Tourney matches and their affects on how u play

[PK Webb]

Now im a decent up coming player who actually has quite the bit of tech skill and mindgames....in friendlies i do fine...i notice most habits quite quickly and expose them.....but when it comes to tourney matches my nerves get to me instantly.....i freeze....i choke.....i dont react to stupid things my opponent does......i get frustrated because i no i am better than this......does this sound like u or sum1 u once were......well it happens to me constantly......i dont play well in tourney but in friendlies i ****.....does any pros or ppl with nerves of steal wish to elaboorate on gud ways of keeping ur nerves down and playing to ur full potential in tourney???

 

[Archangel]

Get high/Drunk then play. You'll sacrifice some techskill and smarts but you wont feel nervous at all

In all seriousness I think this happens to everyone. Just have to learn to play through it. Others keep some thoughts in their head that distract them from nerves. SilentSpectre for instance focuses on how much fun he can have during the match vs winning it.

Aside from that all I can say is you need to believe. If you are questioning yourself during a match you can't win. If you are worried about what people watching might think you won't win. If you are thinking about the argument you had with your girlfriend prior to going you won't win. Clear your mind of all things not smash related. Then do what comes natural and play the game. Don't worry about who's behind you or sitting beside you just play your game and be prepared for anything and everything and don't forget the simple things. Like L-canceling, Grabbing the edge and other basics which seem to ultimately **** you over when your nervous. Last but not least don't be afraid of the moment. You've watched other players do it for years so when the opportunity arrives for you GET OFF!!! Don't say oh well i'm to scared to try that...**** IT!!!!!! DO IT!!!!!!!! Get down like James Brown after Sundown! If you come up the loser don't sweat it. Just know that you gave all you had at the time and you didn't hold anything back. Eventually you'll start to ****.

 

[Kason Birdman]

yupp this sounds like me.

but as im sure S_A said in that wall its just something that goes away with experiance. just takes time.

 

[PK Webb]

i guess i need to learn to have fun in a tourney match because im so stiff and nervous and it holds me back so much

 

[Archangel]

i guess i need to learn to have fun in a tourney match because im so stiff and nervous and it holds me back so much

Performing well in Tournament is like performing well in bed a girl. If you think of it that way it becomes much easier....unless you got problems....

 

[Nø Ca$h]

yep i got the same problem. only its not just tourny matches its every serious set.

 

[PK Webb]

Performing well in Tournament is like performing well in bed a girl. If you think of it that way it becomes much easier....unless you got problems....

Wut????? I'm gud in that department but I don't think it can be related to smash in anyway........I just want to play a tourney set with the same amount of skill as a friendly......that's hard for me right now.....swiftbass gave me sum advice too

 

[Archangel]

yep i got the same problem. only its not just tourny matches its every serious set.

Considering my post above you when you said I got the same problem I LOL'D!!!!!!!!!

Wut????? I'm gud in that department but I don't think it can be related to smash in anyway........I just want to play a tourney set with the same amount of skill as a friendly......that's hard for me right now.....swiftbass gave me sum advice too

A friendly = sex with in private. A tourney = sex with with super hot girl in front of a live audience, your friends and maybe family, not to mention it could be live on the internet with thousands of people watching....suddenly your performance might change or maybe it won't. I happen to think it takes a special kind of mentality to do something like that rather its playing a game or something else. Can you handle the Pressure!!!

 

[otg]

Did you guys ever consider that people just might not be taking friendlies as seriously as you do?

 

[Archangel]

I don't even think of friendlies as legit win or loss anymore however there was a time when I would take 1 victory over someone like PC in a friendlies as if I had just conquered the world lol.

I don't think that is the case for what he is trying to say. It sounds to me like he doesn't take them that serious but his problem is that he can do everything perfectly fine in friendlies but under the hot bright tournament lights he chokes and ****s everything up.

 

[S l o X]

Did you guys ever consider that people just might not be taking friendlies as seriously as you do?

*****aaaaaa

I know what they're talking about. In friendlies, you can do basic **** without messing up, follow up with auto combos etc . . . but in tourney matches you mess up the easiest things like Doc's dthrow fair.
Whether the person is playing seriously or not doesn't matter, they just feel the pressure (not in game) mentally and they **** up.
Sort of like my game vs. otg at no johns. First time ever, I was nervous in a tourney set besides my first game vs HMW @ P4 because it was my first tourney set ever and I was all over the place mentally, you just have to have the right mind set going in.

for me, i just blast music on my ipod and it just goes away. don't think about anything other than finding their habits and positioning yourself right / having them where you want them to be. if you have tech skill down and the habits then you should be finding out what your doing wrong in game and not worrying about those little mistakes in the first place nyukka

 

[Bacon&Eggs]

I used to be like that. For me, I just play a TON of friendlies before the tournament and in between matches. Playing game after game after game turns me into "autopilot" where I'm sort of able to tune everything out, including my nerves, and just concentrate on the current match at hand. My mentality is that it's just another friendly with a bit more at stake. If I'm unable to play a whole lot of friendlies I'll usually just calm myself down and relax and try to get into that "autopilot." Someone told me though that playing a bunch of friendlies might make you take the game less seriously and make you put less effort into it, so follow this advice at your own risk.

 

[PK Webb]

I might do what slox does cuz when I listen to music I tune everythinng out so imma give it a shot at apex plus ill do a lot of friendlies and we will see how it goes =).....plus gotta remember its just a game that's what vanz does

 

[S l o X]

Yea, it's probably the only thing that separates me from how well I do in tourney then in friendlies since in friendlies, people like to talk and stuff so I just play and talk. In MMs, I tune people out and in tourney matches its kind of both. At NJ I didn't have my iPod so I couldn't do it and it felt the PRESSSSHAAAAAA and Future Trunks is top tier.

