EPTPhase #1 - OMG I'm gonna get kicked to lower league :O
1000 games ago I was a platinum player freshly promoted to diamond. I was still winning only about 50% of my games vs platties.
So after the promotion I was simply getting outplayed by diamonds and losing most of my games. I was scared that I'll get demoted back to plat. I was frustrated because I thought I played badly.
Now looking back at this 1st stage of promotion I know, that I was playing just as good as before promotion. However I got matched up with far better opponents. My strategies no longer worked on that level and needed an update.
The big danger of this phase is getting too frustrated with my losses and giving up. That means either quitting the practice, or losing out of frustration until Im kicked back to plat.
I kept practicing with determination and putting up with my losses UNTIL I got comfortable playing against low diamonds:
Phase #2 - I'm feeling quite comfy in that league :-)
After a few hundred games I got used to playing on a diamond level. It was 50/50 with diamonds now.
I felt safe about my position in the league, and also very proud that I made it. In my mind I started flirting with the idea of getting Masters. It still seemed distant, but I was already contemplating it.
During this phase "opponents slightly favored" were still diamond league guys. I didn't even get matched up with masters.
The big danger of this phase is getting too comfortable in the league I "belonged". If I got too comfy, I'd get stuck in diamond. I got through it by setting a clear goal to get Masters in 2 months. This forced me to demand out of myself more, than my diamond opponents demanded of me. I strived to improve and totally outplay those diamond guys until:
Phase #3 - Holy crap, its impossible to win with Masters -.-
With practice and improvement I was climbing up the MatchMaking Rating. After about 700 games played in Diamond league I started getting matched with Masters from time to time.
Obviously, I lost every single match. It wasn't even close. But I kept practicing. I wasn't angry after losing to masters, even though they bunker rushed me and cannon contained me.
This is the big danger of the third phase. Blaming the game balance or yourself, or your higher-league opponents for losing. Don't blame. Just be curious. You're playing with new and better opponents. Give yourself time, be patient and work hard to learn how to win with them.
I was grateful. I knew that my cheese-denfending skills were diamond level and those were Master cheeses. I knew that as soon as my cheese-def skills were Master, I would survive to play macro games with Masters. Then I could begin getting comfortable with their playstyle and skill level.
Right now, slowly after a few dozen games with Masters I sometimes win with them. This is how I know the promotion is close. I'm getting through the third and final stage...
Yummy!
I went through the same 3 phases when I got freshly promoted to platinum. I remember feeling really, really bad because I went from silver straight to platinum and was losing 99% games vs plats. Of course my plat -> dia promotion was quicker than the 1000 games span I'm going through now. The phases felt the same though.
What phase are you in? Are you freshly promoted and losing a lot? Are you too comfy within your league? Are you smelling the promotion and figuring out higher league opponents?
Let me know in da commentz!
