• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
TeamLiquid Liquipedia LiquidDota LiquidLegends
EDT 16:00
CEST 22:00
KST 05:00
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
Farewell CCL: Season 4 Recap1WTL 2022 Summer - Regular Season Awards + Week 119[ASL14] Ro24 Preview Pt1: Long Awaited14[TSL 9] - Week 1 Recap / Week 2 Preview1herO wins Code S Season 2 (2022)27
Community News
Code S Season 3 Qualifiers Conclude (2022)14ESL Open #134: ByuN, Clem, Neeb win5[TSL 9] Shopify's True or False with TLO, Week 275Reynor going to Korea, playing in GSL77ESL Open Cup #133: Cure, MaxPax, ByuN win1
StarCraft 2
General
Code S Season 3 Qualifiers Conclude (2022) WTL 2022 Summer - Regular Season Awards + Week 11 [TSL 9] An update on the TSL 9 LAN Serral wins HomeStory Cup XXI [Rumor] Rogue to announce retirement
Tourneys
AfreecaTV Theatre of Dreams ($5,600) Master Swan Open (Global Bronze-Master 2) ProBots 2022 Season 2 [TSL 9] - Week 1 Monthly FFA tournament: Circle Derping #2
Strategy
Terran Mule Timing wankery What should I try to work on to improve my TvZ Maru Offensive Widow Mine Drop Simple Questions Simple Answers
Custom Maps
[M](4) Typhoon [A] SC Real Scale
External Content
Mutation # 329 Attrition Warfare Mutation # 328 Overclocked Mutation # 327 Temple of Rebirth Mutation # 326 Safety Violation
Brood War
General
BGH auto balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/ Unmoderated NOT (uniquely) toxic... ASL14 to start on August 9 [ASL14] Ro24 Preview Pt1: Long Awaited BW General Discussion
Tourneys
[RCG 2021] Final Bracket - August 13 & 14 6pm CEST [ASL14] Ro24 Group C [ASL14] Ro24 Group B The Casual Games of the Week Thread
Strategy
PvT advise for noobs Battery control [PvP] How to defend vs. 2 gate zealot into nexus Project: Strat Update
Other Games
General Games
Total War: Warhammer III Tower of Fantasy Nintendo Switch Thread Diablo IV The XBox Thread
Dota 2
PGL Arlington Major Official Dota and Chess General Discussion [DPC 21-22] Tour 3 Discussion/LR TL.net migration megathread + LiquidDota archive LiquidDota to reintegrate into TL.net
League of Legends
[Summer Split] LoL Esports General Discussion [Patch Notes] Release General Discussion
Heroes of the Storm
HotS: WP and Funny Moments Farewell CCL: Season 4 Recap Time of the Season: X-Cup Summer Preview The New Kings of Paris: MCC Finals Recap
Hearthstone
TL Mafia
TL Mafia Community Thread Chezinu streak(s) Mafia British Empire Mini Mafia II
Community
General
Russo-Ukrainian War Thread US Politics Mega-thread The China Politics Thread Bitcoin discussion thread Ask and answer stupid questions here!
Fan Clubs
The Flash Fan Club The herO Fan Club! INnoVation Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
Anime Discussion Thread [Manga] One Piece Korean Music Discussion Movie Discussion! [TV] HBO's Westworld
Sports
2022 - 2023 Football Thread NBA General Discussion Formula 1 Discussion McBoner: A hockey love story 2021 - 2022 Football Thread
Tech Support
Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread The Ultimate Mouse Thread Windows won't boot from cloned SSD
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Namkraft's ASL 14 ENG casts…
namkraft
Regarding teenagers and …
mantequilla
New EG Roster
cmsimon
Programming Without Addera…
codonbyte
Royal Tyrell Museum in Drumhe…
JimmiC
Great mix of RTS and tu…
AiHEADHUNTER
Chicken shit
Starlightsun
Montenegro Tower Construction …
Tak3r
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 1396 users

History Of A Smasher, Chapter I: Azen Zagenite

Blogs > Liquid`Chillin
Post a Reply
Liquid`Chillin
Profile Blog Joined January 2015
5 Posts
Last Edited: 2016-09-20 02:28:51
September 08 2016 17:55 GMT
#1

[image loading]


Growing up in a low-income household with three siblings wasn’t always easy. Having two older brothers who I could never really match up to when it came to sports or other physical contests as a kid was rough - I always felt like the one holding them back. With four kids and work to deal with, our parents were very busy, and didn’t always have the time to give us the attention they wanted. I feel very fortunate that I grew up in the time period I did - the late 90’s, or basically the renaissance of multiplayer gaming. Video games gave me not only a way to compete with those older and bigger than me, but also an outlet to focus on if things weren’t going my way.

