Randy "CecilSunkure" Gaul here with exciting content geared towards getting all you SC2 players to improve your SC2 game, and improve it efficiently!
About Cecil
I'm a new and aspiring professional SC2 player! I'm a part of the KiwiClone Army, a newly formed competitive SC2 team! My goal is to become a competent professional player in the near future!
CecilSunkure participating at GameClucks Seattle! Gaming gear sucked back then, I have much better gear now! ^_^
I absolutely love teaching people. There is a phrase in Latin that goes: "Docendo Discimus" which means "We learn by teaching". I believe that an effective way of solidifying and furthering my understanding of the game is to teach others about the game. Selling lessons, streaming on Twitch.tv, and Youtube are all great ways of benefiting not only myself, but the community in general.
I strive to become the best player and teacher that I possibly can become, as well as to help the community as best as I know how!
+ Show Spoiler [Achievements/Random Facts] +
1st Place DigiPen University Semi-Annual LAN - $100
3rd Place Gameclucks Seattle LAN Open - $50
2nd Place DigiPen University Semi-Annual LAN - GPG (Game Developer) Games/Memorabilia
4th Place Gameclucks Seattle LAN Open
Had shoutouts from Artosis and Tasteless during GSL, where Tasteless said my article I wrote had a ton of great information, and Artosis said I had a "Great RTS mind"!
Really likes FF2/4 with Cecil the Dark Knight! So much so he stole the name from him and put FF2 pictures in this thread
A part of KiwiClone Army, an up-and-coming newly formed competitive team!
Recently quit his job working for Microsoft Game Studios, and is expected to take part in many future online tournaments in order to prove himself! Much like... MLG Orlando 2011!
Attending MLG Orlando 2011 along with the rest of his teammates, the Kiwi Clones!
Used to work for Micrsoft Games Studios as a Balance and Design Associate working on the newest of the Age of Empire series! Actually worked there until about a week ago!
Currently attends DigiPen IT studying Real-Time Interactive Simulation in a Bachelor's Degree of Science!
3rd Place Gameclucks Seattle LAN Open - $50
2nd Place DigiPen University Semi-Annual LAN - GPG (Game Developer) Games/Memorabilia
4th Place Gameclucks Seattle LAN Open
Had shoutouts from Artosis and Tasteless during GSL, where Tasteless said my article I wrote had a ton of great information, and Artosis said I had a "Great RTS mind"!
Really likes FF2/4 with Cecil the Dark Knight! So much so he stole the name from him and put FF2 pictures in this thread
A part of KiwiClone Army, an up-and-coming newly formed competitive team!
Recently quit his job working for Microsoft Game Studios, and is expected to take part in many future online tournaments in order to prove himself! Much like... MLG Orlando 2011!
Attending MLG Orlando 2011 along with the rest of his teammates, the Kiwi Clones!
Used to work for Micrsoft Games Studios as a Balance and Design Associate working on the newest of the Age of Empire series! Actually worked there until about a week ago!
Currently attends DigiPen IT studying Real-Time Interactive Simulation in a Bachelor's Degree of Science!
How to Support Cecil (and other newer players)
Have you ever wondered about why most of the tournaments and competitions have mostly the same ol' players over and over again? That's because it's so difficult for newer players to get into the competitive scene. Professional players mostly play full-time, and most non-professionals cannot practice full-time due to the necessity of generating a stable income. In order for a newer player to get into the professional scene they often times have to be able to compete to a certain degree with them, without practicing full-time. However, you can help support newer players in a few different ways! Here are some:
- Purchase a lesson from them if they offer lessons.
- Many players have some sort of donation button or way to donate directly to them.
- Some players write articles on TL. Simply commenting and engaging with them is a great way to show support!
- Just tell the player you support them. I get PMs from time to time on TL, and the occasional email from people just saying they are a fan and appreciate what I try to do. Do this! The players appreciate this more than you know! Visit them when they attend LANs (if you can), PM short messages, or email them!
- If players have a youtube channel, subscribing and viewing their videos is a great way to directly support them!
- Most players have decided to stream. If you see a player streaming, follow their stream whenever it goes online, and engage with them (if possible) in the chat!
Cecil's Coaching
So I love helping others to improve their game, and improve it efficiently. How can I help you to do this? Well I just so happen to be a wonderful SC2 coach! I'm comfortable teaching any matchup that involves a Protoss! That includes PvZ, PvP, PvT, ZvP, TvP, and finally PvR/RvP! Here are some quick reasons as to why I'm such a great teacher:
- Used to be in Silver league!
