Devin Morris · @TerranLord
4th Aug 2019 from TwitLonger
Goodbye to Sc2
This is an announcement I’ve been thinking of making for a month or so now. Even though I have had so much time to think about it, it does not make it any easier. It probably makes it even worse.
Starcraft II has been a part of my life for over three years now and it truly has been a fantastic three years. Before I started playing Starcraft I was always a big fan of games of different genres but there was not one that would stick for an extended period of time. I would always go back to them every once in a while but I would never consistently play them. Starcraft changed all of that. Up until the beginning of this year I had not taken a voluntary break from Starcraft.
Unfortunately as time has gone on, my passion for the game has diminished significantly. I no longer have the eagerness whenever I have the free time to play Starcraft which has been incredibly frustrating for me. I have even struggled to get on Starcraft just to practice for my team’s matches. This has been especially concerning for me as I have always been a competitive person and I want to do the best I can for my team.
I think my recent runs in the Master Swan Open finishing second twice and third once, it was both an encouragement and a frustration. It showed me the things I am capable of in Starcraft even if I am not playing consistently. On the other hand it has been a frustration because of the fact that I can play so well without practice shows me that if I was actually practicing I probably could reach a much higher level than I am right now.
Going into this three year period I never thought I would come out of it actually winning tournaments on any scale. But to be here having won two Proxy Tempest Plat/Diamonds while staying up to 6 am for both, winning a Sea Duckling Open and an MSO, it makes me feel that all this time dedicated to Starcraft has been more than worth it.
I also sit here thinking about what exactly went wrong, how did I lose my passion for Starcraft what seemed almost overnight. I think something that started it off was the lack of competitions as an individual for low masters players. Now that I reached masters in 2017 all that there really was to play in was open tournaments and there was no chance I could even win a series a lot of the time. MSO was a great saviour for me, giving me that competition I was craving. But then half way through 2018, I had a compulsory class at university that was right during the beginning of MSO which meant I could no longer play in MSO. It hurt not being able to compete. I was able to return towards the end of 2018 and have had a couple stints in 2019 but other than that it has been difficult.
Something else that has been hurting my passion is the current state of the game. I know all of you are going to say “Oh he is terran of course he is going to balance whine”. Well it’s the non terran matchups which have been really boring for me to watch. For me the current meta has grown stale. Every matchup is basically the same thing for most of the games. Yes there is some variance here and there but it is not that much. Another thing that annoys me is the game has been hinging on a lot more on “gimmicky” plays which either just win the game or fail badly. PvZ and PvP is a great example of this. While PvP has always been a strange matchup it has gotten to a point where it is not fun seeing two bases at 15 minutes into the game.
Looking back on what I have done outside of playing the game, there is a lot which I am really proud of. Being a part of Alpha X as well as PsiX has been truly incredible. To see the team go from a mere clan to having some insanely strong players who are representing us in WCS events is amazing. For anyone who has known me, I am a very avid supporter to the point where I get very animated supporting teammates and friends. So being able to support teammates not only in clan wars and team leagues but in WCS events as well has been something I never expected would happen. Huge shoutout to Sushi who since I joined the clan back in 2017 has been the best admin one could ever hope for.
Through my time in the clan I have been privileged to get to know a lot of people in the Starcraft community, most importantly in the Chobo Team League where I was an admin for a year. My time as admin taught me a lot about running things. While I was not the most active admin, seeing the way Tbham would run things like clockwork was great to watch. A less successful admin adventure was PGTL which I am not going to go into but I did gain a lot from it. I have also had contributions towards the running of Juniour Star League, Voltacus Star League and the Oceanic Pond League which in themselves have been separate and exciting adventures.
Perhaps one of the most exciting moments I have had, was the first time I ever casted a Starcraft event with the wonderful LadyAzylis. As a person who struggled in social situations to put myself out there and cast was really difficult. I can not thank Azylis enough for the truly incredible person she is. Not only was she the reason I was to make such a successful career in Starcraft but she gave me the confidence to really thrive as a caster and that has helped a lot with my anxiety in general.
To the teammates and friends I have made in these last three years, thank you for supporting me and being amazing people. Specific shoutouts go to Caerwyn, Voltacus, WarbuffII, Sunlily, Nemesis, Daunted, Phoenix, XenoDactyl and SippyCup. All of you have a massive impact on my life and I thank you so much from that. If I have not mentioned it does not mean I have forgotten you I just do not want to make a list as long as two paragraphs. You will all know who you are.
I’m sure you must be wondering how I could not mention one specific person. Well that’s because he deserves more than just a mention. My brother PhoenixTears is without a doubt the person who I have endless thanks and appreciation for. He has been the person who has believed in me from day one. No matter what I have done he has always been there by my side offering support and guidance.For the longest time he was always better than me but I eventually was able to surpass although it was probably down to the fact that he switched to random. I do not think I could have ever gone through this journey alone. We were already close before our journey but now we are even closer, which I never thought it possible. The numerous times we have casted together has been a highlight of these three years. From casting Proxy Tempest to casting the WCS Group Stage to casting our first offline event earlier this year I will never forget these moments. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being you.
So all in all, what does this mean for me going forward. In terms of playing the game I will no longer be playing it on a competitive level once this current season of CTL has finished. I will very likely do a final ladder stream to say goodbye to the game. I will still be a part of Alpha X and watching all the games I possibly can. I will still be around in streams supporting as much as I can. Casting wise I have no idea exactly where I will be going with that. Perhaps I will look into more of a coaching role for lower level players so I can at least have an influence in Starcraft.
This has been my goodbye to Starcraft, will I ever return I have no idea but that will not be in the near future. Thank you again to everyone who has helped and supported me throughout these last three years and if you are still reading this, thank you to everyone who took the time to read through all of it.