After starting with 10 gamers, the World’s Fastest Gamer #CaliforniaDreamin tour is down to eight, with Fabian Portillo and Jonathan Wong both turning their final laps in the competition.

The day of the elimination started with a morning drive to Willow Springs International Raceway. The oldest permanent road course in the United States, Willow Springs was a challenge for the gamers. With fast corners and significant elevation change, it was a stark contrast from the previous day’s facility at The Thermal Club.

The finalists faced a hot lap challenge to close out the day on track – two cars, one orange and one blue, and just one lap each to impress the judges Rudy van Buren and Jann Mardenboorough.

Judges took the Willow Springs result, plus the esports racing event in Los Angeles, mental and physical training at the Batcave, as well as times at Thermal into consideration before making their decision.

The first two eliminations were Fabian Portilla from the #TeamOrange and Jonathan Wong from the #TeamBlue.

“It was a huge disappointment what I did on the out lap, I pressed the clutch instead of the brake and went off – such a rookie mistake,” Portilla said.

“After that, there was really no chance for me, I knew that my time was up. I could have gone way faster and would probably still be in if it wasn’t for that mistake.

“But, it is how it is and regardless of what happened today, I’ve really enjoyed this trip. I’m looking forward to seeing what these guys are doing next and cheering for the orange team, of course!”

The blue team’s eliminated gamer, Jonathan Wong was also frustrated with his performance during the day.

“Of course I’m disappointed to already be eliminated. I thought I could go through this round and really improve before the next elimination,” Jonathan Wong said.

“I’m a bit frustrated, but that’s what we need to deal with in real life.”

#TeamOrange’s James Baldwin set the fastest lap of the shootout around Willow Springs and survived to fight another day. His teammates Riley, Erhan Jajovski and Aurelian Mallet also survived elimination.

#TeamBlue’s Mitchell de Jong, Sebastien Job, Max Benecke and Kamil Pawlowski also survived the cut to battle it out another day on the #CaliforniaDreamin tour.