- This means I completely understand what it is like to play at a very low level!
- Allows me to easily empathize with my students.
- Know an incredible amount about the process of improving from Silver to a much higher league!
- This means I completely understand what it is like to play at a very low level!
- Has hundreds of hours of SC2 specific coaching. At least 150 hours total.
- Worked for Microsoft Game Studios as a Balance and Design Associate on the newest of the Age of Empires series.
- Accurately and precisely communicated abstract and complicated ideas in both written and verbal formats.
- Ability to deeply understand strategies of an RTS game at any point during their evolution.
- Ability to execute strategies and play at a very high competitive level.
- Ability to search for and identify "imbalanced" strategies.
- Accurately and precisely communicated abstract and complicated ideas in both written and verbal formats.
- Loves SC2 and loves teaching!
- Is a super badass awesome guy that doesn't afraid of anything.
My great understanding of the point of view of my students allows me to give extremely satisfying lessons. Here is the type of testimonial I always receive when I ask a student to detail about their experience(s) working with me:
On September 3rd Morp Wrote::
If you've read any of Cecil's many guides for protoss players on Teamliquid, you probably already know he's a talented communicator with an exact understanding of protoss. A lesson with him will confirm this. Cecil isn't content for you just to follow a build with no idea why you're following it - he wants you to become a better player by understanding why you're doing what you're doing. The same explanations take place if you're doing something wrong - he'll explain why what you did was incorrect and how it contributed to your loss. What I found most valuable is that Cecil understands what it was like being a low level player trying to learn SC2. He simplifies concepts and stresses what is most important first (because lets be honest, as a gold player I was doing 100 things wrong a game but I needed to start with the most glaring flaws). His suggestions are always practical (I can't multitask 4 things at once and he understands this) and always worded in such a way that I could understand and enact them in my practice games after the lesson. There are flashier players who charge more you could get coaching from, but I guarantee you won't possibly learn more from them than you will from Cecil.
If you've read any of Cecil's many guides for protoss players on Teamliquid, you probably already know he's a talented communicator with an exact understanding of protoss. A lesson with him will confirm this. Cecil isn't content for you just to follow a build with no idea why you're following it - he wants you to become a better player by understanding why you're doing what you're doing. The same explanations take place if you're doing something wrong - he'll explain why what you did was incorrect and how it contributed to your loss. What I found most valuable is that Cecil understands what it was like being a low level player trying to learn SC2. He simplifies concepts and stresses what is most important first (because lets be honest, as a gold player I was doing 100 things wrong a game but I needed to start with the most glaring flaws). His suggestions are always practical (I can't multitask 4 things at once and he understands this) and always worded in such a way that I could understand and enact them in my practice games after the lesson. There are flashier players who charge more you could get coaching from, but I guarantee you won't possibly learn more from them than you will from Cecil.
Here are some of the testimonials from a bunch of random students I've mentored over the past year: + Show Spoiler [ Testimonials ] +
On December 20 2010 10:50 Viperx wrote:
Did lessons, he is very informative and helpful. Gave very good advice, important timings, tips to look for, and overall strats. It is very helpful to get an in-depth analysis on what should happen, especially from a nice, high-level player who does not talk down to you.
I immediatly feel more comfortable with my PvZ (what the lesson was covering), as I understand weaknesses / strengths now of the matchup and how i can/should exploit them. Spectacular job.
Did lessons, he is very informative and helpful. Gave very good advice, important timings, tips to look for, and overall strats. It is very helpful to get an in-depth analysis on what should happen, especially from a nice, high-level player who does not talk down to you.
I immediatly feel more comfortable with my PvZ (what the lesson was covering), as I understand weaknesses / strengths now of the matchup and how i can/should exploit them. Spectacular job.
On December 20 2010 10:57 Archon96 wrote:
CecilSunkure is a great protoss player and teacher. I have viewed over 50 of his games and have learned so much from all of them. He started offering free coaching on bettering gameplay and I immediately jumped on it, and can say I learned so much from him. Thank you CecilSunkure for your time you gave to me.
He went over several questions I had with vital replays explaining the theory behind each timing attack and opening strategy. My PvZ play has been very weak, but now after CecilSunkure's solid advice, I feel ready to demolish Idra.
Now I won't overstalker early game, or pressure after 5 min 15 secs if he goes pool first. Additionally, I'll place my cannons better and protect them with tech buildings, and get 5+ cannons at my natural when I'm expanding to my 3rd base. Also, I'll be more proactive about never letting my nexus hit 100 energy again! :D
For those new to CecilSunkure's stream, I'd highly recommend watching him play and asking about his lessons.
