• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 13:08
CEST 19:08
KST 02:08
  • 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
Power Rank - Esports World Cup 202572RSL Season 1 - Final Week9[ASL19] Finals Recap: Standing Tall15HomeStory Cup 27 - Info & Preview18Classic wins Code S Season 2 (2025)16
Community News
Google Play ASL (Season 20) Announced11BSL Team Wars - Bonyth, Dewalt, Hawk & Sziky teams10Weekly Cups (July 14-20): Final Check-up0Esports World Cup 2025 - Brackets Revealed19Weekly Cups (July 7-13): Classic continues to roll8
StarCraft 2
General
#1: Maru - Greatest Players of All Time Power Rank - Esports World Cup 2025 I offer completely free coaching services What tournaments are world championships? Server Blocker
Tourneys
Esports World Cup 2025 $5,000 WardiTV Summer Championship 2025 WardiTV Mondays FEL Cracov 2025 (July 27) - $8000 live event Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament
Strategy
How did i lose this ZvP, whats the proper response
Custom Maps
External Content
Mutation #239 Bad Weather Mutation # 483 Kill Bot Wars Mutation # 482 Wheel of Misfortune Mutation # 481 Fear and Lava
Brood War
General
Google Play ASL (Season 20) Announced BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/ Simple editing of Brood War save files? (.mlx) Ginuda's JaeDong Interview Series [Update] ShieldBattery: 2025 Redesign
Tourneys
[Megathread] Daily Proleagues [BSL20] Non-Korean Championship 4x BSL + 4x China CSL Xiamen International Invitational [CSLPRO] It's CSLAN Season! - Last Chance
Strategy
[G] Mineral Boosting Does 1 second matter in StarCraft? Simple Questions, Simple Answers
Other Games
General Games
Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Total Annihilation Server - TAForever Nintendo Switch Thread [MMORPG] Tree of Savior (Successor of Ragnarok) Path of Exile
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
TL Mafia Community Thread Vanilla Mini Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Stop Killing Games - European Citizens Initiative Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine Russo-Ukrainian War Thread Post Pic of your Favorite Food!
Fan Clubs
INnoVation Fan Club SKT1 Classic Fan Club!
Media & Entertainment
[\m/] Heavy Metal Thread Anime Discussion Thread Movie Discussion! [Manga] One Piece Korean Music Discussion
Sports
Formula 1 Discussion 2024 - 2025 Football Thread TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023 NBA General Discussion
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Installation of Windows 10 suck at "just a moment" Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread
TL Community
TeamLiquid Team Shirt On Sale The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Ping To Win? Pings And Their…
TrAiDoS
momentary artworks from des…
tankgirl
from making sc maps to makin…
Husyelt
StarCraft improvement
iopq
Socialism Anyone?
GreenHorizons
Eight Anniversary as a TL…
Mizenhauer
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 754 users

Snute: Sheer Force of Will - Rank 12 - Road to BlizzCon

Forum Index > SC2 General
37 CommentsPost a Reply
1 2 Next All

Snute: Sheer Force of Will - Rank 12 - Road to BlizzCon

Text byTL.net ESPORTS
Graphics byshiroiusagi
October 14th, 2017 13:24 GMT
Photo Credit: DreamHack
Snute
Jens Aasgaard
Team Liquid


Sheer Force of Will


by Olli


Some players are naturally gifted. Of these, some are mechanical monsters who transform their superior physical ability into victory; to others the complex strategy of StarCraft II comes very easily, as if the fog of war was but a transparent curtain to them. Snute is neither. In fact, if you were to ask Snute about his talents, he would argue that he has none at all. And yet here he stands among the top eight players in the international scene, five years after his first big tournament performance at Dreamhack Winter 2012 where he reached the quarterfinals, even winning a group stage series against (Z)Stephano, the best foreigner in StarCraft II at the time.


You're going to see roaches if you click this.


"If the first you had seen of Snute was in 2017, you would have never guessed all the different versions of Snute that came before."
It is easy to forget at times that Snute was originally a very aggressive player. He excelled at aggressive roach strategies and was not scared to all-in whoever he met. He became a brood lord/infestor player, as did every other Zerg, and when that playstyle faded, a muta/ling/baneling player—only to again reinvent himself as a highly effective swarm host player in every match-up. If the first you had seen of Snute was in 2017, you would have never guessed all the different versions of Snute that came before. That evolution down the years hints at an important strength Snute does possess, even if he himself might never admit it. Snute, perhaps more than any other player in the international scene, excels at forcing himself to do the right thing—the winning thing.

