EPTI'm your average 16 year old kid , living in Asia . Playing SC2 was something weird here as most of the people my age are playing free-to-play games . SC2 has always been the game that I've always wanted to play , the game that has the competitive side to it which makes me want to play more of it .
I started out getting into the RTS games when I was 10 , the fun Warcraft 3 custom games that I'd usually enjoy watching my cousins play it , but do not have the opportunity to play it as at that time , the entire city's internet is powered by dial-up . I played quite a number of games on the Warcraft 3 and I'd usually couldn't get pass how to kill the towers . Eventually , I decided to play a few custom games after getting stuck countless of times and found out DotA .
Dota has been the game in my country , most of the players are playing Dota and there is quite a competitive scene in there . I played the game for about two years and I've came to a point where i realize that my studies are deteriorating because of the amount of hours I put into gaming . At that point , I stopped gaming for about a year and went to play things casually , like around 2-3 hours a day and not committing too much into the game . As time goes by , the skill level of my play did not improve and I've been losing too much games on pub . I felt demoralized and went to quit DotA and went to play some other usual RPG .
Later through the year , a new game was announced , Starcraft 2 . A new game that has been introduced to the country , which is my chance to get good at the game before people . I then saved money for two months just to get the game . Once the game was out , I was only placed in the bronze league . Stuck at that league for about a month , grinded more games and finally got to diamond in that year . After grinding so much games , I found out of the competitive scene , the GSL . I still remember how MKP spitted his marines against Kyrix , how he changed the course of TvZ . The idea of trying to go competitive has struck me when I see them play , the dream of playing on the main stage of GSL and beating a Korean in a TvZ . I tried to work hard for it but to no avail , same thing happened to DotA , my studies deteriorate and not only that , I was the only kid that was playing the game , no friend , sibling was playing the game . I was the only one that knew the game in my area . I lost hope , no motivation .
After a year , the year 2012 , I went to play the game , out of curiosity , to see how much the game has evolved and how exciting the competitive scene has became . I manage to join a clan , the first clan I ever joined that gave me motivation to play the game competitively again . Manage to climb the ladder back to masters , then I aim up for Grandmasters . I was given a goal , to reach Grandmasters by the start of June . The competitiveness came back to me again , the reason why I kept playing the game for a year up to now . I have went to various LAN events throughout my country and now I realize that Starcraft is not just only a game , Starcraft is able to bond people together , it can make people work hard and strive for it .
As it close towards June , the clan had found sponsors and is trying to turn into a team .
As the cut of point was Grandmasters , I really had to work hard to get into the league . As I was only at Masters Rank 1 , I could'nt make it up to the Grandmasters , losing each game made me demoralized and lost motivation to play the game . But a series of unfortunate events happen , my parents got into a quarrel and I have to go through the countless family problems that I couldn't handle alone . Which then , I turned to gaming again , the only thing that can negate the pressure coming from my family is gaming . The cure to all of this is to be in something , to put your heart and soul to it to not think of the sad things that happen . So gaming it is , I went back to trying competitive gaming , grinding at least 8 hours a day , watching all the replays I could find , and admiring the Koreans pros and how they bask in their glory of e-Sports . I went to learn their language , watch all the tournament replays and streams .
As time went by , I manage to get into grandmasters and got into the team . But joining the team is just the beginning . I've trained hard in the team and grinded even more because of the motivation that the team is giving me , the thought that I could one day be playing in the GSL's booth . But after several tournaments , the results weren't as good as it planned , getting knocked out in the first round in two consecutive tournaments . The team then told me that I have to make it to a cut off point , or there would be a chance of me getting booted out . Up to then , I'm at a dilemma , wether to play , or to focus on studying .
After a week of thinking wether should I countinue playing ? to work hard to my dream and make it to the GSL . Or to study , and play the game of life . I then saw a post on TL , a blog post , talking about how gaming has affected his life , and how much chasing his dream has made him a better person . Blog link . The stories has touched me and I would be able to relate it to myself , no social life because of the amount of time i put into grinding and no one knew what I am working for . Then i saw this quote " What do you really want ? " and " Tomorrow , you'll get even closer " , these quotes has made me realize how much I really want to do good in my games . The thing that keeps me going all these while and trying to work hard for my dreams . I see QuanticIllusion managing to get to up there , at my age . I then be able to find back the motivation that I lack throughout this month . And it is all thanks to you guys . The blogpost that motivate us all , and sharing the thoughs that can make us all a better gamer . Thank you guys :D and thank you for reading this post
