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Todays main topic: LANS
Korean Server and Esports #2
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/szYvHRH.jpg)
So I have finally reach 2,000 points on the Korean Masters Server in just about under 160 games. With a 63% win rate, is it good? I suppose. I still do not feel confident in my play style though enough to play at LANs in Toronto.(I live downtown for any Torontonians reading it) i will cotinuing practicing on the KR server forever. I do not think I am coming back to NA/EU anytime. No real point. The practice is much better and more fun on this server than NA/EU will ever be, its just too toxic. I played 3 games the other day on NA, and game #1 it was: retard game #2: wow all in fag #3 was I dont remember.
I'm not soft about these words or anything, its just the mentality of NA players will never change. They do not accept that they lost to a better strategy/got scouted or anything. They just blame it on something and continue with their day. Thats why they are not getting better. Korean just leave the game or GG.
More GG more skill? I think its more like Less BM more skill
Even though I do "well" at LANs, the moment I run into Masa, hendralisk, and other world class pros at LANs its game over(as is for most 99% of people). So why go?
Here is what I think about local LANs and your "placements"
So lets say there are 16 people at your LAN. Let us say you're playing and end up 5th place after losing to a pro. Not bad you got 5th place right?
Did you really get 5th place? Or did you happen to get lucky enough to not face a pro player. What would've happened if you played that pro player round 1?
Now ofcourse there are multiple reasons to go to LANs other than be competitive, and I am not saying this is how everyone should view it, but it is how I view it.
I played Pokemon TCG competitively(some could say at a "pro" level) for 14 years, actually I still play a little getting Top32 at this years Nationals with 2 weeks of practice and 2 years of not playing.
Not bad, I suppose. But to be honest I really didn't play anyone "skilled" in the 8 swiss rounds before the top cut. Now even though I lost in T32 because my opponent cheated(there was a huge scandal this year not going to get into that) did I actually get top32? or did I just get lucky enough?
I also have EXTREME nerve issues at early stages of LANs, and even pokemon tournament, hell even when I start laddering every night. I did notice this at pokemon tournaments but I didn't realize how much of my play it affects in Starcraft 2.
So pretty much I get
1) gagging feeling as if I will throw up
2) my right shoulder trembles(try to micro with that)
3) I get extremely cold=runny nose
This only goes away once I have made it into the "top cut"
I really dont know how to handle this, I really really really have to just mentally tell myself to chill, but fuck man its so hard.
The shoulder trembling is the worst though, I can feel it happening and I am trying to stop it, but my body wont. Anyone with tips let me know, been competing forever and it just wont go away.
I went a little offtopic, so my question to the world I suppose,
Why go to LAN(as a competitive player) if you know you cannot beat the top dogs.
It seems a little pointless no? As a competative player your main goal is to win. Why go if you are not going to win?
Is your time better spent laddering/practicing at home or giving it shot at a LAN?
I understand that LANs are a great way to connect, meet people, fans etc.
But some people like me dont care much about that, I am there to play my game and leave at the end of the day with that 1st place prize, anything short of that is a failure.
Ontop of that most LANS have tournament entry. If you are there for prizes, you most likely wont get it.
Unless you know you can walk in a tournament and be like "Yeah I can play him" instead of "maybe if I get lucky I can all in him"
It may be a bad mentality, but that was my mentality at PTCG for the most part. I was always a top player at that game(in my prime) and I wouldn't want anything less from SC2.
Transitioning this to Esports
Now this can be easily be translated to WCS NA qualifiers today. There are a lot of players that are like "Well fuck this half of Korea is trying to qualify"(I'm exaggerating a little but still semi-true)
Why would you waste your time in a qualifier, if you're most likely not going to win.
Then the luck thing comes into effect, alot of players are like "if i dont face many koreans, I think I can make it" which is pretty much luck.
Online qualifiers/Cups are ONLY nice to enter because they are free 90% of the time. So I do not have anything against free entry cups, since it can be a good indicator of what skill level you are at.
You and only you know how ready you are for a tournament and you have to make sure you are not lying to yourself or else you will be wasting practice time and you prob will come out with a sour moral at the end of it.
Redeye says it best
People remember firsts. Not seconds, thirds, or top8's.
While I do have a LAN coming up August 31st, I do not think I will attend due to the Hendra, Masa's that will be attending. While I am confident I can beat any other player out there in Toronto, I really dont feel confident enough to play against those players, which are the players that really matter.
Also its a $15 entry, which means I have 1% chance to make back my entry. I rather spend $15 towards something better.
Its not like pokemon tcg, where you could out-draw your opponent by sheer luck. There is not much luck in starcraft other than the bracket.
So next time you get "5th place" after not playing anyone known and losing to a pro. You didn't get 5th.
You got last.
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