When to Start Going to Tournaments?

[HaiMatoX]

I apologize if this thread should be in a different category. If it should, just comment and I will move it.

I will preface this question by reminding (or telling, since this is my first real post) you that I am not good at this game. I might even say that bad from a competitive point of view would be too generous. I only started taking PM seriously about three months ago, and I only started playing Melee about two weeks ago. As a result, I understand what many of the technical aspects of the game are (SHFFL, wavedashing, teching, dashdancing, etc), and can do them most of the time. However, I do not have the play experience to be able to properly utilize them in-game, when the pressure is on. I sometimes play like Borp, but without the success.

As my friend said to me, "You are asking the wrong questions in terms of Smash, like asking how to dashdance." I guess you could boil it down to me knowing what a certain technique is and how it works, but not knowing why you use it.

I am fortunate to be going to school in Boston, which has a strong Smash community as most large cities do. There seems to be an endless amount of opportunities for competitive play, and even my school has a weekly Smash meetup. But here's the problem: when do you start going to tournaments? At my level now, I will get utterly destroyed, no questions asked. So at what point are you so bad that going to a tournament would be a waste of money and time, which would be better spent grinding basic tech skill?

 

[Twinkles]

Go to a tournament, get destroyed.
Maybe learn what tech skill you're lacking or what situations you lose in, help bring focus into your training.

Play lots of friendlies, get destroyed. Get better at the situations you play in. Meet new people, get involved in the community, make friends who you might hit up to play again outside tournament.

Ask people lots of questions. "What did I do wrong here?" "How do you beat this move in this situation?" Etc.

It's a waste of time and money to go to a tournament if you go 0-2 and stop playing there because you're salty or you think the bracket is all there is to a tournament.

Mingle with your fellow smashers and suddenly it will be worth it to go to every tournament you possibly can, no matter what level you are.

 

[Diosama]

Just go already.

 

[Chainz]

When I first picked up Melee, I gave myself about 2 weeks to get used to the pace, learn some tech, and get a basic idea of the match-ups.

Did pretty good for my first tournment. Couldn't really L-cancel or short hop at the time. Mainly just did wavedashes, boost grabs, and OoS options.

 

[Egg.]

I played Melee for literally the first time in at least 10 years about a month and a half ago, and I've been enjoying the learning process. While I didn't get into the scene for the longest time just because the learning curve seemed too intimidating, the smash club at my school only really plays melee, so I figured I'd try and finally pick it up. I've found that just going to the weekly club meetings and playing lots of friendlies has been very valuable in the learning process. I know everyone says it, but just try playing with a lot of people and asking questions - at least in my experience, a majority of the players I've encountered have been very friendly and helpful in introducing me to the game. A few have tried to convince me to switch mains, but that'll obviously never happen. Expect to lose a lot, but still try your best to win and you'll probably have fun and improve!

As for going to actual tournaments, I haven't gone to anything major yet, though I have entered in small $2-5 entry fee locals on campus a few times just for the experience. I personally feel like I learn just as much playing friendlies at the weekly club meetings as I do at tournaments, since I kinda get bodied a lot either way, but it might be worth checking one out if you have a bit of money to spare just to see how they run. Just my thoughts as a fellow newb to the Melee scene.

 

[EPsilon933]

If you know how to play the game, you can go to a tournament. The fun is worth the money

 

[Elyssa Xey Hexen]

When I first picked up Melee, I gave myself about 2 weeks to get used to the pace, learn some tech, and get a basic idea of the match-ups.

Did pretty good for my first tournment. Couldn't really L-cancel or short hop at the time. Mainly just did wavedashes, boost grabs, and OoS options.

HaiMatoX
Do what this guy did. I feel this is the best way of learning. You don't want to do without knowing how the game works at least even a little bit. You need to have a little bit of background, then go in there and learn a ton of stuff you never knew about before.

