Subtle jabs draw Ire in the wake of teen’s record-breaking achievement

In an unexpected turn of events, a 13-year-old Tetris prodigy, Willis Gibson, faced criticism from a news anchor who downplayed his historic accomplishment. Gibson became the first person to conquer Tetris, reaching the elusive level 157 on the original Nintendo version of the game.

The Oklahoma teenager’s triumphant moment captured the internet’s attention, with a viral celebration as he achieved a perfect score of ‘999999’. This remarkable feat had previously only been accomplished by AI-driven bots due to the game’s challenging nature.

Sky News, reporting on the story, showcased Gibson’s elation during the broadcast, but anchor Jayne Secker injected a surprising twist with her post-celebration commentary.

Secker, with a seemingly playful tone, remarked, “As a mother, I would just say ‘step away from the screen, go outside, get some fresh air’. Beating Tetris is not a life goal.”

The light-hearted comment, accompanied by laughter, took an unexpected turn when viewers expressed discontent over what they perceived as a dismissive attitude towards Gibson’s achievement.

Critics took to social media, with one stating, “It is the Year of Our Lord 2024, and @SkyNews is still telling people who play video games to go outside and get some fresh air…”

Another viewer voiced frustration, saying, “The smugness just makes my blood boil. Not understanding it is one thing, but to undermine a 13-year-old for achieving a world record on a video game and present it in that way on national TV is just downright embarrassing.”

Bhavina Bharkhada, head of communications at the UK Games Industry Trade Body, joined the conversation, highlighting the disparity in reactions, “What’s bonkers about how this has been covered is if it was, say, a child chess champion, we’d all be celebrating – they’d even be invited to Downing Street to play chess.”

As of now, Secker has not publicly addressed the criticism surrounding her comments about Gibson’s extraordinary gaming achievement. The incident unfolded just before she promoted coverage of 16-year-old darts player Luke Littler, who recently reached the final of the World Darts Championship.