Twitch streamer sets outrageous Black Ops Zombies record after 20-day grind

Brad Norton

A longstanding Call of Duty Zombies record has been broken, with Twitch streamer ‘TomPhantasy’ blitzing ahead of the previous Nacht Der Untoten round-count by nearly 40 after a monster 20-day grind.

Although Treyarch is constantly pushing new Zombies maps in Black Ops Cold War, for some, there are still old favorites that are yet to be truly mastered. Some of the most dedicated grinders out there have been pushing boundaries in many classic Zombies maps over the past few years and now, another longstanding record has been broken.

Popular Zombies streamer TomPhantasy kicked off a new run in Black Ops 3’s Nacht Der Untoten on July 2. A whopping 20 days later and he finally ended the session with a new world record after clearing 255 rounds.

With hundreds of viewers cheering him on live, the 255-round mark was cause for celebration, after almost 300 hours of very, very hard work.

“Was in this game for just under 20 days,” TomPhantasy said on Twitter.

Throughout the record-breaking session, he was only downed twice. First at round 220, and again at round 249, both of which would still have resulted in a new record after clearing the previous best of 216 rounds set by ‘Chihiro-516.’

“The Zombies community has been supporting me for months when I have been attempting this record through the highs and lows,” the streamer told Dexerto, shortly after cementing his spot atop the global leaderboards. 

As for the biggest motivating factor behind the lengthy run, TomPhantasy revealed how the game itself demands a huge amount of effort: “I knew I had to keep going, because after 24.8 days the game freezes,” he explained.

“This meant I had to play 13+ hours per day for those 25 days.”

Should he have taken a day to rest, there’s every chance he may not have hit the record before seeing Black Ops 3 crash to the home screen.

“Over the past year, I have just tested what causes crashes and kept minimal programs open to try and prevent the game ending. I had a lot of help from another zombies player xXSn1p3rC4TXx who also holds a Black Ops 3 World Record.”

“I’ve had multiple long games end in freezes or power cuts,” he said. One such heartbreak came in a “100-hour” run, when his power “suddenly cut out.”

Nacht Der Untoten gameplay
Nacht Der Untoten is the Zombies map that started it all in World at War.

With dozens of Zombies maps to choose from, TomPhantasy was drawn to Nacht Der Untoten due to its “completely unique” design.

“It’s the only map on Black Ops 3 without a ‘Pack A Punch machine or traps,” he explained. But it’s not the only stage he’s set on conquering. Next up, the streamer has his sights set on Gorod Krovi, a 2016 Zombies map.

The world record for Black Ops 3 arena is currently 228. “There is an unknown freeze” on Gorod Krovi, TomPhantasy explained, one that “can happen at any time.”

CoD Zombies gameplay
Gorod Krovi could be next up for this record-breaking streamer.

If he can overcome this issue, another monumental stream may be on the horizon for this Zombies player.

Meanwhile, those jumping into the latest Zombies offerings have been smashing records of their own. Most recently, a remarkable 675-round run was posted in Cold War’s new Mauer Der Toten map earlier this week.

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About The Author

Brad Norton is the Australian Managing Editor at Dexerto. He graduated from Swinburne University with a Bachelor’s degree in journalism and has been working full-time in the field for the past six years at the likes of Gamurs Group and now Dexerto. He loves all things single-player gaming (with Uncharted a personal favorite) but has a history on the competitive side having previously run Oceanic esports org Mindfreak. You can contact Brad at brad.norton@dexerto.com