Archon.889
CecilSunkure is a great protoss player and teacher. I have viewed over 50 of his games and have learned so much from all of them. He started offering free coaching on bettering gameplay and I immediately jumped on it, and can say I learned so much from him. Thank you CecilSunkure for your time you gave to me.
He went over several questions I had with vital replays explaining the theory behind each timing attack and opening strategy. My PvZ play has been very weak, but now after CecilSunkure's solid advice, I feel ready to demolish Idra.
Now I won't overstalker early game, or pressure after 5 min 15 secs if he goes pool first. Additionally, I'll place my cannons better and protect them with tech buildings, and get 5+ cannons at my natural when I'm expanding to my 3rd base. Also, I'll be more proactive about never letting my nexus hit 100 energy again! :D
For those new to CecilSunkure's stream, I'd highly recommend watching him play and asking about his lessons.
Archon.889
On December 20 2010 19:50 CASLsoju wrote:
CecilSunkure is a baller. He went over a few replays with me and taught me a lot of things about building placement, army placement and micro. Felt good to get my play seriously critiqued. I was having trouble with Terran and Protoss as a Protoss and Cecil led me to the path of light.
Thanks man. Again, what a baller.
CecilSunkure is a baller. He went over a few replays with me and taught me a lot of things about building placement, army placement and micro. Felt good to get my play seriously critiqued. I was having trouble with Terran and Protoss as a Protoss and Cecil led me to the path of light.
Thanks man. Again, what a baller.
On January 08 2011 20:08 Dhalphir wrote:
Had a great lesson with Cecil to shore up my PvZ weakness. Gave me some great advice that I hadn't even thought of, as well as giving me some overall guidelines to follow rather than just a basic build, so that I could understand the matchup better and continue to work on it myself!
Hi5.
Had a great lesson with Cecil to shore up my PvZ weakness. Gave me some great advice that I hadn't even thought of, as well as giving me some overall guidelines to follow rather than just a basic build, so that I could understand the matchup better and continue to work on it myself!
Hi5.
On January 10 2011 18:49 Houndog wrote:
cecilsunkure's coaching
style is the best ive seen yet. i have had MANY coaches and his patients/teaching style are top notch. if your looking for a protoss coach this is the one
cecilsunkure's coaching
style is the best ive seen yet. i have had MANY coaches and his patients/teaching style are top notch. if your looking for a protoss coach this is the one
On January 11 2011 13:19 aScPraiise wrote:
I just received a lesson from Cecil and I was more than satisfied by the quality of service. And hour of time can fly by and he really understands that and caters to thoroughly give you exactly what you are looking for and giving additional things to consider. I spent an hour just talking with him and have a conceptually different intent towards what im looking to do to get better. I dont purchase online lessons and all that jazz typically but i would definitely go through with something like this again. QUALITY.
Appreciated.
M "Praiise" Brown lvl 13 plat // ex pro cs gamer // call of duty strategist
I just received a lesson from Cecil and I was more than satisfied by the quality of service. And hour of time can fly by and he really understands that and caters to thoroughly give you exactly what you are looking for and giving additional things to consider. I spent an hour just talking with him and have a conceptually different intent towards what im looking to do to get better. I dont purchase online lessons and all that jazz typically but i would definitely go through with something like this again. QUALITY.
Appreciated.
M "Praiise" Brown lvl 13 plat // ex pro cs gamer // call of duty strategist
On January 18 2011 11:02 tallbus1 wrote:
I just had a lesson with Cecil and all I can is awesome. His understanding of the mindset of both the average Protoss, and student are impeccable. He has a strong grasp on everything including build orders, mechanics, attacking micro, macro and more. The best part he had a really good in imparting this upon me and really helping me get an understanding, he answers all questions very well and made my learning experience fun, insightful, entertaining, and educational.
Thank you so much Cecil! 10/10 Highly Reccomend!!!
I just had a lesson with Cecil and all I can is awesome. His understanding of the mindset of both the average Protoss, and student are impeccable. He has a strong grasp on everything including build orders, mechanics, attacking micro, macro and more. The best part he had a really good in imparting this upon me and really helping me get an understanding, he answers all questions very well and made my learning experience fun, insightful, entertaining, and educational.
Thank you so much Cecil! 10/10 Highly Reccomend!!!
