This Week in Tetris: CTWC Round 0

CTWC is the biggest Tetris event of the year, and Round 0 is a great chance to showcase some very good players and longtime community fixtures who don't appear so often in the CTM Masters Event or CTL Div 1. Some underqualing ranked players also appear and are given a chance to warm up a bit before compeitition gets stiffer. One of the major storylines during this CTWC is that tapping still more competitive of a playstyle than many people think, and the ability of top tappers was on full display here.

The numbers next to the players are their June Premiere Poll rankings, not their tournament seeds. Scores in the tables are given in thousands; an (i) or (a) next to a score indicates that the topout was intentional or aggressive, respectively. As always, let me know if you found this entertaining or useful, or if there's anything else you'd like to see. If you'd like updates as I'm writing each week's TWiT, want to talk or argue about anything written here, or just like hanging out, please join our Discord server.

Huge shoutout to Wingfryer for providing timestamps for all of these matches; it has made the job of recapping them far easier.

I plan on finishing CTWC in two more posts (one for Round 1, one for everything else), but it's very unlikely that these will come out before the end of the month. CTWC Round 0, June 8, 2024
22 VICIOUS RHUBARB def. COBRA (3-1)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4
VICIOUS RHUBARB	592 (i)	522 (i)	455	783 (i)
COBRA	504	514	542 (i)	689

Rhubarb takes the first set of this year's CTWC as Cobra's rolling struggled with 19 speeds. Game 1 saw both players transition with high 400s before Cobra couldn't quite get pieces over on level 20. While Cobra was able to develop a decent-sized lead in game 2 by keeping clean while Rhubarb got stuck in a mid-18 dig, a series of misdrops meant he topped out right before the 19 transition. He got one back in game 3 after Rhubarb got in a fatal dig after missing a J tuck and blocking his well early in post. While Cobra's 18 was getting warmed up, reaching mid-500 transitions in game 4 and developing a good-sized lead over Rhubarb, the misdrop bug bit him again as he couldn't get pieces over mid-post and exited the tournament. Rhubarb retakes the stage whenever Blue Scooter's playing.
Twitch

CTWC Round 0, June 8, 2024
COBALT def. GWAFEY (3-1)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4
COBALT	215	988	969 (i)	807 (i)
GWAFEY	299 (i)	906	836	735

Cobalt is able to stay a tad bit cleaner in the middle third of the game and claims the set. Gwafey took game 1 after Cobalt got stuck in a fatal dig mid-18 initiated by an unaccomodating center well setup. Game 2 was very close up through level 27. Gwafey was able to get through a dig relatively quickly, but Cobalt was able to nail a couple scaled tetrises and even up the match after both players topped out on 29. Cobalt had a clutch T-spin during a high-up 18 dig in game 3 and went into post a tetris or two up after Gwafey suffered to a low-400 transition. Cobalt was able to stay out of trouble a little bit longer through post and expanded his lead to six figures by the time both players topped out in early post-post. Game 4 featured long 18 digs from both players, but the game stayed relatively close until a couple misdrops on 26 created a board that Gwafey couldn't recover from. Cobalt's win sets up a date with Tristop.
Twitch

CTWC Round 0, June 8, 2024
KIRBYRULZ def. HEPPS (3-2)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4	5
KIRBYRULZ	207	798	735 (i)	604	1,013
HEPPS	273 (i)	789	599	617 (i)	963

Kirby advances to round 1 as the 48-seed and proves tapping isn't dead by leveraging great 18 play to take a close set. He dropped the first one early after not being able to tap a square left during a high 18 dig. He stayed clean in game 2, though, and went into 19 with a six-figure lead as Hepps suffered to a high-300 transition. Both players spent a good chunk of post digging before Kirby couldn't clean up after a missed T-spin and topped out on level 26 with a 135k lead. Hepps had to spend 26 and 27 digging, and while it looked like he would be able to line out the chasedown on the killscreen, he missed a few taps getting pieces over to the left and topped out just short of the target score. Kirby took game 3 after Hepps' board was poorly equipped to handle an S burst on 22. Both players turned it on for game 4, with Kirby able to get the 600k transition, but he had a few misdrops immediatly after transition and couldn't get the taps to recover, with Hepps completing the short chasedown and forcing a decider. Game 5 started off close, but Kirby turned on the jets in the latter half of 18 and transitioned with an 80k lead. Though he kept getting in digs in post, creative solves and dirty tetrises allowed him to hold onto most of the lead and get the tetris before hitting killscreen. Hepps had a 50k chasedown after Kirby's 29 topout, but a bar hang meant his board was nowhere near survivable by the time he hit the killscreen and topped out still a couple tetrises short. Kirby moves on to play Scuti's BFF, Coal.
Twitch

