Graphics by Nick Lupo

I don't think there is any dispute on the fact that the players in the CGS have talent. They are here to stay for a reason. They weren't picked because of their looks, their allegiance with a specific GM, or due to their diversity. Talent is the key to success and success is a bi-product of talent.

Talent can be broken down into three parts: personality, practice, and physical stature. The Three P's of talent as they will be phunk'd can be combined in any ratio to spawn any strength and weakness in a player. Such ratios can also provide new talents and skills that make a player a strong asset to any team.

Personality Check?

The idea of personality is overlooked often times in the gaming scene. Many young and uninformed teams care only about the skill of a player. What a professional team looks for and pays special attention to is how the player thinks, reacts, and interacts with others. However personality comes better into play when you consider the background personality and how that incorporates into playstyle. If you think about it logically, you can delve into my theory of how playstyle incorporates personality to create talent. A human who is soft spoken and commonly calm usually brings a passive and calm playstyle into their game. Quite possibly the strongest examples of this is Tyler "Storm" Wood from CompLexity. A person who easily gets angry and is very aggressive is more than likely aggressive in game as well. Sticking with the CompLexity theme we have running, an example of an aggressive playstyle is Marcus "zet" Sundstrom. Tyler is possibly the best known passive player and is the most soft spoken person I've met to this day. Marcus on the other hand plays Counter-Strike with an intense head-on mentality. Both players' personalities are respective of their gaming style. The talent they have in the game comes from their personality and the practice style.

Perfect Practice Makes Perfect

Notice the "Perfect" preceding the Practice in the phrase above. Practice helps lead to success only if it is done right. Personality is a key contributer to the type of practice you or your team does. If you've ever seen a practice session of a professional team, it is incredibly coordinated, mature, and serious. In comparison to a "CAL-open" team's practice it is like a Grasshopper - Ant relationship. Practicing is the key to talent which makes it, by default, the key to success. You will find over time that practicing will help you as much as you may hate it. You practice when you don't even think about it. Every time you coordinate your eyes, ears, and hands to the game, you are practicing muscle memory. If you have ever read David "dLight" Light's article on muscle memory, you surely know that muscle memory is huge in gaming. Practicing is done in many forms, but it derives from personality and it leads to physical stature.

Steroids or Natural?

We all know that by physical stature, I mean muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, and all other aspects of a body. I don't mean height, but I do mean weight. For an example of how physical stature plays into talent of a sport or game, look at the Major League Baseball. The larger men who can pound a home run every time they come to bat usually have pinch runners. Why? Because they can't run around the bases in a timely fashion. To be a well rounded asset to your team, you need to be able to do everything. Having a good physical stature helps that. It may sound weird that I'm saying that being ripped will help your gaming abilities. Really, that is not what I'm saying. I am trying to say that one must be well trained and well taught to achieve a high level of talent. Training your body to know what it's doing in certain situations is a great success. Knowledge is the ultimate strength. Talent is knowledge and skill combined - knowledge being the more influential of the two.

The Phunkadelik Diversilogistics: Resolution

Practicing is the best way to become a strong player. Without a doubt, your skill is what will get you noticed. But having a great personality and a great knowledge of the game will open the door that much more. The easiest part of the Three P's to change is your practice. It is nearly impossible to completely change your personality. Training your body and practicing will lead to a high level of talent in any player. Talent breeds success and the Three P's of Talent are an all-inclusive resolution to your skill-based problems. Think about it as much as you can and play as hard as you can to increase your talent. You are destined to success if you are consistent to the Three P's of Talent.