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

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. 

This year, the second GeoGuessr World Cup took place in Stockholm, Sweden, the city where the game was thought up a decade ago. With eight finalists competing in various pool matches, everyone's eyes were on the final prize—$26,250 plus 100% of the revenue from every World Cup jersey and Twitch subscription sold during the tournament. It's an impressive prize for the winner, especially considering the money was entirely raised by the GeoGuessr community. 

The entire tournament, which was live-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. 

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