I never considered myself good at games growing up. As a child, while I was very into the culture of gaming and enjoyed playing video games, my actual experience was limited. We had a Super Nintendo, a Nintendo 64, and for some reason, a Sega Saturn, but didn’t have many games for each. Dedicating a lot of time to mastering a title became a recurring theme in my childhood, and if I had paid closer attention I may have noticed that this is where my true talent lay. But I already had an easy comparison in my older brothers, both of whom generally seemed to outperform me in the games we’d play, especially at first.

The N64 was our first real experience with gaming becoming competitive, although it was just amongst ourselves. Along with my older brothers and occasionally my younger sister, neighborhood kids and cousins made up our gaming community. Games like Goldeneye, Mario Party, and even Mario Tennis would bring out our combative sides quicker than we realized. And although everything at that age felt like we were just messing around for fun, it became clear that some of us had more ability to excel at these games than others.

I still remember sitting in my living room as my brothers unboxed Super Smash Brothers for the N64, a title I had only briefly heard of. My expectations of a Nintendo fighting game were immediately thrown into question when my brothers played their first match against each other - a timed 1v1 bout on Brinstar (since we only had 2 controllers, I was rarely the first to try a game). Confusion was my initial impression of Smash - what the hell was the percentage at the bottom of the screen? Why wasn’t anyone dying? One of them fell off the stage and toward the lava, and we assumed he’d be dead - but the lava just popped him back up. Our other assumption was that getting your opponent to 100% would kill them; this was also not the case, as one of my brothers passed 100% damage and nothing happened. Finally, a strong move sent my oldest brother flying, and he died off the top of the screen - another questionable event. What the hell was this game?

As we learned the game more and more and understood its format, we began enjoying it. These matches among myself and my brothers were nowhere near real competition, but the burning desire to defeat each other still made for some good bouts. My oldest brother as Link tended to win over the two of us, while myself and my other brother Burhan, who came to be known as Mild in the Smash community, contended for the title of “true Pikachu master” since we were both Pikachu mains. Although my 10 year old self would never admit this, Mild was certainly the Pikachu master as far as our family was concerned - I rarely won 1v1 fights over him.

Smash was an enjoyable game to be sure, but it didn’t jump out at us as anything special at first - it was just another awesome N64 multiplayer title, along with the others we played regularly. It made for an excellent party game too, which we loved. But for the first year or so of Smash’s existence, it meant little more to me than another gaming option. That was, until Mild met a new friend at school.

Mild met Chris McMullen in Algebra class in school, and the two became friends mainly over their mutual appreciation for video games. Eventually their friendship progressed to the point where Chris invited Mild over for some games, and afterward when Mild got home, he was raving about Chris’ ability. “This guy is amazing,” he said. “No matter what game we played, he was so good. But especially Smash… He makes my Pikachu look like garbage.” I was skeptical - although Mild tended to beat me, there was no way this Chris character was that good at games. Mild insisted that in a 10 stock match, Chris defeated him with all 10 lives left. At that point I couldn’t buy it - I had to see it for myself.

Mild invited Chris over to play Smash, and my initial impression of him was very unremarkable. He was just a quiet Asian kid. Interestingly enough, rather than introduce himself as Chris, he called himself Azen. I noticed from the beginning he didn’t talk much, but he seemed to be in a generally good mood, and gave off friendly vibes despite the lack of very much communication. As we sat down to play Smash, though, one thing became immediately clear: Azen had a lot going on in his brain, and even if he didn’t communicate it verbally, he certainly let his play talk for him.

The kid was a monster. I remember being completely blown away in my first match, which was against his Link; Link was one of the slowest characters in the game, yet Azen was making him seem lightning fast. And this low-tier character was destroying my top-tier main. As soon as the match was over, Azen immediately switched to another character, and dominated me even more. It was incredible, especially because the thought of advanced techniques like Z-cancelling didn’t even cross my mind; I just figured this guy really knew how to push buttons.

Although we had gotten slightly competitive with some games, Azen showed me that I wasn’t even scratching the surface of what gaming skill truly was. He handed down beating after beating, while Mild simply smirked at me, as if to say “I told you so.” All in all, I’m not sure if I took a single win from Azen that day. But it was the first time I realized the true potential in not only Smash, but videogames in general. The learning curve was huge, and I was nowhere near the top.

