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“Dubai, UAE – 13 December 2025: The Dubai Frame hosted the world’s largest playable Tetris installation and the largest Tetris game ever created in the sky, becoming the live canvas for the inaugural Red Bull Tetris World Final. The landmark set the scene for a global esports competition reimagined through drone technology and outdoor staging, lifting Tetris from traditional screens into the sky. Sixty national champions competed for the first world title, with Türkiye’s Fehmi Atalar crowned the Red Bull Tetris World Final champion.
Context
The Dubai Frame’s 150m by 93m architectural boundary enabled a drone system to render a fully playable Tetrimino grid at a scale not previously achieved in open airspace. The Red Bull Tetris World Final marked the world’s first official live playable Tetris game in the sky and the largest playable Tetris installation ever executed. It surpassed the previous benchmark set by the 2014 display on Philadelphia’s Cira Centre, which used the building’s LED façade for a smaller, screen-based version of the game rather than a free-standing open-air format. Competitors advanced through two days of seeding rounds and head-to-head duels before the final unfolded within the illuminated frame.
Red Bull Tetris World Final Competition
Key Facts
- Tournament: Red Bull Tetris World Final
- Winner: Fehmi Atalar (TUR)
- Runner-Up: Leo Solórzano (PER)
- Match Format: Best-of-1 played live on drones inside the Dubai Frame
- Winning Score: 168,566
- Key Combo / Multiplier: T-spin
- National Champions: 60 countries
- World Final Date: 2025-12-13
- Location: Dubai Frame, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Drone Technology: Lumasky, 2,000+ drones
- Notable Feature: World’s first official live playable Tetris game in the sky
Over two days of fast-paced esports action, national champions from 60 countries battled through seeding rounds and head-to-head duels to determine the final two competitors. These matches featured Red Bull Tetris’s enhanced mechanics – gravity shifts, speed boosts, and the highly coveted Golden Tetrimino – testing adaptability, quick decision-making, and precision as the tournament set out to identify the world’s most versatile Tetris player.
The Red Bull Tetris World Final featured a world-first drone show by Lumasky, using more than 2,000 drones to render a playable Tetris grid in the night sky. The event also integrated a live performance from artist El Waili and the Firdaus Orchestra, delivering a dazzling reimagining of the Tetris soundtrack where futuristic electronic rhythms met classical orchestral melodies.
The closing match between Fehmi Atalar of Türkiye and Peru’s Leo Solórzano played out as a winner-takes-all 1v1 contest that kept spectators in suspense. The pair first played an off-stage match to decide who would face the frame first, where Atalar won and opted to play second. Solórzano then took to the stage and utilised incredible T-Spin strategies to gain momentum and finish his five-minute match with 57,164 points.
Knowing the score he had to beat, Atalar delivered a standout performance. He started cautiously, but soon found his pace, picking up speed and beating Solórzano’s score two thirds of the way through the allotted five minutes. When the clock stopped, he’d stacked a massive 168,566 points. As the decisive Tetrimino slotted into place, Fehmi Atalar secured their place in Tetris history as the tournament’s first global champion.
Red Bull Tetris World Final Competition Overview
- Sixty national champions entered seeding rounds to determine tournament placement.
- Players advanced to 1v1 duels at Terra Solis using enhanced gameplay mechanics such as gravity shifts, speed variations and the Golden Tetrimino.
- 2,000-drones were deployed into a formation that created a real-time playable Tetris grid using the Dubai Frame as its architectural boundary.
- Fehmi Atalar and Leo Solórzano progressed to the Best-of-1 final, staged within the illuminated frame.
- Fehmi Atalar secured the inaugural world title with 168,566 points after beating Leo Solórzano’s score two thirds of the way through his five-minute timed match.
Athlete Quotes
- “I said after the semi-finals that if I win it will be a huge achievement for my country and myself, so it’s really insane to win today, it feels surreal. Over these five years of Tetris experience, this was the best moment and this event was one of a kind. I managed to play like a machine and although I could have done things a bit cleaner, I achieved a flawless run and didn’t miss a single point in any of my matches, so I’m very happy,” said Fehmi Atalar, a 19-year-old computer engineering student.
- “Reaching the final means a lot as I invested a lot of time, effort and dedication into the Red Bull Tetris tournament. My opponent is a strong player – he absolutely dominated this seeding phase, so there was no surprise about him winning his semi-final Coming into the grand final, my advantage was that I kept calm. This is a moment that I don’t think I will repeat again in my life – it’s a unique moment,” said Leo Solórzano, who started playing Tetris at 15-years-old.
Why It Matters
The Red Bull Tetris World Final marks a shift in how classic games can be adapted for modern audiences, moving competitive Tetris from screen-based play to an open-air live environment. By integrating drone-rendered gameplay within an architectural landmark, the event demonstrates how emerging technologies can expand the scope of competitive gaming and large-scale public entertainment.
About the Athlete(s)
- Fehmi Atalar is a national Tetris champion representing Türkiye, recognised for precision stacking, strategic adaptability and effective use of advanced combo mechanics.
- Leo Solórzano competes internationally for Peru, known for consistent performances across competitive circuits and strong decision-making under shifting match conditions
