing third in the Classic Tetris World Championship (CTWC) in October 2023, winning US$1,500. At 13 years old, Gibson was also one of the event's youngest competitors. He won his first live tournament at a Kansas City regional on December 2, 2023, where he received a championship apron.

Game crash achievement

Further information: Tetris (NES video game) § Technical problems at very high levels

After the CTWC in October 2023, Gibson began his attempt to reach Tetris's "killscreen", a point late in the game when its code glitches, resulting in a crash due to hardware limitations within the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). This killscreen had only previously been reached by AI and tool assistance. Gibson was inspired by fellow competitive Tetris player and YouTuber Justin Yu ("Fractal161"), who announced his intentions to reach the killscreen after the CTWC. To improve his skills in the late-game, Gibson practiced playing "Dusk" and "Charcoal", two levels considered to be the hardest in the game because of their dark and distorted hues of the blocks caused by a late-game glitch.

"I'm going to pass out, I can't feel my fingers."

Willis Gibson, just after becoming the first person to trigger a game crash on the NES version of Tetris

On December 21, 2023, Gibson became the first person on the NES version of Tetris to "beat the game" after reaching level 157 and triggering the killscreen. The record playthrough lasted 38 minutes and was uploaded to Gibson's YouTube channel on January 2, 2024, under the title "The First Time Somebody Has Ever 'Beat' Tetris". The playthrough was also the highest overall scoring game of Tetris at the time of recording.

The achievement attracted mass media attention. The New York Times interviewed him and Good Morning America broadcast excerpts of Gibson's video. In a statement, Tetris Company CEO Maya Rogers congratulated Gibson for his "feat that defies all preconceived limits" of the game. President of the CTWC, Vince Clemente, remarked: "It's basically something that everyone thought was impossible" and that the whole event "is unbelievable". On January 5, 2024, Gibson's post-victory reaction quote "I can't feel my fingers" became The New York Times quote of the day. On the same day, Tetris co-founders Alexey Pajitnov and Henk Rogers met with Gibson over a video call, calling his playthrough an "amazing, amazing achievement." Gibson later met the two creators in person on June 6, 2024, at a special anniversary event in Los Angeles.

The American monthly magazine Wired credited the widespread media attention of the achievement to a recent "cultural obsession" of the game, restarting in 2023 with the release of the Tetris film, and an uptick in generally negative news starting off the New Year in 2024. A clip of Gibson breathing heavily and repeatedly exclaiming, "oh my God!" at the moment of the crash was circulated widely. While the media's reaction to Gibson remained largely positive, Sky News presenter Jayne Secker remarked that "as a mother, I would just say step away from the screen, go outside, get some fresh air" and that "beating Tetris is not a life goal". Secker's comments attracted considerable backlash.

In May 2024, Gibson was inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame. The equipment used in the game crash playthrough was loaned to the Hall of Fame museum for a temporary exhibit.

Recent history

Gibson played at the Heart of Texas tournament in Waco on January 20, 2024. Though he was defeated in the semifinals, a "surge in attention and popularity" at the tournament was attributed to him and the crowd "grew each time Gibson was competing".

From June 8–9, Gibson competed in the 2024 Classic Tetris World Championship. While Gibson was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Tristan Kwai ("Tristop") who went on to win 3rd place, he notably played and won against WWE wrestler and Youtuber Logan Paul, who skipped a WWE SmackDown to participate in the championship, which he called one of his dreams since childhood.

Gibson is regarded as one of the best Tetris players in the United States.

Playing style

Gibson facing left in a chair playing Tetris, with the controller rested on his right foot balanced against his left kneeGibson facing right in a chair playing Tetris, with the controller rested on his right foot balanced against his left kneeWhile playing Tetris, Gibson holds the game controller between his left knee and right foot. He drums on the back of the controller with his right hand fingers, rapidly pushing the buttons into his left hand.

Gibson's playing style was described as "aggressive" by Stillwater News Press. He first learned to play the game using the hypertapping technique in 2021, but when the faster rolling technique was discovered, his playing style changed to it instead. The combination of skill, aggression, and mastery of the rolling technique was credited to Gibson's ability to perform well in the game. For his set-up, Gibson often plays with the controller on his right foot balanced against his left knee, with his right hand performing the rolling and tapping actions. He wears a glove on his right hand to reduce the friction of the repeated actions.

Personal life

Gibson was born on January 27, 2010, to Karin Cox, herself a gamer and high-school math teacher, and Adam Gibson, who died on December 14, 2023. Before his death, Adam attended Willis's first live tournament victory at the Kansas City regional and commissioned a neon sign of Willis's username as a Christmas gift. In an interview with NBC News on January 5, 2024, Gibson dedicated his game crash achievement to his father, Adam, who had died from a heart attack one week before Gibson achieved the game crash. In another interview with WFAA in February 2024, Gibson stated he's brought a keepsake plush with the words "I Love You Dad" written on the back of it to each tournament he's competed in since.

Aside from Tetris and other retro games, Gibson's hobbies include playing at the arcade, bowling, cycling, and solving Rubik's cubes. He has stated that he does not want his Tetris career to interfere with his education, and that he plans to use any prize money or other related earnings to pay for college. Relating to retro games, Gibson has stated his interest in someday playing Super Mario Bros. at a competitive level.

Competitive record

Year Tournament Score Finishing place Ref.
2022 CTM March Futures Circuit 2–1 Contender
CTM April Community Tier 1 3–1 2nd
CTM May Challengers Circuit 0–1 Contender
CTM July Challengers Circuit 0–1
2023 CTM January Hopefuls Circuit 1–1
CTM March Challengers Circuit 2–1
CTM Mega Masters 1–1
CTM Lone Star Championship 0–1
CTM September Masters Event 0–1
Classic Tetris World Championship 3–1 3rd
CTM November Masters Event 1–1 Contender
CTM December Masters Event 4–0 1st
2024 CTWC Kansas City Regional 3–0
CTM January Masters Event 0–1 Contender
CTWC Heart of Texas 1–1
Classic Tetris Level 12 RETURNS (Division 1) 3–0 1st
CTM February Masters Event 1–1 Contender
CTM Mega Masters 4–1
CTM April Master Event 0–1
CTM May Masters Event 3–1 2nd
Classic Tetris World Championship 2–1 Contender
CTM July Masters Event 3–1 2nd
CTM August Masters Event 3–1
CTM September Masters Event 3–0 Scheduled
CTM September DAS Masters Event 0–1 Contender
The Jonas Cup 4–1 2nd

References

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