PvT Training Day, January 2012

You've probably heard of him.

Under construction!

If you've spent any time at all in the SC2 strategy forum, Randy "CecilSunkure" Gaul requires no introduction. He is best known around these parts as the author of a remarkable number of excellent strategy guides (list here) and a pair of excellent blogs on computer programming (here and here). He is also a member of the young team KiwiClone Army and has agreed to offer us his high-level insight into the Protoss side of the PvT matchup!

If you'd like to offer your thanks and support to Cecil, please head over to his fan club or drop by this thread to learn how you can get your paws on him for some 1 on 1 coaching!

NrGmonk describes himself as "that guy from the strategy forum." A member of team NrG, he is indeed well known for his excellent contributions to TL's SC2 strategy discussions, examples of which can be found in his profile.

Hi! My name is Benjamin Stürmer, and I'm an American expat working full time as a computer programmer in Düsseldorf Germany and occasionally as a freelance Japanese/German/English translator and interpretor. When I'm not playing SC2 or hanging out with my awesome little 1 1/2 year old daughter, I like to play the piano, go out ballroom dancing with my wife and juggle.

Andreas is a 22 year old Electrical Engineering major from Norway. In addition to his computer game habit, he enjoys playing sports and is currently interested in MMA. Of himself, he says. "...like most people here, my life revolves around computers. I simply love playing computer games, and I work part time at a local computer store when I'm not sitting in front of one at home."

Thomas is a 23 year old medicine student from Germany. He lives in Leipzig with his girlfriend and their little dog, and when he's not playing SC2 or studying, he enjoys making music (even some SC-related music before SC2 came along) and photography. He likes to visit European SC2 events and hang out with other TL nerds. He says, "Celebrating on stage after HerO won Dreamhack was by far the best SC-related moment I've had and probably one of the best in general."

Alex is a computer programmer and a high-diamond Protoss from the UK. Of his own play, he says, "I think PvT is my best matchup by far, but that I'm always looking to improve on anything!"

Daniel is a physics student from Denmark. He has been playing SC2 since beta, and has even spent time as a coach himself, something that will surely be a great contribution to our Training Day experience. In addition, he is an elite national-level athlete (100 meter dash) and has toured Europe as a drummer!

Noah is an undergraduate economics student in the USA and works as a part time computer programmer. He says of himself: "I am half-Korean which gives me all kinds of sweet Starcraft skills. I play saxophone and enjoy long walks on the beach."

Bjørk is our youngest participant at just 15 years of age. He lives in Denmark, where he attends school and plays piano in a band with his friends. He has been playing SC2 for almost a year, and is in his own words, "would love to take part in this since well... TvP isn't my greatest matchup, and i love to meet new people."

Connor is an engineer from South Africa. In addition to his master rank as Terran, he's achieved a diamond ranking as random.

One Day. One Matchup. One Goal.

We are Team Liquid - a community bound by our shared passion for Starcraft. The vast majority of us will never be able to devote our lives to the game that we love; instead, we find time between our jobs, our families, our studies, and our other responsibilities. And that's a good thing - for most of us, Starcraft is just a hobby.

But what if, for just one day, you could shut out the rest of the world, gather together with your Team Liquid brethren (and sistren) and devote yourself completely to the study of the game? And what if you were joined by a couple of professional coaches to guide your studies and help focus your efforts?

Well, those are ridicuous questions, because it's obvious that it would be fucking awesome.

And so I'm doing it. I am looking for seven awesome individuals who burn to master the PvT matchup and have a Saturday to devote to that pursuit.

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Players

Are you a Diamond or Master League Protoss or Terran? Do you have a microphone and a burning passion to improve? Are you a generally awesome human being? Then sign up! Reply to this thread using the following template:

ID on EU: Capybara.179
Your race: Protoss
Your league: Diamond
Can you stream/record the day? Yes

That's it! Before the big day comes, I'll just ask that you have TeamSpeak, Skype and an IRC client installed, since that's how we'll all be keeping in touch.

Don't worry if you can't stream. I'd just like to make sure that at least a few people in the group are able to record our experience, since I feel like an archive of many hours of practice and coaching in a single matchup could be a useful resource to the community.

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Questions
Will this cost money?
Yes, but not for you.

I will be getting coaches, but I will pay them myself for two reasons: I won't ask professional players to risk not getting what they were promised due to douchebaggery, and it seems like a nice thing to do. I will organize a donation account to support the event, though, and I'll be grateful for any assistance I can get, but I won't be demanding any money from anybody.

Why only PvT?
I hate Zerg.

Okay, that's not true. In fact, I offrace as Zerg. It's just this: This is the first ever Training Day, and I want to keep it simple. A small number of players practicing one matchup for one day seems manageable. I hope that in the future, it will be possible to have a bigger group practicing more matchups, but for a first event, I'm keeping it small and simple.

Why do you hate lower-league players?
I swear, I don't! In a perfect world, I would organize groups for every league! This is something I absolutely want to be able to do in the future, but this time around, as I wrote above, I'm trying to keep this thing simple.

What if I can't participate?
You're not on EU? You haven't quite made Diamond yet? You signed up too late? Not to worry! I will be streaming my experience all day, and I'll be encouraging everyone else to do the same. Watching someone else get coached isn't as good as getting coached yourself, but it's something! Do post to this thread if you're interested though, even if you don't fit the criteria this time around; I'd like to see how much interest there is in the community for future Training Days!

What if I'm not a generally awesome human being?
Asking that question using a Team Liquid account is paradoxical.

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Participants
I'll keep this list updated with the accounts of interested players as people post. The lists are obviously pretty full, so I can't guarantee you you'll get a spot, but please go ahead and sign up anyhow! I'll involve as many people as I possibly can, and it's very helpful for me to know how much interest an event like this has so that I can try to plan a better structure for next time!

I will be sending out PMs as the event gets closer to confirm who can make it, and I'll let you know a week or two in advance if you've been selected to join the core group. If not, though, please come join us on the streams and in IRC - there will be plenty of other players to train with!

+ Show Spoiler [Protoss] ++ Show Spoiler [Terran] +