This Week in Tetris: Season 26 CTL Regular Season Roundup

The regular season of the Classic Tetris League's twenty-sixth edition is in the books. In some ways, the results reenforced what we already know: Tristop built on recent success by finishing 7-1 at the top of 1A along with Blue Scuti and Myles, while Dog and Sidnev, the two favorites in 1B, finished first and second, respectively. Just under the top positions, though, are signs that the status quo may be beginning to crack. Nek0's breakout 6-2 season saw him make the playoffs for the first time, and big scores from iBall and Portal show that, if they can play a bit more consistently, they could put themselves in the mix as well.

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The numbers next to the players are their August Premiere Poll rankings, not their tournament seeds. (The September edition of the poll was released while this post was being written.) Box scores and recaps of matches from the first portion of the season can be found here. 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.

Featured Matches

CTL Season 26 Division 1A, August 11, 2024
19 PORTALLL def. 10 IBALL (3-2)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4	5
PORTALLL	1,052	1,533	1,489	1,343	1,307
IBALL	1,330	1,302	1,504	1,140	1,091

This matchup between two of the most aggressive players in the top 25 didn't disappoint, with both players maxing out every single game, beautifully resolving tense situations, and avoiding the early topouts. iBall was able to navigate an early drought better and hit a 1.2 going into 29 in game 1, while Portal got stuck in the mud a few times and fell behind by a quarter million. Portal was able to nab a couple tetrises in killscreen play, but he wasn't able to keep up the sort of aggression needed to close the gap and topped out a few levels in. A back-and-forth game 2 featured a daredevil 12-high dirty tetris by Portal during 18 play and some great solves from both players in post. iBall had a slight lead going into the killscreen, but rented out his stack for a tetris on 31. He survived, but got stuck digging while Portal racheted up the pressure, building a sudden 100k lead by the time iBall topped out with a 1.3. iBall went into post with a 180k lead in game 3 on the back of a big 660k transition and a couple digs from his opponent. Though Portal was able to right the ship in post and went ham again on the killscreen, a dirty setup on 37 didn't end up paying off, and he topped out with a high 1.4. iBall's board was in rough shape at the time of Portal's topout, but he had two levels of lines in hand, and he was able to play conservatively and nab the one tetris that he needed with only a few lines to spare. Game 4 had dirty tetrises galore and another double 1.1 into the killscreen, but iBall couldn't get his stack down before the 29 transition and hung a bar immediately after hitting the killscreen. iBall had a near-fatal misdrop on level 23 in the decider, and though he nailed several outstanding tucks in a row to stay alive, his subsequent dig lasted three levels and let Portal develop a huge lead. iBall was able to score in post-post, but he couldn't avoid taking burns after each tetris and had no real shot at completing the chasedown after Portal's level 36 topout. YouTube | Twitch

CTL Season 26 Division 1A, August 4, 2024
7 MYLES def. 4 TRISTOP (3-2)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4	5
MYLES	1,252 (i)	1,111	1,772 (i)	630	1,216
TRISTOP	1,024	1,133 (i)	1,729	716 (i)	1,024

Myles and Tristop show why they have firmly established themselves in the top 10 post-CTWC in a record-breaking five-game bout. Game 1 saw Tristop get behind big after suffering a couple misdrops in post, and though both players were able to lay on some killscreen tetrises, Tristop's comeback attempt came to an end when he was droughted after selling out his stack. Though both players were scoring at about the same rate in game 2, Tristop was able to keep his stack lower and collect 16 lines in hand. He didn't really end up needing them when Myles' left got spongy and he topped out on 31. The scene was set in game 3 by big 19 transitions from both players, and though Tristop was still able to get a 1.1 going into killscreen, Myles would keep clean and build up a 100k lead with a level of lines in pocket. Tristop put on the 29 performance of life, scoring tetris after tetris, but Myles was able to match him step for step. Tristop couldn't quite close the gap, falling less than a tetris short of Myles' score going into 39 and setting the all-time DKS record for losing score with a 1.72. Game 4 ended early when Myles' board couldn't handle a drought early in post. The decider started with Myles' third 600k transition in a row, while Tristop fell back 100k as a result of a misdrop that took a while to resolve. Myles didn't give an inch in post, maxing out into 26 and refusing to let Tristop back into it, taking the set when Tristop couldn't get the taps to fill in a low left immediately after crossing into 29. Youtube | Twitch

CTL Season 26 Division 1B, July 18, 2024
3 DOG def. 17 RAHMATIONS (3-1)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4
DOG	1,164	1,434	702 (i)	1,222
RAHMATIONS	1,275 (i)	1,391	687	1,218

Rah played some of his best Tetris of the season, but Dog showed why he's a perrenial contender in a set with a thrilling finish. Game 1 was back-and-forth up until the killscreen, but Dog hung a bar while trying to score on 29. Both players paced through 18 in the second game, with Rah hitting an upper 600k transition and a couple 1.2's into killscreen. While Rah did a good job efficiently clearing digs and scoring in the first couple post-post levels, a couple misdrops on 31 ended things for him. Rough RNG slowed things down in game 3, with a few awkward placements causing Rah to make a mid-post exit. Rah was leading through most of game 4, heading into 29 with a 140k lead after Dog got into some long dig sequences. Rah survived at next box height for two levels before giving up the ghost, and Dog lined out most of the chasedown before running into some trouble on level 38. He sold out his stack for the tetris, and the bar came at the very last moment, requiring impeccable timing to score and take the set. YouTube | Twitch

