basically going to start from the beginning of my wcs journey, truthfully i did not expect to qualify as easily as i did when i came back. i always believed in my own potential as a player but i honestly did not feel ready when i came into wcs, i just randomly thought of playing some sc2 but people kept hyping me up and expecting unreal results straight away because of things ive done in the past .. for example some people such as demuslim ( who i am friends with ) spread false rumors not intentionally i believe about how much i played and mana hyped it up aswell because i played late at night lol, altho i played only the games i streamed and ladder. i rarely played customs . i guess this is all going to sound like excuses which i guess it is, I played bad in my games and everyone has bad games. im mostly writing this because i feel so stressed and pressured about everyone having high hopes and expectations for me . All i want to say with this is that i still like sc2 , not as much as before right now but im still going to hang on to legacy and try that while also trying my best to play this game as much as i can while doing progress as time goes by, not instantly expecting myself to win big tourneys straight away . i will stream in a few days when ive taken a break from sc2 for a bit since honestly playing against a player who plays like has makes me disgusted and he is the very embodiment of a PvP player that i think is wrong with this game, but thats not up to me to change. i just have to adapt better to the game and find other solutions that fit me and increases my win percentage. So basically i want to try starting on a bit smaller scale perhaps, online tournaments as such so i can take it step by step.
last but not least i want to thank people who makes threads such as the naniwa reddit cheer up one. i realise now in the later stages when starcraft is smaller that a reason i got a bit demotivated was because the scene got smaller, but seeing people still being so enthusiastic makes me feel very happy and makes me want to keep trying so i guess all i want to say is that i appreciate all my fans regardless if im bad at showing it !
also special shoutouts to harstem and Theo who tried their best to help me prepare for wcs, but unfortunately my poor mindset got the best of me. regardless big thanks to both!
Watching your stream and WCS games these past couple of weeks has been fucking awesome. Smashing through to premier league after being gone for a year is really impressive and you should feel good about it. I'm very happy to see you're going to keep playing and streaming. Good luck in your StarCraft adventures!
Really happy to have seen you play this season. For very selfish reasons, I'm glad you're planning to participate in online tournaments. I hope to possibly see you play the Lycan League next month. WCS Season 2 is calling your name and I know you'll do well if you decide to play.
Naniwa as a fan, the only thing that mattered in the hype, was that you were back. Your stream is awesome. Just keep being awesome and dont turn back into your mindset when you left.
Great to hear that you keep playing, really looking forward to your stream. I am sure season 2 will go much better for you, since you made such a fast progress after your break.
People like to hype you up because you said you could be the best foreigner in 2 weeks. Obviously you were just exaggerating but it is that confidence that makes some people believe. I've been a Nani hater but you have a great instinct for the game. If you keep at it you could actually rise to the top again someday. Best of luck
Nani your stream is without a doubt the best protoss stream out there because you have really high skill and unlike others, actually have the entertaining commentary to back it as well. Most of the time streams either have the entertaining commentary with mediocre play or not as much commentary with great skill. Keep up the great work and screw the haters
Nani, I wanted you to win your matches obviously but more than WCS I am so stoked to have you back playing and playing streaming. Your streams have been a ton of fun and following your run in WCS was exciting! Keep doing you! (^_^)
I'm glad your back tbh I thought you performed very well despite just coming back after a long break. Everyone including myself had the "Dream" of Naniwa King of the North returning to sit atop his throne in Europe. But in all honesty that was just too much to expect for someone just coming off of hiatus.
Glad to know you are enjoying the game, and of course the love of your fans too ^_^
I think you have the right mindset and should take it slowly if it fits you better. We will always have high expectations because we know how great you can be, but a lot of us are just happy that you're motivated and enjoying either you win or lose so don't worry about it!
Something i would like to point out, it hasnt so much to do with the games you played but, what i found really really interesting was after the game you won. The interview when they asked you the thought process you went in depth on what you thought he would do what you were doing etc etc. This is something i feel like more players should do, only one i can think of that has done it before is Qxc.
