it really is crazy that after so many years of trying to win i finally got it, it doesn't even feel like real life in all honesty. ive always made posts after my losses in each tour because i wanted to have stuff to look back on that showcased my growth as a player and i hope that those posts have inspired others to keep going after taking Ls. life is really a crazy thing but one thing that this win signified was that i could do what i set my mind to regardless of how hard or luckbased it may seem. you really gotta get in the lab though and reflect on everything to speed up the process but we'll get into that later.
i really want to say to anyone reading this, YOU CAN DO WHAT YOU SET YOUR MIND TOWARDS. you guys have seen all the ups and downs I've had on this website but what got me here today was the fact that I 1) didn't give up and most importantly 2) i tried my best not to lie to myself about why i lost and actively seeked improvement. i really did enjoy the entire process of my time spent competing in these tournaments, even the fat Ls because i looked at them as opportunities to learn. even the most heartbreaking Ls of the year - vs sinnoh in the finals tiebreaker game 3 of spl and vs santu in the semifinals of stour, i had to take the L and see where i fucked up and why i fucked up. i have some more sobby logs from right after i lost those games but i wanna share something more important:
I had serious doubts of my ability to compete and I really started to look at myself as someone that was just bound to take Ls. but my bro blunder linked me this article and this was the conclusion i reached after reading it.
the biggest thing that you guys should really take away is that you aren't the win/loss that happens, you're the person that has to respond to whatever happens. when i started to identify myself with the actions (that are in my control) instead of the result (a lot less in my control) i started to become a lot more at peace with whatever happened. that's also when my nerves before games started to go away because i was no longer attached so hard to an outcome, i was attached with how i would respond to it and when i knew i was doing the right things after each L or W, I could really be more at peace with myself. obviously, this aint just about pokemon and ive more or less applied this mentality towards everything.
i really wanna talk about the point of not giving up too. i really lost on the biggest stage of this game earlier this year (spl) and i still looked at myself like damn bruh u gotta lock back in and get back. i skipped out on thinking why i lost to sinnoh, mainly about the pressure aspect to it and i lost the exact same fucking way to santu. what actually happened was that i attached way too much pressure on the result in both of those games and i started to think about the wrong things. a comparison i like to draw is hitting a game winning 3 in basketball. if u really have to shoot for game and if u miss u lose, ur obviously gonna get some type of adrenaline and nerves but if u use that to think about the wrong dumb shit then ur gonna fucking miss. the most clutch players in the world use that to focus on the things that really matter, and a part of growth is figuring out those things. for some people, if their elbow comes up straight they'll make it so they should really focus on that, for others if their shooting hand doesn't dip below their hips they'll make it.. obviously theres more than one thing but i really suggest that u guys reflect a lot on what makes u guys good, so that when the pressure hits u know where to put that energy. after the santu L i reflected heavily on it and I figured out what works for me, and I was able to execute when I got my next opportunity.
but enough about me... lemme tell you bout my bruddas tho
my fucking dogs bdhb bbeeaa and CaptainKing06 really trained me up way back when nobody knew who i was. these guys are the reason im good today and i have them to thank for everything. bdhb is the dude that showed me how to go from being aight (spl/stour level) to as good as i am now. this dude and bea taught me that bigger balls wins and i gotta stop playing fucking scared and ill start to win. the other thing bdhb taught me was that i should really focus on my opponent more than i was. i had this weird mentality before this tournament that i could win most of my games if i just had perfect gameplans, and maybe that is true, but i could have "imperfect" gameplans if i had enough of a read on my opponents tendencies to compensate. i use quotes because i don't think those gameplans are imperfect at all, i think those gameplans are what win championships and im so happy to see that this guy was right all along and he gets to see how his advice got me a ring. CaptainKing06 and helped me massively when it came to the fundamental aspect of the game, gameplanning, midgrounds and all of that. without these 3, i wouldn't have been able to get drafted for anything and for that im forever grateful. speaking of getting drafted, shoutout to my dog blunder for being the reason i got drafted to a team in the first place. who knows what woulda happened if i didnt get on the sharks that year. someone mad important to my growth as a player and as a person too is my dog Casper. while you ain’t give me the craziest advice when it comes to my actual play, you helped me learn how to learn and always helped me redirect my attention towards the shit that really matters instead of a lot of the bullshit that ive talked about. my mentality now is also a big product of what u showed me.
