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One year ago, StarCraft 2 was released.
At the beginning of beta, I had been playing SC1 consistently on ICCup for nearly two years. I had high hopes and dreams to become a top foreigner. When SC2 beta came out, I was B- level on ICCup and was hoping I could play hardcore in beta and get a head start into competitive play. I wanted to compete at the highest level and become the best.
Beta came around, and I was lucky enough to have a cousin let me use his Blizzcon (2008 or 2009? I forget) beta key until the first wave of friend invites, when he gave me my own account. The first two months or so of beta I played a lot. I really enjoyed the game, but I made no real effort to learn how to play "well". I hovered just outside the top 8 of Platinum Division 6 for the first phase of beta, basically just making marines and marauders in tvp/tvz and tanks/vikings in tvt. I never did well in any tournaments, and eventually in May or so the game got boring for me. I played really sporadically until release.
On release day, I was super excited. I really wanted to try out the campaign and get back in to playing seriously for good. The night of release I played the first three missions of the campaign... and basically quit again, for another couple months. I wasted a bunch of time playing HoN and other random games. I didn't play seriously until October.
In October 2010, I attended IEM New York as a spectator. This, coupled with monthly LAN tournaments beginning in my area inspired me to play again. I won the first one with extremely little practice. I got back in shape and began playing seriously. At the end of October/early November, I first placed on Blizzard's top 200 in NA. At the end of November, I joined VT Gaming thanks to a connection from Brood War with Whiplash, who thought I had potential. I thank them for giving me (fairly unknown) a start in the professional gaming world.
Over the next four months, I played a lot of ladder and open tournaments. My school grades went down a bit (later remedied in the last quarter) and I was extremely motivated to succeed in SC2. My first real live event was MLG Dallas 2011 - I was super pumped and had a fantastic time. I did decent for where I was at the time, taking out Sheth and Fenix before losing one round before the championship bracket. This was where I truly felt like I was living the dream... finally competing as a professional player. I really never thought it would actually happen. I always dreamed of it, but I always had the mindset that I was playing for fun first and improvement second. Improvement in SC2 came so naturally to me... I rarely had to put in effort I didn't want to to improve. I loved my team and the environment, so I was motivated to play hard. This continued until MLG Columbus, which I ended up with basically the same result as Dallas (after getting screwed over by MLG staff). Going to MLG is where I truly feel at home and doing what I love... it's a great time and I can't wait for this weekend at Anaheim. (feel free to say hi to me, everyone!  ItsGosu eSports shirt w/ Pokebunny on it <3)
After MLG Columbus, VT Gaming formed Team Reign and did not do a very good job communicating to the players about their future. Regardless, I felt my goals were not quite the same as those of VT/Reign so I left the team. I wanted a team that would reward me for my accomplishments appropriately without pressuring me into doing more than I wanted to. ItsGosu has been a great team for me so far - many amazing practice partners, great management and team atmosphere, and good support for their players. I feel the team fits me better than the direction VT/Reign was going. I loved VT Gaming while I was there and wish them the best of luck.
This summer I planned to play essentially full time and see how far I'd get. I was sidetracked for a bit until the last week or so (I still practiced a lot, just not as much as I'd like) until I began to really focus on training for MLG. I have a very supporting/awesome team and girlfriend, both of which I expect to be with a long time  .
I know some people may not regard me all that highly in terms of the progaming world, but I feel I've surprised myself with how far I've gotten, and it has motivated me to keep getting better and surprising myself more. I love StarCraft and will always play it for the love of the game, and I love competition as well. I want to do as well as I can with the time and resources I have, because I love StarCraft.
Some things I've learned about progaming (or rather, semipro gaming - whatever you consider me. ^^) that people may not see on the surface...
- It's a bigger time commitment than it looks on the surface. In the foreign scene, you can't really just do the same as Koreans and just expect to get somewhere with mass practice. If you want to be sustainable/get any significant money without winning huge tournaments or going to Korea, streaming, coaching, and networking are all essential. You have to make time for all these things while still continuing to practice hard. The difference in the level of commitment between a top ladder player and an actual progamer who you see in tournaments is quite large. They do many other things on top of actual playing, as you can see especially in EG players (incontrol, idra etc.)
- If you want to be a progamer, keep this in mind: always play for FUN. You will never succeed long term in this game if you do not love it and enjoy it. There will be times when you have to sacrifice doing boring things you don't want to improve yourself, but do those things because you love the game and competition. No one is forcing you to keep going - do it for yourself. Always remember this.
