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Today is a happy day for me. Sc2gears told me that my MMR was just above the Masters league promotion line, so I decided to go for it today. I played about 15 games - I went on a 10 game winstreak, followed by 4 quick losses, then my final win, and then this happened:
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/U0vYg.jpg)
Yay! :D
I was so excited and overjoyed; it's basically been my goal ever since I watched Destiny get into Masters with mass queen. I was just a bronzie back then, doing a 4gate expand into double robo colossus blink deathball :D
About 300 Day[9] Dailies, 200 casts by HuskyStarcraft, and countless hours lurking TL, I've finally made it! I'm one of the big kids now 
I finally feel like all my hard work has paid off, and that I'm actually a halfway decent player at the game now. I still have troubles with all matchups, but I know how to learn and what to work on. (Not losing my first overlord on Daybreak ZvT is a good idea...hehe)
I'm now totally shocked. Here are some of the people in my division (of only 50 people as of now):
-Nuvo, I believe from intimate ZvX with Stoic
-LiquidRet (OMG!)
-colRyan (another pro, hadn't heard of him before though)
-xSixMkengyn
-NovaWar (ohai!)
Link: http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/profile/3471675/1/uwuMavvie/ladder/leagues#current-rank
I know I'm still very bad at the game and have miles more to improve, but for anyone who isn't yet Masters:
-Read Belial's guides. All of them, more than once. Just because he's banned doesn't mean he isn't one of the best players/guidewriters on TL
-Get practice partners to do the builds you have trouble with against you. This helps a ton. I had to play like 100 games against immortal/sentry 7gate all-in before I could consistently defend it. This is especially true with ZvZ; get someone to ling/bane all-in you every game, and eventually you'll get holding it down to an art
-Practice a lot! It took me >1k games to get into Masters. That's a lot of games, but some people can do it in less. Either way, mass gaming /with a purpose/ is great. Look at your losses, try to learn from them
-Have the right attitude. Whenever you lose it isn't because he/his race is gay or imbalanced, it's because you failed to scout and react to it. Any all-in is easily defendable, and will put you miles ahead.
-Know when to use which styles, and adapt to your league's metagame. At top diamond, here was the metagame I noticed:
Almost every ZvZ was a 2 hatch ling/bane all-in. I'd build 2 spines, get a fast bane nest, and cut drones at ~24, defend the all-in, and then win
Almost every ZvT was hellion/banshee into mech. I would go for infestor/ling double ups into 14:00 broodlords that were usually in time for his 3base deathball push.
Almost every ZvP was 7gate sentry/immortal. This was hard to defend, but I eventually got it odwn
Just learn the common strategies and what to do against them, and you'll be in a great spot.
-Be anal about having perfect mechanics. I never have a unit not hotkeyed unless I missed control/shift, then as soon as it spawns I fix the problem. Egg-rally, egg-hotkey, drone pair in the early game, maynard in the midgame, aggressively expand + tech to hive. Play Zerg the way it's meant to be played
-Adopt a style and stick to it. I started watching GSL last week, and I love Symbol's playstyle. I try to adopt it, especially in ZvT. I can't wait to see more games and learn more styles, pick my favourite, and stick with it.
Sorry for the wall of text, but I'm very happy and am probably fairly incoherent :D
Thanks for reading <3
Also special thanks Belial for your guides + help in the Zerg Help Me Thread, among others 
 
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28074 Posts
Nice dude. I am remember the day I made masters. I pretty much jumped from my chair and yelped
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On October 01 2012 11:07 TheEmulator wrote:Nice dude. I am remember the day I made masters. I pretty much jumped from my chair and yelped
Thanks
Haha that's basically what I did too. I was expecting it, like seriously 10 wins after being above the promo-line. Then 4 losses and I'm like "seriously...", then promotion! "YEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHH :D"
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Woo! Grats man that's awesome
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great job, love success stories like this ^^;
hard work and practice pays off!
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Congrats! Hard work does pay off for a lot of people. Keep practicing and maybe you will even hit GM haha! :D Have fun in Masters!
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oh god im jealous, it must feel incredible
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On October 01 2012 12:42 TerranosauresWrecks wrote:
oh god im jealous, it must feel incredible
It's one of the best feelings u can experience
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Congratulations, Im jealous and more motivated to also reach my goals.
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Congratulations Mawie! Good stuff. I see you returned to Zerg. I hope your brief stay on Aiur was a pleasant one!
Next stop, Grandmaster!
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-Read Belial's guides. All of them, more than once. Just because he's banned doesn't mean he isn't one of the best players/guidewriters on TL
He really isn't.
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Italy12246 Posts
Gratz
Too bad you didn't do it with the manly race.
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On October 01 2012 10:59 Mavvie wrote:I finally feel like all my hard work has paid off, and that I'm actually a halfway decent player at the game now. I still have troubles with all matchups, but I know how to learn and what to work on. (Not losing my first overlord on Daybreak ZvT is a good idea...hehe)
[...]
-Have the right attitude. Whenever you lose it isn't because he/his race is gay or imbalanced, it's because you failed to scout and react to it. Any all-in is easily defendable, and will put you miles ahead.
YOU are the type of person who deserves to be in master league. Someone who works hard and knows they have to keep working hard. And that this game is YOUR game, and if you are good enough you can win; it has nothing to do with imbalance.
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Yeah buddy :D
Congrats, one of the best feelings in this game for sure. Way to be brother!
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Congrats! Hard work does pay off for a lot of people. Keep practicing and maybe you will even hit GM haha! :D Have fun in Masters!
oh god im jealous, it must feel incredible
Congratulations, Im jealous and more motivated to also reach my goals.
Congratulations Mavvie! Good stuff. I see you returned to Zerg. I hope your brief stay on Aiur was a pleasant one!
Next stop, Grandmaster!
Haha Just play to improve, don't play to win!
Yeah, playing Protoss was super cool. It's interesting to "walk a mile in someone else's shoes," in the most literal sense  Back to Zerg though, I just missed ZvZ too much. ^^
#grandmaster #2012Season5
Gratz Too bad you didn't do it with the manly race.
OH SNAP! TBH though, according to sc2gears I got to ~10 points below Masters with Protoss. So I'm manly enough
Thanks :D
On October 02 2012 04:41 Cycle wrote:Show nested quote +On October 01 2012 10:59 Mavvie wrote:I finally feel like all my hard work has paid off, and that I'm actually a halfway decent player at the game now. I still have troubles with all matchups, but I know how to learn and what to work on. (Not losing my first overlord on Daybreak ZvT is a good idea...hehe)
[...]
-Have the right attitude. Whenever you lose it isn't because he/his race is gay or imbalanced, it's because you failed to scout and react to it. Any all-in is easily defendable, and will put you miles ahead. YOU are the type of person who deserves to be in master league. Someone who works hard and knows they have to keep working hard. And that this game is YOUR game, and if you are good enough you can win; it has nothing to do with imbalance.
Thanks! I agree; it's silly when people just blame their losses on the opponent's race, or brush it off and say "whatever, I just can't beat Protoss." No, watch the replay, read a guide, and win your next ZvP! This really applies to all of life, not just StarCraft. School, skiing, music...all things I do and have no "natural talent" at, it's all just work. Not to say I'm good at any of them, but it's really clear that what you put into them is what you get out of them.
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OMG dude. We're in same divison too lol
I got promoted 2 days ago from Diamond :D
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Congratulations! You beat me at it!
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So yeah, why is belial banned again?
Anyways, congrats man! Keep up the good work.
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EPT
