Looking at MMA nowadays, and comparing him to the MMA of old, the confident, championship-winning MMA from 2011, I can’t help but see a completely different person.
It feels like something fundamental about him has changed, but it’s hard to adequately explain it. You could say he simply dropped in skill, but I don’t believe it’s that simple. An exceptional, S-class player doesn’t fall to mediocre B-teamer level within such a small time frame.
It feels like he has lost something important. That certain spark has vanished from his eyes, that inner fire that made him what he is known for in the first place, has gone out.
Even the greatest fires can be extinguished, and even the brightest star will eventually reach the end of its burning cycle.
He looks tired. Tired of the game? I wouldn’t blame him.
Starcraft is mostly a mental game, this is especially true at the highest level of play. Just look at MC. But what happens to a high-level player whose mentality is out of whack?
This whole SlayerS drama has undoubtedly affected him. It must have, he was pretty much at the core of it. You could even say he WAS the core. What happens to you if you get called a cancer by the person you admired and looked up to for such a long time? When you get tossed away by those who you considered friends?
“I try my best for this team and this is how they think of me?”
SlayerS was his family. They made him. He was their face, their ace. He and BoxeR were the twin stars of the Starcraft universe. The peak of SlayerS was the peak of SC2.
The slow but steady decline of SlayerS was synonymous to the fall of MMA. When you lose your face, you ultimately lose yourself.
“I felt like everything was crumbling down before me.”
Now, SlayerS is dead and MMA is but a shadow of his former self. There’s a special kind of pain reserved in your gut for when you realise something truly outstanding has been lost forever in such an degrading, unworthy fashion. For when you find yourself clutching your fist thinking “Fuck, that’s not how it should have ended.”
In order to shine again, MMA would have to completely reinvent himself. And even then, the competition has never been as fierce as it is today, especially with the influx of Kespa players entering the scene. A return to former glory appears virtually impossible.
Acer can’t give MMA what he needs, not by a long shot. It’s his decision and I respect it, but he’s delaying the inevitable.
All MMA could hope for is a side role, a place in the shadow of Starcraft’s new stars. I doubt that’s what he wants to remembered for, neither do his fans. I for sure won’t. But sometimes it’s just so hard to let go.
On December 22 2012 10:21 Harrad wrote: It feels like something fundamental about him has changed, but it’s hard to adequately explain it. You could say he simply dropped in skill, but I don’t believe it’s that simple. An exceptional, S-class player doesn’t fall to mediocre B-teamer level within such a small time frame.
he's been on the decline for quite a few months now, at least half a year
He might find new impetus and rekindle his fire in Heart of the Swarm. He seemed to at least enjoy himself in TotalBiscuit's in-house HotS tournament from what I could tell.
On December 22 2012 11:40 Whatson wrote: Losing his coach was a pretty big deal I remember. And his style of play no longer works in today's meta game, especially TvZ.
I disagree. Both Bomber and Gumiho have had success with drop play in TvZ recently.
On December 22 2012 11:40 Whatson wrote: Losing his coach was a pretty big deal I remember. And his style of play no longer works in today's meta game, especially TvZ.
I disagree. Both Bomber and Gumiho have had success with drop play in TvZ recently.
Multi-pronged dropping is only part of what I'm talking about.
MMA's style vs zerg was, if I recall, multi layered aggression to keep the zerg constantly off balance, defences that were deceptively thin, prompting zergs to attack into it and then get turned around and shitloads of multitasking capability.
There's no reason this can't win games vs Zerg, but trying to get consistency in TvZ in the current meta seems incredibly hard.
It's more like a mixture of extreme greed in the early game and very sensitive early pressure. Terrans can obviously still win with dropping if their opponents don't defend properly (see MMA vs Violet on Whirlwind in GSL where Violet only built like 5 spines/spores the entire game)
Until Terran is actually a viable race at a high level again, I'd have to agree with you on the fact that the peak of SlayerS was the peak of SC2. It just feels like it was so good back then compared to now, maybe it's because I love watching Terran way more than any other race. I'd honestly rather only watch TvT than watch PvZ and ZvZ constantly...
On December 22 2012 11:07 Spiffeh wrote: Plus the game sucks. That might have been another big factor.
It is very discouraging when you have to make 300 clicks to avoid a spell that requires one click to place. It is very discouraging to see people who, if they played terran, wouldn't be even masters, to win tournaments, while you, a code S player, can barely win a game vs any ladder zerg. It is very discouraging to see the clueless Blizzard balance team giving infestor 10 range (LOL about that) at a time where zerg has been dominating all the tournaments for 9 months already.
I am tired. So is MMA. So are many other people. Tired of an unfair game and a clueless balance team.
A lot of things contributed to his decline. Apparently the drama was affecting him as early as GSL Season 1 this year, when he made it to the Ro8. According to his interviews, the drama was a contributing distraction that caused him to lose to aLive.
The queen patch also hit him hard. It completely changed the TvZ matchup, and it seems that MMA never really relearned how to play in the post-patch game. It transformed his strongest matchup into his weakest, and that definitely would hurt a player's performance.
His TvP has always been shaky, though his TvT remained quite stellar for a while. But eventually, the lack of a stable practice environment and loss of motivation hit hard.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, an on form MMA is the absolute best player this game has seen. It's sad to see him unmotivated, struggling against foes he would crush 1 year ago.
On December 22 2012 11:07 Spiffeh wrote: Plus the game sucks. That might have been another big factor.
It is very discouraging when you have to make 300 clicks to avoid a spell that requires one click to place. It is very discouraging to see people who, if they played terran, wouldn't be even masters, to win tournaments, while you, a code S player, can barely win a game vs any ladder zerg. It is very discouraging to see the clueless Blizzard balance team giving infestor 10 range (LOL about that) at a time where zerg has been dominating all the tournaments for 9 months already.
I am tired. So is MMA. So are many other people. Tired of an unfair game and a clueless balance team.
Eventough its just a part of the cause, i totally agree with you.
EPT
