Today the compLexity Academy is very proud to announce the latest addition to its roster; Alex “Shew” Raymond. A Strong Protoss player who previously played for the team Lazarus Gaming, Shew now hopes to rise to the top of the Academy so he can prove himself to a wider audience.
I was able to sit down with Shew today and ask him a few questions about his jump to the Academy.
Hey Shew it’s a pleasure to sit down and talk with you. For those of us who may not be familiar with you, please tell us about yourself?
I’m 18 years old from Irvine, California. I have been playing Starcraft 2 since the second phase of the beta. I’m currently attending Indiana University at Bloomington, where I haven’t yet declared a major. But, I am part of “Mobile DJ” here which is a group that DJ’s for parties and bars in the local area. I LOVE music!
I was on Lazarus Gaming, and I currently play for my school’s CSL team, which is ranked #1 in the nation.
What do you think about the compLexity Academy? What do you hope to achieve here? Will having an organized group to practice with give you that extra boost to get you to the “next level?” What do you think about your new teammates?
I think complexity academy is definitely underrated. It gives players who have yet to break into the top tier of players a chance to prove themselves and become a top tier player. Having the organized group practice and the competitive edge of the Academy will definitely give me a strong boost to improve my play. The uniqueness about the Academy is that it isn’t just a team, you are also competing with your teammates for a spot on Complexity’s main roster and for trips and travel to LAN events. Goswser was a great deal of help for getting me into the academy, I owe him all the credit. I know of a few of the other players that I’ve seen on ladder or heard about in tournaments like Nineteen and Brobocop. The compLexity Academy is extremely professional for it’s size and popularity which was a crucial factor in my decision to join.
Also, one of my main reasons for joining compLexity Academy was the compLexity and MVP merger. Within a year I want to be living in a pro house in Korea and I think the compLexity Academy is a good way for me to achieve my dream. Once I’m there I can fully submerge myself into the game and not have to worry about any outside factors. And hopefully with this deep concentration and new living environment comes results. I’m even taking Korean right now in college as preparation!
Since you mentioned you’re attending college, how hard is it to juggle school work and SC2? How do you go about tackling each time commitment?
Juggling college and Starcraft is extremely difficult. If I have a test or a big paper to work on then I will go to the library, sit down, and power it out for a few hours. I’ve learned the true value of time management. Also I’ve realized when I have the right mindset to play and the right mindset to do work. If I try to play but in the back of my mind know that I need to study or do homework then my play will be bad, so I force myself to not play under bad circumstances and work. Playing when your only thing to worry about is your play itself is so much better than worrying about a test, quiz, paper, anything else you have going on outside of the game. My practice time is dedicated practice time and I make sure that I’m not disturbed by outside factors, same with my homework time.
Who are some of your favorite players? If you don’t have any favorite players, what are some styles you like to use/emulate?
There are certain aspects of top tier players that I really enjoy. Liquid`Hero’s warp prism play is something I try to emulate in my games, along with HuK’s sick unit control. The players I pay attention to the most would have to be all of EG’s because we have been friends for a good while now. At some point every one of them have helped me whether it’s been in gameplay, mindset, or just a friend to talk to. <3 you guys!!
I try to use builds that cater to my strong suits (multitasking and decision making). I watch as many Protoss players as I can and try to take something from each of their games that I find unique and implement it into my own play.
Well, that about wraps it up for me. Are there any shoutouts or final words you’d like to say?
First I gotta give a special shoutout to EG’s very own Machine. He has been my main homeboy for quite a while and I wouldn’t be where I am today without him, thanks much homie <3. There are too many people out there that have been great friends and colleagues to me in the Starcraft II world, you all know who you are! The players on EG, Gretorp, Stevo, Russell, Flo, Ocram, and anyone I forget. Whenever I need motivation to play I just look at all the friends and family I have from all over the world that share the same interest as me. I love you all.
I’d also like to give a shoutout to Gosucoaching.com where I currently am a coach, and Sixpoolgaming.com. Please check both sites out, we have big stuff coming out of SixPool Gaming soon!
We at the compLexity Academy are very proud to add Shew to our ranks. We really expect to see some great things from him, and you should too. Be sure to keep an eye out for Shew, as I’m sure that he’ll be taking the SC2 community by storm.