Ryan "State" Visbeck is an American Protoss player who is a member of Team Prime. Considered one of the strongest North American Protoss players, he was formerly on Root Gaming, Team Quantic and Vile.
My name is Ryan Visbeck. As a professional StarCraft 2 player, I go by the handle “State,” and I am happy to announce my partnership with Game Front. I will be representing Game Front in tournaments and other competitions as well as writing a weekly column in which I will provide tips, analyses, and strategies. I’m also excited to share some of my experiences as a professional gamer.
As a fan of the RTS genre and an adamant consumer of all things Blizzard, I began playing StarCraft 2 upon its release in 2010. At first, playing was just a hobby. I started as a Terran player, but soon switched to Protoss after deciding that Terran and Zerg had far-and-away the most satisfying death animations. It was much more fun killing roaches and marines than struggling to keep them alive.
My first introduction to competitive gaming was watching MLG in Washington, D.C. during fall 2010. At the time, “eSports” was an alien concept to me, but I was inspired to compete. The small success I had in the months that followed allowed me to join my first pro-gaming team, Vile, in 2011 and compete in tournaments across the United States.
In mid-2012, I moved into an American pro-gaming house and began playing full-time. It was there that I trained to compete in Blizzard’s North American Finals of the World Championship Series. After qualifying to play in the world finals, I moved to Korea to train and live with StarTale, one of the top teams in the world.
After a brief break to focus on school, I have returned to competitive StarCraft to play in the 2013 World Championship Series—a year-long, $1.6 million dollar tournament. My goal is to again represent America at the World Championship. This year, the world finals will be at BlizzCon in Anaheim, CA.
Along with WCS, I am currently competing in TotalBiscuit and Genna Bain’s SHOUTcraft America, a tournament open to the top 16 residents of North and South America on the Battle.net ladder.
I love how responsive the community is and I want to know what you think.
State just released an article on PvT! Very informative read:
Today, I’ll be analyzing the PvT style that I used in the group stages of SHOUTcraft America — a Blink-Stalker/Colossus PvT build. An exclusive replay pack featuring my PvT from both WCS Challenger League and SHOUTcraft is available for download at the end of the article. I appreciate all the feedback about what you want to see from this column. Please continue to let me know what you think and what you’d like to see in the future!
Like all match-ups, PvT has undergone a lot of changes with the release of Heart of the Swarm. While the mothership core pushed back the window in which Terran could go for kill-moves, the addition of widow mines and medivac afterburners have opened new paths of aggression. As a result, Protoss players are able to rapidly expand their economy or tech, provided they can deflect early Terran aggression.
This opening is my response to the changes in early-game PvT. In short, it opens with a fast expand, using blink-stalkers and colossus to safely take a third. Charge-zealots, high templar, and quick upgrades solidify the mid-game. Multipronged harass utilizing dark templar and warp prisms lets Protoss take control and destroy the Terran opponent.
Today, I’ll be analyzing the PvT style that I used in the group stages of SHOUTcraft America — a Blink-Stalker/Colossus PvT build. An exclusive replay pack featuring my PvT from both WCS Challenger League and SHOUTcraft is available for download at the end of the article. I appreciate all the feedback about what you want to see from this column. Please continue to let me know what you think and what you’d like to see in the future!
Like all match-ups, PvT has undergone a lot of changes with the release of Heart of the Swarm. While the mothership core pushed back the window in which Terran could go for kill-moves, the addition of widow mines and medivac afterburners have opened new paths of aggression. As a result, Protoss players are able to rapidly expand their economy or tech, provided they can deflect early Terran aggression.
This opening is my response to the changes in early-game PvT. In short, it opens with a fast expand, using blink-stalkers and colossus to safely take a third. Charge-zealots, high templar, and quick upgrades solidify the mid-game. Multipronged harass utilizing dark templar and warp prisms lets Protoss take control and destroy the Terran opponent.
This week we will recap the WCS America Season 1 Finals and provide you with some more replays of my ladder and tournament games. Download the replay pack right here and watch a few of my winning matches in the quarter- and semi-finals from SHOUTcraft America, as well as ladder games against IdrA, DeMusliM, and EG’s newest player, Xenocider.
I'm a fan. Hes a really nice guy when I've talked to him. And I was rooting for him in WCS. Now he is on a plane to Germany if I recall. Good luck @ HSC
The last foreigner to win a MLG was Huk. He was also the last Protoss to win. State covers the top 4 foreign Protoss attending MLG Anaheim.