CTWC Round 0, June 8, 2024
MEME def. MECEX (3-0)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3
MEME	1,101	346 (i)	733 (i)
MECEX	802	155	684

Meme cruises her way into round 1 with steady, consistent play, taking advantage of Mecex's digs and early topouts. Game 1 saw Mecex unable to stay clean, going down almost a quarter-million points as Meme almost hit the 600k mark by the 19 transition. The lead ebbed and flowed during post, but it never went below six figures, and expanded again massively as Meme hit the 1.1 mark in level 29. Game 2 saw some creative digging from Mecex, but could only make it halfway through 18 before one of those digs got the better of him. He did keep clean enough to match Meme's pace in game 3, waiting out a drought with a center-well setup, but a series of missed rotations doomed him mid-post. Meme gets to play defending champion Fractal next.
Twitch

CTWC Round 0, June 8, 2024
WALLBANT def. DOGE (3-1)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4
WALLBANT	760 (i)	585 (a)	576	614 (i)
DOGE	528	452	759 (i)	557

Wallbant put together games with solid 18 pace and limited himself to a single early topout, while Doge wasn't able to push games to anywhere near the killscreen. Doge survived a scary early dig in game 1's 18 phase, but transitioned messy. He almost got out of the dig several times, but kept misdropping right when he was about to get clean, and finally succumbed on level 23. Game 2 saw Dog bag several six-high dirties to limit the damage from long digs, but he went down six figures while Wallbant ended up with a big 580 transition. Wallbant's lines in hand let him sit back and watch as Doge didn't take his medicine and was set up too high to survive a 36-piece drought on 19. Game 3 saw a role reversal, with Doge getting a 600k trans. Wallbant was never in any danger in 18, but he went down big after working through a series of small digs, and he was bitten in post after setting up a high bar dependency. Both players were scoring through 18 in game 4 and keeping it close, but Doge's unbalanced stack crept up right before the 19 transition, and a J misdrop ended his tournament run. Wallbant moves on to face Huff.
Twitch

CTWC Round 0, June 8, 2024
8 DANV def. BRODINDAMP (3-2)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4	5
DANV	1,172 (i)	897	944 (i)	718	1,202 (i)
BRODINDAMP	1,167	901 (i)	808	834 (i)	966

DanV edges past Brodin despite near-constant misdrops with clever solves and 29 play. Game 1 saw Brodin catch VITSmania and transition with a beefy 636k while Dan limped into 19 almost 200k behind, but steady, efficient post play from Dan cut that pace lead down to 80k by transition. DanV played intentionally conservatively on the killscreen, only nailing one tetris on the way to completing a chasedown after Brodin's level 31 topout. Game 2 was very close up until killscreen, with both players having good upper-500 transitions but only tacked 250k more on as they suffered through post. Dan tried to play conservatively again after 29, but some misshifts doomed his lineout attempt while Brodin was able to bag a killscreen tetris and even the set. Dan had a massive 676 transition in game 3. Brodin wasn't on a bad pace either, but simply couldn't keep up, and was down six figures by the time spiraling misshifts on 24 caused a topout. Game 4 saw a very low-scoring 18 from both players, with Dan only able to muster 340k by the time 19 rolled around. Brodin wasn't able to do much either, mostly digging at the same time Dan was (though usually quite a bit lower on the board), but ended up going into transition 100k ahead anyway. Dan was able to surivive multiple very high digs in post, including one that invovled handling an S/Z burst after a misdrop, but some of the misdrops came right before 29 rolled around and he wasn't able to stick the landing into killscreen. The decider started off close, with Dan pulling ahead by a couple tetrises by transition with fun, creative stacking while Brodin was stuck in a small dig. Dan ameliorated some early-post digs with a couple dirty tetrises and extended his lead to six figures later as Brodin wasn't able to match Dan's efficiency. Brodin had quite a few lines in hand, but Dan's real-time 1.2 was too hot to handle as Brodin topped out in 29. Dan faces Sodium next.
Twitch

