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Losing in Challenger as a full-time player - Page 2

Blogs > Liquid`Snute
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Poetic[AoV]
Profile Joined November 2009
United Kingdom183 Posts
August 28 2013 13:03 GMT
#21
Good luck! If you look at your situation objectively, maybe you'll learn to make your practise as efficient as the korean practise.

Then maybe you can blog again with your wisdom and help me get out of my BW C+ plateau...

Staying positive is the only way you will be able to break out of your situation.
ETisME
Profile Blog Joined April 2011
12490 Posts
August 28 2013 13:09 GMT
#22
good luck snute. no matter what, your game is awesome to watch :D
其疾如风,其徐如林,侵掠如火,不动如山,难知如阴,动如雷震。
spoonmaster
Profile Joined May 2012
United States347 Posts
August 28 2013 13:10 GMT
#23
As a piano player I definitely understand what it's like to feel like your skill level is stagnating. There are moments where you feel that your skill is rising exponentially, but as you improve those "big moments" start to go away and all you can really find are small advances that feel like nothing more than gaining a couple of centimeters. Part of improvement is accepting that "big moments" might not happen anymore.

Plateauing is one of the hardest feelings to struggle with when trying to master a craft. Sometimes it either takes a redoubled effort or a completely new mindset/strategy to improvement to sort of shake things up to start getting those improvements again.

Waxangel
Profile Blog Joined September 2002
United States33457 Posts
August 28 2013 13:12 GMT
#24
I really appreciate being able to understand the mindset behind all this work just a little bit better
AdministratorHey HP can you redo everything youve ever done because i have a small complaint?
Hollandrock
Profile Joined January 2012
United Kingdom158 Posts
August 28 2013 13:13 GMT
#25
This is an amazing blog, it feels like I can imagine exactly what's going on in your head...

There isn't a 'fix' to your doubts though, I don't think, other than you knowing that you are good enough. I was a die-hard Taeja fan, I thought. Going into the last HSC I ignored everyone else, assuming it would be a nice easy win or my favourite player. The group stages came and went. The quarter finals came, and you beat Stephano! The best foreigner in the world, losing to this guy who won last HSC, who won ESET... I couldn't help myself in rooting for you... Hyun though, I thought. Surely that will be the end of the road. To my great delight, it wasn't. You went on to create one of the best finals I can remember with two guys really digging in deep to succeed.

Small losses in the occasional tournament don't matter in the big picture. You gave it a try, and didn't come out successful, but there's always next time, or the time after that.

Good luck, and I believe.

Dayshi
Profile Joined June 2011
France11 Posts
August 28 2013 13:22 GMT
#26
What I learn recently after failing at requilifying myself to Premier again, same as you, is that Starcraft 2 needs a strong mentality. You can never be like "he is better than me, what am I gonna do to beat him". You are the pro, you are the boss. Who is this guy called Bomber ? I'm gonna crush him. And it's the same against the opponents that you consider as weaker. You have to crush him, even tho it's just a stupid Zotac, play like if it was a GSL final. You must have experienced that throught the tournaments you've done. Sometimes everything goes wrong and you're starting to make more and more mistakes, and then you somehow manage to make something huge and nobody can stop you.

In your case, you're already on the top top level and as someone already said, you can be proud of it. Now I don't think there is an easy solution to free your mind and become that beast you want to be. It's not about beeing a winning or a looser, a genius or an idiot. It's about life. Have you ever seen someone beeing the best at what he is for years and years and years without a moment of doubt, hesitation and fails ? It doesn't exist. You're an human beeing and all you can do is practice. Not only the game, but also your mentality. You must know now when and why you're playing well, when and why you're playing bad. All you can do is practice it. Be proud and happy of who you are and get that strong mentaly.

As I said, you've been further than 99.999% others living beeing on earth when it comes to Starcraft 2. Be proud of it and keep going, not saying that you'll destroy everything, but make sure that you've already done something that you thought you'd never do. Think about that and get that strong mind you need.

Most of all, don't forget that it's your passion, our passion and you must be happy everyday you wake up to have this awesome life. Making a living from your passion. You've done it.

it's known but might help !

Gl dude
https://www.facebook.com/sc2dayshi
c0ldfusion
Profile Joined October 2010
United States8293 Posts
August 28 2013 13:25 GMT
#27
Sometimes when you just force yourself to play, you can get lost in the game and all these ancillary emotions, all this background noise just becomes muted.