Next time Naniwa, Sweden got your back...more then you think !!
everything he says is understandable except the attempt to shit on has. he is the cheesiest protoss ever, but that is no excuse if you lose to him. honestly it even gives you some advantage since you know 100% he is cheesing. and naniwa knows very well that a good protoss has to cheese every now and then, he does it too. same with greedy plays. so it makes absolutely no sense to hate on a cheesy player and not hate on rain for example who always goes for the macro game.
hell even his favorite player, sos plays super cheesy like has a lot of the times.
Naniwa: I dont know if you will read this comment, but I was realy disapointet when you lost. Not coz you lost, but coz the way you lost and I was afraid that It would mean the the sc2 comunity would loose you again.
I am realy happy to se that my fears where wrong. I am looking forward to se you in the future at wcs and other events.
PS: I also feel that this post from you was a realy good thing and I feel it shows that you have grown. Good luck
The game needs players like you. I remember watching an interview of you with Thorin, you were talking about your mindset and your will to do everything possible to reach the top. Though you might not have been a white knight in the past, you've always embodied true dedication.
has makes me disgusted and he is the very embodiment of a PvP player that i think is wrong with this game, but thats not up to me to change. i just have to adapt better to the game and find other solutions that fit me and increases my win percentage.
I don't like Naniwa as a person (and I don't think he gives a crap anyways) but this is why I love him as a player. Great mindset, and sad to see him lose.
It was wonderful to see you in action again Naniwa! Rocking those swag as fuck Hetfield wristbands. Looking forward to the next time we can watch you perform! Thanks for posting this post to keep us posted!
Always a big fan. Maybe you can play in some of the BasetradeTV tournaments, Fragbite and the smaller online ones. Smurf if you want, to take the pressure off.
In all honesty. The only reason I have watched WCS this season (mainly due to time problems before) is because of you. Keep up and get em carriers rollin!
Keep up the good work Nani!! I hope you read this as I made the account just to make this post - there's a reason why everybody has been going crazy about your return and that you were the main feature of the WCS group stages: Everybody loves to see you, and wants to see you do well! I hope you are able to feel better about your progaming career and have as much fun as you did in the earlier years of SC2, remember, we're all cheering for you!
On February 24 2015 05:22 Naniwa wrote: basically going to start from the beginning of my wcs journey, truthfully i did not expect to qualify as easily as i did when i came back. i always believed in my own potential as a player but i honestly did not feel ready when i came into wcs, i just randomly thought of playing some sc2 but people kept hyping me up and expecting unreal results straight away because of things ive done in the past .. for example some people such as demuslim ( who i am friends with ) spread false rumors not intentionally i believe about how much i played and mana hyped it up aswell because i played late at night lol, altho i played only the games i streamed and ladder. i rarely played customs . i guess this is all going to sound like excuses which i guess it is, I played bad in my games and everyone has bad games. im mostly writing this because i feel so stressed and pressured about everyone having high hopes and expectations for me . All i want to say with this is that i still like sc2 , not as much as before right now but im still going to hang on to legacy and try that while also trying my best to play this game as much as i can while doing progress as time goes by, not instantly expecting myself to win big tourneys straight away . i will stream in a few days when ive taken a break from sc2 for a bit since honestly playing against a player who plays like has makes me disgusted and he is the very embodiment of a PvP player that i think is wrong with this game, but thats not up to me to change. i just have to adapt better to the game and find other solutions that fit me and increases my win percentage. So basically i want to try starting on a bit smaller scale perhaps, online tournaments as such so i can take it step by step.
last but not least i want to thank people who makes threads such as the naniwa reddit cheer up one. i realise now in the later stages when starcraft is smaller that a reason i got a bit demotivated was because the scene got smaller, but seeing people still being so enthusiastic makes me feel very happy and makes me want to keep trying so i guess all i want to say is that i appreciate all my fans regardless if im bad at showing it !
also special shoutouts to harstem and Theo who tried their best to help me prepare for wcs, but unfortunately my poor mindset got the best of me. regardless big thanks to both!
this might sound like another 'kiss-ass' post but this is actually the real reason im such a big fan of you:
I can totally relate to what youre saying, I always expect myself to be able to come back to my peak-performances as well at all times, I just believe when I focus much more intensely than anyone else, it should be possible to go back to that moment of my peak. Sort of as 'the power is all in my head, and im trying 200 times harder than anyone else so I should be able to do it'.