Rather than inspiring me, however, the short-term reaction I had was that I might as well give it up, since clearly I’d never be on the level Azen was. Regardless, Mild and I began to hang out with Azen regularly, and played all types of games, including Smash. No matter which game we were playing, Azen would be leading the pack, and most of the time he’d be way ahead. Perfect Dark, F-Zero, Mario Kart, Mario Party, you name it -- Azen was the best. It didn’t take me long to realize something: just as there are genius scientists and revolutionary professional athletes, Azen was a prodigy in his field, and I had a good feeling it wasn’t just because Mild and I were garbage.

Liquid`Chillin






*****
Team Liquid
Liquid`JunoTheCat
Profile Joined December 2014
Netherlands79 Posts
September 08 2016 18:01 GMT
#2
Great read! Looking forward to the rest
Team Liquid"Two things fill the heart with ever new and increasing admiration and awe: the starry skies above and the moral law within"
motbob
Profile Blog Joined July 2008
United States12544 Posts
September 09 2016 02:52 GMT
#3
Pretty interesting that Azen didn't introduce himself by his actual name. When I go to live events to meet online friends, it's natural to use my tag, but I'd never think to do it with someone I didn't know.
ModeratorGood content always wins.
lichter
Profile Blog Joined September 2010
1001 YEARS KESPAJAIL22271 Posts
September 09 2016 03:09 GMT
#4
Because I work in esports I keep thinking I'm garbage at video games.

And then I play with my friends and they have 1/4 to 1/2 my MMR. I still think I'm garbage; my friends are just the worse kinds of garbage.

Using my tag has become pretty natural to me. I even introduce myself as lichter to business/esports contacts now, because using my real name has become so weird. And only a handful of people even know it anyway.
AdministratorYOU MUST HEED MY INSTRUCTIONS TAKE OFF YOUR THIIIINGS
chipmonklord17
Profile Joined February 2011
United States11898 Posts
September 09 2016 03:25 GMT
#5
Great read, can't wait for part 2
Torte de Lini
Profile Blog Joined September 2010
Germany38463 Posts
Last Edited: 2016-09-09 06:39:27
September 09 2016 06:39 GMT
#6
On September 09 2016 11:52 motbob wrote:
Pretty interesting that Azen didn't introduce himself by his actual name. When I go to live events to meet online friends, it's natural to use my tag, but I'd never think to do it with someone I didn't know.


I never introduce myself by my tag, but I don't think anyone has ever called me by my real name.

Even when I met Nazgul, he just called me Torte lol
https://twitter.com/#!/TorteDeLini (@TorteDeLini)
blade55555
Profile Blog Joined March 2009
United States17422 Posts
September 09 2016 14:01 GMT
#7
On September 09 2016 11:52 motbob wrote:
Pretty interesting that Azen didn't introduce himself by his actual name. When I go to live events to meet online friends, it's natural to use my tag, but I'd never think to do it with someone I didn't know.


Really? That's interesting. I have met a couple of people online and we used our real names (although it was weird when I was used to saying their tag). Sometimes I accidentally slipped and said their online ID instead of their real name, but only a couple times.
When I think of something else, something will go here
Heyoka
Profile Blog Joined March 2008
Katowice25011 Posts
September 09 2016 17:28 GMT
#8
I lived with HotBid for 2 years and the only time we referred to each other by our real names was at his parent's house. I introduce myself as Matt when it's clear someone already knows my online name and thats kinda it for me.
@RealHeyoka | ESL / DreamHack StarCraft Lead
Poopi
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
France11410 Posts
September 11 2016 10:25 GMT
#9
Nice read thanks! Good complement to the Smash documentary.
WriterBiggest Maru fanboy?
YokoKano
Profile Blog Joined July 2012
United States612 Posts
September 12 2016 01:21 GMT
#10
Reminds me of Jimmy Buffett exlaiming you'll never make it. It's a great line you'll never make it.
IQ 155.905638752
quirinus
Profile Blog Joined May 2007
Croatia2489 Posts
September 13 2016 20:25 GMT
#11
Great read.
All candles lit within him, and there was purity. | First auto-promoted BW LP editor.
Jealous
Profile Blog Joined December 2011
9160 Posts
September 15 2016 03:58 GMT
#12
Azen held the score attack record for one of my top games, Pokemon Puzzle League. You can still see his run on YouTube. He's nuts.
𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑙 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑖𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑟 𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒. -- бум бум сучка!
deth2munkies
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
United States4051 Posts
September 19 2016 11:38 GMT
#13
On September 09 2016 11:52 motbob wrote:
Pretty interesting that Azen didn't introduce himself by his actual name. When I go to live events to meet online friends, it's natural to use my tag, but I'd never think to do it with someone I didn't know.