after getting some games in my dog blunder gave me one of the most important pieces of advice ever. instead of thinking "why am i so unlucky" ask myself "how do i put myself in positions to be unlucky less" this mindset shift didnt just apply to luck, it applied to everything. it let me take control of more things that i felt that was out of my control. honestly, people say that i have always had a strong mindset but this guy really helped me grow it and i also wouldn't be here without him.
lax Storm Zone Giannis Antetokommo-o Vert CTC ima ABR fade have all given me some of the most important game- and mindset-related advice ever. if i got into all the things these guys have done for me this post would be 3 pages long, but i really wanna let these guys know that everything theyve done is so valued to me and i also wouldn't be here without u guys.
one thing that all of these guys have in common is that they had faith in me to be the best. im sure a lot of people thought id always be ass/whatever but these guys knew i really could get to the level i wanted to and helped me get there.
Shoutouts to all the fucking shoguns too man, u guys are soldiers and fought so hard to get us here.
I wanna give another shoutout to Vert and CTC. these 2 really got SV solved and offered help to us for free. Shoguns would not have won without ur guys’ massive contributions and I definitely would not have improved as fast as I did without them.
anyways to wrap it up, id like to reflect on what this win means going forward. i accomplished what i set out for many years ago, im at a skill level im content with and i got the vindication for all my hard work. during the break week before finals i reflected on what would happen after this finals and i came to the conclusion that i need to take a step away from competing in tournaments for at least a year win or lose. ill finish masters but after that im done for a minute. if i decide after a year that smogon is something that i feel like it should be reintroduced to my life in a healthy way then ill definitely be back, but we'll see what happens there.
with that being said, i hope this post helps some people achieve their own dreams and goals.
P.S shoutout the fucking goats abr and ctc for the collab on the finals goatsquad and thank you to vert lax ima ant for teams throughout the whole season
i really want to say to anyone reading this, YOU CAN DO WHAT YOU SET YOUR MIND TOWARDS. you guys have seen all the ups and downs I've had on this website but what got me here today was the fact that I 1) didn't give up and most importantly 2) i tried my best not to lie to myself about why i lost and actively seeked improvement. i really did enjoy the entire process of my time spent competing in these tournaments, even the fat Ls because i looked at them as opportunities to learn. even the most heartbreaking Ls of the year - vs sinnoh in the finals tiebreaker game 3 of spl and vs santu in the semifinals of stour, i had to take the L and see where i fucked up and why i fucked up. i have some more sobby logs from right after i lost those games but i wanna share something more important:
I had serious doubts of my ability to compete and I really started to look at myself as someone that was just bound to take Ls. but my bro blunder linked me this article and this was the conclusion i reached after reading it.
the biggest thing that you guys should really take away is that you aren't the win/loss that happens, you're the person that has to respond to whatever happens. when i started to identify myself with the actions (that are in my control) instead of the result (a lot less in my control) i started to become a lot more at peace with whatever happened. that's also when my nerves before games started to go away because i was no longer attached so hard to an outcome, i was attached with how i would respond to it and when i knew i was doing the right things after each L or W, I could really be more at peace with myself. obviously, this aint just about pokemon and ive more or less applied this mentality towards everything.
i really wanna talk about the point of not giving up too. i really lost on the biggest stage of this game earlier this year (spl) and i still looked at myself like damn bruh u gotta lock back in and get back. i skipped out on thinking why i lost to sinnoh, mainly about the pressure aspect to it and i lost the exact same fucking way to santu. what actually happened was that i attached way too much pressure on the result in both of those games and i started to think about the wrong things. a comparison i like to draw is hitting a game winning 3 in basketball. if u really have to shoot for game and if u miss u lose, ur obviously gonna get some type of adrenaline and nerves but if u use that to think about the wrong dumb shit then ur gonna fucking miss. the most clutch players in the world use that to focus on the things that really matter, and a part of growth is figuring out those things. for some people, if their elbow comes up straight they'll make it so they should really focus on that, for others if their shooting hand doesn't dip below their hips they'll make it.. obviously theres more than one thing but i really suggest that u guys reflect a lot on what makes u guys good, so that when the pressure hits u know where to put that energy. after the santu L i reflected heavily on it and I figured out what works for me, and I was able to execute when I got my next opportunity.
