This Week in Tetris: November 26-December 9
Though CTM went on a break for December, bleedover from November provided a historic set of matches, as No Cap November lived up to its promise. CTL also provided its share of drama, as top-tier players started to go into panic mode to claim their spots in the playoffs.
We're always looking for new contributors, so if you're interested, join our Discord server and say hello. Huge thank you to sonic, who provided writeups for the huge Masters matches, and stolenshortsword, who put the bulk of this post together in addition to contributing prose.
The numbers next to the players are their
December 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 Monthly
No Cap November Masters Finals
Sonic, staff writer
As No Cap November comes to a close, it's perhaps a good time to stop and think about how much classic Tetris has changed since the last No Cap November. Since November 2023, eight players have crashed the game (three of whom are playing in this tournament) and dog has even gotten all the way to rebirth on Tetris Gym; the game has welcomed many new players and fans (thanks to Scout's videos on Blue Scuti and Alex T going viral); and people's skill at lining out has grown by leaps and bounds.
The highest level reached in last year's No Cap November was Fractal's level 63, ending on a score of 2.5 million. For a while, it looked like this year would be a repeat of that: many players weren't in the best shape due to busy school schedules, burnout, and fatigue. The highest level attained in the first two rounds was level 57, by nek0 and Scuti in their round 1 matches. A lot of viewers might have been disappointed by this, but to say that the semis and finals blew everyone's expectations out of the water would be a gross understatement.
CTM November 2024 Masters Event Semifinals, November 29, 20242 DOG def. 6 SIDNEV (3-2)
| Lv 18 (No Cap) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| DOG | 1,617 | 1,014 | 1,391 (i) | 1,096 (i) | 1,341 (i) |
| SIDNEV | 1,772 (i) | 1,162 (i) | 1,377 | 1,049 | 1,328 |
CTM November 2024 Masters Event Semifinals, December 1, 2024
1 BLUE SCUTI def. 3 MEME (3-2)
| Lv 18 (No Cap) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| BLUE SCUTI | 2,455 | 5,232 | 419 | 1,132 | 1,215 |
| MEME | 2,230 | 4,357 | 699 (i) | 1,689 (a) | 1,092 |
With meme's rapid ascension to the top and Blue Scuti's continued dominance over the Tetris world in the last few months, this match had all the right ingredients to be a blockbuster —- and boy, did it deliver. These two opened with a game that featured a double level 70 and several high-pressure digs, but it was the second game that proved to be incredibly special. Both players began taking advantage of score scaling and began playing aggressive on 29, a strategy we haven't seen in No Cap November so far. It culminated in a level 87 topout for meme at 4.35 million, and 5.23 million score at level 100 for Scuti. The game was incredibly special to watch, and single-handedly justified the spectacle of No Cap November.
After that, though, things didn't go so well: Scuti had an level 18 topout on game 3 (as predicted by SV in chat) and a pre-39 topout on game 4, allowing meme to coast to a decider. Perhaps worn out by the previous games, the last game was quite anticlimactic, with Scuti's pre-29 efficiency making the difference, despite a level 30 topout that meme replicated in a failed chasedown. Scuti advances to his seventh consecutive CTM major finals (May, Lone Star, July-November), tying Koryan's record set in 2019.
CTM November 2024 Masters Event Finals, December 7, 2024
2 DOG def. 1 BLUE SCUTI (3-1)
| Lv 18 (No Cap) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| BLUE SCUTI | 2,414 | 2,689 | 3,338 | 6,171 |
| DOG | 2,202 | 2,798 (i) | 5,208 (a) | 12,426 (a) |
The first rebirther versus the first game crasher was quite the marquee matchup for an uncapped match, and it completely delivered. Scuti was on the verge of a three-peat as CTM Champion, looking to repeat the feat done by Fractal and Alex in the first half of this year. Dog was defending a four-year record as CTM champion, needing to win this match to become the only player to win a title in five consecutive calendar years in CTM history. Dog proved to everyone why he was unequivocally the best at lining out: even with Scuti taking game 1, they had already played out one of the highest-scoring games in the tournament so far. The next game was similar, only with Scuti topping out before dog did, in a double level 80 game.
If the first two games were a strong gust that blew you away, the next two games might as well have been a hurricane. Game 3 saw dog and Scuti go even deeper: Scuti topped out on Level 103, but dog was already ahead, and his utilization of scaling and aggressive play meant that Scuti was in a 2 million point deficit despite only being 13 levels behind.
However, the final game is the one that'll go down in the history books. If I told you that getting to colors and 6 million wasn't enough to win a match a year ago, you'd probably roll your eyes at me: but this was exactly Scuti's fate, who could only watch as dog began going for tetrises on the glitched colors and hold up a sheet of paper with the words “Hi Scout” on it, echoing OdinnLogi and Tristop who have also been spectators to greatness. Dog's final score was a ridiculous 12.4 million: demolishing EricICX's former competition score world record, and even surpassing Scuti's own PB. What's more, in his path to level 191, he equalled Scuti's final score of 6.17 million with his mullen alone. Despite the heroics, he looked like he still had plenty of gas left in the tank to line out to rebirth if he didn't start daring the game to make him top out with his aggression, as he was declared the No Cap November 2024 Champion.With the uprising of a new generation of players to the top and the fluctuation in performances in the last two months or so, it's often easy to forget how remarkable these players are as we watch them day in, day out. It's games like these that remind us of how far we've come, how lucky we are to watch them, and fortunate enough to have these two as faces of our community.
