Momentum, tilt, winning attitude, virtus plow. You’ve heard all these terms before but what do they really mean? Aren’t they things used just by professional casters and commentators on streams and need a higher knowledge of psychology? Not really, no. I’m going to explain how everyone can use these things to improve their game-psyche when trying to get that elusive Global Elite status.

One ACE can decide if a game is won

It’s pretty simple. You are taking a beating when suddenly one of your teammates makes an unbelievable play and clutches a 1v4 and suddenly everyone feels like now we will win this. This is called a momentum shift and it makes a huge difference whether or not you are going to make a comeback when losing. If you watch professional games you’ve noticed how many times one pause can turn a game like the Fnatic vs. EnVyUs finals showed us in ESL Cologne.

Many players still overlook this and many games have been thrown when starting to get too arrogant and suddenly the opponent gets a few good rounds and starts playing much better. This is usually when less experienced players start to panic since they might not understand what is happening. This is also where the term “tilt” comes in play. Since you start to be scared of the opponent’s sudden change of gameplay, you yourself get tilted and seem to fail at everything you do after that.

If you are playing with a team this might be a good time to call a pause and calm yourselves down. Talk about what you did right before the turnover and try to go back there. Maybe change your strategy a bit. If you are playing matchmaking it is up to you to get over the scare and try to lift your teammates' spirits. Raging at this point will most definitely lose you the game. Controlling your feelings plays a big part in how your games will play out. If you lose it the second someone gets a lucky deagle shot or grenade kill you are going to have a hard time controlling the tilt.

Welcome to the inside of my head

Playing the mind games is useful technique in getting your opponent to tilt or at least be less sure about themselves. This doesn’t mean you have to be toxic towards your opponent but rather giving these little compliments when they fail a play or make a plain mistake. They manage to kill both players in a 1v2 situation but accidentally die in a Molotov, a small “nice try, but not this time” could really drive someone over the edge. Or if you manage the clutch go shoot the opponents bodies or play around with the defusing just a bit. Some might call this unsportsmanlike behaviour but after all the gentleman gestures are moved aside both teams just want to win no matter what. As long as you keep it in good taste and never lower yourself to bashing the enemy or being straight out rude this is quite acceptable. On the other hand, it is advised to keep your calm if the opponent uses this tactic. Especially in solo-queue, people tend to bash and be rude in general.

Sometimes it's best to just view the scenery and calm down.

How to deal with toxic teammates

If you are looking to improve your rank in matchmaking or you are playing in one of the leagues as a solo-player you will encounter toxic teammates. Usually it starts after a bad play from them and the blame is targeted towards you. Or you make a mistake and suddenly every mistake made is you fault. Best way to deal with this kind of person is to block the communications and just answer their flame with a smile or just ignore the whole message. This is the best comeback against a toxic player. Some say reasoning or explaining the situation could work but generally speaking they are already tilted or just trolling so it is waste of time. In many cases they get their satisfaction from the flaming and not the game itself. Again controlling your own emotions is the best way to improve your mentality when playing.

There will always be someone who doesn't like the stuff you do.

Ways to keep your mentality positive

Personally I would suggest to never play a match as the first thing when starting your day. Especially in the mornings. Put on some nice music that makes your blood pump and go shoot some headshots in a deathmatch server. Get yourself in the right mood to play. Never play when too tired or if you are in a complete tilt. Also, if you find yourself in a “maybe one more game?” situation, it is best to stop there. If you can finish the day with a good mood and maybe a victory under your belt it is much easier to continue the next day. Getting some fresh air and exercise before playing plays a big part in what mood you will have when you start playing. Staying inside all day and trying to get that one win will most likely end in a lose streak and bad taste in your mouth.

You should learn to recognize these different mental states in yourself and then do the hard part and learn to accept them. It is easy to lie to yourself “I’m not in a tilt” when maybe the friends you are playing with can easily tell that this is not the case. All in all, your mental state and attitude have a great impact in your performance and you should definately work on that as much as on your aim.

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