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+ Show Spoiler +I have been playing starcraft 2 now for over a year now competively. It has been a awesome going to events and meeting people that are as passionate about the game as I am, and sharing in the "esports" experience together. Having the oppertunity to play against some of the most talented players in the world is one of the things I always wanted and dreamed about. Something that i've spent thousands of hours practicing for. Gaming is my passion, and has been my obsession ever since me and my brothers took turns playing warcraft 2 against the AI (we didn't have internet) and seeing who could make the most Orge Magi.
everything we played turned into a competition. Smash brothers, Starcraft, and Warcraft III, were all ways for us to gain bragging rights and superiority. Console games we were able to proove our superiority instantly, while on the PC we had to Hotseat where you could only keep playing if you won.
this competitive spirit carried over to DotA, when I moved into the dorms and finally had the capacity to play games online on a good connection (we only had 28k dialup at home). I could Finally play without any delay and had a whole network of people to play with. A new Door had been opened, and I found myself counting the hours every day until i could leave class and get back to gaming. in my first semester, I played more DotA then I spent time studying, and when I finished a assignment, I would reward myself with more games.
During this time, I played in Inhouse leagues for better games. I strived for rank 1 in all of the leaderboards, trying to get the best KD on my server. I joined Domain of Pain, and we played Scrim's and Clanwars to practice for Tournaments. we were all very good, but only traveled to and won one small LAN. . there was some team drama, and eventually the team broke up. I still consider them all good friends.
I still played DotA fanatically, but I wasn't getting a much out of it. I joined Koroks Crew for a few months but failed to win any major qualifiers. Finding five dedicated players was hard, and the instability of the scene made it harder. tournaments were few and far between, I kept playing only because of my passion for the game
When Starcraft 2 starting inviting people to the beta, I was ectastic at recieving a Key. I marvelled at Blizzards improvements and spent the entire Beta rewiring my brain to be able to handle the much higher skill ceiling that starcraft 2 provided. when I finally got good at the game after release, none of my friends were as passionate about the game as me, so I was eager to join a Team. in 2010 Desrow introduced me to Mirhi and VT gaming, where I made some good friends who helped me more then ladder could. I went with the team to MLG, a event the size of which I had never been to before.
I managed to beat Axslav 2-0, and eventually lost to Haypro 1-2. this is the point that I started to take starcraft alot more seriously. Winning tournaments became more important, and at the end of 2011, after attending multiple MLG's, I decided to take a break from school and focus on starcraft full time.
shortly after VT disbanded, I beat HuK 4-3 in the WCG Qualifier finals. But WCG canceled the US Finals and I instead would have had to pay 1,500 to compete in the finals in Korea. I eventually forfeitted my rematch against HuK who had come through the losers bracket since he was already in Korea at this time.
After Mirhi saw my potential, he offered me a spot in the RGN house in California. I jumped at the chance. it was at MLG Providence that I met my new teamhouse mate Artist, who is one of the nicest people I have met. Unfortunately, we met eachother in the open bracket later on as well, and he showed me why Korean terrans are so dominant, beating me 2-0. It was bittersweet losing to a teammate, at least having the comfort that I would be able to train with him for the next few months to improve.
Eventually the Korean players Visa became an issue. Artist moved back to Korea, and couldn't renew his Visa. I was stuck relying on Ladder for all of my practice, and the house was never the same after he left. With continued visa troubles, neither Inori or Artist were able to get to the house, and things rapidly fell apart. Mirhi eventually called it quits and disbanded RGN after the financial burdon was too great, and none of our plans coming to fruition. He generiously let me stay rent free well after RgN disbanded, and even bought me a return flight back home.
I was still not ready to give up on the game up, and kept playing in as many playhems and weekly tournaments as possible. I was winning a little bit of money here and there, but not nearly as much as I needed. I had to make it, or go back to school.
it was at this time that MrBitter announced a Training house in California that he would be running, and I applied for a spot right away. He responded and told me I could come as soon as I bought a plane ticket, so soonafter I packed and boxed up my PC and shipped everything and myself back to California once again.
