So, I’m finally a Master

15 November 2024 • Andy Corrigan

17 months and 12 days. That’s also 531 days, or 764,640 minutes for those who prefer something more granular. I won’t bother with seconds, even though I’ve been assured they most certainly count in competitive endeavours.

That’s how long it’s taken me to reach Master Rank in Street Fighter 6.

When the moment finally came yesterday, chaos reigned. A large, uncoordinated man (it was me, the beard was a dead giveaway) ran through our house punching the air in celebration as Juri’s Level 3 played out in the living room. At some point a cat, confused and possibly worried she was going to the vet, was picked up and spun around in the air. My ‘I’m happy he’s happy’ wife quietly wondered what the fuss was all about.

As I calmed down and returned to my setup, I felt two things:

• Bad, for my opponent, because my elation meant I’d accidentally only played one match (completing the best-of-3 set is considered good etiquette for many, of course).
• Relief, because my opponent could easily have quit during the Super to ruin my day, but chose not to. A saint in my eyes. I’d give them a knighthood if I had the power to do so or believed at all in the concept of a monarchy.

The enthusiasm of my celebration was in direct correlation to everything that got me to this point.

The climb to Master has been long, challenging, and mentally tough. It felt a slog at times, compounded by seeing many people in my circles reach the milestone with apparent ease and indifference to the achievement. Being in a rut feels much worse compared to the success of others, especially if they seem to take it for granted.

There were times I genuinely thought I’d never get to this point. Whenever I got stuck in Platinum Rank, and later again in Diamond, the most depressive part of my brain would offer ‘Oh well, this is already the best you’ve ever done in a fighting game in 35-ish years. Maybe this is it for you. Maybe you should just be happy you got this far. Quit maybe?’

And if anyone’s followed this blog at all, you’d know quitting is always what I’ve always done before. This time I was determined to buck that annoying trend.

I'm honestly very sorry I didn't run the full set

And so, instead of quitting when stuck, I’d learn. I’d practice. I’d seek to understand why I was getting stuck, why I was losing games in certain situations, against certain characters, and I’d figure out how to deal with it. I write, I do hobbyist art, I clearly like the process of slowly improving at a thing over time, so I’m not sure why I never fully applied that to fighting games, even when that’s what appealed about them.

Looking back, there were moments I even let small successes hurt me as much as anything else. Moving up a rank after being stuck in the one below for a long time, for example, would give me what the FGC calls ‘Ranked anxiety’. After the initial elation of promotion, I’d become so terrified of losing what I just earned that I’d stop playing Ranked altogether or switch to a secondary character for a bit to take the pressure off, just so I could avoid the idea of demotion.

In hindsight, I should have taken advantage of the momentum, because putting the brakes on was only ever detrimental to my form. Hitting Platinum 4 and Diamond 3 the most notable examples of that, where my progress just stopped dead or fluctuated because I couldn’t face the worst possible outcome instead of chasing the best one.

I could have got here much quicker if I had only been a little more determined. If I could impart only one piece of advice to my past self, it’d be that: push through.

Though I’m allowing myself to take a moment to pat myself on the back, and I am very fucking happy about it, don’t get me wrong, I know that reaching Master is not the end goal, but a beginning.

Rank, although a decent marker of where you are in the learning journey, is ultimately meaningless. I knew that before and I know that now. That shiny badge doesn’t guarantee you success or wins over anyone. It just means you earned enough points.

But what really matters is what you learn. The tools and the knowledge you gain from that journey are more important than the badge. Learning how to learn is the real reward.

That said, aiming for Master Rank remains a solid goal, especially, if like me, you’ve never achieved it or its equivalent in any fighting game before. Even knowing that rank is meaningless didn’t stop me from wanting the badge as reward. It didn’t stop me from celebrating like a loon when I finally got what I coveted for longer than others.

And it shouldn’t stop you either if you haven’t got there yet. You should definitely strive for it. Knowing you can is everything.

The grind never ends

The journey is far from over. I would very much like to get Ryu to Master too (sat at Diamond 3 at the moment) but, with Juri, I now have a new digital point system to obsess over - Master Rate (MR).

That's where I'll really figure out where I am as a player and, for that, there's a long road still. It’s why Master Rank is the point many pros consider the true start of learning Street Fighter. It’s where you really need to lock down what you know; where the finest margins in knowledge make the biggest differences.

Now that I’m there, though, where the risk of demotion is no longer a factor at the back of my mind whenever I play, I suspect I’ll approach matches a little more freely and much less burdened. I may well go on to fail in the big leagues, but at least I’ve finally earned the right to do so.