EPTThe title of this blog is really odd and somewhat irrelevant for the topic at hand but i can make it work. Some of the things i'm going to cover in this blog post; My recent experience on ladder, and my new found love for the game through playing zerg; Staying up late and watching the GSL November Finals with a friend I introduced to e-sports and converted into a true nerd; the disapointment of no crowd at NASL finals.
So lets begin, recently on ladder i have been playing zerg on my off-race/fuck-around account and to be honest its the most fun i've had in a while. The mechanics of the race feel challenging, it requires one to play extremely faster than other races to manage bases, defend, and expand. The decision making that is layered and embedded into the economy mechanic of the race is really interesting and appeals to me along with the general style of units used in the match ups.
I've always played zerg off and on as a joke or fun in team games but never researched and attempted to improve my play and refine it for a 1v1 format until recently. I've been laddering frequently with zerg and experiencing several positive things. I feel that the race in general, due to the mechanics and lack of planetary fortresses, challenges my multitasking skills and improves my speed playing the game in general. The mental timer aspect of the game is hugely present when playing zerg and i have my injects down pretty well due to my heavy terran background. The joy of micro'ing around my mutalisks, injecting larvae and spreading creep all at the same time is extremely fun and pumps adrenaline through my vains like nothing i've ever experienced. I still lack the general knowledge and scout timings but i'm rapidly improving and i'm loving the race. I suggest if anyone is experiencing APM speed issues or mechanical issues play zerg for a month, and i promise your problems will either be solved or nullified greatly.
Several months ago, i introduced my friends to starcraft 2 and explained to them the pro-scene prescent in the community for the game. At the time my friends were deeply involved in the League of Legends community and still are, but they knew of tournaments and e-sports and were interested. One of my friends in particular purchased the game and played team games with me, and quickly quit due to the difficulty and the learning curve but eventually returned. Now, i have shown them tournament games, explained the game to them thoroughly and now they can all discuss aspects of the game and talk about players. Its so awesome to spread the love for e-sports, and to see peoples faces when they realize how big professional gaming actually is. I think the first tournament i showed them being the TSL finals had something to do with them quickly embracing the game as their go-to spectator esport. My friend even stayed up until 6 AM in the morning watching the recent GSL November finals, and we were freaking out by the nail biting games, and stunned by jjakji's play and how good it was.
Remember to spread the love and introduce to esports to everyone you know. I took my parents to MLG Orlando 2011, and they were blown back. Priceless.
Now to the sad part. NASL Finals. So much effort and time implemented in this league and barely anyone shows. Amazing games being played all day, loads of insanely good players to provide insanely good games, all the best commentators in the business (excluding tastosis), yet no one showed. I hope the stream viewership somehow assists this event in being lucrative because right now it looks like NASL is dead after this event. I was there for the birth of the NASL, the trials and tribulations of season 1, and watched as they grew to the production they are today. I was hoping because of their massive content production rate it would be an appealing league for people to watch but i think, as incontrol said, it was a novelty. People eventually got overwhelmed. I hope that if this league does die it doesnt harm e-sports by providing haters content to feed off of.
Best of luck NASL, amazing GSL finals, and long-live esports
EDIT: This was the opinion from seeing the crowd from the first day : /
