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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competitively speaking

as always www.twitter.com/eggysc2
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kollin

United Kingdom8380 Posts

August 20 2013 17:23 GMT

Why not just go to the LAN to have fun? Sure you might get fifth place, or you might get knocked out first round because you met a pro but the mentality 'I won't win so I won't bother' is really, really shit. You actually might be able to take out hendralisk or masa, these players are not unbeatable.

Eggi

478 Posts

August 20 2013 17:33 GMT

no but you know youre own personal ability. Im sure i could take them out in bo1. But bo3+ that become 10x harder harder. I am known for my all-inny playstyle. I base alot of my play around hyvaa :D

sadly only time I have fun is when I win.

lantz

United States762 Posts

August 20 2013 17:35 GMT

^^

You should play the game for fun and enjoy yourself

this is not a career for you so I wouldn't put so much pressure on yourself to get 1st not 2nd not 5th not top8...

kollin

United Kingdom8380 Posts

August 20 2013 17:35 GMT

With an all-in play style and some well designed builds, I'd argue that gives you an even greater chance of success, makes you a lot more unpredictable.

Eggi

478 Posts

August 20 2013 17:51 GMT

I suppose so, but I am having hard time vs High Master Koreans(rank 1-5) especially the ones on PRIME, ScM and other higher level clans on KR with my builds, so Im not to sure if they would work well against the top guys.

its usually their scouting, but most of their time the control.

kollin

United Kingdom8380 Posts

August 20 2013 17:51 GMT

Well high master Korean is still very, very solidly GM in NA so you may as well go. You won't know if you never try :D

CNSnow

Greece67 Posts

August 21 2013 00:02 GMT

You said that you have nerve issues at early stages of any tournament. You must find a way to get control over this situation and be yourself. The only way to do it is by practice, and LANs are a place for you to practice. If you see this competitively then those LANs are a good experience that will help you get better.

Scarecrow

Korea (South)9174 Posts

August 21 2013 00:56 GMT

On August 21 2013 01:27 Eggi wrote:
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.

This is a terrible attitude. The biggest thing I gained from playing LAN's was the ability to play well under pressure. The first few LANs I went to I seriously underperformed but the more I went the more experience/comfortable I got. Learning to play offline is a big deal if you want to improve and there are few opportunities. Dodging a LAN to save yourself from coming 5th is plain stupid in that context. Also, as you mentioned briefly, LAN's are great for fun and meeting other gamers in a hobby that's naturally pretty isolating. You can even find practice partners and get your name out there which also helps you in the long term. Basically a LAN is totally worth $15 if you love starcraft. Encouraging everyone who can't win LAN's to not attend them is such a shitty approach to promoting your game and building grassroots communities.

Nibbler89

884 Posts

August 21 2013 01:47 GMT

#10

In relation to your anxiety issues I've been trying to train mentally to avoid that. The first time I played in an online tourney I had the gag / throw up feeling as well. I've been trying to meditate more recently in general after seeing some vid on TL can't remember where from but obviously it has its applications outside of SC.

Despite the fact that my goal entering each game is mostly focusing on trying to play as well as I can.(I think of each game as an attempt to play a game like innovation, obviously I can't but I can see how far I can go making minimal errors or a "perfect" game, regardless of whether I can achieve it or not). I also play on KR to help deal with anger issue, I'm not like a huge rager but like a lot of people after a loss I will feel frustrated/ angry, body temperature goes up and dwell on the previous loss which usually clouds thinking for the current game so end playing worse. For me its my natural reaction.

What I've been trying to do lately when I get annoyed is visualizing a monk threading needles while being harassed by people.I just imagine the monk as perfectly mentally trained, completely calm and doesn't let what would otherwise be frustrating get to him, he just keeps focusing on threading the needle perfectly despite the harassment and lack of reward. It helps me keep in mind that frustration and anxiety are brought on by myself. I guess in sc2 threading the needle is basically following your build / perfect macro while ignoring the harassment would be your own unit control and defending vs your opponents harassment. Easier said than done maybe but it's become a sort of meditation for me when I realize I'm not in a perfectly calm state and helps me keep in mind that my goal isn't winning it's to play perfect, winning will come naturally. When I read over it, it sounds really cheesy, probably too much shounen anime.

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