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Braavos36375 Posts
Part 1 - http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/446836-mlg-anaheim-smash
Part 2 - http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/449989-mlg-smash-quest-update
I arrived in LA on Friday and stayed at Ken's with KoreanDJ for the week leading up to MLG. In the next few days I must have played hundreds of friendlies with them. At first I was getting 4-stocked repeatedly, the highlight of that stretch being playing vs DJ's Donkey Kong on stream where I only managed to deal maybe 40% of damage total.
But as I adjusted to the pace and lag-free TV (I played mostly on netplay before), I coul feel myself getting better. I took a stock regularly, maybe two sometimes. I started actually converting combos and varying my recovery. I went to Super Smash Sunday that weekend and actually did decently, going 3-4, which I'm very satisfied with. I won a fair share of friendlies and got to play some really good players. SoCal is amazing and I'm sad I don't live there.
On Tuesday we went to the Red Bull offices where I would have my grudge match with MrBitter and Rob Simpson. Bitter had been trash talking me for a solid two months about how I was going to lose when I got there, and if I had played him immediately upon getting off the plane at LAX, maybe he'd have been right. Or it would have been close. But after hundreds of matches against what are essentially GM level players, Bitter and Rob moved so slow and telegraphed and I felt like those guys who take off the ankle weights when training. Ben, I hope you get better by Blizzcon.
What followed at Red Bull was the most hype series of 2v1 and 3v1 money matches ever, where me, Bitter, and HuK actually lost to KDJ 3v1 a few times (lol). I have video evidence and it's quite embarrassing, but seriously that guy is some sort of voodoo master at 1vX, just like in the documentary.
At MLG, I lost my first round to Sheridan, a very good jigglypuff player who actually helped captain the west coast crew battle team. The match wasn't close, I never really had a chance. I had to wait an entire day for my losers match. I managed to win against a random fox player who I nearly 4-stocked. I lost my third match against a fox, though the match was winnable had I played better. It's really hard to play when the conditions are so cold and you aren't warmed up, it makes me appreciate what the pros do even more.
Thus I went 1-2 and won the bet vs Apicella, who kind of shirked the bet because he kept wearing an MLG shirt over the Michigan shirt he was supposed to wear. Probably the only time in the history of OSU that they don't fully pay up. Adam you still owe me.
Here's a picture: http://i.imgur.com/UhFshID.jpg
My experience learning Smash simply taught me that this game is stupidly deep. It also has taught me that it is actually not that difficult to learn, but I have been blessed with extremely capable and helpful teachers and nearly the best practice environment possible. My mindset during the entire "training" was to grind grind grind techskill and brute force it. I learned so much and my experience with being "ok with losing" in Starcraft really helped. Ken, KDJ, and Manacloud (Ken's brother) routinely were surprised at how well I took losing and how fast I could learn.
Even though this was my first time training for a "competitive" game, I've done plenty of sports before and that plus my SC experience with improving in losses prepared me very well. To put this into SC2 terms, in Smash I'd put myself in low to mid masters, in BW terms I'd be about C or C-. I would say my mechanics are far beyond my fundamentals in gameplay, I can do a lot of fancy shit like multishines and shine backairs in practice, but can't really do it in games. Had I stayed a few more weeks in SoCal maybe, but right now I'm pretty satisfied at simply being competent.
I also played a bunch vs friends and even SC2 players like HuK and Qxc (who is actually very good!) in my MLG hotel room. Thanks to Suppy and Ken for carrying a CRT there, and Tofucake or bringing the Wii and attempting to falcon punch in even the most hopeless of situations.
Watching the matches between pros is a different experience when you understand what's going on and how difficult it is to do the stuff they're doing. They make it look so easy, especially just their punish games and ability to never drop combos. The amount of thinking and experience that goes into just a few seconds of high level play is insane. Smash is one of those games where if you're 10% better than someone, you make them look like shit. The skill curve is so much, just levels and levels and levels of players. I never really understood how badly you can lose at something until playing this game.
Is this the end of my smash journey? Definitely not, I put in so many hours into that stupid bird that I will probably continue playing and going to the dutch locals. Everyone in the community was so helpful and nice, great experience all around.
 
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Amazing story HotBid. I remember watching the stream where your Falco was getting destroyed at Ken's house. It is amazing to think that I have been watching your interviews and interactions with the SC2 community for a couple years, but now it is being translated into the amazing game of Melee.