CTWC Round 0, June 8, 2024
SOMALIAN def. DAASIANN (3-1)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4
SOMALIAN	734	1,162 (i)	592 (i)	577 (i)
DAASIANN	740 (i)	854	419	506

Somalian plays remarkably consistently and limits himself to one early topout while DaAsiann's misroations lead to long digs and 19-speed exits. Somalian stays a bit cleaner in game 1's 18 phase and goes up by a tetris and a half. Things stay close through most of post, but both players got into digs and hung pieces high-up mid-post. DaAsiann was the one who was able to get the stack down low enough to line out the chasedown halfway up and take the game. Game 2 saw Somalian play a very solid game, maxing out before the killscreen and tacking on another couple tetrises, while DaAsiann was only able to muster an 834 into 29 after multiple long misdrop-induced digs. Somalian opened up a 150k lead in game 3 before a spiky board and more misroations took him down in level 19. Game 4 stayed closer through 18 but ended in much the same way, though DaAsiann was able to fight the board longer and get to level 21 before topping out. Somalian moves on to play DMJ.
Twitch

CTWC Round 0, June 8, 2024
EREN def. 25 TUGI (3-1)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4
EREN	1,029	927	753 (i)	903 (i)
TUGI	924	944 (i)	750	893

Eren puts up remarkably consistently deep runs and keeps the tetrises flowing enough to secure the upset against Tugi and contribute to tappers' strong showing at CTWC this year. Both players had solid 18 scores, keeping it close until Tugi got into a dig late in post and coughed up some pace. Eren took the point after Tugi hung two bars to the left right before the killscreen transition. Eren had a big lead halfway through 18, but Tugi gradually made it up through the rest of the game, with the players' scores into 29 less than a thousand apart in the low-900 range. Tugi was able to line out further into killscreen and even up the set. Tugi took a decent-sized lead into 19 in the next game, and while Eren had to survive a long dig sequence in post, he gets through it and finishes the chasedown in level 28 after Tugi couldn't get out of a scramble a bit later. Game 4 was much the same, as Tugi held onto a small lead through most of post but couldn't stem the bleeding after a series of misdrops, Eren completing the chasedown 8 lines before the killscreen. Eren has to go up against Alex T next.
Twitch

CTWC Round 0, June 8, 2024
15 SV def. ANSEL (3-1)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4
SV	1,087	1,119	854 (i)	750 (i)
ANSEL	1,148	1,111 (i)	654	725

Ansel put up a strong showing in the first couple games, but ran out of steam while SV's survival and pace led him to outsurvive Ansel and advance. Ansel got a six-figure lead after SV got stuck in a dig late in 18. Though SV was a hair cleaner in post, Ansel still carried a 50k lead into the killscreen with a 1.1. Despite hitting some impressive rolls, a set of misdrops got the better of SV and he couldn't chase down Ansel's level 30 topout score. Game 2 saw SV build up a slight lead and get his own 1.1 into 29 through some killer post pace. He topped out soon after transition, and though Ansel made up most of the defecit with a clutch left-well 2-up killscreen tetris, he peeked at SV's screen while SV was topping out thought he had already won, intentionally topping out when he was still 8k behind. SV turned up the pace on game 3 and got the 600k transition, taking the game after Ansel's dependent stack collided with an S/Z burst halfway through post. Game 4 saw plenty of SV's patented dirty tetrises pre-19. Ansel topped out after misdropping with his own dirty setup, and you'd never guess how SV completed the chasedown and took the set. SV has an intriguing match with Lazer in his future.
Youtube

CTWC Round 0, June 8, 2024
HYDRANTDUDE def. DEKK (3-2)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4	5
HYDRANTDUDE	550 (i)	1,114	1,151 (i)	932	1,113 (i)
DEKK	518	1,191	853	1,114 (i)	1,008

