Classic Tetris World Championship 2022 - 6 - The Third Day - Silver Bracket and Gold Bracket Top 16

It is Sunday October 16, the third and last day of the Classic Tetris World Championships.

Today's schedule:

• 10:00AM – Tetris Anthem

Silver Top 8

• 10:30AM – Round 3 (4 Best of 3 matches) ~45 minutes

• 11:15AM – Round 4 (2 Best of 5 matches) ~45 minutes

• 12:00PM – Final (1 Best of 5 match) ~45 minutes

Gold Top 16

• 10:30AM – Round 2 (8 Best of 5 matches) ~2hrs

• 12:30PM – Break

Gold Top 8

• 1:00PM – Round 3 (4 matches) ~1.5hrs

• 2:30PM – Round 4 (2 matches) ~1.5hrs

• 4:00PM – Final (1 match) ~ 1hr

• 5:00PM – Finish

Tetris Anthem

"Alright everybody, please stand to observe the Tetris anthem . . ."

And for those who want to listen (and head bang): https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1626411847?t=00h22m13s

Sergio of Sergio and the Holograms, playing the Tetris anthem. More info can be found here: https://sergioelisondo.com/

Sergio rocking out on stage . . .

With the audience absolutely loving it.

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Silver Bracket

At first glance, IanKeith didn't fit the demographic profile of the typical CTWC 2022 competitor. He was 37 years old and while that's not old in any way whatsoever, it still made him older than seemingly 95% of the the CTWC 2022 competitor base. Despite his age, he was not one of the OGs in the Classic Tetris scene, having only joined the community 2 years ago. And to top it off, he was a DAS player in a vast sea of rollers and hypertappers. Any of these factoids would make him a minority. But all of them together? Well, that combination made him a very unique player in the current Classic Tetris meta.

None of that mattered to him. This was his first CTWC. He had flown in from Florida to crash at a friend's place and was here to have fun. He didn't care if he qualified. Heck, he didn't think that he was good enough. Coming into qualifiers, IanKeith's expections were set appropriately low.

But despite this . . . he was playing well. Actually, extremely well. He had already beaten Quaid, the 2nd and 3rd place finalist at the 2015 and 2017 CTWCs respectively. And now, he was in the Silver Bracket semi-finals against Batfoy, the winner of Silver Bracket in CTWC 2020.

As he approached the station, IanKeith mused that the act of advancing this far in the bracket was far beyond his wildest goals. At this point, all things could do is get better from here. With that mindset, he sat in the chair, re-adjusted the fit of his hat on his head and mentally prepared himself for the upcoming match.

IanKeith with a serious look of concentration . . . which contrasts with his usual banter during a match.

IanKeith in absolute disbelief upon realizing he beat Batfoy in Game 1 after successfully chasing him down with a 75,000 point deficit. This win gave IanKeith's mindset a kick in the butt and it would slowly change from "Can I do this?" to "I might actually be able to win . . . "

An audible "What the hell" was heard at the end of Game 2 when IanKeith hung a J piece right after an impressive Tetris with a scarily high stack. In the ensuing scramble, IanKeith managed to clear a couple of lines but would lose Game 2 due to a messy stack.

In Game 3, IanKeith topped out with a score of 606,912. Batfoy commenced the chasedown with a 18,000 point deficit but would only reduce that by 5,000 points before topping out. Game 4 was eerily alike with a similar point deficit but unlike Game 3, Batfoy would succeed. IanKeith and Batfoy had won two games apiece, and a final Game 5 was required.

Game 5 was relatively short and perhaps, a bit anticlimatic. IanKeith slowly amassed a 145K lead during Level 18 play but there was still a chance for Batfoy to catch up as he had maintained a clean field. However, Batfoy would miss a quick tap, forcing a piece to hang in the second column and making a gap with no obvious piece to tuck or spin to fill it up. This gap would prevent Batfoy from easily burning lines down, which would soon lead to him topping out. With Game 5 going to IanKeith, he was the first confirmed Silver Bracket finalist.

Rare footage of Batfoy without a poker face, which Peyton mused as being key to his success.

For those who want to see the action: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1632288124?t=00h37m40s

Silver Bracket Finals

"Alright we got both of our players ready here for this Finals. So I wanna hear right now Portland, are you ready for this Silver Bracket Final? I don't think I heard you, are you ready for this CTWC 2022 Silver Bracket Finals!?!?!

Hell yeah, let's count it down right now because Game #1 is on the run and it is coming Bidwell in . . .

3 . . . 2 . . . 1"

Bidwell (centre, in suit) counting down to the start of the first game in the Silver Bracket Final between IanKeith, a DAS player. and DaAsiann (left), a roller. As GD (right, sitting) would put it, IanKeith was keeping the DAS dream alive.

IanKeith would surge out to an early lead in Games 1 and 2, maintaining a constant 100,000 point lead. Maximizing score at Level 18's slower speeds is the main strategy for DAS players, as DAS is too slow to handle Level 29's descent speed.

