Teenager claims first ever Tetris ‘rebirth’

In a recent interview, we had the pleasure of chatting with 16-year-old Michael Artiaga, known to his fans as “Dog,” about his extraordinary achievement in the world of Tetris. Michael recently made headlines by becoming the first person to reset the iconic game to level 0 after completing it.

During a live stream on Twitch this past Sunday, Michael marked what he called a “rebirth” moment after successfully clearing level 255, the highest level in Tetris, in an impressive 82 minutes. As he watched the game reset, his reaction was one of sheer disbelief. “Am I dreaming, bro?” he exclaimed, sharing his shock with his audience.

Despite the challenging gameplay, Michael pushed through and ended up with a staggering score of 29.4 million points. As he wrapped up his stream, he humorously added, “I’m so glad that game is over. I never want to play this game again.”

Notably, Michael played on a special version of Tetris designed for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) that prevents crashes beyond level 155. This feature has posed a significant challenge for many young streamers trying to set new records. Earlier this year, another Oklahoma teenager, Willis “Blue Scuti” Gibson, claimed to be the first to beat Tetris by reaching level 157, only for the game to crash shortly after.

Tetris, originally created by Soviet engineer Alexey Pajitnov in 1984, has become a lasting classic, giving rise to countless versions across various platforms. The game’s allure comes from its simple yet incredibly challenging gameplay, where players must arrange falling shapes made up of four blocks to clear horizontal lines.

Michael Artiaga isn’t a one-hit wonder; he’s a formidable competitor in the Tetris community. At just 13, he became the youngest Tetris world champion when he triumphed over his older brother in the Classic Tetris World Championship finals in 2020. Reflecting on his recent milestone, he expressed deep gratitude to his supporters: “I still cannot believe it… I’m the first ever to get Rebirth! I’m so happy about finally achieving this after all the attempts. It’s finally over.”