Hydrantdude's efficient play in the middle third ended up being the difference in this exciting match where four of the five games hit the killscreen. Game 1 was the exception, with a couple misdrops bringing Dekk down right after the 19 transition. They more than made up for it in game 2, though, almost hitting 600k by 19 and keeping clean through post to hit 1.1 by killscreen and hold onto a tetris-and-a-half lead. Dekk couldn't spin a bar into a dirty center well and topped out on level 30, but Hydrant had one too many misdrops and couldn't get his stack down enough to complete the chasedown. Game 3 saw Dekk getting into dig after dig in post. Though they had some crowd-pleasingly beautiful solves to keep his game alive until 29, Hydrant's very efficient stacking meant he got almost 300k behind, and making that up on the killscreen was a non-starter. Hydrant fell 150k behind after digging for his life early in game 4's post and ended up not getting what he needed to deal with a few rows of garbage after the 19 transition. The decider stayed virtually tied until Dekk got into a dig on level 22. They went into killscreen 100k behind, and though both players were able to stay alive for a level and a half into the killscreen, neither was able to bag a tetris before topping out at the same line count.
Youtube

CTWC Round 0, June 8, 2024
REDSHURT def. OSCAR (3-2)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4	5
REDSHURT	722	1,122 (i)	725 (i)	1,002	750 (i)
OSCAR	936 (i)	1,049	657	1,056	482

Redshurt won the early topout battle, never topping out before level 27 once in this fun, even matchup. Game 1 saw Oscar go up by a tetris and a half after Redshurt got stuck in traffic a few times. Things got a bit worse for him in post, going down 200k before a misdrop caused a level 27 exit. Game 2 stayed close; both players got into digs but cleaned them up relatively efficiently. The players were tied in pace (though Oscar had a level of lines in hand) as they maxed out before killscreen. They both had remarkable post-post play, but Redshurt was able to bag a couple tetrises and make it all the way to level 32 before Oscar's setup got a little too ambitious and he topped out. Redshurt was up by a couple tetrises for a good chunk of game 3 after Oscar's early dig, but Oscar's game ended suddenly halfway through killscreen after his very high, very flat stack couldn't handle a 30-piece drought. Game 4 saw Oscar get a six-figure lead early on as Redshurt's missed rotations led to a long, high dig, and Oscar's high-500 pace let him hold onto that lead at transition. Redshurt was able to eat into that lead in post, but Oscar held onto a real-time lead despite holding a level of lines in hand, and that lead made the difference when both players topped out simultaneously a couple levels into killscreen. The decider ended much the same way as game 3, when Oscar wasn't able to handle a drought with a high-ish stack 100 lines in. Redshurt will play in Cheez's comeback match.
Twitch

CTWC Round 0, June 8, 2024
JERPI def. TT PLAYA (3-1)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4
JERPI	1,093 (i)	907	526 (i)	1,191
TT PLAYA	1,055	932	481	1,026

Terrence had remarkable 18 efficiency, but Jerpi's digging prowress and ability on 29 let her outsurvive TT Playa. Game 1 saw big 19 transition scores from both hybrid players, with Terrence breaking 600k and Jerpi just missing it. Post was good enough for them to both get maxouts, but Terrence couldn't get the roll switch done in time and topped out right after hitting 29. Game 2 saw another big transition from Terrence. Both players got stuck in the mud in post play, with Terrence getting in a lengthy dig near the end of post. When he finally did get his well reopened, he hung a bar and topped out, but Jerpi couldn't complete the chasedown; she set up for a dirty tetris to hit the target score going into 29 and the bar never came. Terrence topped out in game 3 right before the 19 transition during a short drought, unable to burn due to holes in his stack. While he maxed in level 27 in the fourth frame and held a two-tetris lead, he topped out when a drought happened right after he put a Z up on a pedistal, and Jerpi sealed the deal with some clutch 29 play. She was then able to mullen with Ben Mullen himself commentating, which must be the dream. Jerpi will move on to face Dog.
Twitch

CTWC Round 0, June 8, 2024
ERICICX def. DOODLE (3-0)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3
ERICICX	141 (i)	386 (i)	769 (i)
DOODLE	122	383	650

