This Week in Tetris: September 17-October 6

The last few weeks have been an exciting time for NES Tetris. The biggest news between this update and the last is no doubt Dog's incredible (Gym) Rebirth run on the night of October 5th, a huge milestone in the world of NES Tetris. On the tournament side, the finals of CTM Challengers saw the return of roller Fractal in a dominating performance, and Scuti finally won his second Masters title in his fourth consecutive finals appearance. There was also the Jonas Cup at Portland Retro Gaming Expo, the biggest American DAS tournament in a long time, and DAS Masters continues to feature some of the world's best DAS players. (TWIT will cover Jonas Cup in a separate article, to come soon.)

Up next, things seem to be slowing down a little bit; CTM qualifiers have slowed down in October and this season's CTL is also smaller than the last. But there is, of course, CTM's No Cap November on the horizon, and in the time of me beginning to write this article and finishing it, Tristop and Dog have both gotten massive PBs (13 and 29 million respectively). It remains to be seen how No Cap November and Dog's rebirth run will impact top players on stream; will it push more players to go for Rebirth, or will some choose to focus on other goals instead? Either way, I'm sure we'll still have a lot of Tetris to watch.

We're always looking for new contributors, so if you're interested, join our Discord server and say hello. The server also features the Almost-Daily Update, which provides the scores of yesterday's big matches and lets you know what's going on in the future. Huge thank you to sonic, who saved the day this time around, contributing the introduction and numerous match writeups. This edition would not have gone out without her.

The numbers next to the players are their September Premiere Poll rankings, not their tournament seeds. (This post is coming out halfway through October, but most of the matches here are either from September or the September edition of CTM.) 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 Monthly

Blue Bracket

CTM September 2024 Masters Event Round 1 (Blue), September 21, 2024
3 TRISTOP def. BRODINDAMP (3-0)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3
TRISTOP	1,083 (i)	1,218	1,559
BRODINDAMP	952	894	973

Grizzled Tetris veterans Tristop and Brodindamp are probably the two active players with the most storied history; both started playing in 2018, and despite taking breaks here and there, have remained at the top of the scene for a long time. What was also interesting about this match was Brodin's approach to rolling; he used mostly DAS and hypertapping pre-29, and didn't switch to rolling unless he was caught in a high dig or before the 29 transition.

In game 1, Brodin had about a three-tetris lead going into 19, but Tristop was able to catch back up with some efficient play on 19. By the time Brodin topped out on level 27 due to a drought, Tristop was already ahead and took game 1 with ease. Brodin had a scary dig early on in game 2 which forced him to switch to rolling early on, but he got out of it without too much trouble; this allowed Tristop to jump out to a 60k lead into 19, a gap which tripled into 29 as Brodin wasn't able to play cleanly. Brodin's board was a mess into 29- he tried to dig himself out of the situation immediately but wasn't successful. Game 3 saw both players playing clean on 18, with Tristop holding again a five-digit lead into 19 which widened to a six-digit one on 19, as he got a 600k transition and 1.1 into 29. Brodin topped out on level 29 after two consecutive double flips rendered his board unsalvageable, as Tristop took the set in a sweep. -sonic | Twitch

CTM September 2024 Masters Event Round 1 (Blue), September 21, 2024
22 ALLENBOT def. 12 SVNESTRIS (3-0)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3
ALLENBOT	719 (i)	1,273	1,312
SVNESTRIS	434	1,133	1,209

SV changed his controller pads out moments before this match, which seemed to affect his performance a lot. Feeling uncomfortable with them, he changed back to the original ones in game 3, but that couldn't stop Allenbot from sweeping him.

SV's controller struggles were evident early on in game 1, as he almost immediately got into a high dig and visibly struggled to get pieces across the board; repeated dig situations set him about 200k behind Allenbot at the 19 transition, and he topped out on level 23 as he never quite escaped a single dig. Game 2 saw SV a bit more in control on 18, as he kept pace with Allenbot throughout 18. Both players transitioned in the high 500k range but had bad boards going into 19, but were able to survive the ordeal; the match was still neck and neck into 29, but SV wasn't able to keep his board clean after a few misdrops and he topped out on level 30. In game 3, Allenbot had a 100k lead on SV with an impressive 650k transition, and he maintained this lead into killscreen. A bar dependency caused Allenbot to top out on Level 32, leaving SV with 100k or so to chase down; however, one hung bar and a double flipped one later, SV, too, had topped out, handing Allenbot the game and the match. -sonic | Twitch