This is by no means true for all players, and it is a very underrated ability to possess. Players very often let their personality flow into the game in ways that affect their style of play. Just as (T)GuMiho or (P)sOs inexorably sway towards unorthodox strategies, or (Z)Life was drawn to cheese in important matches, Snute's personality affects the way he plays. But it does so in the exact opposite way it did for the above players. Snute does not allow himself to succumb to his own tendencies. He would much rather change them altogether. Every evolution of Snute is based on modern and constantly updated knowledge of StarCraft II. That is why, when Snute deemed roach all-ins to be the most effective way of playing, he did not hesitate to employ them regularly. There is careful and intelligent thought behind Snute's different identities as a player, and they're all glued together by iron discipline and sheer force of will.



Winrate


72.56% vs. Terran
62.39% vs. Protoss
59.72% vs. Zerg

Rank


Circuit Standings
4

WCS Points


3760



The greatest testament to this ability is that, despite changing his playstyle so many times, Snute has remained among the very best international players at all times. Time and time again, when all other foreigners fell, it was Snute battling on in close series against would-be-champions, taking them to their limits—and, unfortunately, falling just short in most cases.


Snute takes (P)herO to a fifth game at IEM San Jose and falls just short. herO went on to win the tournament. Snute did the same to (T)Flash at IEM Toronto that year—Flash ended up winning the tournament.


The key to Snute maintaining that high level consistently is work, work and even more work. Even early on in his career that is what Snute was most known for. That dedication and commitment have earned him support and respect in the community—and not only among us spectators.



How does Snute keep pushing himself beyond his own limits? In an interview with Fragster (that unfortunately is no longer available), he explained that it is a conscious decision to keep improving.

"Practicing 12 hours a day would not be an issue for me and I know that with fewer things to focus on in real life, I will be able to focus better and become happier. [...] I have thought several times in the past that I couldn't become better, but every time I proved myself wrong."


To Snute, it seems, improving at StarCraft II is directly tied to his happiness as a person. To do this, he is willing to put aside any other interests he has and focus solely on the game that is now his job. That kind of mindset has proven successful, but it comes at a cost. Shutting out all things that distract from practice has yielded immense benefits—Snute is the highest earning foreigner in StarCraft II's history—but it also results in every single loss hitting Snute even harder. The more you focus on perfecting one thing—while sacrificing all others— the rougher the realization becomes that perfection can never be achieved by any human being. With it often comes a form of self-reflection seems depreciating to many. Snute has been quite open about how he sees himself and his abilities.

On October 29 2016 05:54 Liquid`Snute wrote:
Show nested quote +
On October 28 2016 22:04 outscar wrote:
Snute, your broke our hearts with that, how should I call it by not being rude, 12 billion ling travesty against Drogo! It was your game, your match, your score from the very start! I don't even wanna cheer anymore :'(

put yourself in my shoes having to be the guy that plays horribly like that after practicing so much when it matters the most. and then having to read this. i know exactly what you mean, because if you imagine what you said and amplify its negative emotions by x1000 and add some existential-suicidal darkness spice on top, you can maybe get somewhat close to imagining how i feel. it's not the first time. i feel incompetent at my job more often than not and it's very sad. but i'm happy to still have fans that cheer for me.

At this point it's more about trying to find reasons to keep going in sc2 or in life for that matter. i failed wesg and blizzcon, the two most important things to not fail. if good gameplay on average is what you want, then I'm proven to not be the guy (despite placing top4 at a lot of tournaments this year). Try Nerchio or Neeb if you want to cheer for someone less likely to disappoint. I'm just a high level zerg that does somewhat ok on ladder and sometimes in tournaments. It's not fair to expect me to take down drogo 100% of the time, even if my ZvP is good in a lot of scenarios. apologies


But despite taking losses as emotionally as he does, Snute has picked himself up and continued on every single time, always with the same goals in mind. Whether he wins or loses, he always learns from his mistakes and tries his utmost to fix them. The best way to describe Snute, then, is a player and human being fueled almost entirely by his will to succeed, and the ability to force himself to do whatever is necessary to reach his goals. And if that means dropping everything he knows in favor of something new and better then so be it.

