EPT
Ever since Naniwa beat Innovation and Day[9] did an outline of the build in Daily #623 I've been following his execution of the 1 gate FE religiously. I don't believe it's anything out of the ordinary, maybe a few differences of 1 supply, but the daily did help me pick up on the little things like rallying the worker toward the building you're about to make (for 13 gate, 15 gas, etc.) and why each building is built when it is.
And I've done it for so long, just because it makes sense, but I've never actually had a use for it - queueing a Zealot up in case you get ebay blocked, then cancelling when you find the all clear.
And as I'm coming back with my scouting probe, I've got him queued up thinking I'll cancel as soon as I see there's nothing at the natural, and I'm hoping that the Zealot doesn't spawn before the probe gets there ... and as it turns out my probe gets there just barely in time to spot the Engineering Bay, I breathe a sigh of relief, and the Zealot and MSC go to town.
This whole time I'm thinking, "I've been doing that silly nonsense for 2 years and nobody's ever ebay blocked me, just to pull it off perfectly here." I've never been above plat. I'm back in gold right now, once I fix my supply block issue I'm confident I can get promoted, but at this level I've never seen anyone bother blocking my nexus. Until now.
And knowing that all that effort finally paid off, even just to make sure my nexus doesn't get delayed for a single short PvT, is a great feeling. I'm a very emotional player, and that usually hurts more than it helps. I tilt hard at least once a week when I play this game, and you can see the results for yourself - HerO's abysmal game 2 against TRUE where he forgot units, had a blocked immortal, nearly everything went wrong for him, came partially because he lost Game 1 hard, and HerO let it get to his head.
But the flip side to that coin is when everything does go well, it gives a superhuman level of focus and determination to make more things go well. All my pylons came out on time, I didn't accidentally cut probes, my micro was on point, and I was able to balance taking my existing stalkers and warping in more. I managed to hold a push into my nat without calling photon overcharge, and when I pushed, I wouldn't say I kited my stalkers perfectly, but much better than I normally do.
And those little moments give hope for better things. Fuck plat. I'm going to diamond.