CTM September 2024 Masters Event Round 2 (Blue), September 21, 2024
3 TRISTOP def. 22 ALLENBOT (3-2)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4	5
TRISTOP	10	687 (i)	1,291 (i)	1,404	1,617
ALLENBOT	102 (i)	657	1,269	1,587	471

Tristop had a Marts-style warmup-is-done moment in game 1, where an S/Z burst combined with a couple high-up misdrops to force a topout before he was able to score a single tetris. Allen wasn't able to rely on his opponents' misfortune in game 2, however, topping out on level 21 after a six-high setup backfired. Allen had a beastly game 3 pre-29, carrying a six-figure lead from 18 all the way to the killscreen, but couldn't keep up with Tristop's killscreen aggression. Allenbot was able to hit the 600k mark going into 19 on game 3, but suffered through post and went down about 150k into the killscreen. Both players had a phenominal game up to level 34; Tristop couldn't pull off the miracle dig despite his best efforts, and Allen was able to keep his stack from getting too high and complete a phenominal chasedown, falling just short of the rollover by the time he hit the killscreen. Allen suffered through 18 during the chasedown and couldn't make it past level 20 when every bar seemed to come at exactly the wrong moment, handing a semifinal spot to Tristop. (Even if Allen survived, catching Tistop might have been a tall order, as he was able to roll over during the mullen.) -arbaro | Twitch

Red Bracket

CTM September 2024 Masters Event Round 2 (Red), September 21, 2024
4 DOG def. 13 NEK0 (3-2)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4	5
DOG	497 (i)	1,386	1,341 (a)	1,242	1,655
NEK0	477	1,395 (i)	1,065	1,457	1,300

A late night match for Dog, and not exactly an easy one either, as he faced Nek0, one of the Tetris scene's fastest rising stars, in round 2 of CTM Masters. Dog takes game 1 with ease; Nek0 was in the lead most of the game, until he stacked too aggressively towards the 19 transition with no burn options and topped out at 106 lines. Dog had a 100k chasedown and completed it without too much trouble. Nek0 similarly outpaced Dog on 18 in game 2, but spent most of early 19 digging out of a messy board, giving Dog the chance to jump out to a lead into 29. Nek0 had a bad board into killscreen, but managed to clean it up; Dog topped out on level 34 after a drought caused his board to climb too high. Nek0 chased down the 200k, though not without drama- he hung a bar, double flipped a second one and managed to get a third one down the well for the winning Tetris. In Game 3, Dog paced incredibly pre-killscreen, getting 1.2 million into 29 to Nek0's 1 million as the latter got into several digs. Nek0 went into 29 with a clean board but hung a bar right afterwards, causing him to top out and giving Dog the win. Game 4 saw several droughts on 18, but both players kept pace with each other and transitioned in the mid-500k range. Some digging for Nek0 let Dog take a 2-tetris lead into 29, but Dog went all in on a center well tetris and a misdrop screwed up his board in the process, when Nek0 was already ahead. Faced with the pressure of a decider, it was Dog who took a 100k lead into 19, but he wasn't able to keep his board clean early on in 19 and allowed Nek0 to catch back up. The game was neck-and-neck into the killscreen, as both players began stacking for tetrises; Dog was able to play more efficiently and already jumped out to a 200k lead when Nek0 topped out after going too aggressive for a tetris on level 37. Dog's pop off at the end of the match showed how close of a match this was- Nek0 is definitely one to watch after his great performances in the last few months. -sonic | Twitch

Semis & Finals

This month's CTM Masters finals took on a different tone with the happenings of the day before. Dog's two-hour Rebirth run, his first overall score world record, began a new chapter in Tetris history; the next day, he was back playing in CTM, looking for his ninth CTM Masters win. Most notably, both semifinals matches were rematches from CTWC- Blue Scuti and Tristop played in the Top 8 this year, while Dog and Dengler faced each other in the 2024 semifinals and 2023 Top 8. -sonic

CTM September 2024 Masters Event Semifinals, October 6, 2024
2 BLUE SCUTI def. 3 TRISTOP (3-1)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4
BLUE SCUTI	1,500	1,155	1,038	1,436
TRISTOP	1,383	1,174	998	1,272

Fourth time's the charm seems to be the running theme in these finals, as Scuti finally overcame his 0-3 record against Tristop in the semis with his first win of the day.

