[Refallen]

So I've been hitting a real problem with my nerves and playing in tournaments, KOTHs and the games that "matter". I'm a 1400ish Protpss, and I think I'm pretty good...until I play one of these games. Then it seems my brain freezes and I make RETARDED decisions. My marco/micro are both horrible and in general throughout the game I just feel this sense of "ewwww".

One really recent example is the KOTH, Me vs Starhunter. I've beat him a couple times before if I remember correctly, but during that game I played so horribly it just makes me /facepalm.

How does one overcome these nerves? Is it just a matter of experience? Looking for any advice, thanks =)

[ZoomDog]

I'm still working on my courage to start playing ladder. :P Interested if anyone has any good advice.

[nirvAnA]

yea i think its a matter of expereince, once u overcome that big hurdle it gets alot better

i had this problem too, in the blizz invitational when i was in winners bracket semis, i coudnt even sleep the whole night cause i was too nervous/anxious, mostly cause i was too concerned about the outcome - that is wanting to go blizzconn really bad lol.

which is really strange cause i have been gaming for soooo long and not really cared as much before. anyway after that tourney i feel no nervousness for other tournies cause nothing i play in will ever be as high staked as the blizz inv for a long time imo.

tendersteak is still very nervous playing as long as its streamed and people are watching. i was at his house and he was like visibly shaking last weekend in the matches vs au haha.

[kellyMILKIES]

contrary to most people, I play better under pressure. Weird right <.<

[sheepy]

You don't know what nerves is till you've seen me before any games with people watching. back in 2004-2005, when i played in wcg, i didn't sleep the entire night before going down. But at least i can think straight in live tourneys for some reason.

I feel there is a need to play in more tourneys to get over it.

[mOOnGLaDe]

hmm my most nervous match, and probably the time that i got over being nervous in competition is my grand finals vs philbot in 2004 wcg australia, was so nervous the night b4 i stayed up half the night, and made a strat that won me the finals :P

[OxygeN]

I feel to overcome your nerves, it comes from a couple of factors.

Firstly, you need to be confident, but don't think you can easily win, always aspire to play your best in the game, and the pressure will be alot lesser than if you HAVE to win.

Secondly, talk! Talk to people before the game, it helps alot with taking your mind off the pressure, and also to calm yourself down. Psyche yourself up, yes. But, don't frighten yourself.

Thirdly, experience. I know many people, on seeing an unorthodox strategy, they clam up, and lose right there. It can be overcome only with experience! So, play more games, learn more, and think about what strange things he might utilize so you can counter it premptively.

Fourthly, environment. Is it too cold? Too warm? All this contributes too!

Lastly, I'll admit that I still suffer from nervousness, especially ahead of a big game, or when i'm actually winning in one. But the idea to me is that, just keep calm and continue doing what works is the only way to stifle the nervousness.

Pause the game if you have to, and take a 30seconds break, drink some water, massage your hands, whatever.

For the credential part, I have been playing competitive games for 6 years, across 3 different games, taking part in countless offline and online competitions. So, hope this helped!

[HGHx]

I guess the current state of mind is extremely important to counter nervousness. Though i've almost 4 years playing competitively in DotA and have recently moved to SC2, I feel like i'm in a totally new environment. I was more comfortable in DotA tournaments, i had a rough gauge of my abilities and always aimed to play my best.
However when i played my first sc2 tournament for SG a few weeks back, I played like 30% of how i played during my practice/training matches. I was extremely disappointed, but I think the main objective is to never give up and continue to practise hard and play your best. Nervousness might just be part of the game =/

[DFM]

I know this problem all too well. I've only recently been getting into the competetive gaming scene and am still suffering a lot from this lol
My first time playing an online tourney looked like a complete joke and my friend that was obsing told me after the game that I can play better than that. For those familiar with wc3, it was an undead mirror and I went death knight + ghouls and picked coil first lol Got smacked pretty badly by the most standard dk/fiend build haha. The thing is, that wasn't even my plan, I just wasn't focused and trained a dk instead of lich first cause that's what I do in all other matchups.
It's gotten a bit better recently but I'd still blame most of my loss in the sg online league on my just being way to nervous and making wrong desicions lol

I think it's something that will just eventually go away as you play in more tournaments and just get more experience with the whole situation. IMO even just practicing on ladder will help, but of course not as much as playing in tourneys. I think a big part of it is also just being confident in your execution as when you're not confident and you play someone you know is as good if not better than you, you'll tend to question whether you're doing the right thing and as a result you're more likely to make sudden and often stupid changes to your game plan.

[Refallen]

Well, I guess experience is the answer then. Played in today's Psi Storm #4 and got knocked out very very convincingly by Kowi. I'm pretty disappointed in my play to be honest. On the bright side though, I thought I was playing very well in game 2 of the series, until I moved his stalkers into his army. Losing to mistakes like these are really really painful, but I guess it's the only way you learn, huh? EDIT: Funny that this only happens to me in SC2 though. I used to play League of Legends quite a lot, pretty competitively, and even playing in the WCG I've never felt so stressed as when I'm playing SC2. I guess it's the nature of a solo RTS game.

[nGenWild]

Noobbbbbb wheres the tag? XD

[Exultant]

ye the key to overcuming this is to play play practice play practice. I used to care about my W/L ratio hence i got nervous but then i lost 6 games in a row and cried myself to sleep bahaha

[MrNayNay]

hey. do you like experience a total loss streak like for a day and you lose to bronze even when u r a plat player? i started losing to day morning and have kept on losing till blizzard puts me wif bronze players... that is like so .... i really wanna scold tht word out. so does anyone experience this b4? and what could be the problem suddenly?

[Torniquet]

Strat, this thread is over a month old. Not that old so if it was on topic wouldnt be that fussed. Im struggling to fit your post into this thread. If you want to discuss the topic id suggest making your own topic so all posts regarding said topic can be found there and its ordered and constructive. Rather than finding an old thread and reviving it then taking it off track.

[MrNayNay]

oh... sorry

[MrNayNay]

hey guys. was wondering if anyone has experienced what i am experiencing now. i am a plat level player. was ranked 1 and already starting to win. then suddenly for the past 2 days i have been losing all the time. even to bronze lvl players. i dun seem to be able to do anything right. feel like giving up. and also flying wif my fren to korea for gsl 3. at this rate i am playing i dun think i can win any players at the gsl... can anyone help?

[NvPinder]

I'm going to say with brutal honesty... You're not good enough, you're wasting your time and money by going to gsl, don't bother. And dont be such a girl, learn from the losses instead of just being like "wow i lost to a bronze player, im bad", and dont get people to level your account up to diamond for you, it gives you no sense of accomplishment and you're only going to go backwards when you start playing again, which gives you 0 motivation compared to if you're actually progressing forward on the ladder, you've done this to yourself 100% and put yourself in the state you're currently in of "omfg im going backwards"..

[mOOnGLaDe]

just gotto step up and take it with both hands kid

[MrNayNay]

when i 1st asked tht guy to help me, i wasnt plat lvl... but now i have won plat lvl players... then suddenly, i lost. oh well...

[MrNayNay]

guess i wont go then. i give up on SC2.