'This time I'm actually cooked': The GeoGuessr World Cup final descends to chaos as players duke it out for $26,250

GamesPuzzle’This time I’m actually cooked': The GeoGuessr World Cup final descends to chaos as players duke it out for $26,250When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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(Image credit: GeoGuessr)

Blinky holding the World Cup

I remember when GeoGuessr was just a game I’d play with my friends in IT class when the teacher had their back turned. Never did I think it could have such an amazing competitive scene, let alone showcase one of the most nail-biting esports moments I’ve ever watched.

The entire tournament, which waslive-streamed on YouTube, was pretty exciting, but all hats came off during the final competition. The French player Blinky went up against the American MK for the title of world champion. “I would see [becoming world champ] as a crowning achievement, not even sure I’d go for another one, but I might try,” Blinky said in a pre-match interview.

However, his rival, MK, sounded a little less confident at first: “This time, I’m actually cooked.” Although he did clarify afterward what winning would mean to him, “It would be a very good achievement. I’d be very happy with myself and that I didn’t waste two years of my life.”

There are three different kinds of matches: move, no move, and no move, pan, or zoom. Contestants fight to guess the location and try to get as close as possible. Each player starts with 6000 HP, and whoever gets closest to the chosen location wins. The points that they are awarded (out of 5000) are then taken off their opponent, whittling the player down until they have no HP left. It’s best of five, so this will continue until someone wins three matches.

(Image credit: GeoGuessr)

World Cup venue

The first match was a bit of a landslide, with Blinky getting closer guesses every single time. He started as he meant to continue as with the first location (which I thought was the US, but it was actually Thailand). Blinky managed to get 4998 points as he was only 587m away after spotting a road sign.

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Luckily for MK, there is a damage multiplier that increases as the rounds in each match go on, meaning that as long as you can hold to round seven or nine when the multiplier is at its highest, you can deal some serious damage. That’s actually how MK managed to pull it back, and with only 47 points left, he managed to defeat Blinky and snag the win for the third round.

The fact that I was watching this comeback from the edge of my seat speaks volumes about how exciting this final fight for the world championship was. I definitely wasn’t expecting to get so engrossed in GeoGuessr esports.

Sadly, MK wasn’t quite able to keep up the fight. Despite winning another round with barely any points left and taking the fight to the last possible match, Blinky was able to come out on top at the end. But even so, it was still an incredibly valiant effort not to give up when everyone else thought it was over, and it resulted in an unforgettable World Cup final.

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