This Week in Tetris: August 27-September 9

With the Neubauer cup coming up in late September, there's been a bit of a DAS renaissance across the scene, with new competitions such as CTM's DAS Masters and Boxie's DAS Champions League showcasing the playstyle. (DAS events are, unfortunately, outside the scope of this column.) There is still plenty of open-playstyle Tetris happening, though, including a huge CTW Battle Royale finale, a history-making August Masters Event, a decider-filled CTL playoff bracket, and a stacked Minneapolis regional.

We're always looking for new contributors, so if you're interested, join our Discord server and say hello. This time around, sonic joins our team, covering the Minneapolis regional, while stolenshortsword steps back in to help cover the CTL playoffs. Huge thank you to you both.

The numbers next to the players are their September 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.

Classic Tetris Wars

CTW's capstone Battle Royale event has become a core fixture of the Classic Tetris calendar, and nothing demonstrates that more than the level of play, with all seven of the top-ranked players making it to the grand finals.

CTW Battle Royal 5 Grand Finals, September 7, 2024
5 SIDNEV wins over 3 TRISTOP, 4 DOG, 1 ALEX THACH, 2 BLUE SCUTI, 6 MYLES, 14 TOMMYNTG, 7 THEDENGLER

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	Pts	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
SIDNEV	50	1,800	1,576	1,632	1,703	1,356	1,530	1,078	1,425
TRISTOP	47	1,679	1,667	1,618	1,662	1,298	1,287	1,432	1,575
DOG	39	1,079	1,375	1,314	920	1,257	1,798	1,624	1,666
ALEX T	34	1,135	1,371	1,759	1,741	1,139	1,641	1,053	1,199
BLUE SCUTI	34	1,325	1,612	1,771	773	1,092	963	1,154	1,784
MYLES	28	1,264	1,234	1,479	1,264	1,184	1,105	1,662	1,439
TOMMYNTG	21	1,413	1,057	1,294	1,029	1,257	1,088	1,484	1,111
THEDENGLER	19	577	498	1,528	1,685	1,189	1,250	1,435	351

Sidnev takes home CTW's biggest acolade of the year by taking a top-three spot in the first six games. She made a statement in game 1, netting a 1.8 on the back of relentless 29 play. Tristop had an all-around great game and got the first of four consecutive rollovers, though, getting the highest score in game 2 and taking the lead after a pacing Scuti got his own rollover and finished ahead of Sidnev. Dog's four points from game 2 would his best showing in the first half as he kept falling behind big pre-killscreen, while Dengler's early topouts in the first two games left him in a hole that he was never quite able to dig himself out of. The rankings were shaken up by an incredible game 3. While Sidnev and Tristop both rolled over and received 6 and 4 points, respectively, Scuti and Alex were able to find another gear and hit 1.7's. Scuti's game 3 win put him in a three-way tie with Sidnev and Tristop, but he collapsed soon afterward, struggling to make it deep into the killscreen and only getting 2 points from the next 3 games. Game 4 was another quadrouple-rollover, with Alex T getting another 1.7 to get 10 points and put himself in contention and Noah pulling himself out of the basement by finishing third.

By the halfway point, Myles and Tommy were falling behind, consistently getting decent scores but not able to put together any big games. Players were slowed down by mental exhaustion and rough RNG in game 5, but Sidnev and Tristop were able to navigate it best and pull away from the pack with another one-two finish. Alex got a single point in that game and saw the chasm between him and the top two widen, but he bounced back in in game 6. He finished second only to a resurgent Dog, who pulled into 39 just shy of a 1.8. Sidnev was the only other person to make a deep killscreen run in game 6, getting a crucial extra couple points to widen her lead over Tristop to 8. She got stuck in the mud in game 7 and only got one point after a level 30 topout, but Tristop's comeback efforts were hampered when four other players kept pace with him through the killscreen. He and Dengler topped out on the same rough patch on 35, but Dengler found himself 3k ahead, while Myles, Dog, and Tommy all cruised into the killscreen to take the top three spots. Sidnev kept scoring at a good pace and lasted long enough in the last game to score a 1.4, which meant Tristop needed to win outright to pass her. Despite a strong finish, though, his level 37 T-hang meant that his 1.57 was only good enough for third. Scuti recovered from his slump to score a 1.7 and ten points in the last game, while Dog hit level 40 in his rollover. | Twitch

CTWC Minnesota Regional

This year's event was titled "MinneD on the screen" due to a new qual format, where players are ranked by the number of 1.3's they can score rather than maxouts. Fractal's return to open-playstyle Tetris, a large pool of ranked players, and good number of up-and-comers made this event a good one to watch.

