Am I insane/ an idiot? I'm trying to become a legit competitive smasher

[KACHOW!!!]

I've been playing the game off and on (mostly on) since probably '99, maybe 2000 when my dad got me an n64 for my birthday, and one of the games it came with was smash bros. Since then I've been playing with a few friends almost every day. I've only been to two tournaments so far: One was a gamestop midnight release brawl tourney (it was for the midnight release of smash 3ds), the other was a weekly Project M event in massachusetts called "Smashing grounds". I won the gamestop midnight release tourney with my wario, and came dead last in the PM tourney (although i didn't just get 3 stocked every time, just lost 1-2 then 1-2). I'm not independantly wealthy, so I can't spend EVERY waking moment playing the game and traveling to tourneys, but I do practice a lot. I'm going to apex 2015 in jan/feb, which will be my first big tourney. My friends (who are just about as good as me at the game) tell me I shouldn't even try, or at least not get my hopes up, cuz I'll get creamed. I just wanted to know what you guys think.

 

[KeketheBasedCat]

You're almost definitely going to get creamed. However, you should not let this discourage you. If everybody got discouraged after being creamed at their first big tournament, then nobody would ever really show up to more than one tournament.

 

[<π]

You can't start on top...

Work hard, surround yourself with positive people who have similar goals and you will grow.

 

[T0MMY]

Sounds like you may have had some fun and a taste of the tourney experience that compels the competitive spirit in you.
I think listening to friends isn't always the best option when making decisions, but then again listening to me, a complete stranger, doesn't seem to be any better.

I think if you've got the time and money to attend Apex and you are curious to see what it's all about then give it a shot. The worst that could happen is that you spent your time and money to attend a cultural event that was not fun or disappointing. If that's about as much as you are willing to risk then go for it. If you don't think spending the resources would be worth the risk, then don't.
Kind of simple, like deciding on going to a cinema to see a movie.

There's a lot of people who would love to attend Apex but do not even have the opportunity you do. The travel across the country alone is taxing, the cost, the time spent, etc. just makes it an impossibility for many of us on the west coast to make it out there.

Something like Apex isn't asking you to change your life, it's an experience for those in tune with their competitive spirit.
Although I think your friends have some good advice about not getting your hopes up (in regards to walking away as a top player or cash prize in hand). If you do go, go for the experience and enjoy it for what it is (this can be applied to all walks of life, that expectations tend to cause strife).

 

[dguy6789]

You'll be destroyed at Apex but you should still go if you can(Same with any big tourney).

Practicing alone can help you perfect some of the more mechanical techniques of the game so that you never mess them up in actual play but beyond that it won't help very much. You could practice smash bros alone or play vs just your friends(assuming they are not tournament players) for 10 years and you'd still be worse at the game than someone who has been going to tourneys for 6 months.

Playing in tournament matches and playing in serious friendlies with a large variety of tournament level players(gamestop people are not tournament level players) is the best way to improve your game. Play a lot, expect to lose but try to win. Don't get mad when you lose. Be humble and ask people who beat you questions about the game and about what they think you could improve on.

Seek out to play as much as you can, don't ever fall into the mindset of "If I have no chance to win there is no reason to play".

 

[DavemanCozy]

I'm going too, and so are 800+ people. Seeing the conversations that go on here, the content that some users create, and the smart discussions I see after filtering through boards, I don't think you're insane: lots can come from playing Smash, not just victories.

You get more out of Smash than just playing a great game. The things you learn through competitive Smash are valuable to your life. RaynEX once said to the Ontario community, when n0ne asked to name 3 things better than playing Melee, one of the things he said was:

Using the various lessons competitive gaming / melee has taught you in other aspects of your life and benefitting (e.g.: keeping your cool under pressure, being amicable with strangers, emotional maturity, how to learn / adapt / improve, the premise that hard work pays off)

In other words, go for the experience. I'm a good example of this: I volunteer myself in the community in the Toronto area by taking pictures of Smash events. If it wasn't for the Smash community, I would've never gained experience doing this. I'm glad I did, because this experience (taking pictures for events and editing them in the computer) helped me get my current job in multimedia creation.

Seriously, go out there. You won't regret it.

 

[Roukiske]

While it is possible for you to become the best at the game without playing any of the top players, its unfortunately just not likely. Its quite the conundrum in competitive gaming actually. Pro players play against pro players all the time while others don't have that opportunity all that often. Luckily we now have online play which is great. Yes I know it doesn't replace in person but now you can play against anyone here on smashboards in a snap.

Like @ DavemanCozy said, you should be going to tournaments for the experience, its much more enjoyable that way too.

 

[Mindles]

you keep playing , and you keep attending simple as that

 

[BBG|Scott-Spain]

Anything is possible. It's only a matter of resource allocation. Go for it and try your best.

By the way, I'm starting to be a life coach that specializes in competitive performance. If you or anybody reading this needs help figuring out how to improve or achieve their goals, message me.

 

[Raijinken]

Go with modest expectations. That way, you can only be satisfied with how well you do, instead of disappointed. Remember, APEX is one of the big tourneys that draws the attention of a lot of players. Some may be worse than you, and there will almost certainly be some better than you. Just go to have fun, learn, and give it a shot. It's hard to improve if you don't challenge yourself, and getting rekt is one of the greatest mental and gameplay-based challenges.

As they say, you never know until you try. Your friends could very well be wrong about your skill. In the very worst case, you can learn from your defeats and play some friendlies and go back and destroy your friends with your newly improved technique.

 

[Xheracross]

If you go to Apex, you will get ruined but that's not a bad thing. It'll open your eyes about how intense high level play is. The people winning Apex will have put thousands of hours into developing their Smash 4 mains already and will have a long history of competitive smash. As long as you don't expect to win and hope to learn something, it'll still be worth the trip!