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New Respect for Pro Level Commitment to the Game

Blogs > silverhand
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silverhand
Profile Blog Joined December 2010
United States91 Posts
June 21 2011 13:14 GMT
#1
For those of us that have no realistic chances of going pro, we all have our own specific goals in SC2. For some it is simply to have fun, while others may set a win% or a specific league they want to get to. For me, I am a competition addict...my goal is to become the best I can be. I've been this way with other things as well - sports, grades, board game, etc...

I'm a family man now, but that competitive spirit is still alive in me. I have a 3 month old son, a 13 year old daughter, and am a full time student finishing up my Doctor of Chiropractic degree and getting ready to go back into the work force later this year...so needless to say, I don't have a lot of spare time. I did, however, get a chance a few weeks ago to be out of town for 18 days taking part in a review for my final Board Exam that was only offered out of state. So as I was holed up in a hotel with about 8 hours a day where I had none of the usual life responsibilities, I found myself gravitating to my laptop and SC2.

I began with my weakest matchup - PvT. I found a few build orders that inspired me and fiddled with them on YABOT until I found the one I felt worked best for me. I then ran it over and over until my timings were smooth and closely matched the pros. Then came the test of implementing it in a live ladder game. I hit the ladders and prayed for PvT matchups each time I searched for a new game. After two days, I found my PvT winrate to skyrocket. It was now my strongest matchup. In no time at all I had been promoted to silver league and was now being matched up regularly with gold and some platinum opponents. I even played my first tournament (Shinobi's bronze-gold KOTH) and made it to the semi-finals where I stupidly strayed from my standard PvP builds as I had been attempting to adjust to the patch before it went live, and was eliminated. I should have continued to 4gate, but that's another story.

As time came closer to my Board Exam, I played less and crammed more, but everything I had acquired in the previous weeks was sticking with me. But upon getting back home and facing the responsibilities of being a full time student and father/husband again, my play time greatly diminished. About 2 weeks later I had an evening where my son just would not sleep, but was more than content to sit in his swing, so I plopped the swing down next to my PC and decided I would get in some SC2 while I let my wife catch up on much needed sleep.

I was shocked at how poorly I was executing all of my builds. My timings were off, my speed was falling, and my decision making was worse. At first, I attributed it to the patch changes, but realistically, I can look back now and see that it was just lack of practice. Just as in any sport, or playing a musical instrument - if you are not practicing, you are not only "not improving", you are getting worse. The rate at which you lose these skills vary, but in such a speed intensive game as SC2, I have come to see that these skills fade fast when not used.

When Day[9] announced he was going full time with SC2, there was a lot of buzz over what that meant. Was he going pro again or just dedicating more time to his Daily and other casting ventures? A lot of people mentioned how it would be a while until Day[9] could get back into competitive shape, and I initially laughed at this, because I assumed that once you reached that pro level, those skills are easily reaquired, and how much more so for a guy like Day[9] - the guy analyzes SC2 replays on a daily basis, so he should easily have basic openings memorized, as well as the transitions, timings, etc...

But after having my own lapse in playtime and seeing how great the dropoff was, I now have a greater respect for the number of hours that the pros are required to put in on a daily basis in order to maintain their elite level of play. I would love to be able to do the same, but the joy my family and other commitments bring me is greater than anything I can achieve in SC2, so I will settle for my incremental improvements and continue my journey to making it to Masters League one day.

*****
/me ponders
ComaDose
Profile Blog Joined December 2009
Canada10357 Posts
June 21 2011 13:41 GMT
#2
Yeah i get so frustrated when playing rusty.
And even after like 5 games in a row i just feel more..
smoooth.
I can feel my apm climbing just doing the same mundane stuff.
To maintain a pro level you have to be seamlessly dedicated.
There is defiantly much appreciation owed to those that are.
BW pros training sc2 is like kiss making a dub step album.
QuanticHawk
Profile Blog Joined May 2007
United States32051 Posts
June 21 2011 13:46 GMT
#3
I wish there were more blogs like this instead of the stupid 'I am a gold player and i'm gonna be pro, YEAH!'

then again, you're a little older and much mature, so there's not much of a surprise there. Good luck with the game and your career!
PROFESSIONAL GAMER - SEND ME OFFERS TO JOIN YOUR TEAM - USA USA USA
Atlare
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
Australia893 Posts
June 21 2011 15:05 GMT
#4
On June 21 2011 22:46 Hawk wrote:
I wish there were more blogs like this instead of the stupid 'I am a gold player and i'm gonna be pro, YEAH!'

then again, you're a little older and much mature, so there's not much of a surprise there. Good luck with the game and your career!

So true, I was just about ready to facepalm but I decided to read and was actually pleasantly surprised, thanks for story OP
Considering learning BW
Servius_Fulvius
Profile Joined August 2009
United States947 Posts
June 21 2011 18:22 GMT
#5
You have a greater respect for the hours it takes to be a progamer when you're getting a medical degree AND have a family AND make time for yourself?! Progamer's should be congratulating YOU!
ProbeYourSCV
Profile Joined June 2011
Bahrain30 Posts
June 21 2011 19:29 GMT
#6
I get your point bro and I have to agree. Pro gaming is just as hard as pro sports as you have to practice all the time on schedule to simply maintain your skill. It's even hard for pro gamers in my opinion because esports are still fairly new so money making possibilities out of it are extremely hard.
Long Live the King
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