SC2SEA.com - Starcraft 2 SEA eSports Community Site

My views on "talent"
 

I want to preface this blog on what I think are the most necessary skills to possess if you want to be a pro gamer:

IN ORDER

• Work ethic
• Work efficiency
• Mindset
• Talent

Work ethic is without a doubt for me the most important part of being a pro gamer, being willing to put in huge hours without being distracted is instrumental to being the best player you can be.

Work efficiency is something that is often overlooked. It is overlooked by so many pros, and IMO it's because of laziness more than anything. If pros were older and more mature, and had worked a "proper" job before pursuing a career in esports, they would have better work efficiency. Work efficiency is about finding practice partners, and practising specific builds against them. It's when you're watching a tournament, and you're not just chilling out, you have a pen and paper in front of you copying the exact build timings and analysing why the player is making the moves that he is. It is, essentially, about turning the hours that you put into the game, into effective hours.

Mindset is something that is very hard to be taught, and requires a lot of diligence. Mindset is being able to ladder 30 games a day, lose 10 in a row, cool yourself and analyse why you've lost those 10 games, rather than just requeing. Mindset is about being able to leave your body, clear your mind and soul, and think rationally about your game-plan in the 5th game of a best of 5.

Talent is something I'm often very cynical about. Where does talent come into play? Is talent being able to have a good mindset? Is it about how quickly you learn? It's a very broad term. The reason I have an issue with the word talent is that it's often presumed that talent is something you're born with. I want to go over why I think talent isn't holding ANYBODY back from achieving greatness, especially in a sc2 competitive environment.


Why is talent the least important skill that I've mentioned?

I want to go over my experiences on the ladder. I believe that I'm someone with very little talent, I would consider myself average or maybe even below average in terms of how quickly I picked up sc2. I was stuck in diamond for a very long time. 8~months of pure grinding games.

When you're stuck in a league for a long time, your mindset can become very negative. I was repeating to myself. "You will never get masters, you just don't have enough talent". I was making an excuse for myself, it's not that I'm not putting in the effort, it's not that I'm not trying to improve, it's that I'm not "talented enough" I was born this way.

Guess what, since then I've hit GM. This is something I'll always be proud of.

How can someone with no talent achieve a league which so many strive for?

I'll tell you why, it's work ethic, work efficiency, and mentality.

TALENT IS NEVER A LIMITING FACTOR

That's right, you heard me, in big bold caps. I don't believe talent is EVER a limiting factor. Never tell yourself you won't get out of a league because you have a lack of talent. I think that's the cowards way out. If I see someone say "I quit sc2 because I lacked talent" I think to myself "Well he's just a loser".

Brutal, yes. True, yes.

There is no one progamer that has achieved perfection in all 4 areas. One pro-gamer like Stephano might have lots of talent, but lack work ethic. Guess what, a player who has half of Stephano's talent, but TWICE his work ethic and efficiency, will be the better player. This is something I strongly believe.

If you think that talent is the determining factor of becoming one of the top sc2 players on the planet, I disagree. Talent can be made up for with work ethic, work efficiency, and mentality.

This has been a super long rant, but It's a discussion that cropped up many times for me in Skype chats, and I felt like writing a blog about it.

Hope some people have found my rambling insightful :P.

Peace

SLCN Pezz