Going into this year’s ninth annual Classic Tetris World Championship, Jonas Neubauer of Highland Park, CA had won all but one of the championships held thus far. (The seven-time world champion is essentially the Joey Chestnut of the iconic video game.) The fact that he did not take the crown this year is surprising enough, but it’s not as surprising  as who beat him. At this year’s competition, Neubauer was dropped like a row of building blocks by a 16-year-old.Between October 20 and 21 at the Portland Retro Gaming Expo at the Oregon Convention Center, more than 100 players from around the world, including some of the biggest names in Tetris, came together to compete. After round robin qualifying play, young Joseph Saelee of Clovis, CA made it to the finals of the 32-seeded bracket tournament where he faced off against Neubauer. We don’t know what the exact odds were in that championship match, but considering the reigning champ has absolutely owned this tournament historically, Saelee was obviously prohibitive underdog. What followed though was a thrilling come-from-behind victory that makes us nervous to watch even though we know the outcome.

Featured Image: Classic Tetris World Championship