The world of eSports is constantly evolving, with the release of new titles more and more different competitions are born . However, there is no shortage of very old titles in eSports that no one would expect and that today give rise to very popular competitions. We are talking about Tetris , one of the iconic retro games.
In fact, in 2010 the Classic Tetris World Championship was born , one of the first ever eSports championships. The competition takes place annually over two days and sees the contenders compete at the 1989 Nintendo Tetris. The event takes place during the Retro Gaming Expo, the first editions were held in Los Angeles , California. Since 2012, the event has moved to Portland Oregon.
How it takes place
Although it may surprise many eSports fans, the Classic Tetris World Championship is played strictly on the old NES (Nintendo Entertainment Systems) console complete with a classic gamepad . In fact, players play on original NES consoles and on CRT televisions . At its inception it was a real revolution in eSports, by playing a competition on a 30-year-old console.
The first day of the event is dedicated to the qualification phases . During the second day, a single elimination tournament takes place consisting of 1 vs 1 clashes of 5 rounds each. The system provides players with exactly the same blocks during the game. The player who scores the best score at the end of the game is declared the winner. The rules of the game are those of classic Tetris, as soon as a block exceeds the allowed line it is game over.
Media results
Over the years, the Classic Tetris World Championship has achieved unexpected results. The end of last year totaled about Twitch.tv well 20,000 spectators live , reaching the following days in total more than 100,000 views .
The amazing thing is also related to the participants themselves. The current Tetris champion is Joseph Saelee, a 16-year-old boy who ousted the undisputed champion Jonas Neubauer, undisputed ruler of the Tetris World Cup since 2010.
The video of their final is even hypnotic, for the speed of play and the skill that the two contenders demonstrate in this famous game.
However, this shows that the grip that a game like Tetris still has on young people is a not inconsiderable fact.
Many guys ranked among the best and many followed the competition in streaming. This result only confirms that video games and esports do not know the wear and tear of time .
Today, although the FPS are at the top of the preferences in the younger generations, there is no lack of those who still play on the old consoles. In fact, Tetris is not the only retro game that enjoys its own eSport competition, just think of the Super Mario or Pac Man tournaments still very popular today.
Future events
The Classic Tetris World Championship 2019 will be held next October in Portland.
The championship has been confirmed, and among the first qualified there are, in addition to the sixteen year old champion, other boys under 21 .
The success of the CTWC has also encouraged Nintendo to develop a new Tetris that should land on Nintendo Switch. The new game will have its own official eSport competition and promises to bring Tetris back to new glory thanks to many new features.
Every day right on Twitch , Tetris brings home decent numbers. Although in everyday life it is not among the games in the top ten by volume of spectators, it is still superior to many new generation titles .
In addition, the game of colored blocks seems to have a particular grip even on those who do not usually play it. The proof is the incredible number of users who watched the finals in streaming.
If you compare the average number of live viewers each day with that recorded during the CTWC finals, you can really see how huge the difference is.