It was really exciting, living with other aspiring pros from all over the world. Beasty, Jemag, Defex, and Pandatank were all very funny and cool to live with. playing tons of starcraft in the same room with other people really makes it easier to stay focused and learn faster. I was starting to win alot more small online tournaments, and i hovered around top 10 GM. At one point I was so anxious to get rank 1 that I win traded with 3 of my accounts to get rank 1, Mrbitter was furious and almost kicked me out of the house, but eventually only told me that I needed to leave as many games as i had traded wins for. A week later I had earned 400 points and had gotten rank 1 legit. It felt so good after working tirelessly to achieve, actually earning it. emotional, I took a picture and sent it to my Family.
"so what does rank one mean? does this mean you can make real money now?"
and I didn't really answer. Because I think that the answer is No. If it wasn't for Mrbitter or Mirhi, none of this would have been possible. I am not a community figure, and have never really been outspoken or tried to promote myself, just playing the Starcraft. and there are still hundreds of koreans who can beat me and win all of the tournaments. every playhem I would take 2nd to a korean. every MLG facing a korean is almost certain Death. and every tournament qualifier has half a dozen Koreans dominating the brackets.
As is, I don't think its possible to be "pro" player in North America without being on EG, or having an insanely popular stream. what should I do to continue living the dream? I can't just keep living off Mrbitter.
Thoughts, Questions, and comments appreciated. thanks for reading.
(sorry for errors, really tired)
  
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start streaming with commentating your games live and analyze replays after games.continue playing and set yourself a schedule and a date on which if u aren't satisfied with your progress/income you will retire and move on with your life.
Remember.You are on the road to perfection and rank 1 Grandmaster is not even the beginning.So dont chain yourself with ranks,just focus on the quality of practice and the sheer amount.
i reached gm on eu today and im so happy about it (been gm on na past two seasons with top100 finish).
I know a lot of people who dont deserve to be there and i realize i've been playing this game for quite some time now and this is not a big achievement.And its a harsh thought.So i try to focus on the practice itself,its easier for my ego and it makes the game a lot more fun.Clean the flaws until its perfect 
good luck bro.keep ya head up . And some people will never understand or appreciate how much effort it took for you to make rank1 no matter how close they are to you.So dont let that get to you and move on with your eyes on the goal
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I remember you for having the highest (or 2nd highest?) elo in Throneit tier 2 ranking in DotA. haha. good times.
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Really enjoyed the blog Gix! I've always enjoyed your play and hope that you will keep going strong! I understand how hard it is financially in the NA scene. With IPL having an open bracket for HotS at their event that could be a great way to help show case your skills again.
You did mention that all the qualifiers are full of Koreans ATM which won't be changing anytime soon with the exception of WCS. Blizzard did announce that they will be hosting WCS again this year. I'm sure there will be a few changes here and there but that is one of the best ways to not only make a little money competing in a NA event but also prove yourself vs other players in the NA scene.
As for the whole team situation, EG is really the #1 team in NA from a pure $$ perspective but there are other top teams like Quantic or compLexity. FXO NA also has a strong group of players even if they don't have as strong a backing as the other top tier teams. Now even looking a little bit away from the top tier there are great mid tier teams out there like Clarity Gaming, or LighT eSports. Perhaps after HotS comes out they might be looking to recruit a few more players?
Best of luck in 2013 Gix I know I'll be rooting for you!
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Arrange the money necessary and dedicate everything to gaming. Ronaldo didn't just play soccer half an our each day. All the successful players in any decent sport go for it a 100%. I see no reason why this should be any different with gaming.
Phil Taylor (darts) was asked once why he was so much better than anyone else and he replied, that he just practiced WAY, WAY more than anyone else.
If you cannot afford it over a longer period of time, sometimes letting go of the dream means being able to find new dreams.
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Germany38463 Posts
As is, I don't think its possible to be "pro" player in North America without being on EG, or having an insanely popular stream. what should I do to continue living the dream? I can't just keep living off Mrbitter.
How do you figure that? Because it doesn't really make sense or sound realistic at all.
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I don't want to pour cold water on your hopes and dreams or anything but people on these forums need to start giving more realistic advice when it comes to aspiring progamers. My personal opinion is that the whole pipe dream of dedication towards your passion for competitive is just not viable. Even if you look at the SC2 scene as a whole, it doesnt seem like theres enough money to go around and there isnt a big enough audience to increase the amount of money in the scene.