That is the most important ability Snute has, one that perhaps he himself underestimates. Snute the roach all-inner, the brood lord/infestor abuser, the muta/ling/bane macro player, the swarmhost maniac and the Snute of today are one and the same person: Jens Aasgaard, always striving for perfection.








Writer: Olli
Editor: Zealously, munch, Olli
Photo Credit: DreamHack
Statistics: Aligulac
Facebook Twitter Reddit
TL+ Member
mortyFromRickAndMort
Profile Blog Joined September 2017
85 Posts
Last Edited: 2017-10-14 21:18:49
October 14 2017 13:28 GMT
#2
Why are there so many whites at Blizzcon? Did they change the format to have affirmative action for foreigners?

I got warned for this, but I genuinely don't know...

User was warned for this post
Kitai
Profile Joined June 2012
United States873 Posts
October 14 2017 13:51 GMT
#3
Snute is easily my favorite foreigner going to Blizzcon. Whether his results are good or bad, he is always a class act and embodies the personality traits and work ethic I admire the most of people in his position. He works incredibly hard and doesn't talk shit, boast, or lash out at people even when his negative emotions are strong. Go Snute!!
"You know, I don't care if soO got 100 second places in a row. Anyone who doesn't think that he's going to win blizzcon watching this series is a fool" - Artosis, Blizzcon 2014 soO vs TaeJa
myRZeth
Profile Joined June 2011
Germany1047 Posts
October 14 2017 14:03 GMT
#4
I love the posts so much
Parrek
Profile Joined May 2016
United States893 Posts
October 14 2017 14:05 GMT
#5
On October 14 2017 22:28 mortyFromRickAndMort wrote:
Why are there so many whites at Blizzcon? Did they change the format to have affirmative action for foreigners?


You are really far behind if you don't know why.
Mun_Su
Profile Joined December 2012
France2063 Posts
October 14 2017 14:08 GMT
#6
very good read, Snute is the most likeable foreigner, by far. I hope he'll do well in Blizzcon.
INno <3 - TY - Maru - Taeja - Rain <3 - Classic <3 - Stephano <3 - soO <3 - Soulkey - Dark - SERRAL =O / END REGION LOCK
Morbidius
Profile Joined November 2010
Brazil3449 Posts
Last Edited: 2017-10-14 14:13:42
October 14 2017 14:13 GMT
#7
On October 14 2017 23:05 Parrek wrote:
Show nested quote +
On October 14 2017 22:28 mortyFromRickAndMort wrote:
Why are there so many whites at Blizzcon? Did they change the format to have affirmative action for foreigners?


You are really far behind if you don't know why.

He knows why, he said the reason in his post.
Has foreign StarCraft hit rock bottom?
Nakajin
Profile Blog Joined September 2014
Canada8989 Posts
October 14 2017 14:20 GMT
#8
Nice article, really hopping Snute can do good at Blizzcon
Writerhttp://i.imgur.com/9p6ufcB.jpg
Fango
Profile Joined July 2016
United Kingdom8987 Posts
October 14 2017 14:29 GMT
#9
I'm gonna take a guess and say Elazer will be next, followed by TY
Zest, sOs, PartinG, Dark, and Maru are the real champs. ROOT_herO is overrated. Snute, Serral, and Scarlett are the foreigner GOATs
Mun_Su
Profile Joined December 2012
France2063 Posts
October 14 2017 14:39 GMT
#10
On October 14 2017 23:29 Fango wrote:
I'm gonna take a guess and say Elazer will be next, followed by TY


So you put Serral above Elazer and TY ?
INno <3 - TY - Maru - Taeja - Rain <3 - Classic <3 - Stephano <3 - soO <3 - Soulkey - Dark - SERRAL =O / END REGION LOCK
Fango
Profile Joined July 2016
United Kingdom8987 Posts
October 14 2017 15:08 GMT
#11
On October 14 2017 23:39 Mun_Su wrote:
Show nested quote +
On October 14 2017 23:29 Fango wrote:
I'm gonna take a guess and say Elazer will be next, followed by TY


So you put Serral above Elazer and TY ?