CTWC Minnesota Regional Quarterfinals, August 31, 2024
8 FRACTAL def. 20 MEME (3-2)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4	5
FRACTAL	169 (i)	1,312	1,258	636	1,274
MEME	144	1,202	1,278 (i)	701 (i)	1,232

Meme is definitely a player to watch, being (as of the time of writing) the newest player to reach colors and having good tournament performances all summer, from CTM Futures to the Kansas City Regional, and on home turf at MinneD. Despite being a quarterfinal, this was the single match that saw the most killscreen play out of the Minneapolis qualifiers, with both players pushing each other to the limit. Game 1 ended prematurely when Meme hung a bar halfway through Level 18. The next four games wouldn't be as easy, however. In Game 2, Fractal had a very messy 18, giving Meme a 100k lead into 19 that doubled into 29. After some thrilling killscreen play with both going for tetrises, Meme topped out at Level 34 after a brutal sequence didn't let her fully dig out of a mess; Fractal was able to complete the chasedown to take the win (he also got the first namesake D on the screen!). In Game 3, Fractal had a good pre-29 game, with a 650k transition and 1.2 into killscreen, but then immediately topped out on 29 after misdropping. This left Meme with a 150k chasedown, which she completed by lining out to 39, showing off some remarkable 29 consistency. Game 4 was neck and neck throughout 18 and early 19. Fractal's aggression on 19 led him to wait for a bar for too long; his stack was too high and he hung a bar to the left on Level 23, by which time Meme was already ahead. Game 5 was again very tight, with Fractal and Meme trading leads throughout pre-29, until Fractal had a couple of misdrops that set him back by about two tetrises. Both were unable to stay clean early into 29 but were able to clean their boards out; Meme topped out on Level 35, and Fractal was able to pull ahead with a tetris for the decider victory. -sonic | Twitch

CTWC Minnesota Regional Quarterfinals, August 31, 2024
16 HUFFULUFUGUS def. 24 VICIOUS RHUBARB (3-1)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4
HUFFULUFUGUS	1,025 (i)	1,103	1,119 (i)	1,112
VICIOUS RHUBARB	1,010	1,179 (i)	967	1,082

All four games went to the 29 transition with no early topouts. Rhubarb had an insane TikTok-worthy killscreen dig in game 2, but in the other ones he wasn't able to outlast Huff. -sonic | Twitch

CTWC Minnesota Regional Quarterfinals, August 31, 2024
21 RAHMATIONS def. KUNFUSINGPOKE (3-0)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3
RAHMATIONS	1,177 (i)	1,229 (i)	1,086 (i)
KUNFUSINGPOKE	1,137	1,055	857

K-Poke wasn't able to survive long enough on 29 all three games. -sonic | Twitch

CTWC Minnesota Regional Quarterfinals, August 31, 2024
19 CHEEZ def. OPAUX (3-1)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4
CHEEZ	1,186	1,153	280 (i)	599 (i)
OPAUX	1,190 (i)	1,054	239	591

Quite a strong first game for Opaux, but early misdrops high up the board caused him to top out in both Game 3 and 4, giving Cheez the set. -sonic | Twitch

CTWC Minnesota Regional Semifinals, August 31, 2024
19 CHEEZ def. 21 RAHMATIONS (3-2)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4	5
CHEEZ	1,111 (i)	722	1,204 (i)	1,021	160 (i)
RAHMATIONS	855	763 (i)	1,120	1,127 (i)	94

