The 9 biggest moments in pro gaming (page 3 of 3)

3. Team 3D wins it all in San Francisco

Every fan feels a certain kinship, a level of ownership if you will, over teams and players hailing from their hometown. The notion of the hometown team or player winning it all is a powerful story that can be the foundation of legend. It also makes victory all the sweeter for both players and fans.

At the World Cyber Games 2004 Grand Finals, Team 3D got to experience first-hand the adulation as hometown heroes when they defeated the Titans in double-overtime on their home turf of San Francisco.

Sports-world analogy: The "Do you believe in miracles?" United States hockey team's legendary victory over the Soviets in the 1980 Winter Olympics. See also: The United States Women's Soccer World Cup Victory in 1999.


2. The perfect StarCraft bounce

There's nothing more exhilarating than witnessing a perfect game. A sense of urgency gets loaded into every second and every action. Does a team go for the easy out or push for a more historic feat?

Only the best players stand out for their risks and accomplishments. None stand out more so than professional StarCraft player Lim "SlayerS BoxeR" Yo-Hwan. In an epic, guts-and-glory showcase on an international stage, Boxer mobilized a contingent of lowly Zerg worker units early in the game and rushed his opponent's homebase, defeating him within minutes of the match's start. Don't try this at home, kids.

Sports-world analogy: Don Larsen pitches a perfect game in the World Series.


1. ...And the crowd goes wild!!

Crowd reactions can make even the most mundane action, play, or maneuver the subject of sports lore and history. The roar of the crowd injects an element of theater and histrionics into relatively simple acts of catching a ball, blocking a goal -- or, in this case, mashing a joystick.

Take Justin Wong and Daigo Umehara's Street Fighter 3rd Strike match at 2004's evolution tournament: In the final moments Daigo parries all fifteen hits of Chun Li's super, including an air parry on the last delayed hit. Then he comboed into his own super move for the win. The sizable crowd went bonkers, erupting in cheers and shouts.

Sports-world analogy: Willie Mays' over-the-shoulder catch in game 1 of the 1954 World Series.

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