This strange key NFT was won in a video game competition by an 18-year-old esports star, who later sold it for 1000 ether.
- Dookey Dash, one of the most popular video game challenges this year, was released by Yuga Labs.
- Records were broken by the BAYC NFT Game challenge, which generated millions of dollars in secondary sales and countless playtimes.
- Out of hundreds of competitors, a Fortnite esports champion came in first and sold his winning item for more than $1.6 million.
With Dookey Dash , Yuga Labs, creators of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection, just entered the Web3 gaming market. Players flocked to the Temple-run clone in droves to compete and rise through the ranks, drawn in by the allure of a mystery gift.
In spite of the tournament being rife with bots, cheats, and hackers, an English esports star defied all expectations and finished first out of thousands of competitors. The winner, Kyle “Mongraal” Jackson, outwitted the dirty tricks.
Even though his success was amazing, everyone was taken aback when the winner decided to cash in his one-of-a-kind prize by pawning it for an astounding $1.6 million. The amazing achievement quadrupled his lifetime earnings and secured his place in history.
The inaugural BAYC NFT match
On January 18, 2023, Yuga Labs , the developer of the most popular blue-chip NFT collection ever, published Dookey Dash, a skill-based arcade runner game.
For three weeks, up to February 15th, players had to purchase a Sewer Pass NFT in order to play the BAYC NFT game. Each member of the Mutant Ape Yacht Club or the Bored Ape Yacht Club received one of these passes.
Non-members may then purchase a Sewer Pass NFT on secondary markets. The first Sewer Pass mint sold for almost $6 million within hours after the announcements, leading Dookey Dash to dominate NFT sales in January 2023.
The Tier 1 Sewer Pass NFT, the least expensive NFT pass, cost 1.635 ETH, or about $2479.79 at the time. The most expensive Sewer Pass NFT at the time required at least 5.25 ETH, or an astounding $7962.62.
Because of how intriguing BAYC created the Sewer Pass, everyone was clamouring to have one.
A Suspicious Present
Sewer Pass NFT holders would compete for an unknown prize, according to BAYC. The “mystery” present would be given to the player with the greatest single-run score on the given Sewer Pass and its companion wallet.
The nature of the enigmatic gift was the subject of many theories and conjectures. Almost 25,000 gamers began fighting for the highest scores as a result. But, the sudden celebrity quickly attracted the interest of bad guys. Players were joined in the race by hackers and cheats, who used every trick in the book to avoid losing.
When many participants in the browser-based BAYC NFT game swiped left and right, cheats and hackers employed every trick in the book to wriggle their way out of the sewers.
There have been several reports of people utilising boosters—for-pay players who participated on different accounts to increase their ratings. For a score of 700,000 or higher, boosters were asking up to 2.5 ETH, or around $4,200.
Furthermore, hackers made every effort to get beyond the anti-cheating safeguards and script their way to the top. Simultaneously, other actors sought to compromise their accounts and take down the Dookey Dash website.
But Yuga Labs swiftly applied the ban hammer and made sure that the game was as impartial as possible. For cheats, the BAYC developers reset their scores and started them over at zero.
Play to Win vs. Pay to Win?
On February 15th, 2023, Dookey Dash finally announced a winner after three gruelling weeks of competitors navigating poisonous hazards and surviving the sewers. Kyle “Mongraal” Jackson, a famous English esports player of Fortnite, defeated over 25,000 opponents by coming out on top with a score of 928,522.
Jackson increased his chances of winning by purchasing 14 of the highest-tiered Sewer Passes and APE for boosts. With 14 of the top 56 scores, including the best score, the professional player topped the competition and was awarded the Sewer Pass Golden Key #21915.
Bidding Warfare
On February 16th, 2023, the Fortnite star posted his winning key NFT on OpenSea for 2,222 ETH, or $3.5 million. While NFT fanatics flew into a frenzy seeking to get their hands on the key, Mongraal’s listing caused quite a commotion.
On February 24th, UpDAO, a new NFT marketplace, made a record-breaking offer of 690 ETH, or almost $1.1 million. Moreover, the well-known media company 9GAG, which focuses on memes, made an offer for 999 ETH , which is roughly equivalent to nearly $1.6 million.
Nevertheless, Adam Weitsman outbid 9GAG’s offer by one dollar, placing a bid of 1,000 ETH, with just hours remaining in the auction. The esports expert ultimately gave up after days of rejections and decided to sell the key on February 28th, 2023 for 1,000 ETH, or just over $1.6 million.
It’s interesting to note that the professional player doubled his lifetime earnings of $700,000 in a single transaction. Furthermore, Yuga Labs collected an extra 50 wETH, or around $80,000 in royalties, from the successful key sale in addition to earning over 36,000 ETH, or $60 million in secondary sales.
On the other hand
- Regarding the advertising of BAYC products, two investors filed a class-action lawsuit against BAYC’s developers in December 2022.
- The average amount of time spent playing Dookey Dash was 28 hours.
- The largest competition in the League of Legends game, the Worlds 2022, with a $2.2 million beginning prize pool.
Why It’s Important
The tale of Kyle “Mongraal” Jackson demonstrates how far web3 gaming has advanced and the options it may provide players in the future. It also provides a preview of Web3 esports’ future and illustrates how well Web3 games may do when they have a competitive edge.
