An original gold foil “Quarter Finalist” sticker presented to Nicholas Membrez-Weiler at the 1990 Nintendo World Championships. The sticker measures 2″ in diameter and features the event logo with text: “Official Quarter Finalist.” In fine condition, with expected wear from use. Encapsulated in a CAG authentication sleeve.
Accompanied by a signed letter of provenance from the sticker’s recipient: “I was honored to participate in the 1990 Nintendo World Championships, the world's first esports event…I have fond memories of participating both in the regional competition for the 1990 Nintendo World Championships and in the national finals as Seattle's 11-and-under representative. It was an exciting time for video games, and the appreciation for innovative titles like Super Mario Bros. and Tetris has only grown with time.”
At seven years old, Nicholas Membrez-Weiler was the youngest finalist to reach the world championship. The tournament was divided into three separate age groups—11 and under, 12 to 17, and 18 and over—and each of the tour’s 29 cities had one champion from each age group, except for Los Angeles, which hosted the tournament twice and produced two sets of finalists. These 90 finalists were invited to the world championships at Universal Studios, where Nicholas competed after winning the Seattle championship. The NWC finals were divided into three rounds, with all 30 finalists from each age group competing in an initial heat. From there, the top seven scorers advanced to the semifinal round, and then the top two scorers from the semifinal round faced off head-to-head.
Despite waking up with a fever and flu-like symptoms, Nicholas logged the second-best score in his age group and advanced to the semifinal round. Ultimately, he finished the semifinal in fourth place and had to watch from the audience as Jeff Hansen bested Adam Misosky for the world championship title. Although he did not win the Nintendo World Championships, Nicholas Membrez-Weiler was a trailblazer for the early Esports community.
