EPTYesterday after 30 extremely frustrating games on the ladder I found a practice partner. Suddenly the anxiety and fatigue was forgotten and for another 10 games and I could FEEL myself improving as a player and having fun doing it.
When its Gone its Gone.
I thought I had more time. We all knew it was coming. It was just a matter of time really. It wasn't if. It was when and how many. Many dreams were destroyed today. You may not know it yet, but they were. I want to wish you the best. For to long SC2 in the west has been about getting a head start. I'm sorry to say, but that time is gone. I wish I had used that time better.
Keeping up.
Somewhere in South Korea in a PC bong a computer whizzes away at 36 apm. A teenager is playing SC2 for the first time after hearing rumors that his beloved Pro-league is going to be playing SC2. Little does he know that a SKT scout just glanced at his game as he scours every corner of the place for talent. BW and SC2 alike.
The thing is... the 36 apm player really doesn't scare me that much. What does scare me though? That potentially hundreds of thousands of young Koreans have new reasons to SC2 and they know that they are being watched.
How does that make you feel?
It no longer is a mystery as to why Bisu, Fantasy, Jangbi, and JD attended blizzcon. That seems self-explanatory to me now. Things just got kicked up a notch or dozen.
As a spectator? Fucking amazing. As a player? We'll talk about that later.
I'll tell you what.
I really don't care how well IMmvp performed in BW. It doesn't matter how you pinch it, squeeze it, or smell it. The minds, players, and conditions which for over a decade have forged professional BW now are going to be unleashed on the world of SC2. That can only mean 1 thing.
The sun sets in the west.
If there was ever a time. Now is it. Opportunities need to be created or we WILL fall behind and WILL fall into obscurity as we did in BW. The skill level of SC2 at the top levels is about to sky rocket.
Soccer (football) fails miserably in the United States for many reasons, but the two most important and most relevant.
1. We have no farm system to develop/foster talent.
2. We aren't the best in the world at it.
If we aren't the best in the world at anything in the United States no one is willing to spend any money on it. (the investment is risky)
Because there is no support system what's left is highly motivated individuals sacrificing everything they have to try and follow their dreams. Eventually a very select handful claw their way to the top (through favorable circumstances). We call these people heroes. They are, but we can make the circumstances more favorable for more people.
Starcraft in Korea is like Soccer in Europe
Starcraft in the West is like Soccer in the United States.
Which "area" is more likely to produce soccer stars? Which one is going to produce better teams? Which is going to win the next 10 world cups?
I know the analogy fails in some ways, but I hope the important idea is conveyed.
So I ask you this?
Where is the next best SC2 player in the world most likely to be "produced"?
Where will the best SC2 player in the world 1 year from now be produced? 2 years? 5 years? 10 years???
Where will the best SC2 team in 6 months be from? 1 year? 5 years?
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How does this make me feel as a player?
Well that's actually irrelevant because I can't do anything about it. What can I do? I can eat oatmeal, find a way to pay my rent, play my ass off to not fall to far behind and just assume that opportunities will exist if i work hard enough.
Today that assumption took a massive hit, my false confidence in the future is under-fire, and now my only chance is to ignore the elephant in the room and hope that someone else can deal with it.
I am unknown, I have no reputation, I have no credibility, I know what this means in the modern world let alone the internet... but I cannot help for just a moment (before i try to forget about it) to try to raise my concerns about the future. Today a limited number of foreigners are able to compete with Koreans.
"And give it up for your 2015 MLG Champion from Korea..."
Tomorrow the forecast is not so good for SC2 in the west.