There wasn't much killscreen play in this set. Rahmations trailed throughout game 1 as Cheez had a good pre-killscreen game and a 1.1 million into 29, leaving him 200k ahead going into killscreen. Rah tried to make up for it by going for tetrises more aggressively on the killscreen, but a drought killed his game on level 30. In game 2, Cheez again held the lead going into 19, but a sequence of digs in post meant that Rahmations was able to pull ahead. Eventually Cheez's board spiraled out of control in level 24 and Rahmations took the game. Game 3 had Rahmations and Cheez about a tetris apart throughout 18 and 19. On killscreen, however, it was Rahmations who missed a square to the left on level 30, spelling the end of his game. In Game 4, both players had a clean 18 and 19, with Rahmations holding about a three-tetris lead throughout. Upon going into the killscreen, Cheez hung an L to the left on Level 30, by which time Rahmations was already ahead and took the game. The decider was comparatively anticlimactic as Rahmations hung a bar up 12 high early on and could not get anything else over to the left, giving Cheez the Game 5 victory. -sonic | Twitch

CTWC Minnesota Regional Semifinals, August 31, 2024
8 FRACTAL def. 16 HUFFULUFUGUS (3-2)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4	5
FRACTAL	856	710	1,314	1,003	1,274
HUFFULUFUGUS	1,077 (i)	738 (i)	1,157	950	1,180

Fractal pulls off a reverse sweep versus Huff, mostly saved by good pre-29 efficiency. In Game 1, Fractal was stuck in a dig for a good part of pre-killscreen, and by the time he went into 29, his board was already too messy for him to make up the deficit. Huff was already ahead despite being on Level 28 and coasted to a victory. Game 2 saw Fractal play slightly cleaner than the first, even pulling ahead when Huff had an extended dig sequence due to a few misdrops, but a hung bar on Level 23 immediately ended Fractal's game. Needing three more games to get the victory, Fractal turned up his 18 efficiency in game 3, going perfect for 14 tetrises in a row. His board into 19 was a little messy, but he was still ahead of Huff, who had a hair-raising three-level dig after a missed rotation messed up his board. By the 29 transition, Fractal was 200k ahead, and even as he topped out after a series of misdrops, Huff already had a board spiraling out of control and couldn't chase down the 200k points needed. In Game 4, both players had a moderately messy level 18, with Huff having a 4-high center well for a good part of it. The post-transition was also quite even, with Fractal maintaining a slight lead. Both players transitioned into 29 with messy boards and topped out soon after, but Fractal was ahead and sealed his second win. The decider saw Fractal take the lead early, as he had a 650k transition and 1.2 million into 29. Fractal topped out due to a misdrop on Level 30, again leaving Huff with about 200k to chase down; Huff was able to chase down half of that deficit before missing an L to the right and falling 90k short. -sonic | Twitch

CTWC Minnesota Regional Finals, August 31, 2024
8 FRACTAL def. 19 CHEEZ (3-1)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4
FRACTAL	1,263	245	919 (i)	1,197
CHEEZ	1,055	261 (i)	739	1,144

The stakes were high for Fractal as this was his first rolling tournament appearance since CTWC. He didn't have an easy path to the finals, either, defeating both Meme and Huff in deciders to advance to play Cheez. In Game 1, Cheez had over a 100k lead going into 19, but a messy 19 later, Fractal was now trailing about a tetris going into 29. Fractal took back the lead on killscreen and was able to score several 29 tetrises, while Cheez topped out on Level 32 after hanging an L to the left, handing Fractal the victory as he mullened to level 36. Game 2 was looking to be the reverse situation as Fractal held the lead, but he topped out at about 60 lines and Cheez had an easy chasedown for the win. Game 3 saw Cheez digging through portions of 18 and even into 19, giving Fractal a 150k lead into transition. On Level 25 Cheez had an unsalvageable misdrop, leading him to top out as his stack was already quite high. Fractal had a solid pre-killscreen game in Game 4, with a 600k transition and 1.1 into killscreen. This let him hold a sizable lead into 19 which doubled into 29 as Cheez got himself into multiple digs. Fractal's game ended abruptly as he hung an L on Level 31, leaving Cheez with a 130k chasedown; Cheez singled and doubled his way to within two tetrises through a messy board, but a misdropped Z piece on Level 38 ended his game 50k short. Although there might still be rust to dust off on Fractal's end, he's put on some good performances in this tournament. His return to CTM via Challengers this month should be an interesting watch. -sonic | Twitch

Classic Tetris Monthly

Each semifinalist had a big reason to want the CTM victory this time around. Would Alex T get a record-breaking fourth Masters title in a row? Would Scuti net his first Masters trophy since December and build his case for being the best player in the world? Would Noah add his name to the list of Masters winners and put to bed any lingering doubts that he's in the upper eschelon of players? The one with the most weight on her shoulders, though, was Sidnev. After over a dozen semifinals appearances, would she finally do it?

