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So I decided today that I'm actually going to go for it. Become a pro gamer.
I don't have very many practice partners, and what practice partners I do have are zerg.. and I have ladder anxiety. So there's really only one way to go: Ladder.
I'm currently Masters zerg sitting at 47-27, promoted from Diamond just recently. That was where I got most of my wins from(low masters/high diamonds). After not playing sc2 for a week, my skills are a little rusty so I'm taking a few days to get my hands back into the motion of what they were before.
Now I want to start my own 'practice schedule' of some sort. I'm not all that talented, I played Beta, when release hit I started in silver and slowly worked up to masters after having some on/off time from when I played WoW. Now I'm fully dedicated in SC2 since I know I can be one of the best if I put the effort into it.
Now a little history of my SC2 career.
I started out in a nobody team called "Team ACE" that I managed to get an invite in from a Z33K tournament. This is where I met up with someone with the exact same goal as me, to become pro. After the team leaders gradually fell out I ended up in PMS|H2O, where I currently still am. I was looking to break into the Pro Team there, it's why I joined them when I was in diamond; practice partners and people to discuss things with. At first the journey in this new clan was a little rough. Arguing with a few people here and there getting scolded etc. After it all calmed I found my friends, the newer guys that have joined and some of the older people. On the opposite spectrum there was the elitists. Thankfully I found a really nice and considerate player, she became my ZvZ practice partner, and I bought along the person aforementioned from Team ACE into here too. He is my other ZvZ partner. I have one T practice partner and his not really on that often. I don't really know how his maintaining his masters spot. As for P, I have nobody at my level, and consequently it's my worst match up by far.
The end of my little diary thing.
Now comes the real shenanigans:
I'm not some genius player who has an amazing RTS background. I played Broodwar but only the custom games and I'd only ever play against my friend in 1v1's and the occasional team game. I played War3 but it was the exact same. Just custom games. SC2 is my first competitive game that I really want to succeed in. I enjoy all the aspects of the game. I get angry with myself when I lose to silly cheese that I scouted and still lost too as most people do.
I've been wanting to put together a 9 hour training day, every day except weekends. Enforcing this schedule will be the toughest part because.. well I don't have any practice partners really. The only way I'm going to get 9 hours of playing in a day is too ladder.. and I'm somewhat afraid of laddering. I'm afraid of going on a losing streak; or if I'm actually laddering and winning I'm afraid I'll lose. Fatigue won't really occur since I'm already playing 5 hours a day, just not all the time. I'm often tabbed watching a stream or the like, but I've played 6+ hours in one sitting before and only really felt the fatigue then. So there are only two possibilities for this schedule to work.
I live in Australia, and bought the retail copy over here. I have SEA and NA access so I was thinking just to power games on SEA and keep my NA for when I'm over my ladder anxiety/fear. The only bad thing there is.. That's the account for when my friend who doesn't have a computer that can run SC2 comes over to play. I got it to diamond, and he then lost like 20 games playing on it(I don't mind, I told him he could ladder on it). So powering that to masters is going to take a little time, and after that I should be decent enough to break into 1k+ on NA.. Hopefully.
Or I can just play on NA and try not to care about my rank etc. I don't mind having a losing record for others to see, but when I can see visually that I'm doing really bad I get de motivated and stop playing because I'm upset and make dumb mistakes.
So enough theory-crafting my skill level and now putting it into practice. I don't want a full blown 'oh fuck 9 hours a day from now' I want a gradual increase in playing hours over a month into the 9 hours to prevent fatigue.
So this was what I was thinking:
Mon-Fri 5 hours play time - 7-9 am, 3-6 PM for the first week
Mon-Fri 7 hours play time - 7-10 am, 3-7 PM for the second week
Mon-Fri 8 hours play time - 7-11 am, 3-7 PM for the third week
Mon-Fri 9 hours play time - 7-12 am, 3-7 PM final
Are these hours reasonable? I usually wake up at 5:30-6AM and go to bed at 8PM+. I put GSL on and fall asleep watching it and wake up to an orange screen. The only time this practice hour time will be broken is for activities like events, gym, shopping and other activities I cannot survive without. While the lunch break is usually when z33k tournaments start so I'll make sure to do those, and I plan to start casting again within that time frame too.
Fatigue shouldn't set in all that much for the first week, I'm expecting the extra two hour leap in play time is going to cause me to be exhausted for the first few days. I'll be making sure I play the minimum play time using SC2 Gears. I'll be somehow converting the game times into real time.