How in Gods name are you going to make money? The odds of hitting the streaming lottery or reaching the top tier of SC2 skill are quite frankly, vanishingly small. There's a ridiculous amount of people playing a ridiculous amount of hours who will meet or exceed your skill level. And that's not even to mention nerve issues in tournaments and the volatility of SC2. I can't fathom why anyone who isn't a prodigy would pursue SC2 progaming despite not being able to break out of the mid tier of foreign pros.
For the vast majority of people their future would be better served by not pursuing progaming.
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Nice blog giX, you've improved by leaps and bounds since your days in VT (Honestly used to think you were pretty bad back then). Hoping for your success in the future!
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You're quite the strong player man, stop beating me in muta vs muta on hots plz!
There's a large fanbase in the US. Promoting yourself via twitter, facebook, streaming, youtube and content (guides, blogs whatever) are all relatively easy ways to get yourself more opportunities, and more importantly more sponsor dollars. It won't necessarily add up to all that much but it can help you support yourself.
If you promote yourself decently than coaching 5-10 hours a week is a good way to make a small amount of steady income.
As for playing, you can beat Koreans and get to the level of someone like Scarlett but it'll take a lot of hard work. I think you just need to be incredibly disciplined with using practice partners to practice specific things over and over again and keep studying the game critically and looking for slight and tiny ways to improve your play whilst not getting pigeon-holed in playing specific styles. That's pretty much what I'm working on myself at the moment and I truly believe with enough work even we can smash the GSL champs.
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On February 06 2013 06:48 Doodsmack wrote:
I don't want to pour cold water on your hopes and dreams or anything but people on these forums need to start giving more realistic advice when it comes to aspiring progamers. My personal opinion is that the whole pipe dream of dedication towards your passion for competitive is just not viable. Even if you look at the SC2 scene as a whole, it doesnt seem like theres enough money to go around and there isnt a big enough audience to increase the amount of money in the scene.
How in Gods name are you going to make money? The odds of hitting the streaming lottery or reaching the top tier of SC2 skill are quite frankly, vanishingly small. There's a ridiculous amount of people playing a ridiculous amount of hours who will meet or exceed your skill level. And that's not even to mention nerve issues in tournaments and the volatility of SC2. I can't fathom why anyone who isn't a prodigy would pursue SC2 progaming despite not being able to break out of the mid tier of foreign pros.
For the vast majority of people their future would be better served by not pursuing progaming.
Same in many competitive activities... poker, chess, football etc...
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I don't know jack about pro-gaming, but I know about making life choices and taking risks. My advice is always have a back-up plan, and definitely even more so when option 1 is a risky venture like being a pro-gamer.
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On February 06 2013 08:42 PiGStarcraft wrote:Show nested quote +On February 06 2013 06:48 Doodsmack wrote:
I don't want to pour cold water on your hopes and dreams or anything but people on these forums need to start giving more realistic advice when it comes to aspiring progamers. My personal opinion is that the whole pipe dream of dedication towards your passion for competitive is just not viable. Even if you look at the SC2 scene as a whole, it doesnt seem like theres enough money to go around and there isnt a big enough audience to increase the amount of money in the scene.
How in Gods name are you going to make money? The odds of hitting the streaming lottery or reaching the top tier of SC2 skill are quite frankly, vanishingly small. There's a ridiculous amount of people playing a ridiculous amount of hours who will meet or exceed your skill level. And that's not even to mention nerve issues in tournaments and the volatility of SC2. I can't fathom why anyone who isn't a prodigy would pursue SC2 progaming despite not being able to break out of the mid tier of foreign pros.
For the vast majority of people their future would be better served by not pursuing progaming. Same in many competitive activities... poker, chess, football etc...
you can grind lowstakes in poker for money, take money off fish in casinos, there are thousands of pro football players who get paid better than a living wage, unlike starcraft where its the top 15 players who barely get living wage if they can luck a big win, with zero yearly guarantee. chess players play for millions of dollars in tournaments. you can't even begin to compare the viability of doing pro gaming for a living compared to other established sports/competitions.
