December 13th was a historic day in the history of Tetris as Fehmi Atalar from Turkey lifted the 2025 Red Bull Tetris World Final trophy in Dubai.
With the Final taking place at the Dubai Frame, the esports event featured over 60 National Finalists from across the world, with Peru’s Leo Solórzano and Atalar advancing to the Grand Final.
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The 19-year-old Tetris player posted an impressive score of 168,566, which was more than double the target set by Solórzano. However, the Turkish representative’s journey to becoming world champion wasn’t without a series of twists and turns.
Atalar’s Flawless Run at Red Bull Tetris Dubai
Atalar booked his ticket to Red Bull Tetris Dubai by winning the 16-player National Final in Turkey.
As a result, the player earned a direct bye to the Round of 32 in the Semi-finals. The player did not just win every single best-of-three series on his path to the Grand Final, but completed the run without dropping a single match.
Talking to Esports Insider about his journey, Fehmi Atalar said: “I just played [Tetris] casually, and when I saw this opportunity, I just said, ‘OK, let’s do this’, and I just went to the Qualifiers, the National Finals and the World Finals.
“I just dominated all of them without giving a single point, which is a crazy run, I must say. And in the end, I just feel very happy about it.”
The final showdown began with both players competing in a three-minute pre-final match, with the winner determining the playing order. After winning the opener, Atalar chose to go second on the Dubai Frame, which acted as a playing field for the event.
In the best-of-one Grand Final, both players were given five minutes each, and the goal was to score the highest total within the time limit.
Adding to the intensity, no power-ups or multipliers were available during the decider match, making the battle even more competitive, especially as both players were competing using drones for the first time ever.
Solórzano took a measured approach from the start, carefully placing blocks while adjusting to the 150-metre-high screen formed by 1,400 drones for each player. After completing the full five minutes of play, he put 57,164 on the board through a number of T-spins, before handing over the controller to the opponent.
Playing second on the frame allowed Atalar to plan his moves around the target score, and his confidence was evident from the beginning. The Turkish player showcased exceptional speed, though it resulted in multiple misplacements before reaching the one-minute mark, almost costing him the entire game.
As he was about to hit the top of the board, it was his remarkable adaptability that brought him back into contention. Atalar recovered quickly, clearing the majority of lines within the next minute. In the end, it was his sharp decision-making that helped him surpass the score set by Solórzano with more than two minutes still on the clock.
“I was actually surprised that I got out of that,” Atalar told Esports Insider after winning the tournament despite a series of misplacements. “To be honest, I can say I was kind of lucky because of the system, being actually blessed.”
He then added: “Other than that, I stayed calm and just thought about the best way possible to get out of it. I mean, even I was surprised when I misdropped like three or four times in a row, but after that I just got the flow with the controller and with the gameplay itself, I just went with it, and we are here right now.”
Once Atalar had effectively sealed the victory, he increased the pace to close out the Grand Final with a score of 168,566, lifting the trophy and also winning a three-day all-inclusive Dubai trip.
Red Bull, an energy drink brand that has embraced esports through its unique events, also made history with arguably one of the most iconic Tetris tournaments ever held.
The energy drink/ esports tournament organiser brought together the world’s best players to showcase their reflexes live on drones for the very first time, creating a real-life canvas for the game to be played on.
Source: https://esportsinsider.com/