Often times its true, crazy amount of willpower can get you really far but there is limits to that. And I am too really bad at seeing them, I just expect so much of myself that I go totally crazy when I cant meet what I expect of myself.
For me, its never been about winning or losing, its always been about performing on my best. (this is not just starcraft 2, this is something I carried my whole life with me, with everything Im doing) I know there is supposed to be 'off days' or downswings but I was always so bad at dealing with them. I always expected to be different in a sense that I could overcome those by just trying harder than anyone else.
The problem is that I put so much pressure on myself that once small things go wrong, its like an emotional downward-spiral. Once I dont meet those expectations, things start to snowball and I do more mistakes, to the point where I get totally emotional. Its like I can hold myself together for one- maybe two of those disappointments, but then I break apart.
I cant even express how hard I tried to be under control of my emotions, Ive never felt that anybody was like that. I felt failing was much harder for me than for anybody else I ever knew.
One moment I can be so happy but due to my extreme expectations its only a matter of time till I heavily disappoint myself again. And then I just feel like utter shit. Its the worst feeling one can imagine and no matter how hard I tried for years now, I still struggle with controling my emotions at that point. Even if I get 2nd place at something, I'm not satisfied if there is a way that I can even just remotely be better. I expect myself to go way further than other people because I put in my all and everything.
Sometimes its almost like im going crazy over not being my own best. If I consider myself the best at something and I cant meet that expectation, I hate myself for it, I get incredibly angry and try harder and harder. I normally peak at that point but If I still cant meet my expectations, this is where I explode.
If im not at my best, im not having fun at all. With nothing. I enjoy being at my best, thats it. Thats why I keep pushing myself in starcraft because I just cant seem to reach the level that I want to reach and I get absolutely crazy over that. I keep trying harder and harder because I hate failure so incredibly much that I never want to surrender to it.
And when I fail, it feels like im not failing at a thing but failing in myself, in who i believed was able to do these things. Thats what hurts so much, being exposed to that feeling. Its not a 'loss' in a way like losing a game, its rather a loss in what you thought you would be.
TLDR; I always saw the same kind of things in you which is really inspiring for me to see that Im not the only one.
Im probably the worst person to tell you this but try not to be too hard on yourself, ShoCk
I was there for your win at MLG Dallas as a no name player back in 2011, and have been a fan ever since. Keep it up! I'm not really active in the community, and I'm sure there are many (non-dramatic) viewers such as myself who make sure and catch your games
Too bad you got knocked out, but Serral is literally playing as well as Life, and it's hard for anyone to make it out of a group with realistically only 1 spot up for grabs.
I still don't like you, and would love to shit on you in this moment of triumph for your anti-fans, but I have to say that this blog feels a lot less angst riddled, and I'm actually impressed on your response to the situation. I still hope you lose (especially to Leenock), but now I might cheer for you against Koreans... except Leenock.
Liking the new approach you are taking. Do what you got to do to make yourself happy man and if playing smaller tournaments is the way to go then do what ya got to do
I hadn't watched any WCS for months until your games, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of them in the future. Win or lose I think you're one of the most interesting players to follow. Good luck.
even though you didn't qualify for the next stages the performance was entertaining and this is all that is count in my book, looking forward for the stream!
it's just really great to have you back in the scene! I bought starcraft 2 because of you, after watching mlg in 2011, and now I was really hyped for your return so I started playing again and with some great tips from your stream I managed to reach diamond for the first time in hots! Your work and dedication is really influencing us and we greatly appreciate the skills you display and your way of understanding the game! We wish all the best to you and please don't take this as a pressure, but I really hope you will be hyped enough to return into season 2 premier with greater confidence.