No Cap November Challengers Finals
arbaro, editor-in-chief
The CC finale took on a very different atmosphere after the annoucement that, beginning in 2025, the Challengers tournament would be absorbed into Masters. The new format would be the same one used for the final DAS Masters of the year, with a flat bracket featuring two preliminary rounds. As none of the four semifinalists had a CC title under their belt, this would be the last opportunity to turn their Discord name orange.
The biggest match of the session, and the one taking up the bulk of the superstream runtime, was the semifinal between Cobra and O. Though neither player put up huge scores or made it past level 39 in the no-cap format, the match featured a significant amount of post-29 play. After Cobra hung onto a small lead to take game one, the next three games saw O get ahead though stronger post play, with the winner decided by how long Cobra was able to hang on in the killscreen. An unceremonious level 20 topout from O saw Cobra advance.
Oscar was waved through to the finals after Kitten had three consecutive early topouts. Game one of the finals was marred by a console crash by Oscar. The next one was competitive, but Oscar couldn't line out far enough into the killscreen to erase the lead that Cobra earned in post, and a game-three early topout from Oscar sealed the deal. Cobra takes his first (and final) title in his seventh Challengers appearance.
CTM November 2024 Challengers Circuit Semifinals, December 7, 202418 COBRA def. 24 0 (3-2)
| Lv 18 (No Cap) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| COBRA | 1,011 | 1,013 | 1,125 (i) | 936 | 718 (i) |
| O | 983 | 1,083 | 1,104 | 1,047 | 665 |
CTM November 2024 Challengers Circuit Semifinals, December 7, 2024
OSCAR def. FUR OF KITTEN (3-0)
| Lv 18 (No Cap) | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| OSCAR | 387 (i) | 202 (i) | 49 (i) |
| FUR OF KITTEN | 321 | 165 | 6 |
CTM November 2024 Challengers Circuit Finals, December 7, 2024
18 COBRA def. OSCAR (3-0)
| Lv 18 (No Cap) | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| COBRA | 740 (a) | 1,097 | 117 (i) |
| OSCAR | 520 | 1,022 | 51 |
Classic Tetris League
stolenshortsword, staff writerCTL continues to deliver exciting Tetris drama and action as we near the end of the regular season, setting the stage for a stacked playoffs bracket. It's especially appreciated in the absence of a December edition of CTM.
Division 1A
Both of Division 1A's perfect records were vanquished this week, with SV taking down dog, who couldn't complete a chasedown, and Myles overpowering meme with another pair of back-to-back rollovers to snuffle what was a respectable rally by his opponent. Meme and dog were nevertheless at the top of their subdivision, and would meet to decide the first seed in 1A's last match of the season. Meme prevailed in four games in a huge win for her: she managed to ascend to third in the premiere poll simply by playing like an elite player, just without the wins over her peers to show for it. She made Scuti look genuinely vulnerable in the CTM October semis, and made quick work of the rest of field (with a 15-0 start to the season) like a player of her caliber does. Finally getting a win over dog, though, solidifies her place at Tetris's highest echelon.
CTL Season 27 Division 1A, November 27, 202411 SVNESTRIS def. 2 DOG (3-2)
| Lv 18 (Lv 39 DKS) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| DOG | 91 | 1,358 (i) | 1,135 | 1,552 (i) | 1,132 |
| SVNESTRIS | 107 (i) | 1,177 | 1,286 | 1,417 | 1,208 |
CTL Season 27 Division 1A, November 27, 2024
18 COBRA def. FUR OF KITTEN (3-0)
| Lv 18 (Lv 39 DKS) | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| COBRA | 1,003 (i) | 100 (i) | 137 (i) |
| FUR OF KITTEN | 713 | 50 | 55 |
CTL Season 27 Division 1A, November 28, 2024
11 SV def. 17 COALBUCKET (3-2)
| Lv 18 (Lv 39 DKS) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| COALBUCKET | 1,166 | 524 (i) | 983 | 966 | 1,177 |
| SVNESTRIS | 1,168 | 510 | 1,219 | 896 | 1,181 |
CTL Season 27 Division 1A, December 1, 2024
5 MYLES def. 3 MEME (3-1)
| Lv 18 (Lv 39 DKS) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| MYLES | 797 | 1,624 | 1,601 | 1,183 (i) |
| MEME | 1,029 (i) | 1,388 | 1,578 | 962 |
CTL Season 27 Division 1A, December 4, 2024
17 COALBUCKET def. FUR OF KITTEN (3-0)
| Lv 18 (Lv 39 DKS) | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| COALBUCKET | 332 (i) | 547 (i) | 13 (i) |
| FUR OF KITTEN | 173 | 388 | 11 |
CTL Season 27 Division 1A, December 4, 2024
18 COBRA def. 21 TETRISTIME (3-0)
| Lv 18 (Lv 39 DKS) | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| COBRA | 1,104 (i) | 1,132 | 1,017 |
| TETRISTIME | 730 | 1,076 | 942 |
CTL Season 27 Division 1A, December 5, 2024
3 MEME def. 2 DOG (3-1)
| Lv 18 (Lv 39 DKS) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| DOG | 1,714 | 1,204 | 1,189 | 1,307 |
| MEME | 1,680 | 1,238 | 1,658 | 1,460 |
Division 1B
The storyline for 1B this week was unequivocally the sparks of prime Alex T, as he sought to repel washed accusations after a terrible start to the season. He's our latest stark reminder of the volatility of rolling, as he delivers Scuti his first Elo-rated loss since the CTM August finals versus Sidnev, ending a ludicrous 21 win streak. He didn't get lucky with a string of rare poor performances by the current #1 either (although the fatigue from his semifinals match against meme was evident): Scuti put up respectable scores, but it's hard not to get swept against close to back-three-back rollovers.
