EPT![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/staff/Hot_Bid/TLFE/AceofHearts.jpg)
Cover image by SilverskY
26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed.
I've failed over and over and over again in my life.
And that is why I succeed."
—Michael Jordan
Ace of Hearts
by Hot_Bid
TeamLiquid: Final Edits
The single greatest dramatic moment in all of Progaming is the Proleague Grand Finals Ace match. While a Proleague match is a contest of coaching, preparation, and execution, a Proleague Ace match is decided by something else entirely. Will. Force. Determination. Effort. Heart. It's a player in his purest form, stripped of everything but his competitive soul.
In that ace booth, a player is not alone. With him are the combined hopes, dreams, and expectations of his coaches, his fans, and most importantly, his teammates. He holds their happiness in his hands just as he holds the fate of his team.
With him also is a specter, an abstract thing that he never fully understood until that moment: pressure. He has prepared for this moment his entire career. This is why he became a progamer. But pressure was never supposed to feel like this. It seemed as real and tangible as the mouse in his hand, as heavy as the air he now struggled to breath, and as bright as the lights of the Shinhan stage.
Through heavy sighs and bloodshot eyes, he concedes. The five minutes after the loss are always the toughest. His teammates and coach offer words of encouragement, but all he can think about is how he let them down. This was his job, his responsibility. Their sleepless nights, their hours of practice, their confidence and belief in him was all for nothing. It's just a tick in the loss column now. What went wrong?
He buries his head in his hands, and closes his eyes as if to squeeze out the rest of the world. He wants to forget already but his mind won't let him. A long, difficult week lays ahead of him. Next time, things will be different. Next time.
For the mediocre veteran looking to finally make a difference, there may not be a next time. For a first time ace hoping to finally realize his potential, this is supposed to be his break through. For a team's best player, this is just another missed opportunity. It's just one loss in just one match against just one player. It's nothing compared to the thousands of games played over the course of his already successful career. It's nothing, yet tonight, it's everything.
With surpressed smiles and barely contained joy, he rips off his head phones. Exiting the booth, descending the stairs, and high fiving his teammates all blend together into one euphoric moment. The sleepless nights, the effort and sweat, the aching hands, it was all worth it. His preparation paid off. He can't wait to joke with his practice partners or buy his captains a drink. For now, all he can do is laugh and smile. Be smooth, he tells himself. Act like you've been here before. But his happiness is relentless, and that smile keeps creeping back onto his face.
His coach pats him on the back. His teammates congratulate him, and his parents will call him that night with celebratory words. Practice tomorrow will hardly feel like practice. He smiles when he thinks of next week, when his name might be called again. He can't wait.
For the legend looking to recapture old glory, this is a feeling he thought he might never experience again. For the rising young star, this is a taste of pure inpiration. For a team's best player, it's just a validation of what he and his team already knew: they were going to win the Shinhan Proleague. It's just one win in just one match against just one player. It's nothing compared to the thousands of games played over the course of his already successful career. It's nothing, yet tonight, it's everything.