Don't pressure yourself too much and it is indeed good that you notice people are happy you are back. As fans we know your potential and mindset and that is what makes it exciting you are back! But we'll give it time
dont worry bro, you put up a great fight against something that has barely anything to do with Starcraft, we all still believe in you and I am pretty certain that you can even surpass your previous peak and compete against the best koreans
you're aiming too high, starting low as you said is actually a great thing. just because you have huge potential, you're not the best without putting any work into it.
get your mindset straight, lower your arrogance a bit and make it easier for yourself by being less toxic. I'd love to love you, but currently, I'm on the "I hate the guy train". You worked hard to get me and others on this train over the years.
Maybe if you'd show less arrogance when talking about your skill and other people's, then people would put less pressure and hype on you... Saying things like "Has makes me disgusted" doesn't help either, he played for the win just like you did during your whole career... As boxerfred said, you have great talent, it's obvious for everyone, but without a honest, objective and straight mindset, that talent will only bring (justified) haters on you. Don't listen to all your fans who are persuaded that you are the best player in the world already, who are kissing your ass and who excuse every single shitty move or thing you do, because that's complete bullshit ; instead work honestly and humbly to really be the best player in the world (because you have the potential for it), stop finding excuses, stop being offending to people, and work on your damn mindset.
So many entitled people who want someone to be fake in order to like him... wtf. "Just so that you do not forget let me reiterate this once more: I hate you. Like really, really hate you. Now listen to me since I'm going to explain how to do things... " LOL
Sick job in wcs Naniwa, for someone who played that little! Your streaming sessions were sick, watching carriers being relevant was actually fun. Can't wait to see you roll over online cups as long as you avoid maphackers >_> I'd love to see a Serral - Naniwa rematch at full potential, as well!
Also, I've come to just accept and completely stop caring about the fact that the scene is smaller now, as it's not a problem. We have good Starcraft (plenty of KR SC2 this year with THREE fucking leagues running), it's a niche esports, who the fuck cares that there aren't millions of fans ?
On February 24 2015 22:41 Shortizz wrote: This entire blog reeks of arrogance and ego. You are a good player, but its hard to see you making it far in life with this attitude tbh.
WTF? .... Really??? Maybe you should re-read it again. Because thats not the vibe he is giving.
Naniwa when you said you were going to play WCS i was so excited! No matter what you choose to do in future know that you have loyal fans who wish for you to succeed in everyway!! May the Protoss Gods find favor in you
On February 24 2015 23:35 DetermineD wrote: Everyone is glad you are back Naniwa, keep fighting!
On February 24 2015 22:41 Shortizz wrote: This entire blog reeks of arrogance and ego. You are a good player, but its hard to see you making it far in life with this attitude tbh.
Equally wrong statements from fans as well as antifans.
Yeah just take it step by step Nani! <3 Even if it takes a year I am looking forward to see you go far in tournaments again or just see u play some good games :D Nani 4 life!!!
Nani I'm so glad you're back, results will come with time. Some time ago you said on stream that you're surprised by someone from Poland liking you, I want to say that you have BIG group of supporters here, and you're the reason many of us are still enjoying starcraft.
P.S. Keep practising as I want to steal some builds from you!
It was awesome to see you play in WCS! We look forward to you next stream and your next tournaments. I hope your love for sc2 will be strong and keep you in the scene so that we have to opportunity to see you in the future. You bring something extra to the scene.
On February 24 2015 22:41 Shortizz wrote: This entire blog reeks of arrogance and ego. You are a good player, but its hard to see you making it far in life with this attitude tbh.
Arrogance and ego will take you into the C-Suite in the real world. Nice guys finish last.