On January 30 2011 14:26 Dhalphir wrote:
More praise for Cecil from watching his stream when he does lessons.
Cecil is one of those rare people who is not only extremely good at what he does, but is also capable of passing on what he knows, something that not everyone can do, regardless of their ability.
The ability to pass on your skills is a much more valuable thing than simply having those skills, and Cecil is a great teacher. patient and very proficient at tailoring the things he says in a way that each individual student can understand.
More praise for Cecil from watching his stream when he does lessons.
Cecil is one of those rare people who is not only extremely good at what he does, but is also capable of passing on what he knows, something that not everyone can do, regardless of their ability.
The ability to pass on your skills is a much more valuable thing than simply having those skills, and Cecil is a great teacher. patient and very proficient at tailoring the things he says in a way that each individual student can understand.
On January 31 2011 10:22 bluedragon9958 wrote:
Just had a lesson, I am a bronze level noob, so I can use all the help I can get. Very prompt and setup a lesson with me on short notice. I think the lesson was well tailored for a beginner at my level. Went through a few build orders and counters.
Would definitely recommend him no matter what level you are at.
Just had a lesson, I am a bronze level noob, so I can use all the help I can get. Very prompt and setup a lesson with me on short notice. I think the lesson was well tailored for a beginner at my level. Went through a few build orders and counters.
Would definitely recommend him no matter what level you are at.
On February 16 2011 08:20 Tomek wrote:
Took a lesson from Cecil focusing on PVZ (I'm at 3k diamond). I definitely improved my PVZ play, covering some fairly basic but big impact areas:
1. Scouting with (hallucination)
2. Safely applying pressure (initial pressure with Z/S and after warp-in, hallucination to scout enemy army)
3. Playing vs muta-ling (teching to blink + storm) and securing a 3rd right after
Thanks!
Tomasz
Took a lesson from Cecil focusing on PVZ (I'm at 3k diamond). I definitely improved my PVZ play, covering some fairly basic but big impact areas:
1. Scouting with (hallucination)
2. Safely applying pressure (initial pressure with Z/S and after warp-in, hallucination to scout enemy army)
3. Playing vs muta-ling (teching to blink + storm) and securing a 3rd right after
Thanks!
Tomasz
On February 26 2011 13:31 Dhalphir wrote:
Just had the second of three planned lessons with Cecil, focusing on PvT and forcefield micromanagement this time around. I got a couple great builds to work on for PvT, but most importantly we sat down and worked on one of the weakest areas of my play, my forcefields, and I feel like I've improved 100x. Cecil is great at identifying exactly what you're doing wrong and explaining how to fix it in ways that are easy to comprehend.
Fantastic lesson again.
-Dhal
Just had the second of three planned lessons with Cecil, focusing on PvT and forcefield micromanagement this time around. I got a couple great builds to work on for PvT, but most importantly we sat down and worked on one of the weakest areas of my play, my forcefields, and I feel like I've improved 100x. Cecil is great at identifying exactly what you're doing wrong and explaining how to fix it in ways that are easy to comprehend.
Fantastic lesson again.
-Dhal
On March 23 2011 14:40 JLew wrote:
I just finished by 2nd session with CecilSunkure, and to give you a little bit of info on myself, I never played War3 and basically messed around with use map settings games in bw as a 12 year old kid. To say the least my rts experience is next to none, My first session I took with Cecil I was in bronze and some of you might not see the benefit of someone as low as bronze taking a lesson with a guy from masters, immediately after my session where I learned 2 builds in under an hour. Within 2 days of my session I went from a .500 bronze player to going on a 15+ game winning streak. Got promoted to rank 1 silver and am now beating gold/plat level players ( I realize that this is no great feat, but for me it is ).
Having just finished my 2nd session I can't wait to apply what he taught me to laddering, Cecil focuses on the big picture but as he's playing with you points out all the little things that will give you a small edge in your game. He is critical and to the point but in a friendly way.
I recommend his coaching to anyone who is looking to improve their game, his price/value is only going to go up so get in while you can.
I just finished by 2nd session with CecilSunkure, and to give you a little bit of info on myself, I never played War3 and basically messed around with use map settings games in bw as a 12 year old kid. To say the least my rts experience is next to none, My first session I took with Cecil I was in bronze and some of you might not see the benefit of someone as low as bronze taking a lesson with a guy from masters, immediately after my session where I learned 2 builds in under an hour. Within 2 days of my session I went from a .500 bronze player to going on a 15+ game winning streak. Got promoted to rank 1 silver and am now beating gold/plat level players ( I realize that this is no great feat, but for me it is ).