Tristop had a very efficient pre-killscreen game 1, transitioning at 620k and with a 1.2 into 29, being ahead of by as much as 100k Scuti throughout that time. However, the killscreen is where Scuti truly shines, as Scuti was able to overcome the 100k deficit by the time Tristop topped out due to multiple double flips on Level 33. The story was reversed in Game 2 as Scuti was the one who had the lead into 19 and 29, although Tristop was hot on his heels as both players traded leads at various points before 29. After Scuti topped out as his stack spired early on 29, Tristop was already within a tetris's distance, and he successfully chased down the score. Game 3 saw both players get into a few digs pre-killscreen, with Tristop slightly ahead of Scuti throughout that. However, Tristop took a high-ish board into 29 and double flipped a bar he meant to put in the tetris well, which instantly ended his game, and Scuti handily chased down the 40k needed to win the game. Tristop's pre-killscreen efficiency was again on show in game 4, as he had his second 1.2 into 29 of the match, almost 200k ahead of Scuti. Some over-aggressive placements and a J-dependency caused his board to spiral immediately on 29 and top out, and Scuti chased down the points needed knocking down tetris after tetris. -sonic | Twitch

CTM September 2024 Masters Event Semifinals, October 6, 2024
4 DOG def. 7 THEDENGLER (3-0)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3
DOG	1,520	1,635	1,709
THEDENGLER	1,244	1,359	1,356

Riding the high of his Rebirth run from the night before, Dog put up a monster performance against Dengler, who had plenty of shining moments.

Dengler's pre-29 efficiency was on show in game 1 as he had a six-digit score lead at the 19 and 29 transitions, despite getting into some digs on 19. 29 play is the real difference in tournaments, though, and after throwing too many pieces to the right, Dengler had to deal with a ravaged board on killscreen; he attempted to dig his way out, hitting a clip-worthy 11 high 5 tap to the left, but just could not survive as he topped out three levels later. Game 2 followed a similar pattern with Dog behind Dengler for most of the pre-29 stretch. Dog had a huge J-dependency early in 29 which caused a huge spire, but he was able to take it down calmly; Dengler was then faced with a similar situation two levels later, but a misjudged O to the right, thinking that he'd burn a line, caused him to top out instantly, leaving Dog with 150k to chase down, which he did banging down tetrises and mullening to a rollover. Knowing that everything was on the line, in Game 3, both players dialed up their aggression, Dengler with a 710k transition and Dog about a tetris behind; they kept it up with level 24 maxes and Dengler getting a 1.3 into 29. However, 29 was again where things turned around; Dengler topped out after a long bar drought on level 31, and he could only watch as Dog chased down the 50k needed to sweep the match and mullened to his second rollover of the set. -sonic | Twitch

CTM September 2024 Masters Event Finals, October 6, 2024
2 BLUE SCUTI def. 4 DOG (3-0)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3
BLUE SCUTI	1,558	1,487	1,507
DOG	1,182	1,473	1,387

Again, fourth time's the charm for Scuti, as he finally won his second title after coming second in May, July and August, twice against Alex T and once against Sidnev.

Both players kept pace with each other in game 1, with Dog roughly a tetris behind Scuti into 19 and the same 20k margin persisting throughout post-transition, as both players were able to play efficiently with 1.1s into 29. The combination of a few dependencies high up the board and a long bar drought, however, caused Dog to top out soon after he transitioned into 29, by which time Scuti was already ahead. (He proceeded to dig himself out of an extremely messy board and mullen all the way to 39.) In game 2, untimely bars and dig situations meant that both Dog and Scuti had a slow start to the game, transitioning in the low 400k range and both hitting 29 with less than a maxout. Both players turned the heat up on 29 though, and when Dog topped out late on level 38, Scuti was still 80k behind and had to play perfect to win- so he did, winning this game with a narrow 14k difference. A short dig on 18 in game 3 caused Dog to fall about 60k behind Scuti at the 19 transition, but he caught back up and both players were quite close in score at the 29 transition. Scuti took a high messy board into 29 and proceeded to clean it up without breaking a sweat, while Dog actually pulled ahead by the time both players were on level 36; but as Dog covered his well a piece before the long bar comes and hung the bar to the left, there wasn't anything he could do since Scuti had already pulled ahead and sealed his victory. -sonic | Twitch

