[CCJester]

I was wondering what people's opinions are of how attitude and frustration can affect your game play.

At MLG Columbus a very relaxed Idra demolished one of the best protoss' in the game in MC in the first series of the event beating him 2-0....

At the end of the tournament, top 4, Idra, coming off a series he threw away against MMA, only needed 2 wins to knock out MC who needed to win 4. 20 minutes later Idra had dropped three games and while the final game was entertaining, Idra was finally knocked out.

Firstly... do you believe that Idra was capable of beating MC in that final series?
Secondly... do you think MC got into Idra's head with his famous cross throat thumbs down?
Thirdly... what affect does mental strength and your attitude have on your gaming? In SC2 and others?

Interested to know...

p.s ... fourthly... for those who saw it... who else found MMA's shoryuken absolutely HILARIOUS!

[DtorR]

Bad luck comes in three's but unfortunately he suffered it six times. All winnable games just wasn't in the zone.

[FaDeBadger]

Idra let's his emotions get the better of him. It's the reason he loses. It's the reason he lost to MMA and it's the reason he lost to MC. He demonstrated on the first day that he is capable of beating the best.

He needs to pull his head out of his ass and learn that it's a game, and the sooner he gets his emotions out of his gameplay the better. Note: I said out of his gameplay He can be as BM and as much of a bitch as he wants out of the game, but when it comes to the crunch he needs to let it all go.

He also needs to stop GG'ing when he "thinks" he has lost. Grow a pair and fight it out you scrub.

Quick Comments

	nirvAnA:
	ToRDeathsFang:	Well said
	PiG:

[Paroxysm]

Badger summed up just about everything. Even on his stream, Idra GG's out when he really could win with ease. His emotions get the better of him every game and his view of Terran and Protoss and his BM emphasizes this key fact.

[nirvAnA]

1) yes i feel on another day idra could have definitely beat MC. MC played so cheesy and idras frustration showed when he tried to "revenge cheese" in game 3 throwing away another game.

he must have been super tilted after realising his mistake vs MMA and just lost his fighting spirit. I feel he weak psychologically because he lets his emotions affect his game play. well even naniwa's play seemed shaken in the TSL3 finals. its hard to compete at a top level when so much is at stake and to control your emotions but someone with this quality would be select, who can forget his magical run in an earlier MLG? he got knocked out early in the winners brackets and then had a super uphill task of clawing his way back through the loser bracket vs the world's very best who had flown in. i recall he played 13 hours straight which was full of tense and tiring long games back to back and ended up #3 where others would have just given up early and threw in the towel. superb spirit son!

2) doubt it affected him
3) definitely - the psychological aspect is a huge component in anyone's game.
4) yea that was hilarious haha

Quick Comments

PapaBigBelly:

[aztecx]

Yeah, I really wanted Idra to win this tournament. Him at his best is amazing.

The game in which he left versus MMA was just fking stupid. Pretty funny how it all came about though hahaha

[AlphaWhale]

Originally Posted by Paroxysm

Badger summed up just about everything. Even on his stream, Idra GG's out when he really could win with ease. His emotions get the better of him every game and his view of Terran and Protoss and his BM emphasizes this key fact.

The early ggs on ladder I think have something to do IdrA not playing a game out that he doesn't think he will learn anything from (?). Raging ladder games doesn't mean a lot, but when you're at a tournament such as MLG it puzzles me.

My theory is IdrA only wanted to finish as top foreigner/Westerner at Columbus but who knows what's going through his head aside from "**** protoss, **** terran."

[matthras]

I'm along with the common opinion that IdrA's emotions are his own worst enemy. I haven't actually watched the games, but for him to lose 4 straight games to MC and then the controversial gg vs MMA, it definitely doesn't sound like him :P

Regarding his ladder games, it's more as AlphaWhale says. If it's something cheesy that he fails to hold off, to him it's not worth making the effort to claw his way up back from a deficit (especially when his general gameplan is messed up as a result).

3) Mental strength/attitude does play a huge factor, especially when you're gaming over a full day. It's hard to imagine how someone like SeleCT must've felt losing so many games during Pool Play. And certainly if you're not mentally strong it's very easy to go on tilt after losing two games in a row when you know that you 'only need' two more games to win the series (i.e. IdrA vs MC extended series).
July mentioned in an interview that he kept his games short in the Open Bracket to conserve energy, and as a result he's managed to deliver very well when it's come to the more important games as a result.

[PiG]

Originally Posted by AlphaWhale

The early ggs on ladder I think have something to do IdrA not playing a game out that he doesn't think he will learn anything from (?). Raging ladder games doesn't mean a lot, but when you're at a tournament such as MLG it puzzles me.

My theory is IdrA only wanted to finish as top foreigner/Westerner at Columbus but who knows what's going through his head aside from "**** protoss, **** terran."

Idra only wanted to finish as top foreigner? I'm sorry are you saying he didn't put in effort vs the koreans? I'm having trouble understanding what you're trying to say here.


As for him quitting ladder games I think you're spot on that he doesn't think he will learn anything from scrappy games that rely on mental fortitude, reflexes and instinct. Instead he is so focused on perfecting 'standard' play that he's sacrificing his ability to train himself in these qualities. Maybe he should realise that with a game as new as SC2 the chances of getting a standard game aren't nearly what they were in Broodwar. The game relys so much more on different types of control and just isn't figured out yet. Not to mention that I'm sure Jaedong doesn't quit whenever he makes a mistake in practice. I would bet that he plays every single game out because he understands understands what he has to gain from it.

