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(Unfortunately, spacehey's habit of only allowing very specific sites to embed, along with seeming to clash with Imgur right now and no easy way to host .mp4 or .webm embeds, you'll have to bear with my screenshots and probably bandwidth taxing GIFs. Sorry.)
The night feels odd, my hands are lighter than usual, and I've just gotten off a loss to someone very close to my own rank, 1-5. It feels like it's gonna be a night that torpedoes my rank downwards, as all my mistakes were quite preventable. Still, I soldier on, and queue for another match, unaware of what I was about to face...
...this is gonna be a sweep, I'm done for. I impulsively throw something off the Yakuza 0 OST in the background, and double check I'm recording, as I send a screenshot of my impending doom to a friend, and steel my nerves. My hands feel looser, less precise than I need them to be.
I forego my instinct to build PCO in the face of a powerful adversary, and simply focus on what I see in the queue, SDPC. I take it slow, and don't even notice my opponent misdrop immediately. Remarkably, they're unable to recover, and the score is set to 1-0. SS rank players have to play first to 5 (FT5), but U rank players have to play FT7. The higher rank always takes precedent, meaning I can't rely on misdropped openers for all my wins. I sigh with relief that it at least won't go down as an 0-7 sweep.
I stick to what worked before, and continue with SDPC. Unfortunately, my opponent is charging forward at top speed, and has a PCO solve. They're not slowing down either, they get a lucky 2nd PC without even flinching, at a breakneck 3PPS. I find my own solve, but their speed forces me into the midgame. They favor 9-0 stacking, but are clearly no t-spin beginner. I tell myself to not panic, and just play as cautiously and defensively as I can, while still trying to push the limits on my speed.
It's exhausting, but eventually they misdrop catastrophically, undone by their speed. It's 2-0, and somehow victory doesn't feel implausible, if I can keep a cool head. My hands begin to shake, as the music pulls me into the match further
My hesitation and desire for efficiency is my downfall, one greedy mistake shakes the universe 2-1. Just don't panic...
MS2 this time, versus their TKI Flat Top into LST Stacking. Lots of higher level players love flat top and LST for it's ability to keep an extreme amount of constant pressure on their opponent, while MS2 relies on one huge blast and it's ability to loop. I nearly slip up, but manage to throw their garbage back at them to make it 3-1. I notice how they misdrop a lot, do I really have this ? Were they U rank by fluke ?
Despair sets in, as my lead is shredded before my eyes. They keep their cool on game 5, neatly sending my garbage straight back at me. Game 6 is absolutely crushing as I glance over at their board when I've been KO'd, seeing a terrifying B2B combo of x8. Game 7, I can feel the choke coming on, it gets harder to keep my cool, game 8 they're not even needing to try anymore. From 3-1 to 3-5. Don't panic, don't panic...
I manage to pull off SDPC uninterrupted long enough to get the PC, clocking in at 2.55PPS, what feels like a record. I look over, they've destroyed their own board. They're choking instead now. The numbers, the rank, nothing phases me anymore, they're simply my opponent, and I know they're capable of faulting. 5-4.
But, as if I've awoken a demon, they fire back much harder than anything I can achieve. SDPC vs SDPC, yet they get the solve at 3.51PPS. I hold strong, fierce blows don't phase me. If you're gonna swing, don't miss. On watching the replay, the DPC shape needed, they hesitated on, one that's second nature to me. I'm able to recover from the blow with a clear head into the midgame.
My midgame is capable of showing anybody how defensive play can be terrifying, the immovable object that keeps approaching, until you're exhausted, you slip up. It closes in, no more room to attack, no fighting back. 5-5.
My SDPC versus their PCO. They have no solve, start building in the center for T-spins. My speed is fading, but it's kept up just long enough to time my attack with theirs, cancelling the garbage, and allowing me the PC. They got greedy, and set up a t-spin with no T in reserve...6-6...don't...PANIC...
Match point...I decide to go for the riskiest mix-up I could do, BT Cannon. An extremely long opener that's high risk, but if the opponent slips up at all, it's unmistakably fatal. I've done this thousands of times, all I have to do...is not panic.
Like each attack broke the sound barrier, shook the universe, like a mortal trying to slay a god...it was over. I sat there, hands trembling, almost unable to believe what just happened. I scrambled to tell someone about it, and hurried to write all this.
Tetris is my favorite competitive game
Link to unedited match
(2023-5-23 Update: Fixed broken Imgur link to img 12, and switched img 01 to imgbb)
Link to unedited match
(2023-5-23 Update: Fixed broken Imgur link to img 12, and switched img 01 to imgbb)
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