CTM August 2024 Masters Event Semifinals, September 3, 2024
5 SIDNEV def. 7 THEDENGLER (3-2)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4	5
SIDNEV	1,651	186 (i)	1,192 (i)	323	532 (a)
THEDENGLER	1,677	169	1,149	518 (i)	285

Sidnev took advantage of some early topouts from Dengler and her top-notch 29 play to give herself another shot at her first Masters title. Game 1 was a banger, as Noah started off with huge pace; Sidnev had a decent game but still found herself down almost 200k. Both players were setting up and scoring throughout post-post, but Sidnev played more efficiently and slowly closed the gap. She rolled over and took the real-time score lead on 38, but Dengler was able to score the a tetris and take the game before running out of room. He gave the game back on game two, topping out 40 lines in after letting his right side get messy high-up. Game 3 was back-and-forth, with both players getting into digs and crossing over the maxout threshold right before hitting 29. Noah had the advantage early in post-post, but while he was topping out, Sidnev was completing an incredible dig, finishing off the chasedown with a tetris on 37. A decider was set up when Sidnev was fed the exact wrong pieces for her stack and topped out 80 lines in, but Noah gave it right back and handed Sidnev the set after letting his setup get very high and suffering a couple misdrops halfway through 18. | Twitch

CTM August 2024 Masters Event Semifinals, September 3, 2024
2 BLUE SCUTI def. 1 ALEX THACH (3-2)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4	5
BLUE SCUTI	1,689	1,624	1,169	1,457	1,641
ALEX THACH	1,333	1,664	1,217	1,455	1,249

This matchup between the top two ranked players didn't disappoint, with great killscreen play, close margins, and a winning tetris on 39. Alex stayed clean in game 1 and took a six-figure lead into 19, but Scuti turned on the jets and evened the score into 29. Though Alex survived halfway up the board through a huge chunk of post-post, Scuti was draining tetrises in the meantime, and Alex was down 200k by the time he exited on level 35. Both players had a great game 2, with Scuti staying half a step ahead of Alex and hitting the DKS with his second rollover in a row. With 39 looming, Alex had to set up for two, taking a tetris into the double killscreen and getting the bar to take an incredible game and even the set. Scuti managed to keep a slim lead up until 29 on the third game despite seeming to be stuck with a dirty board for half of post, but an untimely S misshift on 31 let Alex move up to match point. Though Alex fell behind 150k n game 4 after a long killscreen dig, he was looking like he was crusing to complete the chasedown after Scuti let his stack up a little too high on 36. However, he had two uncharacteristic hangs on the left side of his board, and wasn't quite able to squeeze out enough lines in the process of toppping out to hit the target score. Scuti was on a mission in the decider, hitting a 1.2 by 29. Alex wasn't playing terribly, but he ended up 300k behind and was forced to set up aggressively and top out on 35, as Scuti mullened to his third rollover of the set. | Twitch

CTM August 2024 Masters Event Finals, September 3, 2024
5 SIDNEV def. 2 BLUE SCUTI (3-1)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4
SIDNEV	1,589	1,199 (i)	871	1,272
BLUE SCUTI	1,256	1,082	1,060 (i)	1,229

She did it. In her sixth Masters appearance, Sidnev built up leads on 18 and 19 and protected them with deep killscreen runs to get her first title. She took advantage of a lackluster 18 from Scuti in game 1, eventually building her lead up to almost 300k before Scuti saw his sides get messy during a center-well setup and topped out on 35. Scuti went into 29 without getting a max for the second time in a row in the next game, and though neither player was able to do a whole lot in the early part of 29, Sidnev held onto her six-figure lead and survived past Scuti's level 34 L hang. Game 3 saw Scuti make up for lost time with a 656k transition, though Sidnev also played efficiently and didn't let the lead grow too big. She was unable to keep clean in post, though, topping out midway through after a dirty setup didn't pay off. Game 4 saw Sidnev play solidly pre-29 and open up yet another six-figure lead going into the killscreen, and though her mechanics failed her early in post-post, Scuti's chasedown was over before it began when he couldn't reopen a high blocked well. | Twitch

Classic Tetris League

An eight-player bracket awaits the top performers after a grueling CTL regular season.Scuti is the defending champion, but each of the seven other players have shown that they can pose a threat.