- I hear a lot of top ladder players/people who think they are good say things like "I'm just as good as these known pro players... I just can't get noticed." It takes a while to get noticed. You do not get noticed right away. Stream on TL (especially stream your play in open tournaments, because if you do well people will watch you, and you'll show up on the sidebar even if unfeatured). PLAY open tournaments for the love of god. If you can consistently take out top players (even if you don't win) you should ALWAYS be trying to find opportunities to prove yourself. Don't be afraid to ask people on decent teams how you can get involved. I remember months before he got big, I played Spanishiwa a couple times on ladder and he kept asking me how to get on a team. I told him basically what I'm telling you now, and he's huge now.
Anyway, this was mostly just a self-reflection on my time in competitive SC2. I am not done by any means, look out for me in the near and far future as I try to attain all my goals. I really want to go to Korea at some point just to experience it... My girlfriend is Korean and older than me so this will hopefully become more logistically possible in the future. I'm really excited for the future - I enjoy my life and StarCraft a lot right now, so the sky is the limit
Feel free to ask me about anything you want that I didn't cover or even things that I did cover. About SC2, my life, my experiences.. anything really. Shoutout to all the communities/people that have helped me along the way.. The Amazon Basin crew (Gillias, I'll never forget you), Team Sal/mG from my broodwar days, VT Gaming (Frank, you did well ^^), Its Gosu eSports, and of course the TeamLiquid community - I never would have gotten this far without you guys. I love StarCraft and I plan to stick around for many years to come.
<3
- Nick / Pokebunny
 
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All this, and you still haven't gone through puberty yet.
+ Show Spoiler +Just kiddin', Poke. :D You're a total baller-and-a-half, and I hope to see you crush some nerds in front of massive crowds in the future! + Show Spoiler +Also, you were B- on ICCUP? That's impressive, man. Respect +1!
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Nice to see you determined
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On July 28 2011 03:21 Aeres wrote:All this, and you still haven't gone through puberty yet. + Show Spoiler +Just kiddin', Poke. :D You're a total baller-and-a-half, and I hope to see you crush some nerds in front of massive crowds in the future! + Show Spoiler +Also, you were B- on ICCUP? That's impressive, man. Respect +1!
lol -______-;
thank you for your support <3
and also, to the two people that 1-starred it the first minute it was posted - fu. ;_;
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Good blog Poke, glad I have been able to help you along with your journey and be part of it.
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Awesome blog, normally I don't like Terran but Pokebunny your pretty awesome . Keep up the good work hope to see you at Anaheim.
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iNcontroL
USA29055 Posts
interesting and well said sir Look forward to seeing you in future events.. keep on living the dream my man <3
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Gj on all your success Nick
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Hey I was just wondering what your ICCUP id was. B- is good.
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the first four letters of your name, are they pronounced "poke" as in "I poke you with a stick" or "poke-a" as in "pokemon"
Also: I introduced myself to you at PAX, you probably don't remember me
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Thanks everyone
My B- ICCup ID was mG.Pokebunny - I always had a negative record on ICCup though, just because I played so much and that was how the system worked.
http://www.iccup.com/starcraft/gamingprofile/mG.Pokebunny.html
SC2 Beta came out early in the last season that I ended at C, so ranks were not quite the same they were at the end of the season. That's why my record seems so bad, because I played all of it at the start ^^
My ID is pronounced Poke as in poke you with a stick, not pokemon. But at this point I don't mind either.
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Yay Poke. Keep kicking ass man.
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Korea (South)11598 Posts
your a cool cat when i met you are columbus. wish you the best of luck.
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gl at Anaheim, if I see you I'll make sure to shake your hand then blog about it
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You are so young and determined, GL.
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The first sentences was exactly like me, then a surgery kicked me in the face and I became depressed and stuff, gave up SC2.
GL Pokebunny! Hopefully you become a pro, then I can laugh at you cuz I raped you in grudge match! :D
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Philadelphia, PA10406 Posts
Oh fine, Pokebunny is kinda good at starcraft. Five stars.
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GL at Anaheim Poke. TLNY Represent.
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Best of luck!
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^.^ Pokebunny... Forever 14 in our hearts <3.
Great to hear you're enjoying it, keep going!
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So when are you going to start earning 300k like Flash?
Great job so far! Your commitment is very much respected (especially as a 14 year old).