My tag stems from a joke in middle school 15+ years ago and is not easy to say. I found that out the hard way when I attended my first FGC event at AB7 in Dallas. I'm strugging between changing my tag for fighting games or just introducing myself by my name. I think it's a weird balance.

On topic though, good piece, I look forward to the next chapter
Binkymcfartnuggets69
Profile Joined September 2016
1 Post
September 23 2016 22:05 GMT
#14
azen zagenite is his furry name btw
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
PassionCraft
17:00
#PassionCraft Thursday Show #4
Belair 44
Liquipedia
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
mouzHeroMarine 1396
WinterStarcraft217
TKL 182
Nathanias 98
Welmu 58
Mackintac 15
StarCraft: Brood War
Britney 15088
Stork 216
ggaemo 209
Nal_rA 89
Killer 56
zelot 50
Sexy 41
Dota 2
Gorgc19044
capcasts129
Pyrionflax106
febbydoto50
League of Legends
Trikslyr386
Other Games
tarik_tv24425
hiko7462
summit1g6500
singsing1472
ceh91232
Fnx 1129
Day[9].tv837
C9.Mang0662
RotterdaM364
ToD281
nookyyy 248
mouzStarbuck55
QueenE37
Organizations
Other Games
B2W.Neo747
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
ESL CS:GO393
StarCraft 2
Esl_sc2119
ESL.tv119
Dota 2
BeyondTheSummit117
Other Games
BasetradeTV116
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
[ Show 27 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• MEDOEDLive 114
• ALGaming 38
• ForJumy 13
• PlayArcher 4
• LUISG 2
• Gussbus
• IndyKCrew
• Kozan
• intothetv
• aXEnki
• LaughNgamez Trovo
• Alpha X_
• Migwel
• Poblha
• Laughngamez YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
• sscaitournament5
• starkiss 3
• STPLYoutube
• BSLYoutube
• AfreecaTV YouTube
Dota 2
• iSHOKZ147
League of Legends
• Doublelift6052
• TFBlade2826
Other Games
• imaqtpie1142
• Scarra987
• Day9tv837
• Shiphtur241
Upcoming Events
ProBots
3h 30m
Online Event
14h
OSC
21h
Russian Cyber Games
1d 6h
BoA vs OyAji
Dewalt vs kogeT
Dandy vs UltrA
Bonyth vs Sziky
Lady AfreecaTV Starcraf…
1d 10h
Russian Cyber Games
2 days
ESL Pro Tour
2 days
Lady AfreecaTV Starcraf…
2 days
ESL Pro Tour
3 days
ESL Pro Tour
4 days
[ Show More ]
Afreeca Starleague
4 days
Soulkey vs TBD
JyJ vs sSak
BeAsT Cup
4 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
5 days
Afreeca Starleague
5 days
Snow vs HiyA
Shine vs Jaedong
Afreeca Starleague
6 days
Rush vs free
Mong vs Horang2
BeAsT Cup
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Deathfate Pro Team League 2: Qualifier
2022 GSL S2: Code S
Community Clash League S4
IEM Cologne 2022

Ongoing

KCM Ladies Race Survival 2022 Season 3
ASL Season 14
KCM Race Survival 2022 Season 3
BSL Season 15: ChoboLeague
BSL Season 15: HasuLeague
FS Mania
Screw Me Up Bro
LASL Season 14
CSL season 6 Summer Cup
DSSL 15
Future Cup 5 (U18)
Luck Over Strength
STL37
RCG 2021
Endless Battle 9: GuoQian vs YingZiYu
TSL 9
WardiTV Summer 2022
WTL 2022 Summer
NGS Storm Division S5
WePlay Academy League S5

Upcoming

Deathfate Pro League 4
Deathfate Pro Team League 2
DDS36: Sziky vs. Zhanhun
IEM Katowice 2023
HSC XXII
2022 GSL: ST 2
DH Masters Atlanta
2022 GSL S3: Code S
Gladiators' Cup
Heroes International
Heroes Int. - NA LC Qual.
Heroes Int. - NA Qual. 2
Heroes Int. - EU LC Qual.
Heroes Int. - EU Qual. 2
Heroes Int. - NA Qual. 1
Heroes Int. - EU Qual. 1
IEM Rio Major 2022
FiReLEAGUE 2022
IEM Rio 2022: AME RMR
IEM Rio 2022: EU RMR B
IEM Rio 2022: EU RMR A
IEM Rio 2022: APAC RMR
ESL Challenger Melbourne 2022
ESL Pro League Season 16
BLAST Premier Fall Groups
ESL Challenger League S42 AP
ESL Challenger League S42 NA
ESL Challenger League S42 EU
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2022 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.