CTL Season 26 Championship Playoff Quarterfinals, August 31, 2024
2 BLUE SCUTI def. 10 DANV (3-2)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4	5
BLUE SCUTI	1,450	232	1,542	1,480	1,753
DANV	1,489	264 (i)	911	1,189	1,153

Dan took the first game by outsurviving Scuti, hitting the target score with a tetris on 38, and he threatened to end the defending champion's run when Scuti topped out early on game 2. He struggled through post in the next two games, though, topping out on level 31 on game 3 and not being able to score a lot of tetrises despite a deep post-post run in game 4. The decider was close up through the 29 transition, but Dan's topout soon afterward saw Scuti advance to the semis. | Twitch

CTL Season 26 Championship Playoff Quarterfinals, August 31, 2024
15 SODIUM def. 3 TRISTOP (3-2)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4	5
SODIUM	737	1,133	400 (i)	1,331 (i)	1,256
TRISTOP	1,022 (i)	1,205	316	992	930

Game 2 was the only one where both players made it past 29; Sodium had a sluggish post and, though Tristop topped out after double-flipping a bar on level 30, Sodium was unable to complete the long chasedown. This moved Tristop to match point, but he topped out early three times in a row to hand Sodium the reverse sweep. | Twitch

CTL Season 26 Championship Playoff Quarterfinals, August 31, 2024
6 MYLES def. 5 SIDNEV (3-2)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4	5
MYLES	1,227	1,314	1,211 (i)	679	1,264
SIDNEV	1,253	1,264	1,092	837 (i)	1,248

Sidnev had better pre-29 pace in the first game, and even though she topped out on 30 after trying to get a T over halfway up the stack, Myles couldn't complete the lineout after misdrops accumulated on his board. Myles evened the score after Sidnev couldn't get herself out of a next-box-high jam halfway through post-post in game 2, and he moved up to match point when Sidnev's board fell apart on 27 and she couldn't put it back together before the killscreen transition. Sidnev forced the decider by being the one to get through a rough RNG patch early in post in game 4, and though she built up a sizable lead throughout game 5, a J misdrop from her on level 30 and a patient chasedown from Myles saw the latter through to the next round. | Twitch

CTL Season 26 Championship Playoff Quarterfinals, August 31, 2024
4 DOG def. 13 NEK0 (3-1)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4
DOG	173 (i)	1,438	1,252	793
NEK0	144	1,575	1,209	718

Nek0 had a monster game 2, getting a 1.3 in 29 and doing enough on the killscreen to outlast Dog's 35 topout, and he kept pace with Dog in game 3 before not being able to handle a high setup on 31. Ultimately, though, a pair of early topouts ended Nek0's first CTL playoff run. | Twitch

CTL Season 26 Championship Playoff Semifinals, September 8, 2024
6 MYLES def. 15 SODIUM (3-1)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4
MYLES	1,358	904	1,216 (a)	1,138
SODIUM	1,301	1,215 (i)	1,197	1,108

The set kicked off with what we now consider standard fare: elite 600k and near 1.2m transitions, ending with Sodium failing to chase down, despite an impressive dig sequence, after Myles's L caught on an ambitious center well. Game 2 saw tamer transitions, but Sodium's 3 tetris lead when he entered killscreen led to Myles going for a ludicrous dirty tetris up high at 229 lines. Myles, perhaps doubling down, played game 3 so neurotically that even iBall described it as “nervy”, with extended digs that he ostensibly solves with creative adjustments and row 3 tetrises. Sodium's game 3, in contrast, was utterly uneventful. Through clean, principled stacking, he maintained a commanding lead at transition that he compounded to 258k, but he fumbled it by topping out at level 31 and absolving Myles of his pre-killscreen mediocrity. He would use 6 more levels to match his score. Game 4 was tragically more of the same. Myles had terrible parity when hit by a 43 piece drought, while Sodium cooly burned down his sloping, accommodating stack. Myles had strange jitters that caused him to miss a 10-high 4 tap on level 19; he trudged out of the subsequently dig with a 7-tetris deficit. Sodium played high and efficient until he didn't, topping out at level 32. Myles got to sigh in relief and coast to the double killscreen to chasedown. -stolenshortsword | Twitch