This schedule will be in effect tomorrow, and I'll make amendments to it based on suggestions etc. from this blog. I'll also be doing a blog at the end of every week with the amount of activity I've done and if I feel like I'm getting better based off of the play times. So.. yeah.. My first blog(ever, never written one of these before) and hopefully not my last. I am dedicated and will stick to my plans. So if anyone has anything to say about the practice schedule or if I should ease into the 9 hours slower or whatever.. Feel free ^^
Thanks for reading. And sorry if my grammar/spelling is bad.. I'm tired 
 
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thedeadhaji
39489 Posts
Here are some thoughts that might be helpful for you. These principles hold for most all pursuits, and should certainly be applicable for an attempt at becoming a progamer.
1) Create a form of accountability for your practice. This could be in the form of constantly updating a blog with your practice results and thoughts, and/or streaming your practice constantly.
2) Focused, deliberate practice (quality) should comprise some fraction of your total practice hours (i.e. not just brain-dead playing)
3) Have deliverables and a deadline. The deliverables should be concrete and attainable. One example might be "upload 20 replays from my practices to your blog". Another might be "Play 1000 games by the end of the month". Don't set goals that are out of your control (settling a goal of being recruited by a top XYZ team is out of your control). Set actionable goals, and meet them.
Goodluck!
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This doesn't seem much different from the other 50 pro gamer blogs on the site. Be sure to update as i've never actually heard of any of these making significant progress. Good luck to you regardless.
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I agree with the guy above me. My only input is to try to get over the fear of ladder. A lot of korean progamers practice on ladder as well for GSL even. (Example is my clanmate KeenMvP)
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Lately theres a lot of going to be pro blogs. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors, remembers to learn from your mistakes.
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On September 11 2011 17:55 thedeadhaji wrote:
Here are some thoughts that might be helpful for you. These principles hold for most all pursuits, and should certainly be applicable for an attempt at becoming a progamer.
1) Create a form of accountability for your practice. This could be in the form of constantly updating a blog with your practice results and thoughts, and/or streaming your practice constantly.
2) Focused, deliberate practice (quality) should comprise some fraction of your total practice hours (i.e. not just brain-dead playing)
3) Have deliverables and a deadline. The deliverables should be concrete and attainable. One example might be "upload 20 replays from my practices to your blog". Another might be "Play 1000 games by the end of the month". Don't set goals that are out of your control (settling a goal of being recruited by a top XYZ team is out of your control). Set actionable goals, and meet them.
Goodluck!
Wow i never thought alignment of project frameworks with pro-gaming practise would fit so well :D
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Good luck man, warms my heart to see a person give their all to be the best sc2 player they can be 
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thedeadhaji
39489 Posts
On September 11 2011 18:17 sluggaslamoo wrote:Show nested quote +On September 11 2011 17:55 thedeadhaji wrote:
Here are some thoughts that might be helpful for you. These principles hold for most all pursuits, and should certainly be applicable for an attempt at becoming a progamer.
1) Create a form of accountability for your practice. This could be in the form of constantly updating a blog with your practice results and thoughts, and/or streaming your practice constantly.
2) Focused, deliberate practice (quality) should comprise some fraction of your total practice hours (i.e. not just brain-dead playing)
3) Have deliverables and a deadline. The deliverables should be concrete and attainable. One example might be "upload 20 replays from my practices to your blog". Another might be "Play 1000 games by the end of the month". Don't set goals that are out of your control (settling a goal of being recruited by a top XYZ team is out of your control). Set actionable goals, and meet them.
Goodluck! Wow i never thought alignment of project frameworks with pro-gaming practise would fit so well :D
I surprised even myself to be honest!
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How do you support yourself financially?
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Good luck, I am doing the same thing (blogging, etc.). I just got promoted to silver. Feels good.
Also, above post, I am curious, too.
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Add me up, TAyoungmin.759
I need practice partners, and I think I'm perfect for you. Loads of time and I'm high Masters on SEA (ex-GM Seasons 1 and 2) and highish masters on NA.
Also: Best of luck to ye. You'll want to give up but you just have to tank it all.
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On September 11 2011 20:56 inbox24 wrote:
How do you support yourself financially?
My dad earns too much for me to actually go on the doll so I just ask for money whenever I need it. My parents always gives me it ^^;
Thanks for the advice, and I'll add you youngmini :D
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how old are you, whats your level of education and how long will you keep on trying?
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On September 12 2011 05:46 OutlaW- wrote:
how old are you, whats your level of education and how long will you keep on trying?
19, I finished high school, and I won't stop trying ^^;;
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I laugh at most these forum blog pro gamers, but you have a head start on it as every single one I've seen has been bronze or silver. You are masters, so you definitely have a good start. I think you shouldn't be scared of laddering because if you are scared of losing you won't make it very far as a pro, I think you should work on your confidence a little! Good luck!
