The last time I had local FGC tournament experience was SF4 a decade ago. Time has gone and so I decided to try my first local tournament at the local FGC.
One thing I forgot was just how nerves impact your play such an incredible amount. And having not played in a tournament or even at the local group, I was definitely shaking at each match.
My last double-elimination match, I had a lot of mistakes on combos that I know I am consistent on in ranked matches. I sensed my opponent was in the same situation and dropping his combos too. On Game 3 Round 3, both in CA stage, he dropped a combo that would have finished me and I then dropped the punish combo that would have finished him. He deserved that win.
I still had a great time. If you haven't looked up your local FGC yet, they're starting to come back up again after the pandemic and I would encourage you check them out. The only thing that will calm tournament nerves is more local practice.