By time you've grind out a whole bunch of games, you'll feel right as rain.
Epitok
Profile Joined March 2010
France2 Posts
August 28 2013 13:27 GMT
#28
Great blog, thank you for sharing. Your fighting spirit is excellent. As simple as it sounds : you should really try to channel your anger and frustration into something positive.
Time is money
SEEDPrebs
Profile Joined March 2012
Norway30 Posts
August 28 2013 13:33 GMT
#29
On August 28 2013 22:22 Dayshi wrote:
What I learn recently after failing at requilifying myself to Premier again, same as you, is that Starcraft 2 needs a strong mentality.

This. It might be a game about micro and macro, but what most people tend to forget is one persons mind. When you're going into a tournament or w/e most of your wins will happen due to confidence and a strong mentality, not solely because you practiced 10 hours every day the last 2 weeks. From my own experiences I know it's hard to stay confident in your ability to win, but you kinda have no other choice if you want to succeed.
Snute>Carlsen
KadaverBB
Profile Blog Joined June 2009
Germany25657 Posts
August 28 2013 13:34 GMT
#30
Snute fighting
AdministratorLaws change depending on who's making them, but justice is justice
virpi
Profile Blog Joined August 2009
Germany3599 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-08-28 13:38:21
August 28 2013 13:37 GMT
#31
competition is brutal. look at jaedong: who would have thought that he would become such a force in sc2 one year ago? his prime in bw was between 07 and 09, after that he kept losing to flash in almost every final they met. just imagine what jaedong could have won if he there hadn't been that guy called lee young ho. and still, jd is the third most accomplished player in broodwar history. a five time starleague winner, a proleague powerhouse. fast forward to now: jaedong just lost the wcs season finals to bomber, and it wasn't close. he also lost to hyun, polt and stardust. coming in second is actually the most terrible thing that can happen to you as a competitor. you were close, but you just barely didn't make it. and still, you could see that his spirit wasn't broken. everyone doubted his zvp - he fixed it. now his zvt seems kinda lackluster - but he will fix it. because he's driven by that will to dominate.

I followed your rise to fame and I really liked your stream when you first started climbing the ladder. I still remember your style back then, lots of crazy harassment, overlord drops, nydus worms...maybe not a very stable style, but very very entertaining. you went on to improve quickly, and you've won several big tournaments. sc2 is a very volatile game, which makes it almost impossible for a player to be successful over a longer period of time. the number of exceptions to this rule is pretty small. (players like polt, mvp, mc and stephano come to my mind)

Nerchio's post might sound a bit rude, but he's also saying something very true: The most successful sc2 players of all time are those who were able to adjust to a new metagame. Doing that is hard, because every person has a comfort zone, and leaving that zone is hard. Practicing new playstyles comes with lots of losses and also those terrible questions: Am I wasting my time? Is this really the right way to play this game? Am I actually getting worse?

Motivation is a bitch. Staying motivated can be really hard, especially when you have to deal with disappointments. Like in every other sport, there can only be a small number of people who stand above all the others. Reaching that point isn't possible for everyone. But everyone can try, everyone is able to put his heart into what he's doing. (Parting might choose his soul there.)

A very good example on how a different mindset and practice regime can work wonders is the tennis player Roger Federer. He was a very mediocre player in his early career, and he often smashed his racket on the court, because he got so mad with himself. Around 2004, he had revamped his whole approach. He changed his habits, analyzed his play and became much calmer. We all now what happened after that. His talent started to shine, and he won every fucking tournament possible.

Giving up is always an option, but as long as you've got the feeling in you that you're capable of doing better than you're doing now, it's not a considerable one.

Best wishes, keep fighting.
first we make expand, then we defense it.
Mahanaim
Profile Joined December 2012
Korea (South)1002 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-08-28 13:48:12
August 28 2013 13:48 GMT
#32
Gogo! Snute!
Celebrating Starcraft since... a long time ago.
Split Behemoth
Profile Blog Joined May 2012
France104 Posts
August 28 2013 13:48 GMT
#33
Nothing else to say after such great comments. Just Gl !
"I scout when i push" Adelscott
Dunmer
Profile Joined April 2012
United Kingdom568 Posts
August 28 2013 13:53 GMT
#34
What is your deepest fear?
: Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people don't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Truth be told many people are stuck in a society that tells you to be do well in school so you can earn a decent living in life, deep down we are taught to be better than those around us but to not exceed them to the point of shaming them. They would say to take it easy on them, we are programmed this way but some people go beyond that and simply want to wake up tomorrow and be better than yesterday. Its not about believing if you can be better, its about accepting that you will become better.