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On February 06 2013 09:06 rauk wrote:Show nested quote +On February 06 2013 08:42 PiGStarcraft wrote:On February 06 2013 06:48 Doodsmack wrote:
I don't want to pour cold water on your hopes and dreams or anything but people on these forums need to start giving more realistic advice when it comes to aspiring progamers. My personal opinion is that the whole pipe dream of dedication towards your passion for competitive is just not viable. Even if you look at the SC2 scene as a whole, it doesnt seem like theres enough money to go around and there isnt a big enough audience to increase the amount of money in the scene.
How in Gods name are you going to make money? The odds of hitting the streaming lottery or reaching the top tier of SC2 skill are quite frankly, vanishingly small. There's a ridiculous amount of people playing a ridiculous amount of hours who will meet or exceed your skill level. And that's not even to mention nerve issues in tournaments and the volatility of SC2. I can't fathom why anyone who isn't a prodigy would pursue SC2 progaming despite not being able to break out of the mid tier of foreign pros.
For the vast majority of people their future would be better served by not pursuing progaming. Same in many competitive activities... poker, chess, football etc... you can grind lowstakes in poker for money, take money off fish in casinos, there are thousands of pro football players who get paid better than a living wage, unlike starcraft where its the top 15 players who barely get living wage if they can luck a big win, with zero yearly guarantee. chess players play for millions of dollars in tournaments. you can't even begin to compare the viability of doing pro gaming for a living compared to other established sports/competitions.
While I agree making it is hard and I wouldn't recommend anyone who isn't wealthy to sacrifice everything to do this, the top 15 players make more then a living wage. The top 15 almost everyone has made 100k + that isn't including salary.
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mr bitter is baller
so what does win trading mean? is it bad?
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On February 06 2013 09:06 rauk wrote:Show nested quote +On February 06 2013 08:42 PiGStarcraft wrote:On February 06 2013 06:48 Doodsmack wrote:
I don't want to pour cold water on your hopes and dreams or anything but people on these forums need to start giving more realistic advice when it comes to aspiring progamers. My personal opinion is that the whole pipe dream of dedication towards your passion for competitive is just not viable. Even if you look at the SC2 scene as a whole, it doesnt seem like theres enough money to go around and there isnt a big enough audience to increase the amount of money in the scene.
How in Gods name are you going to make money? The odds of hitting the streaming lottery or reaching the top tier of SC2 skill are quite frankly, vanishingly small. There's a ridiculous amount of people playing a ridiculous amount of hours who will meet or exceed your skill level. And that's not even to mention nerve issues in tournaments and the volatility of SC2. I can't fathom why anyone who isn't a prodigy would pursue SC2 progaming despite not being able to break out of the mid tier of foreign pros.
For the vast majority of people their future would be better served by not pursuing progaming. Same in many competitive activities... poker, chess, football etc... you can grind lowstakes in poker for money, take money off fish in casinos, there are thousands of pro football players who get paid better than a living wage, unlike starcraft where its the top 15 players who barely get living wage if they can luck a big win, with zero yearly guarantee. chess players play for millions of dollars in tournaments. you can't even begin to compare the viability of doing pro gaming for a living compared to other established sports/competitions.
I agree there's more money in those other areas but there's also a lot more competition in them. The competition in starcraft is nowhere near that of those higher stakes games. A lot more than the top 15 players can earn living wage, it's just you can't rely on tournament winnings to earn you money consistently until you hit a certain skill level. There's still room for hundreds of progamers around the world to support themselves full-time on starcraft, even if most are earning very little.
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Hi Andy,
As someone who has somewhat known you on and off over the last couple years, I thought it might be worth giving me input.
The reality of a professional gaming career is that being a professional gamer is an illusion. You aren't actually a professional player, you are a representative of those who pay you, and playing games is your vehicle of advertisement. You could be the best player in the world, but if you only played against your two best friends in your mom's basement, nobody would care to pay you. You have to play the marketing game, get yourself out there - I know there are many professional players who say "that's not my job, I just want to play the game", but that's NOT true. If you are solely a high level player, you are not a professional - you are just a really good amateur. The difference is not in fact in the skill level, it is in the amount of people that recognize you for your work.