I think you played well, considering how long you have been away. Of course, I was hoping you would qualify for the next round, but perhaps this was for the best? Now you can prepare for season 2 in whatever way you see fit, and the pressure and the expectations are both down a notch. Everyone knows you are a mortal deep inside, it is just that people tend to forget simple things like that after a 12 month break. It would be really cool to see you in online tournaments in between, sharpening the killer instinct one bracket after the other.
Naniwa i am really glad you are back and i never thought of you as the "BM Bad boy" Player you were portraited so many times before. At least i think, thats just not getting the whole point of your role in the scene. Unlike many other players (that i also like, cheer for etc.) you tend to speak your mind in a very direct way and - as "gay" as it sounds - out of true emotion which leads to overreactions and some stupid premature actions. But i guess, you know all that stuff yourself xD. So, in my eyes you are just a very good player with a very strong attitude, which naturally combines to something that causes envy, hate, respect and other strong feelings. Basically, thats just it.
I really appreciate the honesty in your posting and thank you for telling us fans about the pressure you are experiencing right now, due to these comeback-hype expectations. I only can speak for myself, but i would be glad if you just continue playing, streaming and competing as long, as there is #passion. Please just stay as you are and don't get dragged down to the level of a certain former foreigner superstar, who lives of bathing in arrogance.
Nani, I was one of the ones really disappointed in the way things ended for you in WCS 2013, but it is actually good to see you back and in reasonably good form. More important is that your mindset seems more open, you're seeing the love and support instead of the hate (of which there is still plenty).
Keep practicing, I hope to see you make it back through Challenger next season! Keep it up!
You dont owe us anything, just seen you play starcraft makes this game so much interesting, just do what makes you happy, It's always a pleasure seen you play this game n_n
While I'm not even close to being a fan, mad respect for the good showing! Glad to see that you still care about the game and your attitude is really welcome. I hope you can show more good games in the future.
GO nani! step by step! you are still my favorite player of all times because many reasons, but mainly because i translated your actions and attitudes to get motivation for myself to go on.. Thank you for that, cheers to you Nani!
On February 24 2015 22:41 Shortizz wrote: This entire blog reeks of arrogance and ego. You are a good player, but its hard to see you making it far in life with this attitude tbh.
Arrogance and ego will take you into the C-Suite in the real world. Nice guys finish last.
I feel I have to add my own wrong statement to these
You brought us some marvelous entertainment in- and outside the game. What more could we (the fans) have hoped for. As long as you enjoy the game, I'll be glad to see you stream and compete at whatever scale you feel like!
Thanks for that insight. Happy to hear you're staying around. You look as well as you've ever looked, both mentally and physically. I hope this can translate into great SCII because you have stunning talent. Good luck for everything.
We could always hope, we could always hype, although it was logical that you need to have some extra practice after the break there is nothing wrong with hoping
"The community" is maybe small or dying or whatever, but be sure as hell there are people watching vigorously as much SC2 as possible, jumping chairs and screaming and biting nails. Maybe we are not as numerous as we used to be, but we are none the less passionate. Fight on!
I am a big fan of you in so many aspects. But the one thing I don't quite understand is the hate towards Has - his creativity is refreshing to say the least. Both sOs and Has have very strategic flairs that nobody but themselves can really pull off. If innovation is what you appreciate, by that logic I believe Has' style deserves more respect. Both sOs and Has rarely copy playstyles/builds from others, but how come such radical difference in perception?