Ask yourself snute do you want to be one of the best foreigners who looks up to the very best Koreans, or do you want to be one of the best players who looks onwards with the very best Koreans as equals?

Something tells me you already chose option 1 and you can only have option two when you overcome your deepest fear.

All Ireland Starcraft, check us out on Facebook
ruiyang
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
252 Posts
August 28 2013 14:02 GMT
#35
Hi Snute,

Im going to be the first semi-negative post. But I do wish you luck and fun in your journey. Fighting!

As you've learned the harsh lesson with playing piano. I dont believe a person can become a true champion without some luck, alot of practice AND some talent to some degree. Sure, practice can own talent but in order to be the best of the best youll need all 3 factors.

I havent followed the scene lately and I definitely dont know how good and/or talented you are. So you have to judge this by yourself: do you believe you can become the best of the best given the right opportunities. If its yes, then stop doubting yourself. If its maybe, then play your heart out and do your best. if its no, but you enjoy the game and make enough for a living then why complain?

The most important is that you enjoy what you do.
Douillos
Profile Joined May 2010
France3195 Posts
August 28 2013 14:04 GMT
#36
On August 28 2013 23:02 ruiyang wrote:
[...]

The most important is that you enjoy what you do.



And what happens when the thing you enjoy is... winning?

On topic: Hold in there Snute, you're a great player and I'm sure you're gonna take things to the next level!!!!

FIGHTING!
Look a giraffe! Look a fist!!
Markwerf
Profile Joined March 2010
Netherlands3728 Posts
August 28 2013 14:11 GMT
#37
To be honest I think some of the early good results were a bit of a fluke and I got to agree with Nerchio's sentiment. Tactically and in terms of variety you could do a lot of work and that has kept you down I feel. Changing technique in sport is difficult as it takes a fair amount of time to reap benefits and you'll do worse at first but I feel you should do that now. You have the team to discuss the tactics and changing styles should make you a lot better in the end, of course if you feel you have the skill to pull it all off.
Zorkmid
Profile Joined November 2008
4410 Posts
August 28 2013 14:13 GMT
#38
Good read, this feeling happens in many and more professions. Climbing the ladder in an organization or profession is similar, but at least in things like sc2 or sports, almost all of the factors are completely within your control.
FLuX.960
Profile Joined February 2012
New Zealand20 Posts
August 28 2013 14:14 GMT
#39
I'll always cheer for you buddy! I can understand how hard and how frustrating it can be when you feel that you are underperforming, but like you've already explained, it's always that negative mentality coming back to bite you in the ass.

Try something new, look at other people's builds. When your head gets you down, try getting inside someone else's. Watch a replay from someone else's perspective, be they a progamer like yourself, an amateur, a student, or even someone who plays a different race.

Take each game as it comes, but learn from your mistakes. Learn to love your losses, love them because they teach you. Love the player who beats you, he earned the victory, and you learned the lesson. At the end of the day, you both win.

You can sit down on your desk, and push everything else aside. Get a pen, and a piece of paper. Do you have a problem? How do you fix the problem? Write a list of issues you're having. Sit there and figure out solutions. Issues tend not to fix themselves, but instead fester until they become holes in our very mind, our mentality and our confidence suffers.

Are you happy with life outside of StarCraft 2? If not, what's troubling you? Think about that, and take measures to mend any troubles you are having. Contentment in your life serves to make you feel safe, comfortable, and allows for clarity of thought.

From there, it's really all on you to focus, knuckle down, and do your thing. Like I said, we fans are always cheering for you, Snute!
mechengineer123
Profile Joined March 2013
Ukraine711 Posts
Last Edited: 2013-08-28 14:20:39
August 28 2013 14:20 GMT
#40
Strategy: Most of your wins were with the big roach builds so in a sense you play like a lot of Protoss and their 2base allins. It can cause huge upsets and winstreaks, but eventually you won't be a stable top contender with that style.

Mental: If you enjoy playing, chill out and maybe take a short break to revamp your desire. If you don't enjoy playing, don't force yourself and quit.

Good luck.
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