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Oh, and since I didn't mention it - I'm 15 right now and turn 16 in a week DDDDD:
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btw, 380 games in a season x___x thats insane. 1300 games over the course of 12 months
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SUP POKEBUNNY
MY GOOD FRIEND
I wish I could live this dream 
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On July 28 2011 04:10 Zlasher wrote:
btw, 380 games in a season x___x thats insane. 1300 games over the course of 12 months
ive seen people with 2000+ in season2...they were good, but not as good as i wouldve thought...more efficient practice does more good
that said, pokebunny fighting~ i remember talking w/you right before beta wanting to practice with you in beta but i never got a key to bother hunting you down, then i didnt find you lololol...im only mid-master now so not really worth wasting your practice time...oh wells
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On July 28 2011 03:17 Pokebunny wrote:. . . . This summer I planned to play essentially full time and see how far I'd get. I was sidetracked for a bit until the last week or so (I still practiced a lot, just not as much as I'd like) until I began to really focus on training for MLG. I have a very supporting/awesome team and girlfriend, both of which I expect to be with a long time . . . . . Anyway, this was mostly just a self-reflection on my time in competitive SC2. I am not done by any means, look out for me in the near and far future as I try to attain all my goals. I really want to go to Korea at some point just to experience it... My girlfriend is Korean and older than me so this will hopefully become more logistically possible in the future. I'm really excited for the future - I enjoy my life and StarCraft a lot right now, so the sky is the limit . . . . - Nick / Pokebunny
jhaeuhaeheuhaufehaufehu
HES GROWN UP
SO MUCH
edit: On July 28 2011 04:25 unit wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 04:10 Zlasher wrote:
btw, 380 games in a season x___x thats insane. 1300 games over the course of 12 months ive seen people with 2000+ in season2...they were good, but not as good as i wouldve thought...more efficient practice does more good that said, pokebunny fighting~ i remember talking w/you right before beta wanting to practice with you in beta but i never got a key to bother hunting you down, then i didnt find you lololol...im only mid-master now so not really worth wasting your practice time...oh wells
someone in my korean league has over 3600 games (still season 2, korea hasn't ended yet)
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On July 28 2011 04:28 KawaiiRice wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 03:17 Pokebunny wrote:. . . . This summer I planned to play essentially full time and see how far I'd get. I was sidetracked for a bit until the last week or so (I still practiced a lot, just not as much as I'd like) until I began to really focus on training for MLG. I have a very supporting/awesome team and girlfriend, both of which I expect to be with a long time . . . . . Anyway, this was mostly just a self-reflection on my time in competitive SC2. I am not done by any means, look out for me in the near and far future as I try to attain all my goals. I really want to go to Korea at some point just to experience it... My girlfriend is Korean and older than me so this will hopefully become more logistically possible in the future. I'm really excited for the future - I enjoy my life and StarCraft a lot right now, so the sky is the limit . . . . - Nick / Pokebunny jhaeuhaeheuhaufehaufehu HES GROWN UP SO MUCH edit: Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 04:25 unit wrote:On July 28 2011 04:10 Zlasher wrote:
btw, 380 games in a season x___x thats insane. 1300 games over the course of 12 months ive seen people with 2000+ in season2...they were good, but not as good as i wouldve thought...more efficient practice does more good that said, pokebunny fighting~ i remember talking w/you right before beta wanting to practice with you in beta but i never got a key to bother hunting you down, then i didnt find you lololol...im only mid-master now so not really worth wasting your practice time...oh wells someone in my korean league has over 3600 games (still season 2, korea hasn't ended yet)
Rofl Kawaii <3. Gosu smiley... XD
+ Show Spoiler +
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United States33660 Posts
hopefully some day you'll have more money I can steal
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Nice write-up Poke! I didn't know IEM inspired you to start playing again. Good luck in Anaheim (hopefully you'll get told the correct time this MLG  ) and happy early birthday... omg 16, he's growing up!
I'm also kind of surprised you didn't mention your WCG winnings...
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Same girlfriend for a long time at your age? hahaha
Regardless goodluck with your sc2 sounds like you having a blast :D
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They grow up so fast. Keep up with this while you still can. Highschool and right after seem to be the best time to give it your all.
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Hope you get better so you can go full-time pro ^^
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What a lovely story, however, what of your dreams of being the best solomid Hag?
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On July 28 2011 06:02 Torte de Lini wrote:
What a lovely story, however, what of your dreams of being the best solomid Hag?
I'm retiring from HoN at 1800 MMR
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On July 28 2011 06:04 Pokebunny wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 06:02 Torte de Lini wrote:
What a lovely story, however, what of your dreams of being the best solomid Hag? I'm retiring from HoN at 1800 MMR
FUCK YOU
WE HELPED YOU GET THERE, YOU SUCK!
