This is, to say the least, ambitious.
When Dragonball FighterZ was announced, I was pretty neck deep into playing Hearthstone competitively. I was a big fan of the style of the game, and the pacing. However, there was no way I would be able to play a fighting game at this stage of my gaming life. I was probably going to watch a lot of tournaments and do some writing on it, but as far as participating, the gag was more than just my stream title. I genuinely felt that I was washed up.
Then I asked myself: “Why?”
Why was I washed up? I haven’t played a fighting game competitively in over 13 years. I very well may not be EVO champion, but why the hell would I not be able to just play fighting games competitively?
Then I told myself: “I probably could.”
Then the idea surfaced.
I wanted to see how far I could get if I pushed myself as hard as I could to just get better, starting from the absolute bottom, and working my way up. I wanted to do as much research, grind as much as possible, pick up everything I could from the best players, and from those around me. I wanted to do something that wasn’t necessarily unprecedented, but was akin to a journey.
And I wanted all of you to see it.
So, Zero to EVO was born.
Starting at the release of the game, I will be streaming every single moment of Dragonball FighterZ that I play. No matter the time, for 6 months, all the way up to EVO in August. When I say I’m starting from the bottom, I mean it. I will be using a fightstick for the first time, practicing fundamentals, dash and backdash drills…
Everything.
The goal is not only to compete and do as well as possible at EVO, but also to see just how much I can progress. I’ve never done something like this before, and I love trying new things. Streaming on top of all if this is another layer of difficulty that I’ve never really done to this degree. Most of the time, I can just cut the stream if I’m not feeling it and play. This won’t be happening here. Everything will be raw and put out there- the ups, the downs, the struggles and the sick plays. I honestly don’t know how many people even care to see something like this, but I don’t think it’s a huge concern. I really enjoy the idea and framework of all of this more than the results that could or would be.
It all just seems like a fun little experiment on myself.
I’m excited, nervous, terrified, anxious, determined, and worried. All at the same time. What if I never get anywhere in the first 3 or 4 months? What if I scrub out of every tournament I play in? What if I just can’t do it anymore? I can sit here and tell you it’ll all be alright and I won’t quit, but as someone who is extremely hard on himself a lot, I promise that I’ll be asking myself all of these questions from time to time. The only thing I really can do is push through and try, though.
This is one of the last chances I have to do something as cool as this. I’m not getting any younger, and I might as well make it awesome if I’m going to do it.