On February 24 2015 05:22 Naniwa wrote: basically going to start from the beginning of my wcs journey, truthfully i did not expect to qualify as easily as i did when i came back. i always believed in my own potential as a player but i honestly did not feel ready when i came into wcs, i just randomly thought of playing some sc2 but people kept hyping me up and expecting unreal results straight away because of things ive done in the past .. for example some people such as demuslim ( who i am friends with ) spread false rumors not intentionally i believe about how much i played and mana hyped it up aswell because i played late at night lol, altho i played only the games i streamed and ladder. i rarely played customs . i guess this is all going to sound like excuses which i guess it is, I played bad in my games and everyone has bad games. im mostly writing this because i feel so stressed and pressured about everyone having high hopes and expectations for me . All i want to say with this is that i still like sc2 , not as much as before right now but im still going to hang on to legacy and try that while also trying my best to play this game as much as i can while doing progress as time goes by, not instantly expecting myself to win big tourneys straight away . i will stream in a few days when ive taken a break from sc2 for a bit since honestly playing against a player who plays like has makes me disgusted and he is the very embodiment of a PvP player that i think is wrong with this game, but thats not up to me to change. i just have to adapt better to the game and find other solutions that fit me and increases my win percentage. So basically i want to try starting on a bit smaller scale perhaps, online tournaments as such so i can take it step by step.
last but not least i want to thank people who makes threads such as the naniwa reddit cheer up one. i realise now in the later stages when starcraft is smaller that a reason i got a bit demotivated was because the scene got smaller, but seeing people still being so enthusiastic makes me feel very happy and makes me want to keep trying so i guess all i want to say is that i appreciate all my fans regardless if im bad at showing it !
also special shoutouts to harstem and Theo who tried their best to help me prepare for wcs, but unfortunately my poor mindset got the best of me. regardless big thanks to both!
It was easy because a lot of these players are merely scrubs to the King.
Naniwa you're awsome man! The pressure is only there because people love to watch you play! They will support you no matter what, so just keep doing your best, and have fun :D
i cheered so unbelievably hard for you in your wcs matches, was really heartbreaking to see you lose against has like this but dont worry! none of your fans expect unbelievable runs right off the bat so just enjoy your return to sc2! oh and stream from time to time if you can hehe
Hey Nani. I never respected you as a person because of the way you disrespect the people you play against. I'll never forget your DISS of Nestea when you proberushed him, but whatever.
I grudgingly admit that you are good for the SC2 scene because you were a skilled player who could compete vs the Koreans. For that reason alone I hope you can regain some of the form that made even your haters (like myself) admit that you were at one point the best foreigner, which you proved last year with your showmatch win over scarlett (who is now lost to us).
If it benefits SC2 and its spectator base, I hope you can regain the passion you had for the game and find the effort to practice and provide us with a villian to root against. It's hard to root vs any korean in this capacity because they are so personality-defunct, and that at least, I cannot say about you. +1
Nani did more than I expected of him so soon after he got back into SC2, he defeated Nerchio which was everything I was hoping for! Of course I would have loved it if he managed to get out of his WCS group but seeing Naniwa back in the sc2 studio with fire in his eyes was enough to make me very happy.
Of course we fans wants to see results, Naniwa actually making deep runs or winning stuff but more than anything else we want to see him enjoying playing SC2 and wanting to win! Light the fire and eventually the flames will grow higher and higher!
I never really liked NaNiwa as a person or player. Because the way he was portrayed through media and his showings at events, was something I quite do not like. (You know, controversy is not something I like at all.) But after reading this blog, I am really surprised ... these are not words of some immature spoiled brat. Good luck Nani. You have always been on the top foreigner food chain, no doubt about it. And if you will be able to solve your internal and personal struggles outside of the public eye, I will definitely cheer for a good foreign player.
I really enjoy watching you play so I was really disappointed when you dropped out of IEM last year and quit the game. It's nice to have you back. Understandably, you haven't been practicing as much as you used to, so it will take some time to get back in form. But don't worry about it. You have plenty of fans here who are happy to have you back regardless of whether or not you're playing at your best.
Has is a player known for his cheese and it's something he excels at. Better scouting could really have gone a long away against him. As annoying as it is to play guys like him, that style of play is part of the game. Actually, one of the reasons people like you is that you're never afraid to do what it takes to win (I will never forget the in-base proxy gates vs. Hyun at Comic Con). At the end of the day, Has was just trying to win and if you respect him for that I think you'll do better against this kind of play in the future.
EPT
regardless big thanks to both! 
so don't worry about it!
