Winning a Match vs. Winning Strategically

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by Lil' Lavery

Why does trying your hardest to win every match outrank trying your hardest to win the event?

I hate that question. It's a perfectly good question, but I hate it. I hate it because I can't answer it. I know that the right thing to do is to play your best to win the game in each match, but I can't manage to come up with an adequate explanation for why I know that. I hate having a firm opinion but being unable to justify it.

It leaves me in a situation where the best outcome is for the opposing sides to agree to disagree. I have no way to convince someone to change his or her mind. Rational discussion in favor of my position is not possible, and that makes me feel small.

I maintain hope that someone with more insight than I have will give a solid, well-based explanation for why it's best to play the game harder than you play the meta-game. In the meantime, I'll still listen to the people who believe that winning the tournament justifies strategies that go against winning each match.