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We got to talk a bit outside Super Arcade, it was a pleasure meeting you man. I hung out a lot with State at MLG and while he was introducing me to all the SC2 peeps he knows, EVERYONE would talk about smash. So awesome that all these players and personalities from games I love are into smash.
Ive been playing maybe a couple weeks less than you and my experience has been almost eerily similar in regards to learning that game.
Anyway, I hope you get to come out to more SoCal events man!
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Really nice blog hot_bid
Your going to the netherlands to play smash there?0_O
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Congratulations! How is the level of skill grinding in Melee compared to those BW micro maps where you got to practice shuttle or muta micro while having to send workers to mine and other multitasking taxes?
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Osaka27151 Posts
On June 24 2014 07:10 sabas123 wrote:
Really nice blog hot_bid
Your going to the netherlands to play smash there?0_O
That's where he lives, yo! The nerve center of the worldwide TL empire!
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Braavos36375 Posts
On June 24 2014 07:10 sabas123 wrote:
Really nice blog hot_bid
Your going to the netherlands to play smash there?0_O
i already have! before i left for socal i went to one local tournament and i've played a few times with local smash players here, the person i learned from most was riff (not sure if you know him)
On June 24 2014 07:21 xes wrote:
Congratulations! How is the level of skill grinding in Melee compared to those BW micro maps where you got to practice shuttle or muta micro while having to send workers to mine and other multitasking taxes?
the micro moves are harder in smash, especially the ones like shield dropping or multishining or ledge cancelling etc, those require very precise timing that is harder to do consistently than anything in BW i've seen. maybe muta vs scourge micro or MM and mass vessel irradiate... but in BW the difficulty was never the individual moves, it was splitting your attention while doing those things.
however, even though smash is very fast, starcraft's multitasking is on a different level, its not something you really experience in smash since you're only really moving around with one character. in terms of difficulty i'd say almost certainly that starcraft is "harder" but the skill of the very top players in smash relative to the others is much greater than SC, since some of them have been playing for a decade now and there's no real ladder where you can just grind games. in order to be the best in smash you have to practice vs the best and it's not easy practice to find.
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Damn hot bid, Nice to see you really strive for something. Makes me think I can do that same but I probably will trip over a pebble and call it a life tomorrow.
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Katowice25012 Posts
Smash is hard as fuck Ken tried for probably an entire night to teach me only short hopping and I still can't do it. Very impressed you won your bet but Adam is a jerk for not owning it. SHIT DOESN'T COUNT, MAN.
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On June 24 2014 07:35 Hot_Bid wrote:Show nested quote +On June 24 2014 07:10 sabas123 wrote:
Really nice blog hot_bid
Your going to the netherlands to play smash there?0_O i already have! before i left for socal i went to one local tournament and i've played a few times with local smash players here, the person i learned from most was riff (not sure if you know him) Show nested quote +On June 24 2014 07:21 xes wrote:
Congratulations! How is the level of skill grinding in Melee compared to those BW micro maps where you got to practice shuttle or muta micro while having to send workers to mine and other multitasking taxes? the micro moves are harder in smash, especially the ones like shield dropping or multishining or ledge cancelling etc, those require very precise timing that is harder to do consistently than anything in BW i've seen. maybe muta vs scourge micro or MM and mass vessel irradiate... but in BW the difficulty was never the individual moves, it was splitting your attention while doing those things. however, even though smash is very fast, starcraft's multitasking is on a different level, its not something you really experience in smash since you're only really moving around with one character. in terms of difficulty i'd say almost certainly that starcraft is "harder" but the skill of the very top players in smash relative to the others is much greater than SC, since some of them have been playing for a decade now and there's no real ladder where you can just grind games. in order to be the best in smash you have to practice vs the best and it's not easy practice to find.
fuck man didn't knew you where also living in the netherlands, which city do you live in?
Would love to play some smash with you althou I suck really hard haha
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As someone who used to play back during the old MLG days, reading your story and watching this weekend has me feeling really nostalgic.
I've been playing again online for a couple months now and I'm planning to go to a few locals once I feel I don't suck too bad lol
On June 24 2014 08:35 Kyuukyuu wrote:
Where in Canada are you?
and Attend locals -> Don't suck is the proper build order, not the other way around :D
Toronto
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I had a pretty unique experience as well, I was a local ref for the event.
