Epic Fails and Ultimate Triumph: Streamer Conquers Tears of the Kingdom with a Single Stick in Grueling 37-Hour Gauntlet

In a testament to human persistence and a profound misunderstanding of self-preservation, a popular Twitch streamer has made global headlines by completing The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (TotK) using only a single, unmodified ‘Wooden Stick’ as their primary weapon. The challenge, which captivated viewers and tested the very limits of the game’s physics, ultimately clocked in at a grueling, near-non-stop 37-hour marathon broadcast, establishing a new benchmark for absurdity in the world of challenge runs.

The streamer at the center of this herculean effort is PointCrow, an internet personality already renowned for pushing the boundaries of what is considered possible in open-world games. After successfully beating the predecessor, Breath of the Wild, with the same restriction, the community immediately raised the stakes for Link’s latest adventure. The challenge was simple on the surface: defeat the final boss, Ganondorf, while only using the base Wooden Stick—an item with a paltry base attack power of 2 and an infamous reputation for snapping after just a few hits—as the final blow weapon.

The Physics of Frustration: Why a Stick is the Hardest Weapon

The severity of this challenge in Tears of the Kingdom cannot be overstated. Unlike Breath of the Wild, TotK’s new Fuse ability fundamentally changes combat, requiring Link to combine materials with his weapons for durability and damage. The challenge’s core rule—using only a wooden stick—meant all other fusion materials, which are essential for increasing damage output and weapon longevity, were off-limits for the final hit. The 37-hour runtime was a direct consequence of this restriction, forcing the streamer to adopt unbelievably creative and time-consuming strategies.

• Minimal Damage Output: The 2-power Wooden Stick means every enemy, from a simple Bokoblin to a formidable Lynel, required an astronomical number of hits to defeat. This turns even basic exploration into a war of attrition.
• Weapon Durability Nightmare: With no Fuse to enhance durability, the stick is constantly on the verge of breaking, demanding perfect resource management. The streamer frequently had to farm for new sticks, adding hours to the playthrough.
• Reliance on Environmental and Glitch Mechanics: The bulk of the 37 hours involved exploiting Hyrule’s environment. Link’s powers like Ultrahand, Ascend, and Recall were key to bypassing powerful enemy encounters entirely or setting up elaborate, indirect kills, such as using physics to drop massive objects on high-HP bosses.
• The Final Blow Problem: Even after chipping away at Ganondorf’s health for hours, the final, single blow had to be a non-fused stick hit, demanding near-perfect execution and positioning to avoid accidentally triggering a stronger attack.

The Marathon Stream: An Unbroken Record of Endurance

The live broadcast on Twitch quickly became a global communal event. Viewers watched in disbelief as PointCrow’s initial estimate of a 12-hour challenge stretched past the full-day mark, then the 30-hour barrier. The content creator’s struggle with sleep deprivation and the sheer monotony of repetitive, low-damage combat highlighted the difficulty of the run, transforming it from a simple gaming challenge into an epic test of mental endurance.

News outlets and gaming review sites have latched onto the story, not just for the gimmick, but for the intricate strategies developed over the stream. The final confrontation with the Demon King was a masterclass in exploiting game mechanics, utilizing bomb flowers, environmental hazards, and Link’s companion abilities to deplete the boss’s health while strictly preserving the integrity of the “single stick” rule for the climactic moment. When the final hit landed, the explosion of relief and celebration in the chat was immense, momentarily shattering the solemnity of the broadcast.

This achievement comes shortly after the same streamer completed a massive 136-hour 100% completion run of TotK, which caused him to “burst blood vessels in both [his] eyes.” The 37-hour stick run, while shorter, was arguably more focused and technically challenging, underscoring the creator’s commitment to delivering unique, high-quality, and increasingly difficult gaming content for his audience.

Impact on the Speedrunning and Challenge Community

The successful completion of the ‘Single Stick’ challenge in Tears of the Kingdom serves as a major moment for the challenge run community. It confirms the game’s open-ended design allows for even the most ludicrous restrictions, provided the player is willing to invest a monumental amount of time and strategic planning.

• Inspiring New Categories: The stick run is already inspiring variations, such as ‘Single Rock’ or ‘One-Shot’ challenges, driving competitive innovation in TotK speedrunning.
• High-Value Content Creation: Challenges like this generate massive viewership, driving high CPC keywords and ad revenue for content creators who can successfully merge extreme skill with entertaining presentation.
• Demonstrating Game Depth: The effort required to complete the game with such a handicap inadvertently showcases the depth of TotK’s mechanics—that there is always a complex, indirect solution to any obstacle, even when the most basic tools are deliberately ignored.

The 37-hour stream will go down in Twitch history as one of the great endurance feats. It is a powerful reminder that in the world of modern open-world RPGs, player creativity and a refusal to give up can overcome even the most formidable, and in this case, the most brittle, of restrictions.

Source Note: Information is compiled from reports on the Twitch VODs and subsequent YouTube uploads from the streamer PointCrow, detailing his ‘Can You Beat Tears of the Kingdom with a Single Stick?’ challenge. (Ref: PointCrow’s official channels and related news coverage).