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On February 06 2013 01:20 bGr.MetHiX wrote:start streaming with commentating your games live and analyze replays after games.continue playing and set yourself a schedule and a date on which if u aren't satisfied with your progress/income you will retire and move on with your life. Remember.You are on the road to perfection and rank 1 Grandmaster is not even the beginning.So dont chain yourself with ranks,just focus on the quality of practice and the sheer amount. i reached gm on eu today and im so happy about it (been gm on na past two seasons with top100 finish). I know a lot of people who dont deserve to be there and i realize i've been playing this game for quite some time now and this is not a big achievement.And its a harsh thought.So i try to focus on the practice itself,its easier for my ego and it makes the game a lot more fun.Clean the flaws until its perfect good luck bro.keep ya head up . And some people will never understand or appreciate how much effort it took for you to make rank1 no matter how close they are to you.So dont let that get to you and move on with your eyes on the goal
I was thinking about doing a scheduled HotS teaching segment every so often. there seems to be a fair amount of people interested, and i would do it for free so I can give something back to the community that I love.
A few months into HotS, if i am still not happy where I am, I will just go back to school and play casually.
thanks for the kind words
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On February 06 2013 01:54 don_kyuhote wrote:I remember you for having the highest (or 2nd highest?) elo in Throneit tier 2 ranking in DotA. haha. good times.
yeah I was a DotA fiend :D always trying to get to the top with the highest KD ! its cool you remember that from back in the day. haha
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On February 06 2013 02:08 TheRealNanMan wrote:
Really enjoyed the blog Gix! I've always enjoyed your play and hope that you will keep going strong! I understand how hard it is financially in the NA scene. With IPL having an open bracket for HotS at their event that could be a great way to help show case your skills again.
You did mention that all the qualifiers are full of Koreans ATM which won't be changing anytime soon with the exception of WCS. Blizzard did announce that they will be hosting WCS again this year. I'm sure there will be a few changes here and there but that is one of the best ways to not only make a little money competing in a NA event but also prove yourself vs other players in the NA scene.
As for the whole team situation, EG is really the #1 team in NA from a pure $$ perspective but there are other top teams like Quantic or compLexity. FXO NA also has a strong group of players even if they don't have as strong a backing as the other top tier teams. Now even looking a little bit away from the top tier there are great mid tier teams out there like Clarity Gaming, or LighT eSports. Perhaps after HotS comes out they might be looking to recruit a few more players?
Best of luck in 2013 Gix I know I'll be rooting for you!
Thank you! I have considered attending the next IPL, I really love how HotS is turning out.
Last year when i played in the WCS event at MLG, I took down QXC 2-1, and lost to GosWser 1-2. they are both really amazing players, but I felt i didn't play up to my fullest potential, and zvz is still my weakest matchup. I intend to play in any and all WCS events in the future.
I am definitely keeping my eyes and ears open about teams. but I have been screwed over in the past by some very shady management, so I am very wary about joining a team unless the benefit is worth it.
really great response, thanks for reading!
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On February 06 2013 06:48 Doodsmack wrote:
I don't want to pour cold water on your hopes and dreams or anything but people on these forums need to start giving more realistic advice when it comes to aspiring progamers. My personal opinion is that the whole pipe dream of dedication towards your passion for competitive is just not viable. Even if you look at the SC2 scene as a whole, it doesnt seem like theres enough money to go around and there isnt a big enough audience to increase the amount of money in the scene.
How in Gods name are you going to make money? The odds of hitting the streaming lottery or reaching the top tier of SC2 skill are quite frankly, vanishingly small. There's a ridiculous amount of people playing a ridiculous amount of hours who will meet or exceed your skill level. And that's not even to mention nerve issues in tournaments and the volatility of SC2. I can't fathom why anyone who isn't a prodigy would pursue SC2 progaming despite not being able to break out of the mid tier of foreign pros.
For the vast majority of people their future would be better served by not pursuing progaming.
don't worry, I have had many people tell me this. I have never been disillusioned or thought that this was a profitable option. I have been lucky enough to meet people who have been able to help support me and grow me as a player, and even if I decide to call it quits I am very glad that I got to experience this whole thing.
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EPT
