So, I originally bought Starcraft 2 after watching MLG Anaheim thanks to my buddies, who I played Call of Duty with. (God that game is terrible in hindsight) As a Korean, I never really got into starcraft, when I did buy the Starcraft BattleChest back in middle school, I had a really terrible internet connection, and when I did play, I never had a clue as to what to do. By that time, the E-sports scene for Broodwar was beginning to bud into the crazy world we have today, and Boxer was in his prime. God, I wish I had watched Boxer in his prime, even now his moments of brilliance are just mind boggling, especially when he wins. Boxer will always be the Emperor. Anyways, When I had bought Starcraft 2, my friends who had already been playing the game since the beginning, were of course way ahead of me in terms of skill, and ability. So when I did play with them, all they ever did was cheese me, and the one placement match I did try, ended up being a cannon rush, and at that time, I was a very sad panda.

Recently, as in about a week and a half ago, I started playing again, I have a youtube channel, which I won't post here, because this is strictly sc2 talk, and reached out to my subscribers to see if there were anyone who would be willing to help me. The first guy that reached out to me said he was a diamond level player, but that was only in 4v4s, and in 1v1 season 3, he was bronze. So, that really didn't help me out, because all he did really was want to play custom games. I wanted to actually get decent at the game, and possibly hold my own as a 1v1 player, just because when I see the professionals win, their victories seem so satisfying, and I wanted some of that satisfaction. The next person to contact me, was a diamond level 1v1 player, a zerg, I play terran, so originally I thought it wouldn't help me out much, but he was able to get me started with basic builds, (i.e. Marine tank) and gave me some essentials in learning my opponents.

So, after learning a bit of the basics, I went in on the placement matches once again, late in the season I know, but gotta start sometime right? The first two placement matches I had, I won by landslide victories. Because of this, I grew really cocky, and thought I was on top of the world, that was a mistake. I lost the next two placement matches, and then somehow miraculously placed into Gold league, which isn't amazing by any means, but at least I placed higher than a lot of my friends, when they first started out. From there, I lost match after match, day after day, for four days, and I was honestly about ready to give up again, but something inside told me I shouldn't. I kept going, found a couple practice partners on Team Liquid, and started working on the basics.

I knew my weaknesses, I don't harass, my scouting could be a lot better, and I shouldn't be afraid to expand. Eventually something clicked, and I won again, mind you they were against Bronze players, but I was able to pull some wins against top 10-15 bronze level players, and eventually even silvers. As it stands right now, I'm still losing a few games, but I feel like the level of play I had originally has grown a bit. I should just learn to be a bit more aggressive, and find the right windows of opportunity to end the game, when I know I have a definitive lead.

I'm thinking about doing a weekly or bi-weekly progress report, on how I'm doing, as far as my play, what do you guys think TL?
Here's the replay of my most recent ladder match
http://www.mediafire.com/?alapq1utxy52okl
I'm HoChiMinh, maybe I should change the name? haha
Any thoughts, tips, advice, or constructive criticism would be much appreciated