What it means to be one of six 'Tetris' Grand Masters in the world
Silver and gold Japanese characters fly across the bottom of the screen after one of the most tense and grueling seven minutes of Tetris ever played.
Kevin "KevinDDR" Birrell sits with his hands over his mouth, waiting for seven seconds that feel like 60, hoping for the roulette of words to land on a golden "pass" under the bold lettering of the elusive Grand Master title.
It hovers for a second over the silver "fail," only to be crushed by golden letters, setting off digital fireworks above his new title, Grand Master.
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Tetris is probably the most popular puzzle game in the world. The shape-spinning, block-dropping game has spun off into countless iterations across consoles, handhelds, phones and arcades.
One of these iterations, Tetris: The Grand Master, became its own series with a slight spin on the usual rules and its own ranking system, the highest being Grand Master. Only six people in the world have achieved that rank in Tetris: The Grand Master 3, which originally debuted in 2005 in Japan.
The sixth Grand Master and first outside of Japan, KevinDDR, earned his honorific just days after an impressive showing at last January's Awesome Games Done Quick.
If you want to watch him rotate and drop blocks live with other Tetris pros, he'll be part of the Tetris: The Grand Master series exhibition Thursday at 3:34 p.m. ET for the Summer Games Done Quick speedrunning charity event.
Earning Grand Master
Before qualifying for the Grand Master test, you must earn the master rank four times within seven games.
Before qualifying for the Grand Master test, you must earn the Master rank four times within seven games.
To earn the master rank, you have to beat the full game of Tetris and then make it through the credits, which turn every placed block invisible. That's quite the challenge, even for gamers who've been playing Tetris for a decade or more.
Once you do that four times, there's a 50% chance of being able to play through the Grand Master exam, which again tasks you with beating it, making it through the credits and getting enough points to earn the title.
Once you get halfway through, the blocks instantly start falling, so you constantly have to be aware of the playing field, which shape you're dropping and the next shape you'll drop.
It took KevinDDR eight years to become a Grand Master.
But he's not retiring from Tetris: The Grand Master and there's no saying he won't someday earn the Grand Master title again.
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