Mental Strategy

Mental Strategy #26: Being The Underdog

    Throughout the years the word Underdog has always been used. Underdog's(or the person expected to lose) usually aren't given much of a chance to win a game. The only competitive atmosphere we have in Starcraft has to be ladder. What percentage of the time do the Underdog's(the players with lower rankings) win their games over higher rated opponents? I don't have an exact percentage but i'm sure that Favorites win the games more often then not. However, if you are a fan of ladder(which I'm not.) and are interested in learning about the topics of thought for being the Underdog in a game. Read on. Maybe it'll help you out.

    Sports are always a good analogy to this topic. You are playing against the #1 team in the country, and you represent the exciting Starcaft University for the Blind and Deaf. First of all, you need to retain a positive attitude. Even though your team may be Blind and Deaf; they sure have a positive atmosphere. The best way to retain a positive attitude is whenever something bad occurs, you don't let it bother you and you continue to adapt and play. It all depends on your thought. Second of all, never stray away from your gameplan. If you are attempting to drop but get attacked by 10 marines, you should NOT drop what your doing. You should continue to plan and run your own game plan to place yourself in the best position possible. It's important to understand that every movement that you make can determine whether you can upset the higher rated player. Third of all, Never think that your rating determines their skill. Who knows, I could have a rating of 2000 but I'd still get beat by a guy who is 0-69 with a rating of 600. You never know what could happen in Ladder or actually in a game of Starcraft. What you need to understand is that anyone on any given day could beat anyone.

    The Underdog also usually doesn't have the pressure placed on them as badly as the favorite does. If you are rated #20 and your opponent is rated #16; where will the pressure be placed? The person who is rated #16 is going to be trying to hold their spot to get into the final Blizzard Entertainment tournament. You on the other hand are looking for the one advantage to sneak in through them all and get in yourself. However, if you lose it may hurt you a bit but it won't hurt you as much as it would if #16 lost to you. The pressure is all on the favorite higher up in the world. If you and your opponent both know that your not going to be a huge factor in the ladder season then maybe it won't be as big of a deal. However, 9 out of 10 times the Favorite has more to lose then the Underdog.

    So to conclude this mental strategy think about it this way. When you play against a player of higher skill you are not only giving yourself a challenge, but your giving yourself a chance to upset a higher ranked opponent to improve your self-confidence. However, even if you lose you've probably gained something out of it. Also the Favorite has more to lose. So, it's not always that bad to be the underdog.

-SpaceDominator