Willis Gibson (born January 27, 2010), also known online as Blue Scuti, is an American classic Tetris player from Stillwater, Oklahoma.
After fellow Tetris players, including Justin Yu, began to attempt to reach the game's killscreen, Gibson followed suit, where he was ultimately successful.
[6] After showing greater interest towards Tetris, however, his mother acquired a RetroN console from a pawnbroker[1] and a CRT display her workplace had discarded.
[5] Before his game crash achievement, Gibson competed in several tournaments, including placing third in the Classic Tetris World Championship (CTWC) in October 2023, winning US$1,500.
[6] After the CTWC in October 2023, Gibson began his attempt to reach Tetris's "killscreen", a point late in the game when its code glitches, resulting in a crash due to hardware limitations within the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).
[11] Gibson was inspired by fellow competitive Tetris player and YouTuber Justin Yu ("Fractal161"), who announced his intentions to reach the killscreen after the CTWC.
[1][3] In a statement, Tetris Company CEO Maya Rogers congratulated Gibson for his "feat that defies all preconceived limits" of the game.
[17] The American monthly magazine Wired credited the widespread media attention of the achievement to a recent "cultural obsession" of the game, restarting in 2023 with the release of the Tetris film, and an uptick in generally negative news starting off the New Year in 2024.
[1][15] While the media's reaction to Gibson remained largely positive,[18] Sky News presenter Jayne Secker remarked that "as a mother, I would just say step away from the screen, go outside, get some fresh air" and that "beating Tetris is not a life goal".
[28] In another interview with WFAA in February 2024, Gibson stated he's brought a keepsake plush with the words "I Love You Dad" written on the back of it to each tournament he's competed in since.
[28] Aside from Tetris and other retro games, Gibson's hobbies include playing at the arcade, bowling, cycling, and solving Rubik's cubes.