MLG returns this weekend with the Spring Championship at Anaheim. It’s arguably the best chance a foreigner* has at winning an MLG since HuK won in Orlando way back in 2011. It’ll also be the best chance a Protoss player has at winning in just as long—Alicia and First have come close, but no one’s been able to reclaim the title HuK lost nearly two years ago. These are the four foreign Protoss players with the best shot at winning the MLG Spring Championship:
This week, we’re going to analyze the Protoss vs. Zerg style that Stardust used to defeat StarCraft: Brood War legend Jaedong at the DreamHack Open just a few weeks ago. Specifically, we’re going to break down the opening he used in Game 5 to secure his first-ever major tournament win.
In case you’re not familiar with DreamHack, it’s the world’s largest digital festival and LAN party. At their events across Europe, DreamHack festivals feature premier eSports tournaments such as the $27,000 StarCraft 2 Open won by Stardust in Stockholm. More information about the DreamHack Open is available on their site, and the tournament’s official replay pack — which includes the match we’re analyzing — is hosted here.
Stardust’s opening uses a highly upgraded, low-tech army to secure his third base and hit a powerful timing window at around 11:00. The VOD of Stardust vs. Jaedong is available on Twitch.TV here. The game we’re analyzing begins at 1:27:35.
This guy plays beautifully. Makes really good use of his high APM -- I'm always a fan of the deeper and more complex gateway/harass styles that are often overlooked by other protoss players.
Also, he started streaming ladder like one minute after losing a close WCS series -- and he's pwning it up! That's what I call a solid mindset
On December 26 2013 01:46 TBone- wrote: Anyone know what is going to happen to State? I believe he was staying at the fOu house which just disbanded :'(.
Hopefully he can find another place to stay in Korea to continue training, but it's definitely not good news and few places to stay.
On December 26 2013 08:20 ROOTState wrote: Hey guys,
A lot of people have been asking about what my situation is now that fOu has disbanded. I'll stay here until the Code A Qualifiers in January, and I'll be looking for a new team house to train in the meantime. No matter what happens, I want to continue living and training in Korea.
I'm really sad that fOu has disbanded. Everyone here has been incredibly warm and welcoming, and they're all amazing players. I want to thank them and head coach Choya for the opportunity to train in Korea. If it wasn't for fOu, I wouldn't even have a chance at playing in the GSL.
Hopefully everyone will find a new team soon. Happy holidays, all.
State in Proleague is fucking amazing. Now Prime is probably the weakest team, but this is probably a great opportunity since it gives State more chances to be fielded. He wouldn't make the lineup on a deep team like SKT, but on Prime, I really do believe that State can become a top 5 player on that team.
Pretty cool that State found a new house in Prime. I think he is one of the few North American players with enough potential to go head to head against the better Koreans. Looking forward to his progress!
Sign me up! I really hope to see State having the success of Scarlett or Naniwa. The foreign scene needs more strong players like State with positive mindsets and work ethic
He is awesome! So much dedication. Seeing a foreigner in code S (in the current state of SC2 and kespa all around) is the thing i'm dreaming of. Make it happen!
My name is Ryan Visbeck and I’ll be playing for Prime in the next round of Proleague. I just got back to the US yesterday, but I’ll return to Korea in time for the second week of Proleague. While I haven’t yet joined Prime, it’s my current goal to do so. It has always been my dream to join a Korean team and I will let you guys know as soon as it happens.
In the meantime, I am no longer writing for Game Front nor will I be streaming during this next round of Proleague. My current training schedule leaves little room for anything else. Thanks to Game Front for everything they have done for me. While working with them, I discovered that I really love writing about StarCraft and I hope to start again when I have more time on my hands.
Training in the Prime house has been amazing. The in-house practice games and competitive environment have been great for my development. I find myself now improving faster than I ever have before. Hopefully I have performed well enough in practice that you’ll see me soon in a booth in Proleague.
Thank you to CatZ, Chuckie and my manager for helping me get to where I am today. Most importantly, thanks to all of my fans for your continued love and support. Please cheer for me and Prime in Round 2 of Proleague. 화이팅!
I get pretty nostalgic when I think back to a few years ago, when all of the best players were making a pilgrimage of sorts to Korea, because it was THE place to be if you were a Starcraft 2 pro. Best of luck to State for keeping the dream alive!