Level 157 of Tetris Reached by 13-Year-Old Player

When I was 13 years old, I struggled to beat Cynthia, the Pokemon League champion in Pokemon Platinum. U.S.-based 13-year-old Willis Gibson just beat an unbeatable Tetris game that players have been attempting to complete since its release on the NES in 1989.

On January 1, Gibson reached level 157 of Tetris, a feat previously thought impossible. New techniques, like the “hypertapping” one discovered in 2010 by Thor Aackerlund (thanks, BBC), and “rolling,” discovered in 2021 according to IGN, allowed players to reach never before seen levels. Before that, getting past the thirties was all but impossible and now, Gibson has made it to level 157. As you can see in the video below, upon reaching that level, Tetris serves Gibson a kill screen – meaning it has crashed – ending his impossible run.

It took Gibson, who goes by Blue Scuti on YouTube, 38 minutes to reach this new kill screen. BBC reports that Gibson has been playing Tetris for about two years, or since he was 11. Alongside his achievement of reaching level 157, Gibson also obtained the new highest score for Tetris. 

IGN writes that players can theoretically make it to level 255, and players are already trying; they just have to get lucky and avoid the crash points from level 157 onward. Upon beating level 255, players are brought back to the first level.

For more, be sure to watch Gibson beat the record here, and then read about these Game Informer editors who beat six gaming world records.

[Source: BBC, IGN]

Are there any video game records you think you could beat? Let us know in the comments below!