Halfbrick is busy celebrating two years of Fruit Ninja on the App Store, marking its success as the single most successful video game to ever come out of Australia, and overall one of the world’s most popular mobile games in history.
The anniversary culminated in Sydney overnight, where Australia’s top 3 Fruit Ninja Masters and industry pundits converged on a live event to crown the national champion. Each city was well represented, with Cong Su from Brisbane, Jess Nunn from Melbourne and Sydney’s Tashi Angmo ready to put their skills to the ultimate test.
After a week-long journey around the country, it was finally time for each champion to step up and put their hours of hard work into practise for all to see. The stage was set and the rules were simple: each finalist would take to the floor for three 5 minute rounds, where the top score from each round would accumulate to determine the overall winner.
The mood was intense as photographers and camera crews looked on with bated breath to see who would become Australia’s Fruit Ninja Master. Brisbane’s Cong Su took the lead early, barely edging out the other finalists with an opening score of 1103. Tashi Angmo then rallied in round two and claimed the lead with a razor thin advantage of just 38 points.
Contestants were given a much needed break at this point as guests were treated to an onslaught of entertainment in honour of Japanese ninja culture. First up, a school of martial artists provided a spectacular acrobatic performance to get the party started.
It was then time for the restaurant’s culinary staff to show off their real-life ninja skills, making quick work of some unsuspecting fruit and causing quite a bit of mess in the process. Visitors ducked and dived as the master chefs sent fruit flying in all directions, juggling produce with impressive and laser-like precision. It was the ideal segue into an epic finale and set the mood perfectly for things to come.
Now regrouped, the title of Australia’s Fruit Ninja Master hung in the balance as contestants entered round three with a measly 85 points separating first and third place. It was anyone’s crown for the taking and tensions were high.
With so much on the line, Melbourne’s Jess Nunn was able to block out all the distractions and rise to the occasion yet again with a stunning performance. A final score of 1177 was enough to ensure another come-from-behind victory, earning Jess the title of Australia’s Fruit Ninja master and two tickets to Japan!
The final scores tell a story of just how even the competition was, but ultimately there could only be one winner. Here’s how it stood at the end of an intense 15 minutes of play:
st Place – Jess Nunn – 3304
2nd Place – Tashi Angmo – 3246
3rd Place – Cong Su – 3078
Excitement levels were through the roof at this point and it was amazing to witness such a thrilling and closely fought event draw to its epic conclusion. After training for countless hours and qualifying at the Melbourne event, Jess had effectively beaten thousands of people on her way to becoming Australia’s Fruit Ninja Master.
In honour of her fantastic achievement, Jess was given a MASSIVE Fruit Ninja trophy which was almost as big as her. Photos and interviews ensued and then it was time for the celebrations to continue well into the night.
They say victory is sweet, and that was definitely the case when a truly amazing Fruit Ninja cake was rolled out for those in attendance. This beautiful creation was almost too good to eat, but eventually the Fruit Ninja developers gave in and served up a storm.
This capped off a marvellous night for all and was the perfect ending to an amazing tour around the country. Halfbrick would like to thank everyone who took part in the tour, as well as those who have supported us over the past two years. The celebrations are now set to continue with a free code give away online and a new Fruit Ninja update released just days ago.
We still have plenty more tricks up our sleeves and can’t wait to bring you new and exciting content over the coming months. Until then, thanks for your support and happy two year anniversary!