What's more, Alex just seemed confident and assured in a way he hasn't looked since his break. His rolls looked flawless, digs seemed guaranteed, and clearly, a 1.32m 29 transition in game 1 proved he wasn't just a killscreen merchant. (I think that's just called being good at the game these days.) Alex would follow up the set with another dominant performance against nek0. Nek0 could've easily been third in line after iBall and Sodium to farm an Elo whale, but Alex completely asserted primacy in the last three games, which had a higher combined score than even his set against Scuti. If these hints of Prime Alex are indeed foreshadowing a return to form, then contention for the elite pecking order gets even further complicated in ways that would've been impossible predict even three months ago.
Of course I would be remiss to fail to mention the side-plot this week, which was the race for the final wildcard spot in the playoffs between Sodium, Cobra and nek0. The contest was blown wide open when Redshurt defeated Sodium in a statement set (perhaps ending with a whimper when Sodium early topped in the deciding game). Cobra kept TetrisTime's ambitions in check with a comfortable sweep, so after both Sodium and Redshurt lost to Scuti (who both put up respectable fights), it all came down to Sodium vs. nek0 in the last match of Season 27's league play.
The implications of the results were quite interesting: the three's points worked out in such a way that if Sodium specifically lost to nek0 3-1, Cobra and nek0 would play a rare play-in match for the the last spot in the playoffs. It only ended up being just theoretical when Sodium comfortably defeated the Russian in a pretty unflattering set for both (although a win is a win). Sodium makes it into the playoffs as the eighth seed for the second consecutive season.
CTL Season 27 Division 1B, November 30, 20244 ALEX THACH def. 12 NEK0 (3-1)
| Lv 18 (Lv 39 DKS) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| ALEX THACH | 1,284 | 1,169 | 1,634 | 1,737 | 1,669 |
| NEK0 | 1,294 (i) | 995 | 1,703 | 890 | 945 |
CTL Season 27 Division 1B, December 1, 2024
4 ALEX THACH def. 1 BLUE SCUTI (3-0)
| Lv 18 (Lv 39 DKS) | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| ALEX THACH | 1,623 | 1,596 | 1,683 |
| BLUE SCUTI | 1,242 | 1,532 | 1,278 |
CTL Season 27 Division 1B, December 3, 2024
22 REDSHURT def. 10 SODIUM (3-2)
| Lv 18 (Lv 39 DKS) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| REDSHURT | 1,339 | 1,250 | 1,047 | 980 | 262 (i) |
| SODIUM | 1,358 | 1,248 | 1,562 | 835 | 150 |
CTL Season 27 Division 1B, December 3, 2024
4 ALEX THACH def. 22 REDSHURT (3-1)
| Lv 18 (Lv 39 DKS) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| REDSHURT | 1,465 | 1,139 | 182 | 1,038 |
| ALEX THACH | 1,250 | 1,432 | 366 (i) | 1,548 |
CTL Season 27 Division 1B, December 4, 2024
1 BLUE SCUTI def. 10 SODIUM (3-2)
| Lv 18 (Lv 39 DKS) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| BLUE SCUTI | 1,414 | 1,485 | 1,149 | 1,189 (i) | 1,640 |
| SODIUM | 1,422 (i) | 1,225 | 1,337 | 1,131 | 1,065 |
CTL Season 27 Division 1B, December 5, 2024
1 BLUE SCUTI def. 8 IBALL (3-0)
| Lv 18 (Lv 39 DKS) | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| IBALL | 289 | 1,333 | 748 |
| BLUE SCUTI | 462 (i) | 1,590 | 1,628 |
CTL Season 27 Division 1B, December 7, 2024
10 SODIUM def. 12 NEK0 (3-1)
| Lv 18 (Lv 39 DKS) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| SODIUM | 1,245 | 1,226 | 892 | 1,037 |
| NEK0 | 1,048 | 1,011 | 1,022 | 1,000 |
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