Though going to a tournament does not actually matter. You can get good without going to tournaments by simply playing friendlies. Provide you are not putzing around in friendlies doing stupid stuff all the time like taunting and only using Falcon Punch you can learn a ton from simply playing the CPU/friendlies at local smashfests.

If you are pretty chill person, then transitioning to a tournament is not hard at all. The only hard thing I have found with tournaments are nerves really. That is really the only difference between that and friendlies.

 

[Archelon]

In my opinion, as soon as you are able to consistently perform everything you need to under pressure, otherwise (again, IMO) you will not get very much out of it... Who do you play?

 

[-ACE-]

Just go. To do well in tournament you want to practice by going to tournaments.

 

[HaiMatoX]

In my opinion, as soon as you are able to consistently perform everything you need to under pressure, otherwise (again, IMO) you will not get very much out of it... Who do you play?

At the moment I don't have a main. I play a lot of Sheik though, since she doesn't require a lot of tech skill.

 

[Archelon]

At the moment I don't have a main. I play a lot of Sheik though, since she doesn't require a lot of tech skill.

Yeah, maybe play Sheik to start, but after a bit, don't let techskill hold you back, it just takes time to get.

 

[HaiMatoX]

Yeah, maybe play Sheik to start, but after a bit, don't let techskill hold you back, it just takes time to get.

Someday I'll get to 20XX levels of tech... One of these days.

 

[Comet7]

you can just pay the venue fee and play friendlies with people and ask them about stuff. the optimal thing is obviously to enter the brackets but doing that over time can burn a hole in your wallet (it certainly did that to mine).

 

[Uchihadark7]

I think you should just go if you have the chance and if you have a weekly tournament nearby. My closest weekly tournament is about an hour and a half away at a University so I haven't gone yet, but I plan to.

 

[ShadowKing]

Do you have dolphin emulater?if so they do have small tournaments if not ask your friend if he knows any near by

 

[HaiMatoX]

Do you have dolphin emulater?if so they do have small tournaments if not ask your friend if he knows any near by

I have Dolphin. Are you talking about some kind of online tournament?

 

[ShadowKing]

I have Dolphin. Are you talking about some kind of online tournament?

Yeah

 

[GenNyan]

I can only go to tournaments once a month at best, but I learn soooo much every time I go. Its worth it at any stage in your training. Just don't expect to win and you'll be fine.

 

[7HXYZZ]

To hopefully answer your question, paying money to attend a tournament is a waste of time if you are easily discouraged by playing those better than yourself. It's a waste of time and money if you don't think you want to be better at melee. I went to my first tournament about two months after I started playing, and I got destroyed. I'm glad I did. I didn't go to get destroyed, but the amount of information I took in was enormous. You go to a tournament to soak everything in -- the community, to make friends with those at your local scene, see how people from different scenes play different characters, learn character match-ups, practice for hours in friendlies, and yes, learn tech. In short, to answer your question, there is no level of play at which going to a tournament is a waste of time, so long as you know you'll still like playing the game.
Cheers,
7H

 

[ShadowKing]

To hopefully answer your question, paying money to attend a tournament is a waste of time if you are easily discouraged by playing those better than yourself. It's a waste of time and money if you don't think you want to be better at melee. I went to my first tournament about two months after I started playing, and I got destroyed. I'm glad I did. I didn't go to get destroyed, but the amount of information I took in was enormous. You go to a tournament to soak everything in -- the community, to make friends with those at your local scene, see how people from different scenes play different characters, learn character match-ups, practice for hours in friendlies, and yes, learn tech. In short, to answer your question, there is no level of play at which going to a tournament is a waste of time, so long as you know you'll still like playing the game.
Cheers,
7H

Same here after practiceing for a few months before I went I was able to get to top 8 :D

 

[Archelon]

Same here after practising for a few months before I went I was able to get to top 8 :D

Lol after practising for a couple months, THEN going to weeklies for a couple months I finally won my first sets.