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This is like the billionth blog i've seen of somebody saying this, 'I know i can be one of the best if i put time into it' I'm going to try and become pro etc... I can't remember one where the guy actually did something.
If i was going to do something like this, I would get to high masters or grandmasters and ACTUALLY do something before announcing it to the world that i think i can do it. Because the climb from that to being competitive as a progamer is bigger than any other and makes the previous rises look like nothing. (I would know considering I am high masters myself who plays the occasional pro player on the ladder.) People really underestimate how much more difficult this game gets against the better players. How much more you have to learn. And how far the average joe bloggs is behind them.
Getting to high masters is very achievable for absolutely anybody on here if they put the time in. I was pathetic in BW on ICCUP and haven't played this game a ton because i've only just finished university and managed it so i know others can. Play solid for a few weeks, get good, enter small cups and post results first THEN think again about wanting to go pro. Your goals are just not realistic atm and if you think they are, you'll probably end up like the other billion people that write these blogs.
Players like Nerchio and Stephano have only just decided to go pro now after winning countless tournaments. Stephano only decided like this week to take a year off to concentrate on pro gaming. Look at the calibre of these players and how hard it has been for them to break through onto the scene. The amount of games people like Nerchio have played etc... before making a big commitment.
I hate to be the doom and gloom guy but i think you're setting your hopes alittle too high for now, I mean you haven't even got over your ladder anxiety yet. One step at a time man. There's nothing wrong with ambition but you've got to be realistic.
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On September 12 2011 11:22 thedeadhaji wrote:Please write a status update blog, 2 weeks max from now. Be accountable!
I shouldn't be tabbed now but I lost to a 6 pool and am frustrated. I'm writing a day 1 blog(I won't do 1 every day because that'd be too much ^^;
On September 12 2011 12:24 TheHova wrote:
This is like the billionth blog i've seen of somebody saying this, 'I know i can be one of the best if i put time into it' I'm going to try and become pro etc... I can't remember one where the guy actually did something.
If i was going to do something like this, I would get to high masters or grandmasters and ACTUALLY do something before announcing it to the world that i think i can do it. Because the climb from that to being competitive as a progamer is bigger than any other and makes the previous rises look like nothing. (I would know considering I am high masters myself who plays the occasional pro player on the ladder.) People really underestimate how much more difficult this game gets against the better players. How much more you have to learn. And how far the average joe bloggs is behind them.
Getting to high masters is very achievable for absolutely anybody on here if they put the time in. I was pathetic in BW on ICCUP and haven't played this game a ton because i've only just finished university and managed it so i know others can. Play solid for a few weeks, get good, enter small cups and post results first THEN think again about wanting to go pro. Your goals are just not realistic atm and if you think they are, you'll probably end up like the other billion people that write these blogs.
Players like Nerchio and Stephano have only just decided to go pro now after winning countless tournaments. Stephano only decided like this week to take a year off to concentrate on pro gaming. Look at the calibre of these players and how hard it has been for them to break through onto the scene. The amount of games people like Nerchio have played etc... before making a big commitment.
I hate to be the doom and gloom guy but i think you're setting your hopes alittle too high for now, I mean you haven't even got over your ladder anxiety yet. One step at a time man. There's nothing wrong with ambition but you've got to be realistic.
I did wait till I made this. I actually wanted to be a pro gamer when sc2 came out. I started in silver and made my way up until masters until I posted this, so this isn't some spur of the moment thing. I knew if I couldn't get into masters I wouldn't be motivated to do it. Making this blog makes me even more motivated AND makes me feel like this past year all I've done is achieve things. I know the climb to becoming a pro gamer is going to be hard. I never said it was going to be a walk in the park and that is why I'm going to try to practice 9 hours a week.
You can compare me to whatever players you want, but I will break into the scene, you can watch me do it. I don't think wanting to become pro is a high hope. I would consider it a difficult one, but it's not over ambitious like saying I want to become an EG/TL member. I'm setting myself one goal at a time and I will reach them and make my next decision.
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I'm curious as to how you have so much free time to practice, I wish I did, how do you get money for food / rent? (Legitimate question as it seems these blogs come up a lot and people seem to have infinite free time)
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On September 12 2011 17:15 FreshandLegit wrote:
I'm curious as to how you have so much free time to practice, I wish I did, how do you get money for food / rent? (Legitimate question as it seems these blogs come up a lot and people seem to have infinite free time)
I live with my parents and I don't have a job as I stated up a little bit ^^;;
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EPT
