A 13-year-old boy arrived at the end of Tetris for the first time in history: his unmissable reaction

Willis Gibson, a 13-year-old teenager from Stillwater, Oklahoma, has achieved a feat never seen before in the history of video games: reach the end of Tetris, something that until now was only thought possible thanks to artificial intelligence.

A result documented in a video on YouTube, in which you can see how while Gibson was playing the original version of Tetris on Nintendo, advanced so far that the game crashed, displaying a score of 999999.

Tetris, created by Alexey Pajitnov and released in 1989, is known for its incessantly falling blocks, challenging the player to keep them from piling up. A seemingly simple game whose human limit was thought to be level 29. Willis proved us wrong by reaching level 157 and reach the game’s “death” screen, a point at which it crashes due to the limitations of its programming.

Until now, it has only been possible to beat the game by manipulating its software. Willis, however, did it on the original hardware, something no one had ever done before, thus exceeding the limit that its developers imposed on the programming code.

This not only challenges what was thought to be possible, but opens up new frontiers for Tetris players. David Macdonald, a content creator and competitive gamer, noted in the New York Times that innovative techniques like rolling have changed what’s achievable in the game, making it possible to beat it.

Play 20 hours a week

Under the alias “Blue Scuti,” Willis has been competing in Tetris since 2021. His interest began when he discovered videos of the game on YouTube and soon gathered the equipment needed to play an old version. Attracted by his “simplicity”, Gibson dedicates about 20 hours a week to the game.

At just 13 years old, the young man has already won several regional tournaments and aspires to win the Classic Tetris World Championship. But not only that, thanks to his recent achievements he has raised the bar and unlocked new challenges for the Tetris community, encouraging other players to explore how far they can push the limits of the game.