Eric looks like he's never left, not breaking a sweat while Doodle couldn't push anything deeper than mid-post. Game 1 saw Eric get out of an early jam, but Doodle wasn't able to survive one of his own, topping out 30 lines in after blocking his well and hanging a square. Doodle held a small lead through the first half of game 2's 18 phase, but had a few misdrops 80 lines in and exited after his board slowly moved in the wrong direction. Doodle kept getting in digs and bleeding pace while Eric had a very solid 18; he was 200k down by the time he suffered a series of high misdrops and topped out on level 24. Eric will play Noah Dengler in Round 1.
Youtube

CTWC Round 0, June 8, 2024
5 PIXELANDY def. TETRISTIME (3-0)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3
PIXELANDY	1,153 (i)	1,051 (i)	930 (i)
TETRISTIME	1,147	886	863

TT played admirably and made him work for it, but Andy is able to build momentum and advance to round 1 after a rough qual. TT was able to stay clean and go up by five figures by mid-post in game 1, but digging later in post meant Andy was able to close the gap to half a tetris by the 29 transition. TT was able to nail a couple killscreen tetrises but wasn't able to match Andy's rolling ability, and Andy was able to line out the short chasedown. Game 2 had weird 18 RNG and both players suffered through it. Andy righted the ship in post, but TT kept getting stuck digging and hit 29 with a bunch of garbage on his stack, though he was able to gift the community great HD footage of his grip switch. He made a great attempt to get out of it, but ultimately couldn't get the pieces he needed to survive past 30. Game 3 saw great drought management from both players in 18 play, with Andy taking a slim lead into post. TT was able to get out of repeated digs quickly despite unhelpful RNG, but a couple misdrops in 28 before he could complete the grip switch knocked him out of the tournament. Andy faces Rahmations next.
Youtube

CTWC Round 0, June 8, 2024
ATKOSTER def. DEEWEE (3-2)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4	5
ATKOSTER	859 (i)	956	419	165 (i)	1,075 (i)
DEEWEE	732	969 (i)	571 (i)	119	931

Yet another tapping-ain't-dead moment at this year's CTWC, with Koster limiting early topouts and accumulating pace just a tad bit better to edge out Deewee. Both players got in lengthy digs in post in game 1, but Koster was able to get out of it faster, and his score was almost up to six figures when Deewee's square hang was punished by an S-burst on level 26. Koster went ahead big in game 2 after Deewee got stuck in a dig, but Deewee made it up by managing droughts better. The game had a thrilling end, as Deewee was able to set up and score a tetris into 29 to surpass Koster's killscreen topout score. Games 3 and 4 were a gift exchange; Koster wasn't able to stop misdropping early in post long enough to get out of a dig, while Deewee couldn't keep his well open long enough to clean up a misdrop less than 30 lines in. Koster accumulated a 90k lead by transition in the decider, and while Deewee was able to slowly close the lead in post, he hung an L on top of a dependent stack on level 28 to hand Koster the victory. He'll move on to face fellow tapper Dillan.
Twitch

CTWC Round 0, June 8, 2024
OPAUX def. ARMSTRONG (3-1)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4
OPAUX	744	1,150	426 (i)	1,122 (i)
ARMSTRONG	767 (i)	1,036	383	973

Opaux was able to put up some pace in post and take comfortable leads into the killscreen to advance. Both players suffered through most of game 1, though Opaux was able to stay clean long enough to develop a 60k lead. Opaux ended up with two wells instead of one and topped out accordingly, and Armstrong had a beautiful chasedown, tetrising into 29 to take the game. Opaux got up to a 1.1 by game 2's transition, and though Armstrong wasn't playing terribly, a dig earlier in post meant he was behind by six figures. Though Opaux didn't get much done on the killscreen, Armstrong only pushed his game to level 30. Game 3 was a gift, as Armstrong's board kept creeping up until 100 lines in, when it ran out of room to creep up into. Armstrong was largely able to stay out of trouble in game 4, but maintaining a center well in post meant he was taking quite a few more burns than Opaux, and Armstrong's killscreen play wasn't quite there enough to think about chasing the score down. Opaux will face Sidnev in round 1.
Twitch