Get Better Fast: Overcoming the Open Bracket
By Lies | Published: October 19, 2009 10:05pm EST
 Overcoming the Open Bracket with Talent
The first point that comes to mind that will help you with the amount of competition in the Open Bracket is to keep yourself from judging who you are playing by a face or name. If you go into a best-of-three series with the mindset that you are just going to win without playing your best, you increase your chances of losing. Confidence is always very important, but there is a difference between being confident and being full of yourself. Take it one game at a time, no matter who you are playing, or very quickly you can find your team in the Losers Bracket. Columbus provided a good example of this when Naded and Karma teamed up with the "Golden Ticket" winners and failed to make it into the Championship Bracket, so just remember, upsets can happen both for you and against you. Don't underestimate or overestimate your opponent, or you could find yourself in the Losers Bracket or out of the competition. Just play your game, regardless of who is sitting across from you. Don't try to compare how good your team usually plays with how well the opposition usually plays and let that give you confidence. It will hurt you if you lose focus and forget the fact that anything can happen. When you base your focus on names vs. names, you tend to slip in your awareness and lose momentum when you come out on the losing end unexpectedly. Don’t think about your next match on paper too much, just play your game as a team and give every series you play your all. Remember, if you are a Championship Bracket caliber team, the momentum and chemistry you build while playing together all day Saturday will carry over into the Championship Bracket when you reach that point. That being said, to be playing your best at all times you’re going to need to take the right steps to have energy over the course of 5-8 rounds. With the current set up for the Open Bracket, if you lose a close series it is very important to get together and realize that you might need to switch something up before your next series to avoid the same result, knocking you out of the competition. Sometimes it can be your seating arrangement that you may need to look at because in tournament play, where it may be hard to hear your teammates, you need to sit in an order that gives your team the best chance at capitalizing on your chemistry. If two players are very good together and have great teamwork, they may not need to sit right next to each other to work together, so try keeping your closest teammates separated at the tournament so that everyone can be equally involved in communication. If something is working, don’t try to change it. On Friday night, your team should take advantage of being able to warm-up against other teams in the bracket. If, before you start playing tournament matches, you notice something that can easily be fixed, talk about it before Winners Bracket Round 1 or 2 comes around, then focus on the task at hand. I’ve heard too many stories, as crazy as it sounds, about players not showing up for their matches when they are supposed to play. Try to stay in the venue and be sure you know your teammates' phone numbers. It is OK to separate for a little while to go grab something from your hotel room, or go buy some food, but try to always keep one member from your team in the venue so that if there is anything announced that has to do with your team, you’ll have someone to alert you. If you are a lower seeded team, you'll probably have two matches to play on Friday. Remember, just because you have a lower seed doesn’t mean you can’t play your best Halo against a higher seed and win. Stay confident and gain momentum so that if you do make it to Winners Bracket Round 3 on Saturday morning, you won’t be starting out slow together. If this is the first time you've met your team, it's crucial to get to know each other and bond. It's a great idea to meet up with your team before your match on Friday and, if possible, grab dinner together. This will help you get to know one another, which will alleviate any shyness when it comes time to compete. The most important thing from Friday to Saturday is eating something good before you sleep, and waking up early enough to get a good breakfast. Sleeping well is important because the last thing you want is to hit a wall on Saturday after your first couple of rounds because you insisted on staying up too late and didn't get enough rest. Finally, just remember to have fun. If you are a good team, you will play to your potential when you’re relaxed and be able to get rid of butterflies when good teams come your way. Just relax and get ready to game. Thank you for reading, and good luck in your next MLG competition. Remember, anything can happen! |
