The 2022 Game Awards spawned a few viral moments, but no one took over Twitter quite like #FluteGuy — and it looks like he’s pretty pumped about all the love he got online.
Once a year, The Game Awards recognize the industry’s best and brightest releases, doling out accolades for such achievements as Best Narrative, Innovation in Accessibility, and of course, Game of the Year.
This year, Elden Ring took home the coveted GotY spot, sweeping the 2022 Awards alongside God of War Ragnarok.
The Awards themselves aren’t the only notable aspect of the show, though; they also feature a slew of trailers for upcoming titles and live performances from music artists, as well as a yearly orchestral roundup of music from GotY nominees.
The 2022 orchestral performance piqued interest across the internet as viewers couldn’t help but notice one particularly enthusiastic flutist on stage, who seemed to pull out a different instrument for each song (which he would then subsequently play with wild abandon).
Twitter was instantly set alight with oodles of memes recognizing the flutist’s impressive performance, with many users choosing to focus on him rather than the storm stager who hijacked Hidetaka Miyazaki’s GotY speech.
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Best moment at The Game Awards.#TheGameAwards #FluteGuy #BillClintonKid #BillClinton pic.twitter.com/YWDSt1GWH0
— Gonby30 (@Gonby8) December 9, 2022
Whoever this mans is literally ROCKS. He was KILLIN' it and I honestly applause him; I am now a fan!#TheGameAwards #GOTY #TheGameAwards2022 pic.twitter.com/vmOMx5Sk8w
— Ishrah Holyspell – The Villainous Chimera (@IshrahHolyspell) December 9, 2022
The real MVP of the #TheGameAwards was flute guy pic.twitter.com/CDZ0EhBRyv
— Bone (@bonebraker43) December 9, 2022
He’s not just any old flute player, though; fans quickly discovered that the flutist’s name is Pedro Eustache, a Venezuelan musician and flute soloist who has built or modified many of his own instruments (over 600 of them, in fact) and even worked alongside legendary composer Hans Zimmer for the DUNE soundtrack.
#FluteGuy responds to viral memes on Twitter after Game Awards performance
It looks like Eustache took notice of all the love he was getting over on Twitter and uploaded a quick video to thank his newfound fans following his viral performance at the 2022 Game Awards.
“Hey, this is Pedro Esutache, you guys know me as ‘Flute Guy,'” he said in his video. “I just wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your absolutely amazing response all over social media after the Game Awards of last night. God bless you!”
– #FluteGuy here: Thanks for your amazing response after @GameAwards. GOD BLESS YOU ALL!.– Gracias por su bellísima respuesta GAME AWARDS. Bendiciones!– Merci pour votre formidable réponse aux GAME AWARDS. Soyez benis.#GameAwards #FluteGuy #PositiveLiving #GodBlessYou pic.twitter.com/La7WdSlcCk
— Pedro Eustache (@EustachePedro) December 9, 2022
Fans were quick to reply to Eustache’s heartwarming video with even more posts congratulating him on his flute skills.
The flute, its melodies and the people who play them are incredibly important to both the soundtrack and overall themes of Xenoblade Chronicles 3. Thank you for doing them justice with your performance. It was an honor seeing you do them all justice last night, thank you. pic.twitter.com/Fo628G9c1B
— THE WIND BLOWS (@Luxin_Xeno) December 9, 2022
Your performance last night during Xenoblade 3’s music was absolutely phenomenal. Thank you for pouring your heart into it and I hope to see you back next year too!
— Aero (@ActualAero) December 9, 2022
What a legend. He mastered the 4 flutes. pic.twitter.com/SD1ZOMuPmd
— Fizzwin (@FizzwinCH) December 9, 2022
Here’s hoping we see much more of #FluteGuy in the future!