CTL Season 26 Division 1B, August 3, 2024
22 NEK0 def. TUGI (3-1)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4
NEK0	1,916	1,024	1,301	1,381
TUGI	1,315	1,183	1,195	1,215

Nek0 showed why he's barrelling up the rankings in a set that featured one of the best games of all time against an in-form Tugi. Nek0 started game 1 with a high 600k transition, and though he ran into a little traffic in post, he more than made up for it after the killscreen. Tugi's deep 1.3 game was completely overshadowed as Nek0 put together one of the best post-29 games ever played, running the scoreboard all the way up to 1.9 before hitting the double killscreen. Game 2 started with a double-600k transition, though Tugi was able to take a big lead into 29 as Nek0 had a hard time staying clean. Tugi couldn't get some needed 5-taps in level 31, but the lineout was just out of reach for Nek0 and he failed the chasedown after having to get set up. Nek0 had yet another massive 18 in game 3, falling just short of 700k into 19. Nek0 carried a six-figure lead into the killscreen and took the game as both players sputtered out after a few post-29 tetrises. Game 4 was back-and-forth until a late-post dig slowed Nek0 down. Tugi couldn't quite handle killscreen speeds, though, and topped out on 30, while Nek0 completed a chasedown that included a three-high dirty. Youtube | Twitch

Box Scores

Division 1A

CTL Season 26 Division 1A, July 17, 2024
ATKOSTER def. 10 IBALL (3-1)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4
ATKOSTER	803 (i)	1,247	928	1,181
IBALL	725	1,035	930 (i)	1,120

YouTube | Twitch

CTL Season 26 Division 1A, July 18, 2024
7 MYLES def. CURIOSITY (3-0)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3
MYLES	706	1,254 (i)	491 (i)
CURIOSITY	579	978	328

Twitch

CTL Season 26 Division 1A, July 20, 2024
ATKOSTER def. 19 PORTALLL (3-0)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3
ATKOSTER	790 (i)	250 (i)	557 (i)
PORTALLL	672	213	410

Twitch

CTL Season 26 Division 1A, July 20, 2024
MASY def. ATKOSTER (3-1)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4
ATKOSTER	263 (i)	816 (i)	1,032	1,004
MASY	200	801	1,121	711

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3
IBALL	155 (i)	1,304	787*
MASY	122	1,075	523

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3
PORTALLL	1,249	1,292	1,582
MASY	1,092	1,096	827

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4
TRISTOP	192 (i)	1,286	962 (i)	1,188 (i)
COALBUCKET	76	1,296 (i)	870	1,126

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4
IBALL	1,065*	1,151 (i)	800	1,301
CURIOSITY	1,065	912	813 (i)	1,055

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3
COALBUCKET	1,246 (i)	238 (i)	1,118
ATKOSTER	1,139	192	689

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4
MASY	691 (i)	862	577	1,188
COALBUCKET	634	856	601 (i)	1,060

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4
PORTALLL	624	963	1,338	1,395
CURIOSITY	527	1,056	1,092	1,320

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3
BLUE SCUTI	1,280	1,420	1,560
IBALL	1,092	1,388	1,099

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4	5
TRISTOP	1,195 (i)	1,095 (i)	1,006	971	1,466
IBALL	1,066	916	1,059	1,000 (i)	1,227

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4	5
BLUE SCUTI	860 (i)	513	513 (i)	1,134	1,202
COALBUCKET	830	92 (i)	382	1,189 (i)	1,131

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4	5
MYLES	1,531	656 (i)	764 (i)	1,272	1,337
PORTALLL	1,593	597	747	1,383	589

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4	5
MYLES	1,035	1,494	1,492	1,012	1,254
IBALL	1,029	1,684	1,510	1,007	1,006

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3
BLUE SCUTI	1,382	1,320 (i)	1,587
MYLES	1,271	1,188	1,060

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4
BLUE SCUTI	248 (i)	379 (i)	1,263	1,238
PORTALLL	209	354	1,479	860

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3
ATKOSTER	161 (i)	186 (i)	868
CURIOSITY	61	166	283

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4
TRISTOP	868 (i)	159 (i)	979	1,184
MASY	831	65	1,094	830

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4	5
IBALL	671	1,303 (i)	69 (i)	654	1,167
COALBUCKET	837 (i)	1,060	22	746 (i)	910

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4
COALBUCKET	747 (i)	96 (i)	689	1,274 (i)
CURIOSITY	663	72	1,065 (i)	1,057

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4
MASY	189	881	170	95 (i)
CURIOSITY	97	1,100	123	51

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3
BLUE SCUTI	1,005 (i)	1,061 (i)	176 (i)
ATKOSTER	896	976	163

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3
TRISTOP	1,451 (i)	594 (i)	1,420 (i)
BLUE SCUTI	1,354	530	1,391

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4	5
NEK0	32	245 (i)	281	504 (i)	1,377
SODIUM	118 (i)	203	327 (i)	366	1,157

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4
DANV	927 (i)	1,648	857	1,495
RAHMATIONS	810	1,382	1,211 (i)	1,047

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4
COBRA	1,199	1,375	1,159	1,333
TUGI	1,145	1,197	1,464	1,093