CTL Season 26 Championship Playoff Semifinals, September 8, 2024
2 BLUE SCUTI def. 4 DOG (3-0)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3
BLUE SCUTI	1,751	121 (i)	1,685
DOG	1,677	50	1,439

Dog and Scuti begin their match with possibly the greatest game this playoffs. After mid-600k transitions, the dog is unleashed and built a 120k lead by level 29. They both maxed by level 26. However, Scuti, as ever, demonstrated a fearless, robotic compulsion to score tetrises on the killscreen. Dog, playing catchup, wisely began to up his aggression, but he kept following his tetrises with digs from sold-out boards as a result. Scuti completely believed in his opponent's will and miraculously scores a dirty tetris 3 rows high to put the game out of reach. Dog, admirably, cut a 200k deficit to 73k by the double killscreen, losing with a high rollover. This is Tetris in 2024.

You probably had whiplash reading game 2's scoreline. Dog, as the kids say, would have a d1 crashout after a square preshift precipatated a bizarre sequence of misdrops. He would recover in game 3, but Scuti had utterly no mercy. Dog had a mediocre 18 transition; Scuti repeated game 1's excellence. Dog recovered his pace during 19; Scuti still scored higher. And Dog played aggressive during 29, at one point constructing a center well to score two back-to-back tetrises; Scuti would beat Dog's game 1 rollover just to prove a point, I guess. -stolenshortsword | Twitch

CTL Season 26 Championship Playoff Finals, September 8, 2024
2 BLUE SCUTI def. 6 MYLES (3-2)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4	5
BLUE SCUTI	1,444	1,212	1,078	1,230	1,480
MYLES	1,443	1,255	1,205	988	1,173

Our returning finalists play a set that, if not mechanically exceptional, was narratively fascinating. First, we observe the oft-told cautionary tale of the botched chasedown. Scuti, after extending his lead into killscreen as always, opened the door for Myles after a surprising level 36 topout. Myles, a bit unprepared for his windfall, singled and doubled until the last possible moment. Peek, on comms, scremed for him to score a triple, but Myles gave into temptation and kept checking back at Scuti's screen instead of focusing on his best play, and used his last lines to score a double that left him just barely short.

Scuti would actually trail during post-transition and killscreen in game 2, coming up short and topping out on level 36 with a score below his usual standard. Myles looked unfazed. If we saw cracks in game 1 that widened in game 2, game 3 is where it seemed like Scuti broke. He was behind in every segment: “nervy”, digging at transitions just to stay alive. He clearly didn't play his game. If 1.2m is average at Scuti's standards than this was just... bad.

As a viewer at this point, I thought Myles had it. He wasn't playing out of his mind, but he was letting his younger contemporary just collapse. I commented in the chat that semifinalist Scuti and finalist Scuti are different players — referencing CTM August where after slaying Alex and his b4b hopes Sidnev kind of just walked over him. Scuti, in agreement, actually replied “bro i dont understand [...] I play so well for the whole tournament then crap out in the finals”. It seemed, as the kids say, joever.

But perhaps some reflection and outside recognition helped his resilience, because in game 4 we saw Scuti retake the driver's seat. Despite both transitioning into 29 with a sub-maxout, Myles wasn't prepared for playing catch-up and topped out soon after. A decider, CTL's first in the grand finals since Nenu vs. Dog in Season 19, saw a much more familiar Scuti, pulling ahead during killscreen with Myles unable to answer. Although his three consecutive Masters finals appearances couldn't produce anything, Blue Scuti showed some real persistence to claim back-to-back CTL championships, building a real case for world number 1. -stolenshortsword | Twitch