Challengers Circuit Semis & Finals

Both of September's finalists made statements with their CC runs. Fractal's was simple: I'm back. He put up big numbers, and none of his matches ever really looked close. Coal, on the other hand, proved the Premiere Poll rankers who left him off their ballots wrong, demonstrating a huge leap in his killscreen play and firmly establishing himself as a force to be reckoned with. -arbaro

CTM September 2024 Challengers Circuit Semifinals, September 22, 2024
8 FRACTAL def. FUR OF KITTEN (3-0)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3
FRACTAL	193 (i)	526 (i)	1,007
FUR OF KITTEN	99	267	924

Kitten's game 1 early topout could be attributed to sabotage, as one of his family members was flicking the lights on and off. | Twitch

CTM September 2024 Challengers Circuit Semifinals, September 22, 2024
COALBUCKET def. TETRISTIME (3-1)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4
COALBUCKET	310 (i)	1,121	23	1,026
TETRISTIME	184	1,083	91 (i)	955

Twitch

CTM September 2024 Challengers Circuit Finals, September 22, 2024
8 FRACTAL def. COALBUCKET (3-1)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4
FRACTAL	578	1,416	223 (i)	1,104
COALBUCKET	725 (i)	1,265	98	917

Twitch

Classic Tetris Wars

Classic Tetris Wars Live Finals, September 21, 2024
🥇 COALBUCKET, 🥈 16 HUFFULUFUGUS, 🥉 OPAUX

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	Pts	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
COALBUCKET	66	1,325	1,226	774	1,155	1,178	963	1,157	1,383
HUFFULUFUGUS	64	1,251	1,195	1,070	1,188	597	1,115	1,143	1,190*
OPAUX	43	1,098	1,144	570	1,014	69	865	1,504	1,190*
DOODLE	29	14	39	1,065	975	675	32	939	514
STORMIN	27	355	789	547	608	467	1,079	568	50
MICETRO	22	342	593	581	590	466	656	128	858
JEDIEVAN	21	500	434	830	582	419	560	109	633

*Opaux 1,190,540; Huffulufugus 1,190,400

New-look Coalbucket does it again, going toe-to-toe with veteran Huff. Doodle was never really able to recover from very early topouts in the first two games, and though Opaux's 1.5 capstoned a respectable third-place finish, the finals quickly developed into a two-horse race. Coal was behind two points going into the eighth and final game, but Huff was unable to chase down Opaux's score in the final frame by a mere 140 points, which meant Coal's 1.3 was good enough to take the crown. Draco's maxout in game six created enough distance between him and the DAS players to finish fifth, while Micetro beat up-and-comer Jedi Evan to win the DAS battle. The field was reduced to seven players when Grand Designs had to leave early to play bingo with his mom. We knew he was a swell guy. -arbaro | Twitch

CTWC Iberia

CTWC Iberia Finals, October 5, 2024
GUNTER def. HANGAMASTER (4-3)

Lv 18 (330 DKS)	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
GUNTER	483	865	287	815	414 (i)	549 (i)	555 (i)
HANGAMASTER	511	812	441 (i)	819	393	465	474

Gunter showed off his DAS 19 chops, but steady, consistent play won him the title against the tapper Hangaman in a fun, back-and-forth seven-game set. Game 1 threw a few poorly-timed S's and Z's at the players, leading them to scramble right before the transition. A couple hangs ended Hanga's game right after hitting 19, but Gunter only made it to 20 after a couple misdrops ended his chasedown bid. Game 2 was a highlight, with Gunter keeping pace with Hanga throughout post despite the playstyle mismatch. Hanga couldn't stay clean enough to score as 29 approached, and Gunter was able to cash in his lines in hand to take the lead and the game with only three lines to go. Gunter dropped game 3 early, and despite game 4 making it all the way to the killscreen on the back of more great 19 play from Gunter, Hanga took the game by only four thousand points by scoring a tetris into the killscreen. Hanga was up 3-1, but couldn't push any of the next three games beyond level 19, unable to wrangle his board into a manageable state before transitioning. -arbaro | Twitch

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