Oh and btw who saw the interview with idra and his gf? Mannerisms of a 14 year old and sounds like she has half as many brains lol.

Idra said "he stopped training and started working out" and I feel like there was probably a bit of truth in his sarcasm lol! Maybe his first time with a girl to impress at MLG so it made his emotions get the better of him? Haha either way the GG was inexcusable from a pro

Quick Comments

FaDeBadger:

Dumb as a post, but at least she's hot right?

[noobinater]

Idra would dominate (dominate) on the world stage if he got over himself. He outplayed MC straight up on day 1. I havn't seen the MMA series but I watched his last MC set live and my hand was firmly pressed to my face almost the entire time.

Kid needs to accept that he's a professional and that there's value in playing out games (he's said he wanted to GG in game 2 of day 1 v MC but stayed in and won).

I used to think Idra was pretty cool, even if he bitched a lot. Now I know better.

[FvRelimzkE]

I went "pro" in my first game at 14 years old, in Quakeworld.
Naturally being a 14 year old my skills were usually influenced heavily by my attitude and emotions. Luckily for me the Quakeworld community was mainly oldies so they never smack talked :P

Counter-Strike however, I would lose matches all the time because my opponents would badmouth me etc.

Emotions still play a huge role for me and I'm generally pretty bm if I lose to a rush :P

[SLCN.Kez]

wow idras gf is farken hot... ahahha, however yeah he really should man up stop being a pussy and just play out games, especially when his gf is there, who would want to quit infront of their gf? lol.

[Edrahil]

Idra's problem is that he has no "heart". Which is in my opinion the difference between a player like MMA and a player like Idra. How many games have we seen MMA come back from being down to take what everyone thought was surely his opponent's game to lose.

I do agree that what Idra does on stream or ladder matters not. Those are practice games. But in an match with his future in the tournament on the line, it is so disappointing to see his lack of determination come through again and again.

Between a player who is highly skilled but who quits whenever he feels he is behind and a player who is alittle less skilled but will try his hardest to the end, my money is on the latter everytime. (please note this is just an analogy and is not reflective of Idra vs MMA since MMA > Idra in both "heart" and starcraft 2 mechanics)

Quick Comments

FaDeBadger:

Well said, on both the heart and the MMA>Idra

[AlphaWhale]

Originally Posted by PiG

Idra only wanted to finish as top foreigner? I'm sorry are you saying he didn't put in effort vs the koreans? I'm having trouble understanding what you're trying to say here.

That's pretty much exactly what I'm saying. Towards the end of the tournament I felt like I wasn't watching the player who 2-0'd MC.

IdrA's nonchalant/doesn't give a **** attitude isn't a secret. That's why I'm saying what I'm saying.

[Azure]

it has been proven multiple times that Idra goes on tilt. if you ever watch his stream about 30% of the time people have a go just to throw him off to try and get a win they dont deserve.

[CCJester]

what exactly threw Idra off of his game though....
this is what i just cant get.
Did the game against MMA throw him off that bad that he just tried to rush three times against the anti-cheese himself?

It felt like Idra didnt think he was good enough to win which is just stupid...

Also...
What throws people off their game in general and how easily can it happen?

[TAhackdZ]

Hot topic atm.

For me it's about professionalism. IdrA is a pro player, on a pro team, playing in pro tournaments.
He should act like a professional.

You don't see NSW GG'ing the State of Origin even when their down 20 points with 3 mins to go.
No...they play it out, and so should IdrA.

I don't care if he gg's and leaves ladder games, BM's everyone in sight or w/e, that's his perogative. What I care about is a scene that's trying to get itself taken seriously as a professional endevour, and pro players acting like children when they loose.

It doesnt project the professional image that leagues like MLG, NASL, GSL, etc try to produce. And it certainly doesnt make IdrA look like a professional player.

Anywho...my two cents, not really worth anything...

[dennistoo]

Idra's is a joke.

G3/G4/G5 is all a fast GG without even bother trying.

Are you angry?
Zerg isnt supposed to beat protoss
Cool GG

2-0? You dream. i 4-0, you cry LOL MC IS A BALLER.

[PiG]

Originally Posted by AlphaWhale

That's pretty much exactly what I'm saying. Towards the end of the tournament I felt like I wasn't watching the player who 2-0'd MC.

IdrA's nonchalant/doesn't give a **** attitude isn't a secret. That's why I'm saying what I'm saying.

I just can't believe anyone wouldn't put effort into the final matches of a $10K tournament of a sport which their life revolves around. Idra obviously made some horrible, horrible judgements and was simply in a screwed up set of mind after prematurely GGing vs MMA.

But I don't for one second believe he wasn't trying. I think with his weak mindset and emotions got the better of him so his absolute best effort involved some PATHETICALLY executed all-ins whilst he felt sorry for himself.

I'm sick of hearing so many Idra fans saying he lost on purpose vs MMA to go snipe MC or he just wanted to prove that toss was imba or he didnt want to beat koreans for some ridiculous reason.

The problem wasn't him not putting effort in, it was him being too weak mentally to handle the pressure.

[crAzerk]

I'm sick of hearing so many Idra fans saying he lost on purpose vs MMA to go snipe MC

I think they are saying this because of that premature GG against MMA where it didn't seem to be a problem of being 'mentally weak ' or anything - it's not like he just lost his entire army - in fact, he just cleared up the entire Terran's army.

I mean sure, some explanations like his drone-stack on his gas looking like he lost them all may have contributed to it, but it seemed totally weird to just GG out of a won game (as opposed to quitting a game where he can't handle the pressure)