This was going to be my 4th MLG Anaheim, haven't been to any others due to logistics. Having gone the past 3 years for Starcraft, and the way Starcraft is going lately...
It was hard to go into this MLG with the same enthusiasm as I had say back in 2011 when Slayers came to Anaheim, or 2012 for kespa night ect. ect.
I was a local ref for smash, I figured what better way to learn a game by reffing for it lol. I have played the game on it's release when I was a young teenager, since then I played Brawl on it's release and watched a little pro smash.
I have to say I saw a ton of smash that weekend, I would ref games 4 at a time. As the bracket went on I saw the players who would fight their way up and see what made them special.
As a long time gamer I do have to say this game is legit, and the community is made out of amazing people.
![[image loading]](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-2Ta3wJmmmsQ/U6ZleyexT3I/AAAAAAAAB04/_PE9sbfINW4/w710-h537-no/IMG_20140621_134458.jpg)
![[image loading]](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-iVriqDryWn8/U6Zljx5c10I/AAAAAAAAB1w/MkdhskppXjQ/w625-h844-no/IMG_20140621_173751.jpg)
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On June 24 2014 08:01 chaosTheory_14cc wrote:
As someone who used to play back during the old MLG days, reading your story and watching this weekend has me feeling really nostalgic.
I've been playing again online for a couple months now and I'm planning to go to a few locals once I feel I don't suck too bad lol
Where in Canada are you?
and Attend locals -> Don't suck is the proper build order, not the other way around :D
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Do pros ever pull off a falcon punch?
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United States7481 Posts
On June 24 2014 07:44 Heyoka wrote:
Smash is hard as fuck Ken tried for probably an entire night to teach me only short hopping and I still can't do it. Very impressed you won your bet but Adam is a jerk for not owning it. SHIT DOESN'T COUNT, MAN.
bro you just press the jump button for less time
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To put this into SC2 terms, in Smash I'd put myself in low to mid masters, in BW terms I'd be about C or C-. I watched you play and have some mixed feelings about this. What you said only makes sense if you include all the casual smashers who don't come to tournaments. They aren't really part of our community, so I don't think it makes sense to include them in your ladder analogy. You said yourself you only beat one guy who was a noob. This feels like including all the people who only played campaign in SC2 and never touched ladder, then made them comprise all of bronze and silver. I think "beating one noob" basically puts you as a silver level player.
in terms of difficulty i'd say almost certainly that starcraft is "harder"
If you are talking about SC2, I think you are seriously underrating how hard Melee is to be at a top level. It comes off like some noob Destiny would rant about saying he can't tell the difference between GM on NA and Code S players. I never met anyone who couldn't grind their way to be Masters in SC2. I know people who have been trying to be good at Melee for the better part of a decade and still can't get ranked in their region. I don't think someone who can't get close to beating Sheridan should have an opinion on this issue.
Sorry if my post comes off as dickish or condescending. I read your blog and even introduced myself at MLG and think this Smash quest is amazing, and I love that it's gotten some attention from the SC scene. I hope you continue playing and get that Falco up to par. I think it did look quite good for the amount of time you've been playing.
Do pros ever pull off a falcon punch? There was one this weekend but I think it was a mistake. There are some guaranteed setups, but you still only see it once in a blue moon.
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On June 24 2014 09:18 ShrieK wrote:If you are talking about SC2, I think you are seriously underrating how hard Melee is to be at a top level. It comes off like some noob Destiny would rant about saying he can't tell the difference between GM on NA and Code S players. I never met anyone who couldn't grind their way to be Masters in SC2.
It was in the context of Brood War, which is a bit like playing Babies First Smash but on 4 controllers simultaneously on 4 different screens.
It seems that Smash, like most other fighting games, is only really most appreciated by people who can play it well though. I like to watch it but I never got past the "beat your dorm friends" level so a lot of the technical spectator elements are lost. Contrast this to Starcraft, where maybe you have to be a good player to appreciate 1P cams, but the spectator cam has visual elements completely unrelated to mechanical skill.
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Ok, if he meant it in the context of BW, disregard what I wrote. I just usually see BW called BW, not SC >.<
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On June 24 2014 09:18 ShrieK wrote:
I never met anyone who couldn't grind their way to be Masters in SC2. .
Then there's a lot of people you haven't met.
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dang, I kinda wanna start playing smash now
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EPT