/end thread

 

[smakis]

im the opposite, i mess up constantly in pools while tourney matches bring out the best in me =), kinda annoying because i get such a crappy seed

 

[prog]

i guess i need to learn to have fun in a tourney match because im so stiff and nervous and it holds me back so much

Now you're starting to prog.

 

[Niko45]

I think having fun is a very important part of it. You see SS doing ridiculous things in tourney all the time. Not that you have to play like prog or SS but you have to learn to enjoy the pressure and intensity of tournament and welcome it, while blocking out the consequences of losing or winning.

The other part of this I think is that if you're messing up auto combos, you're just plain not that good yet. Doing combos in your sleep in friendlies is easier than doing them in tourney and being able to master the simple aspects of the game in tourney should be seen as a whole different level of achievement. Also, in friendlies you may not be noticing how much you're messing something up because you don't care about the outcome that much. When you yourself are scrutinizing your every move you notice your mistakes much more easily.

 

[PK Webb]

I think having fun is a very important part of it. You see SS doing ridiculous things in tourney all the time. Not that you have to play like prog or SS but you have to learn to enjoy the pressure and intensity of tournament and welcome it, while blocking out the consequences of losing or winning.

The other part of this I think is that if you're messing up auto combos, you're just plain not that good yet. Doing combos in your sleep in friendlies is easier than doing them in tourney and being able to master the simple aspects of the game in tourney should be seen as a whole different level of achievement. Also, in friendlies you may not be noticing how much you're messing something up because you don't care about the outcome that much. When you yourself are scrutinizing your every move you notice your mistakes much more easily.

This sounds like the path of the jedi

 

[BrandonOwnageking]

Yea ive had the problem for awhile now. Even in none tourney matches. Only recently i learned to loosen up and im beating ppl in and outside of tourneys that i should be able to beat.

 

[Dart!]

...............................

 

[KirbyKaze]

At locals I don't really care too much unless I'm gonna get a **** placing or whatever.

At big stuff it matters.

 

[AllyKnight]

when you waste lots of money to go to a tournament *think m2k banking on winning because he literally has...NO LIFE* it makes the stakes alot higher than "just a game" like poker in a way. but thats not what melee should be about

Ally a brawl player lost an MM and got stuck in Europe for like a few days. because he was banking on winning the MM to get home...dumb idea imo.

1. u got the whole story wrong. I had a ROUND TRIP TICKET. except I missed it by 10 mins of the 1 hour early< I was 50 mins early, didnt get refund nor changed. Get your story right yo. I didnt rely on the money from the tourney.

 

[EPsilon933]

I play better in tournament sets and crew battles than in friendlies. In friendlies, it's just a game that can always be replayed and not much of anyone is watching. But when someone is watching, and when someone wants me to win, that gives me that extra motivation to win. It unlocks a hidden amount of skill in me by giving me uber focus. I then forget everything around me; who's watching and who's talking. And then all I see is everything that happens in the game. I see patterns I've never noticed. I see opportunities I never realized I could take.

So yeah, pressure improves my game.

 

[JOS.fm]

why do you want to win so much?
smash is about combos, having fun, and being ****

 

[victra♥]

i want to win so then i can keep playing tournament matches and feeling the rush that you normally wouldn't be getting in a friendly

 

[Kanelol]

I have to agree with what Spam_Arrows said, get hella blazed and go to a tourney

 

[Korrupshen]

i guess i need to learn to have fun in a tourney match because im so stiff and nervous and it holds me back so much

Yea....I'm afraid Imma be like too when I go to a tourney your not alone. I never been to a tourney so the nervousness is holding me back from even going.

 

[❀W.E.M.P.❀]

Don't know if people already said this but masturbate before tournament.

 

[joeplicate]

hugs has said that's bad advice, because it kills your competitive drive!!

see: robert dinero in Raging Bull
he puts ice on his balls to resist temptation the day before a boxing match


in all seriousness though, try playing tournament like you're playing a friendly, not the other way around. "play like a friendly, except one that you really really wanna win." -m.go

realize that you have nothing to lose in tournament. if you stop being afraid of losing, you'll get the best results. it's all about your drive to achieve and succeed--ever notice how you're playing your best when you're having a LOT of fun and trying to **** your friend in some goofy way? or the last friendly of the day before you have to go? that's good, positive pressure.

try to blank out your mind, do your best, and don't be afraid.

 

[_wzrd]

great thread, I will take this advice into consideration next tourney :D.

 

[Rain(ame)]

Try to keep the mentality you have when you're playing friendlies against a really good player. You believe you can break those cuffs, so do it!!!!

No, seriously...as of late, I've been slipping into those modes more often in matches. I just need to play people more on the regular. That way I can iron out the little habits I have.

Friendlies get you warmed up, by the way. Never underestimate the power of friendlies. They also get you relaxed so you can focus better. M2K, Mango, VaNz, Tec0, Scar, DRPP, HugS, LuCKy, and all your favorite players have plenty of friendlies. It's all good and fun. Just let it flow.

 

[Professor :3]

actually nvm

 

[PK Webb]

@ apex I found out that music was my key..........I rilly wasn't nervous at all and I did well for myself.....good **** Cassidy fab and lil Wayne .....next nas eminem and jayz

 

[Da Shuffla]

Let go of all emotion.

It doesn't matter if you hate the person. Playing with emotion screws me up.

Just play Smash.