Game 1 went to DaAsiann despite IanKeith's 100,000 point lead. But Game 2 would go to IanKeith. While IanKeith topped out early, DaAsiann soon misplaced three pieces in a row leading to a top out and a 1-1 tie. Above, DaAsiann's reaction upon topping out in Game 2.

As the Silver Bracket finals progressed, the crowd around Stage 3 slowly grew and a curious comment was heard: This match, and Silver Bracket in general, was more exciting than Gold Bracket. The players, specifically the rollers, in Gold Bracket were too good, with games having less potential for comebacks and being less interesting to watch.

In Game 3, DaAsiann's Level 18 play was on par with IanKeith's leading to both players' scores being relatively equal, unlike Games 1 and 2. A series of missed quick taps would lead to IanKeith topping out and losing immediately to DaAsiann.

A cheeky comment from a younger audience member that "DAS is dead!" would generate an equally cheeky response from IanKeith, "You're just jealous." Above, the audience reaction to IanKeith's response.

IanKeith watches on as DaAsiann surpasses his score and grabs the win to become Silver Bracket champion. GD, one of the commentators, hypes up the crowd in the final shot to congratulate both on games well done.

IanKeith getting congratulatory and conciliatory hugs from the community after losing.

For those who want to see the action: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1632288124?t=01h57m30s

Gold Bracket Top 16

As the Bracket started, the commentators would make a curious observation. Aside from DanV, who was seeded as # 18, and Cheez, who was eliminated by Birb in a surprising upset, the Top 16 consisted of the top 16 seeds.

Looking at the qualifier leaderboard from the end of Day 1 (which is slightly outdated since DanV is seeded at #17), the implication is that Gold Bracket Tetris in October 2022 required play consistent enough to score at least 5 - 6 maxouts.

1st picture: Dillan (left) and PixelAndy (right), setting up for their match.

2nd picture: The judge shows the information they are required to keep: the scores and the piece sequence used. The sequence is determined by rolling dice and the dice numbers are inputted before the match starts, ensuring that both get identical pieces. This functionality has to be modded into the game's code. Piece sequences are randomly regenerated every CTWC.

Dillan (foreground) hypertapper grip vs PixelAndy (backrground) rolling grip. Dillan was one of the few dedicated tappers in Top 16. Ultimately, PixelAndy would eliminate Dillan from contention 3-1.

Sidnev (above), coming in from the Netherlands, was matched against Alex T. Their matches would go surprisingly fast, with Sidnev and Alex T considered as some of the more aggressive rollers. Throughout the match, Sidnev would look to her left in appreciation of Alex T's skills as he navigated some truly terrifying stacks.

In Game 2, Alex T, the youngest player at CTWC this year, would top out early to loud exclamations of disbelief from the crowd. He tossed his hands up, replugged his controller, rubbed his hand and went right into it.

In Game 3, Alex T would hang (i.e. not able to move to the far side) two long pieces, an insurmountable obstacle even for a roller. Even Sidnev didn't believe that they won, playing a few more lines before looking to their left and exclaiming "What?!" loudly.

Dog warming up at the casual play station before his match with Lazer. Dog never showed an iota of nervousness throughout the event.

And that mindset would carry through to his match against Lazer . . .

Where he would eliminate Lazer 3 - 1

dansushi, official CTWC event photographer, grabbing shots of Dog vs Lazer. As a photographer, CTWC is a veritable treasure trove, always with something intriguing nearby. The two of us ran our butts off trying to capture as much as we could.

Allen (centre) vs Tristop (right). Tristop would join Club 0 in Game 1, having topped out with a score of 0. Unfortunately, the RNG or (RNJesus as players call it) affected him badly, with his stack growing high and no long bar to clear lines.

The lighting for the commentators' desk would spill out, illuminating whoever sat directly behind.

Stage 2 with Nowi vs Fractal and Huff vs DMJ. Above, Nowi tops out at Level 29 with 1,020,580 points. Fractal is ahead with 1,085,900 points and takes Game 2.

Nowi, after being defeated by Fractal. Nowi, from Mexico, was one of three international participants that made it into Top 16.

Xeno (foreground) vs Hydrant (background). In the last CTWC, Xeno was in the Silver Bracket final. Qualifying as the 7th seed in Gold Bracket was a massive improvement.

In Game 2, Hydrant had maximized his score, with a maxout score at Level 25. He would top out at 1,334,760 and would watch on as Xeno attempted to chase down a 150,000 point difference. Xeno focused on singles and doubles to reduce the point deficit but a series of mistakes would lead to him topping out at 1,308,320 and Hydrant would take Game 2.

There are no rules against talking to your opponent during the match. If anything, it felt like Hydrant and Xeno were having a full-on conversation, always encouraging each other. Hydrant would advance, beating Xeno 3-1.

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