EPT
Winning a series is a separate mental task altogether. Suddenly solid cookie cutter builds become weaker as a theme through the series and your knowledge of the opponent, the map and the matchup become amplified in their importance. Being able to predict what they will do, why they will do it and what you can do to overcome this is something worthy of your mental capacity when playing this game.
A series is different from a standard ladder game, a fun game or a practice game. It usually has some weight to it given a clan war, tourney or perhaps just a grudge match. Additionally, varying your play is exponentially more important (assuming you are of weaker or equal skill/strength as the opponent). Did you 9pool speed in that first ZvZ of the series? Perhaps you caught them off guard with a 12 hatch and you know that in game 2 they will be more conservative and either 9pool speed themselves or ovie 9 in hopes of catching you doing the same. These and other scenarios are all things we as SC gamers should consider. It is a strength to my game that I feel has lifted me above mechanically superior players throughout my entire career.
The following guide may be a little ranty or jumbled. I apologize but it is hard to organize a concept like this. A solid read on this subject should be enough to spurn good questions and hopefully get some of you to think more about this.
Pregame Logic
When entering a series I believe we all (for the most part) take into consideration the normal tendencies like what map is this, what matchup I am facing and perhaps some basic consideration to what type of player they are (ie: aggressive, turtle, cheesy etc..). I ask that you expand upon these concepts and go places you may not go otherwise. Ask yourself what kind of message you want to send that player with the first game. In WCG 2007 at the USA finals I won many pivotal games doing not what the player expected but what they didn't expect. Like 9pool speed vs a terran on Azalea. Because the map is so large and favorable to strong economies a lot of terran players will try and abuse this by playing towards the economy game hoping the map tendencies and the distance between the opponents will be enough to usher the opponent to do the same. This concept will get discussed more later but I ask that you also consider the placement of this tactic. If you know your opponent considers you a more aggressive player, someone that would 9pool speed on a map (or do the other variations of aggression for T/P) perhaps abuse that knowledge by playing differently and going macro safe/strong. Often times you will see a protoss delay their nexus with a third cannon or a terran block in on a map where they would rather not (just as examples). These mini mental chess games are the kind of points that can start to tilt the scales in your favor.
Equally as important as scheming the first game and the implications that will follow is your mental mindset for the series. This is where sports psychology has helped me immensely. Play each game with the mindset that it is a bo1. If you are playing a bo5 and you go up 2-0 (as dinot did similarly vs jf in liquibet) you can subconsciously even feel your game play switch. Suddenly it isn't as important to win that one game, or two because you know it will take 3 to lose. This is exponentially important with more important matches like a WCG series, courage series or even a lowly clan war. The previous game should only be considered for what kind of reaction you think your opponent will give. Did you do a reaver drop? They will probably have turrets this game. Go nexus heavy and abuse the turret heavy terran in the second game. Think not of who won but rather how someone won and what that means for both players.
Playing the series, things to consider
After you have considered the pregame 1 logic, what angle you want to take based on what you think they think of you it is important to understand how that functions with the rest of the series and what you can do with those calculations.
It is important to mention that we are human beings playing this game. The great thing about that is we are not 100% predictable. Weighing historic matches just helps us draw conclusions of what they will probably do, not what they certainly will do.
An example would be lets say I am playing Strelok in a cash tourney series. We have played numerous times throughout our gaming careers and we were even on the same team. I know that he is an aggressive TvZ player who likes to end things early or in the mid game at the latest. With this play style he suffers from a bad economy in the late game because he sacrifices scvs to make more units. My gameplay is typically aggressive and people know I tend to shy away from mutas. I would consider doing a cookie cutter 3 hatch muta build game 1 and push for the late game with extremely conservative play where lurkers would essentially push to kill the ranged tanks and wait for safer hive units for the end game.
Lets evaluate the implications from the varying scenarios:
1. I win. Game two he may respond by going conservative himself given his immediate information on me is that my mindset is/was to play safe and conservative vying for a late game TvZ encounter. I could completely through that logic to the wind with a 9pool speed hoping to catch him with a fast CC or a 1 rax bo but the important thing to consider is whether it works or not the message I sent with these two games is that I am unpredictable. Even if he blocks off and the 9pool speed does no damage I must understand the implication I created and try and benefit off of that in the series. There are countless more scenarios and I will cover those in questions in the thread. The main message I want here is what you can do as a player to exploit the tendencies and the importance of understanding the mental game.
2. I lose. He feels his cookie cutter response to my cookie cutter bo is sufficient, why would he take a risk in game 2 when standard play (for him) was all it took to win game 1? Expect more of the same. Unless the map changes things dramatically Strelok in this example should feel confident with what brought him the victory in game 1. Evaluate the nuances of his build and think of an exploitation you can utilize via the map or the bo. Did you lose but feel you could have won with a bit more solid play or perhaps less unlucky incidents? These are all things to consider not as excuses but rather game 2, 3 bo considerations or style reviews.
In both scenarios it is important to take into consideration what the win or the loss and how those came about mean. I have done this for so many years it is something that comes to me immediately and is constantly running through my mind during a tourney or a series.
Game 3 (deciding game of a series)
This is almost a series in and of itself. It requires all the considerations previously mentioned only they are hyper idolized. Are they aggressive? They will probably lean heavily on that in game 3. Expect a rush, "all-in" or severe sacrifices in order to get at you with as much as they can get. Then there are the smaller considerations, if it is JF or Nony you know that they feel very comfortable with reaver play, prepare for it in a deciding game. They will go to what they are most comfortable with and rely on that to bring home the pivotal game.
I say "almost a separate series" intentionally. It isn't separate entirely. Did you win/lose game 1, 2 with rushes? Consider varying it up for game 3 to try and exploit their reaction based on what you have done to them in the previous games.
I know this sounds like more of the same but I just want to call into attention the (in my experience) higher probability that they will be more predictable in the deciding game. This is your safest time to make a calculated risk in terms of game play or on a prediction level. This is important, and could win you a series.
What can I do to make my competitive experience better with this all in regard?
A lot of TL.net gamers want to be in the big clans, win clan wars or just compete on a higher level in this game. In order to do that you must win series. You cannot get somewhere winning isolated bo1's or having one or two fancy games every once in awhile.. you must learn the psychology of a series.
I watch a lot of replays. Not necessarily for bo ideas or map tendencies but also for player tendencies. I am a foreigner, I compete against foreigners, I watch mostly foreigner replays. They aren't as good as koreans sure but they are who I primarily face. learn learn learn.
Pay attention to trends. Relatively obscure players can beat you if they research and practice the korean bo's because those are usually what is proven to work. Know what it is they are practicing and also consider the likelihood that they will do what they see.
Retain the information. I don't care if you take notes or something but playing 10 games with someone you might later play in a tourney matters. I cannot tell you how many times I have played someone that simply had no idea we had played each other earlier that month and I was able to exploit their tendencies, bo's etc.. while they were almost completely in the dark on what I do. Do not shut off your brain while you play SCBW if your goal is to be a good player that wins series. If this is an escape or something you do purely for fun (losing) I question why you read this painfully long article.
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This is a really tough concept I am trying to illustrate. It may have come off as completely redundant or very basic but I at least tried to express something that has really worked for me and I know is overlooked by a majority of the players who want to win in this game. If you have any questions or want to discuss anything on this I will check regularly and answer to the best of my abilities.