GROUTY WILL MAKE ME OFFICER TO REPLACE YOU
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wow you're 15 turning 16? dude, that's really impressive man
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On July 28 2011 06:12 Torte de Lini wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 06:04 Pokebunny wrote:On July 28 2011 06:02 Torte de Lini wrote:
What a lovely story, however, what of your dreams of being the best solomid Hag? I'm retiring from HoN at 1800 MMR FUCK YOU WE HELPED YOU GET THERE, YOU SUCK! GROUTY WILL MAKE ME OFFICER TO REPLACE YOU
lolololol
also how good in HoN is 1800 MMR? ive never played and have no clue
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Good luck buddy!
Hope everyone gives you the support you need to do well!!!!
Best of luck in Anaheim, I'll be watching at stupid o'clock in the morning from the UK
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Keep on keepin' on
![[image loading]](http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/9859/pokebunny.jpg)
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On July 28 2011 06:22 unit wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 06:12 Torte de Lini wrote:On July 28 2011 06:04 Pokebunny wrote:On July 28 2011 06:02 Torte de Lini wrote:
What a lovely story, however, what of your dreams of being the best solomid Hag? I'm retiring from HoN at 1800 MMR FUCK YOU WE HELPED YOU GET THERE, YOU SUCK! GROUTY WILL MAKE ME OFFICER TO REPLACE YOU lolololol also how good in HoN is 1800 MMR? ive never played and have no clue
2000 is amazing
1900 is pretty good
1800 is above average
1500-1700 is average
below 1500: you suck, play with Pokebunny
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I got an A on my paper that i interviewed you for.
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Wow, you seem very mature and intelligent for your age. I wish you best luck in the future.
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On July 28 2011 06:34 Foreplay wrote:
I got an A on my paper that i interviewed you for.
grats :D
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Well, make sure that you don't double bunker rush people when you're being casted at a big event, or people might take a disliking to you :D
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GL at anahiem!
ill add you to my sign!
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On July 28 2011 06:31 Torte de Lini wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 06:22 unit wrote:On July 28 2011 06:12 Torte de Lini wrote:On July 28 2011 06:04 Pokebunny wrote:On July 28 2011 06:02 Torte de Lini wrote:
What a lovely story, however, what of your dreams of being the best solomid Hag? I'm retiring from HoN at 1800 MMR FUCK YOU WE HELPED YOU GET THERE, YOU SUCK! GROUTY WILL MAKE ME OFFICER TO REPLACE YOU lolololol also how good in HoN is 1800 MMR? ive never played and have no clue 2000 is amazing 1900 is pretty good 1800 is above average 1500-1700 is average below 1500: you suck, play with Pokebunny
What's testie at?
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On July 28 2011 07:00 d(O.o)a wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 06:31 Torte de Lini wrote:On July 28 2011 06:22 unit wrote:On July 28 2011 06:12 Torte de Lini wrote:On July 28 2011 06:04 Pokebunny wrote:On July 28 2011 06:02 Torte de Lini wrote:
What a lovely story, however, what of your dreams of being the best solomid Hag? I'm retiring from HoN at 1800 MMR FUCK YOU WE HELPED YOU GET THERE, YOU SUCK! GROUTY WILL MAKE ME OFFICER TO REPLACE YOU lolololol also how good in HoN is 1800 MMR? ive never played and have no clue 2000 is amazing 1900 is pretty good 1800 is above average 1500-1700 is average below 1500: you suck, play with Pokebunny What's testie at?
http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/player_stats.php?aid=699935
1969
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On July 28 2011 07:06 Torte de Lini wrote:
1969
I will never forget that date. It's the year we went to the moon. That was pounded into my head for like all of my childhood.
+ Show Spoiler +
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On July 28 2011 07:06 Torte de Lini wrote:Show nested quote +On July 28 2011 07:00 d(O.o)a wrote:On July 28 2011 06:31 Torte de Lini wrote:On July 28 2011 06:22 unit wrote:On July 28 2011 06:12 Torte de Lini wrote:On July 28 2011 06:04 Pokebunny wrote:On July 28 2011 06:02 Torte de Lini wrote:
What a lovely story, however, what of your dreams of being the best solomid Hag? I'm retiring from HoN at 1800 MMR FUCK YOU WE HELPED YOU GET THERE, YOU SUCK! GROUTY WILL MAKE ME OFFICER TO REPLACE YOU lolololol also how good in HoN is 1800 MMR? ive never played and have no clue 2000 is amazing 1900 is pretty good 1800 is above average 1500-1700 is average below 1500: you suck, play with Pokebunny What's testie at? http://www.heroesofnewerth.com/player_stats.php?aid=6999351969
Testie was 2100 in PSR though... I think he could be higher in MM if he tried.
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EPT