I wouldn't, but I'm guessing TL will
Zest, sOs, PartinG, Dark, and Maru are the real champs. ROOT_herO is overrated. Snute, Serral, and Scarlett are the foreigner GOATs
stevemachine17
Profile Joined April 2017
45 Posts
October 14 2017 15:17 GMT
#12
GL Snute!
Boggyb
Profile Joined January 2017
2855 Posts
October 14 2017 15:21 GMT
#13
On October 15 2017 00:08 Fango wrote:
Show nested quote +
On October 14 2017 23:39 Mun_Su wrote:
On October 14 2017 23:29 Fango wrote:
I'm gonna take a guess and say Elazer will be next, followed by TY


So you put Serral above Elazer and TY ?


I wouldn't, but I'm guessing TL will

The argument to put TY that low would have resulted in SpeCial at 16, so unless they are weirdly inconsistent, I doubt it. TY was second at GSL vs The World, so you can't reasonably claim he's on a longer downward funk than SpeCial.
Durnuu
Profile Joined September 2013
13320 Posts
October 14 2017 15:38 GMT
#14
On October 15 2017 00:08 Fango wrote:
Show nested quote +
On October 14 2017 23:39 Mun_Su wrote:
On October 14 2017 23:29 Fango wrote:
I'm gonna take a guess and say Elazer will be next, followed by TY


So you put Serral above Elazer and TY ?


I wouldn't, but I'm guessing TL will

What could make you think TL writers would do that ?
BUNNYYYYYYYYY https://i.imgur.com/BiCF577.png
Rob-Zero
Profile Joined January 2011
Germany459 Posts
October 14 2017 15:49 GMT
#15
The first article of the PowerRank that really got me, Snute is just so likeable always, nice, honest and a great work attitude (I dont know if he is the hardest working because i dont know how hard the others are working).
I wish you all the best Snute, I know you are most likely not winning the Global Finals, so I wish you something else instead : happiness! It´s so much more important, too. You can be very proud of your career as a Sc2 Pro, never forget that.
Dark Age of Camelot - I miss you
Fango
Profile Joined July 2016
United Kingdom8987 Posts
Last Edited: 2017-10-14 16:31:28
October 14 2017 16:18 GMT
#16
On October 15 2017 00:21 Boggyb wrote:
Show nested quote +
On October 15 2017 00:08 Fango wrote:
On October 14 2017 23:39 Mun_Su wrote:
On October 14 2017 23:29 Fango wrote:
I'm gonna take a guess and say Elazer will be next, followed by TY


So you put Serral above Elazer and TY ?


I wouldn't, but I'm guessing TL will

The argument to put TY that low would have resulted in SpeCial at 16, so unless they are weirdly inconsistent, I doubt it. TY was second at GSL vs The World, so you can't reasonably claim he's on a longer downward funk than SpeCial.


The argument against TY is that he barely plays in anything. That's why they didn't include him on top 10power ranks before even though at the time he was still getting ro8/4 in the main events. Arguably he's doing worse now than back then
Zest, sOs, PartinG, Dark, and Maru are the real champs. ROOT_herO is overrated. Snute, Serral, and Scarlett are the foreigner GOATs
Serimek
Profile Joined August 2011
France2274 Posts
October 14 2017 16:51 GMT
#17
Go go Snute ! Maybe you're not likely to go out of your group, but I'm sure you can !
SC2 is the best game to watch and was the best to play before I grew old and slow...
bulya
Profile Joined February 2016
Israel386 Posts
October 14 2017 16:52 GMT
#18
On October 14 2017 23:29 Fango wrote:
I'm gonna take a guess and say Elazer will be next, followed by TY


TY is quite a gamble when you have Gumiho. I guess Gumiho will come before TY. Gumiho's TvZ was figured out, and similar to a few other players he is currently not in a great form. Although TY isn't in his best form either.