Having just finished my 2nd session I can't wait to apply what he taught me to laddering, Cecil focuses on the big picture but as he's playing with you points out all the little things that will give you a small edge in your game. He is critical and to the point but in a friendly way.
I recommend his coaching to anyone who is looking to improve their game, his price/value is only going to go up so get in while you can.
On April 20 2011 15:40 Dhalphir wrote:
Testimonial from me
I took three lessons from Cecil, two of them back in February and the last one recently in the middle of March. At the start of the new ladder season, I went on a 40win->12 losses win streak in Diamond on the SEA server and placed rapidly into Masters. Last night I then placed into Masters on North America. Prior to this I had been struggling along at high diamond level (at 3.3k points in Diamond last season riding on my bonus pool) and the reason for my improvement is almost completely due to Cecil's lessons. Thanks!
Testimonial from me
I took three lessons from Cecil, two of them back in February and the last one recently in the middle of March. At the start of the new ladder season, I went on a 40win->12 losses win streak in Diamond on the SEA server and placed rapidly into Masters. Last night I then placed into Masters on North America. Prior to this I had been struggling along at high diamond level (at 3.3k points in Diamond last season riding on my bonus pool) and the reason for my improvement is almost completely due to Cecil's lessons. Thanks!
So not only will the lessons be extremely satisfying, as seen by the above information, it will surpass the quality of lessons given out by the general coaching populace. Sure there are a lot of players better than me when it comes to a 1v1 situation, but coaches in general have a negative reputation for simply hounding on people about making execution mistakes without doing actual coaching. This is because a teacher needs not only have excellent application of the theory they are teaching, but they also need to have excellent teaching skills. Most coaches simply lack empathy for the low level player, and probably lack empathy on the large. Due to my ability to empathize and see from my student's point of view, I am able to identify true issues of my students' play, allowing them to understand why their play is lacking and consequently make great leaps in improvement.
I've recently started a new Youtube channel! The channel is dedicated to provide content aimed at helping anyone to improve their play. The channel is geared towards all three races and all matchups! I currently have over three hours of content, and continually upload new content! Often times I upload more than three videos per week! My goal is eventually get into a habit of uploading one video every week day.
Subscribing to my Youtube channel is an absolutely wonderful way of directly supporting me, so long as you watch new videos that continually come out! Here are some preview videos in the spoiler tag: + Show Spoiler [Assorted Videos] +
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMCcBV-xhrc
Link to Channel: Here
I've also started up a stream at Twitch.tv! I stream ladder play most of the time, and commentate my play whenever I can. I also have a high level of viewer interaction, which keeps people around my stream (if they ever see it in the first place) for a long time! Streaming is a great way for players to generate revenue in order to support themselves, so check me out next time you see me in the stream list on TL.net!
Again, following and viewing my stream is a wonderful way to directly support me!
Sadly however my internet is puking out lately, and I need to switch ISPs. Once this issue is resolved expect to see me streaming a whole lot in the near future!
Written Articles
I have an ever growing list of articles on TL.net! Many of them cover different Protoss related strategies, and many of them cover non-race specifics! Check them out!
- [G] Twilight Council PvP
- [G] 30 Minutes of Video on Micro!
- [G] PvT 3 Gate Aggressive Expo
- [G] How to Improve Efficiently at SC2 1v1
- [G] PvT 2 Gate Fast Obs FE
- Adel's No Gas PvP
- 3 Stalker Robo
- [G] BW Music --> SC2 Replacement
- [G] 2 WarpGate Rush [Fake 4 Gate]
>> Lessons and Contact Info <<
Interested in buying lessons? Great! Lessons can be a great way to improve in a very time-efficient manner! They are also both a wonderful way to get to know some of your favorite players and support them!
Lessons:
Rate: $20/hr
Bundle Deal: $50/3 hrs!!
Lesson Inquiry: CecilSunkure@hotmail.com
Contact Info
Regions: NA; KR; and EU!
Battle.net ID: CecilSunkure.934
Email: CecilSunkure@hotmail.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/CecilSunkure
Youtube: User - CecilSunkure - Link
Stream: Link
+ Show Spoiler [Free Lesson!] +
Congratulations to Archontas and BabyToss for winning the first two free lessons!
I want to offer another free lesson to the 500th response to this thread! Be warned; if the 500th response comes from a poster I believe to have spammed too much, then I'll give the lesson to someone else! So up the post quality a tad!