but enough about me... lemme tell you bout my bruddas tho
my fucking dogs bdhb bbeeaa and CaptainKing06 really trained me up way back when nobody knew who i was. these guys are the reason im good today and i have them to thank for everything. bdhb is the dude that showed me how to go from being aight (spl/stour level) to as good as i am now. this dude and bea taught me that bigger balls wins and i gotta stop playing fucking scared and ill start to win. the other thing bdhb taught me was that i should really focus on my opponent more than i was. i had this weird mentality before this tournament that i could win most of my games if i just had perfect gameplans, and maybe that is true, but i could have "imperfect" gameplans if i had enough of a read on my opponents tendencies to compensate. i use quotes because i don't think those gameplans are imperfect at all, i think those gameplans are what win championships and im so happy to see that this guy was right all along and he gets to see how his advice got me a ring. CaptainKing06 and helped me massively when it came to the fundamental aspect of the game, gameplanning, midgrounds and all of that. without these 3, i wouldn't have been able to get drafted for anything and for that im forever grateful. speaking of getting drafted, shoutout to my dog blunder for being the reason i got drafted to a team in the first place. who knows what woulda happened if i didnt get on the sharks that year. someone mad important to my growth as a player and as a person too is my dog Casper. while you ain’t give me the craziest advice when it comes to my actual play, you helped me learn how to learn and always helped me redirect my attention towards the shit that really matters instead of a lot of the bullshit that ive talked about. my mentality now is also a big product of what u showed me.
after getting some games in my dog blunder gave me one of the most important pieces of advice ever. instead of thinking "why am i so unlucky" ask myself "how do i put myself in positions to be unlucky less" this mindset shift didnt just apply to luck, it applied to everything. it let me take control of more things that i felt that was out of my control. honestly, people say that i have always had a strong mindset but this guy really helped me grow it and i also wouldn't be here without him.
lax Storm Zone Giannis Antetokommo-o Vert CTC ima ABR fade have all given me some of the most important game- and mindset-related advice ever. if i got into all the things these guys have done for me this post would be 3 pages long, but i really wanna let these guys know that everything theyve done is so valued to me and i also wouldn't be here without u guys.
one thing that all of these guys have in common is that they had faith in me to be the best. im sure a lot of people thought id always be ass/whatever but these guys knew i really could get to the level i wanted to and helped me get there.
Shoutouts to all the fucking shoguns too man, u guys are soldiers and fought so hard to get us here.
Mako - bro we fucking did it. you played the best game of your life in this finals and you know how happy i am for you. you grew so much as a player this season and i hope that, if you keep playing, you continue this level of play because if so, you will go down as a alltime great.
Baddy - my dog you stepped up massively in the semis and other times throughout the season to get us in the playoffs. like mako, you also got a lot better as the season went on and it was because of your hard work. i saw some real flashes of a future elite player during your test games in the finals and i think youll also do well.
mind gaming - 2nd times the charm. im so glad we could win today after the l we took many years ago. you are the fucking goat bruh ill never forget ur multiple clutch performances after teaming with u twice, it really isnt many mans that can play at ur level in the history of the game.
Plague - dog you are one of the most clutch players ive ever teamed with. how many times was the season on the line and u stepped up in a tier u didnt even sign up to play? must-buy for any team tour ever, you fucking earned this trophy bro. enjoy it.
Baddy - my dog you stepped up massively in the semis and other times throughout the season to get us in the playoffs. like mako, you also got a lot better as the season went on and it was because of your hard work. i saw some real flashes of a future elite player during your test games in the finals and i think youll also do well.
mind gaming - 2nd times the charm. im so glad we could win today after the l we took many years ago. you are the fucking goat bruh ill never forget ur multiple clutch performances after teaming with u twice, it really isnt many mans that can play at ur level in the history of the game.
Plague - dog you are one of the most clutch players ive ever teamed with. how many times was the season on the line and u stepped up in a tier u didnt even sign up to play? must-buy for any team tour ever, you fucking earned this trophy bro. enjoy it.
I wanna give another shoutout to Vert and CTC. these 2 really got SV solved and offered help to us for free. Shoguns would not have won without ur guys’ massive contributions and I definitely would not have improved as fast as I did without them.
anyways to wrap it up, id like to reflect on what this win means going forward. i accomplished what i set out for many years ago, im at a skill level im content with and i got the vindication for all my hard work. during the break week before finals i reflected on what would happen after this finals and i came to the conclusion that i need to take a step away from competing in tournaments for at least a year win or lose. ill finish masters but after that im done for a minute. if i decide after a year that smogon is something that i feel like it should be reintroduced to my life in a healthy way then ill definitely be back, but we'll see what happens there.
with that being said, i hope this post helps some people achieve their own dreams and goals.
P.S shoutout the fucking goats abr and ctc for the collab on the finals goatsquad and thank you to vert lax ima ant for teams throughout the whole season
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