EPTThe Starcraft Tournament
I was sweating, but I didn’t realize it. My fingers were moving as fast as I could possibly get them to move. I was in my first Starcraft 2 tournament, and I couldn’t afford to make a mistake, but before I tell you more about this, let me go back to the beginning. It was Friday night and I was psyched, playing on the computer for about an hour into one of my friends messaged me.
“Hey man, do you want to play in a Starcraft Tournament this Saturday, 1 PM?” asked my friend Tom via chat.
“I don’t know, do you think I am good enough?” I said to him, slowly, weighing my options.
“Of course you are! I saw you crushing that guy earlier, I think you could win!” Tom said,
“I have never been in a tournament before, so I guess I will give it a try!” I said, hopeful, but not quite sure of myself.
The next day, at about 11:30, I was so excited for the tournament. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do, but it didn’t matter, because I was in a Starcraft tournament, and I was proud to be there. At 12:00 exactly the brackets were released to the people, so I could find out who I was playing. When I looked my heart stopped. I was playing one of the best players in the tournament in the first round. I was so afraid, it was my first tournament, and I was going to lose in the first round! My opponent, named Jax283, messaged me saying.
“Hey I’m really excited for our game, just tell me when you are ready”
I quickly messaged back
“Hey there, let us get this on the way!”
And so the game began. We both started off by typing “GLHF” which means Good Luck Have Fun! We quickly got very into the game, playing standard, not deviating from our original strategy. Before long, I was losing, and I knew it. I was sweating, but I didn’t realize it. My fingers were moving as fast as I could possibly get them to move. I was in my first Starcraft 2 tournament, and I couldn’t afford to make a mistake, but then Jax283r, someone not new to tournaments, made on crucial mistake, and I jumped at it. From then on I knew what I had to do to win. It was weird though, because I knew what I needed to do , my fingers just went on auto-pilot. In a short time Jax283 calls out “GG” the universal sign for I lose, good game. I had done it; I had played against one of the best players in the tournament, and actually won! I could not believe it, could not even register what had happened. I was in a state of disbelief until my friend Tom messaged me.
“I cannot believe you just did that. That was one of the best games I have ever seen”
My hands were shaking, but the tournament wasn’t over yet, in fact only the first round had been played. For the next two rounds I played some not very high caliber opponents and won convincingly. It was my first tournament and I was in the Semi-Finals already! My next opponent Pillager, messaged me.
“Hey, it’s me and you friend”
“Hey, could I have five minutes to prepare” I typed through shaking, excited hands
“Yeah no problem”
I got up from my computer, got a drink of water, went to the bathroom, shook my hands, and we got the game underway. We both typed out the customary GLHF (Good Luck Have Fun), and started our respective strategies to work. My opponent, a skilled, higher level player wanted to end the game early. Since his attack came so early I was not prepared for it, and was at his mercy. Before too long I had to GG (Good game) and quit. I was shocked at how quickly the game ended, and how much he just controlled the game. I had lost the first game of the semifinals quickly and decisively, but the games were in a Best of Three format, so I had another game to redeem myself.
As the game started up, I decided to try something risky that I hadn’t practiced well for. It was an “All-In”, a Starcraft term (much like in poker) for going for a quick, sometimes cheap win, but if that doesn’t work you lose. I don’t know what was going through my head when I chose to do this, but it must have been desperation. I knew this Pillager was better than me, and I wanted to win so badly is disregarded my carefully thought out plan. Pillager though stuck to his plan, saw what I was going to do and easily shut me down, forcing a “GG” (Good Game).
I was amazed. I had made it to the semifinals only to be crushed 2-0. I was disheartened, figured I should quit the game forever, and not look back. That is till my friend messaged me.
“Hey I know you lost, and that sucks. But think, for your first tournament, you got to the semifinals. You beat some great players to get there, and with practice, you could have won that tournament!”
I couldn’t believe it, even though I had not won, and I got demolished, my friend still stood beside me and even complemented my play. This support really helped me to see the reason why I should continue to practice and become better at what I loved. Starcraft.