In my Gumiho and TY are the Koreans that will come first, probably following Elazer.
Serral and Neeb are the 2 foreigners you can't count out, and I think they have a good chance of getting to the top 8. I would be surprised if one of them won't be in the top 8 of this power rank.
Rehio
Profile Joined March 2011
United States1718 Posts
October 14 2017 17:16 GMT
#19
I am just such a huge fan of Snute's. The Red Bull Battleground win was just an amazing moment to watch back in the day, and it grabbed my interest in the beginning. He's only continued to impress and improve as the years go on. He never gives up, he always works hard, and I respect him a lot. He's just a good person.

Whether you win or lose your fans will support you, Snute, but I hope you beat 'em up at Blizzcon anyway.

SidianTheBard
Profile Joined October 2010
United States2474 Posts
October 14 2017 17:26 GMT
#20
Let's go Snute! Best foreigner there! (My opinion!) Kick some butt, you've got this! =)
Creator of Abyssal Reef, Ascension to Aiur, Battle on the Boardwalk, Habitation Station, Honorgrounds, IPL Darkness Falls, King's Cove, Korhal Carnage Knockout & Moonlight Madness.
1 2 Next All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
CSO Cup
16:00
#83
Liquipedia
PSISTORM Gaming Misc
15:55
FSL Teamleague: CN vs ASH
Freeedom24
Liquipedia
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
Hui .394
SpeCial 309
BRAT_OK 103
ProTech79
goblin 46
MindelVK 22
StarCraft: Brood War
Britney 18810
Bisu 3650
Shuttle 2543
Jaedong 2136
Flash 2027
EffOrt 1104
BeSt 847
Nal_rA 522
actioN 369
firebathero 367
[ Show more ]
Soma 153
sorry 145
Rush 128
Dewaltoss 116
Aegong 46
Shinee 41
scan(afreeca) 36
JYJ32
zelot 28
Terrorterran 14
IntoTheRainbow 7
Stormgate
BeoMulf176
Dota 2
Gorgc6811
qojqva3392
420jenkins509
League of Legends
Dendi762
Counter-Strike
fl0m3863
ScreaM1263
sgares345
Heroes of the Storm
Khaldor520
Other Games
B2W.Neo971
Beastyqt929
FrodaN531
oskar136
KnowMe108
Trikslyr77
QueenE47
Organizations
Other Games
gamesdonequick825
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 15 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• LUISG 18
• tFFMrPink 5
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• 80smullet 2
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
Dota 2
• C_a_k_e 2965
Other Games
• Shiphtur352
Upcoming Events
BSL20 Non-Korean Champi…
52m
Bonyth vs Sziky
Dewalt vs Hawk
Hawk vs QiaoGege
Sziky vs Dewalt
Mihu vs Bonyth
Zhanhun vs QiaoGege
QiaoGege vs Fengzi
FEL
15h 52m
BSL20 Non-Korean Champi…
20h 52m
BSL20 Non-Korean Champi…
1d
Bonyth vs Zhanhun
Dewalt vs Mihu
Hawk vs Sziky
Sziky vs QiaoGege
Mihu vs Hawk
Zhanhun vs Dewalt
Fengzi vs Bonyth
Sparkling Tuna Cup
2 days
Online Event
3 days
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
3 days
The PondCast
4 days
Replay Cast
5 days
Korean StarCraft League
6 days
[ Show More ]
CranKy Ducklings
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

CSL Xiamen Invitational
Esports World Cup 2025
Murky Cup #2

Ongoing

Copa Latinoamericana 4
Jiahua Invitational
BSL20 Non-Korean Championship
BSL Team Wars
CSLPRO Last Chance 2025
CC Div. A S7
Underdog Cup #2
IEM Cologne 2025
FISSURE Playground #1
BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025
ESL Impact League Season 7
IEM Dallas 2025
PGL Astana 2025
Asian Champions League '25

Upcoming

ASL Season 20: Qualifier #1
ASL Season 20: Qualifier #2
ASL Season 20
CSLPRO Chat StarLAN 3
BSL Season 21
RSL Revival: Season 2
Maestros of the Game
SEL Season 2 Championship
WardiTV Summer 2025
uThermal 2v2 Main Event
FEL Cracov 2025
HCC Europe
ESL Pro League S22
StarSeries Fall 2025
FISSURE Playground #2
BLAST Open Fall 2025
BLAST Open Fall Qual
Esports World Cup 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall Qual
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 © 2025 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.