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Esports World Cup 2025 - Page 25

Forum Index > StarCraft 2 Tournaments
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Poopi
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
France12883 Posts
July 24 2025 16:44 GMT
#481
On July 25 2025 01:38 Vindicare605 wrote:
Show nested quote +
On July 25 2025 01:02 TeamMamba wrote:
On July 25 2025 00:56 Gescom wrote:
On July 25 2025 00:51 WombaT wrote:
Not every loss is a choke, fook sake!

If anything, Maru showed some pretty clutch play in pulling the boys while down match point and behind in the last set. Unfortunately for him Cure pulled a similarly clutch kill move.

Maru’s found basically every way to lose WCs, I think him losing to Oliveira was maybe the only real example of his play just falling apart in a choking fashion.

He’s been hard-countered by a teammate’s series planning (sOs), been battered by the superior player at the time (Serral). He’s planned a series awfully, dismantling a player with incredible defensive macro games and then throwing out garbage builds (Reynor)

Being clutch and a choker aren’t the only two options on the table.

Hot/based take, but IMO Maru fans drastically overestimate his skill level (particularly in 2025) and think the only way he can lose is because he choked, not because he was outplayed by a 'superior player at the time'.


Maru fans has always overestimated him. They make the most nonsense excuses for him after every elimination.

Such as jet lag, hiding builds, stubborn, toss Zerg Op etc

Outside of that very terran favourite patch in 2018-2019. Take that year away and Maru wouldn’t even be in this nonsense goat talks.
Maru has been the big fish in a little pond in korea for years. There is a reason why he has never wrong a world title because he doesn’t have that “it” factor.

Most fans and even the haters can recognize Serral skills through the eye test. Take any year away from Serral and he will still be the consensus goat


Terran favored patch in 2018-2019? Dude you just discredited everything you wanted to say. Go look at the Blizzcon finals of 2019. Look how many Zergs are in it.

You literally picked the most imbalanced era we've had since LoTV freshly launched and you picked the wrong race that it was in favor of.

Only Maru won money as T in those years and still less than P and far less than Z.
Excited to see Clem vs Classic, Hopefully it isn’t a stomp
I am a bit worried for Clem though
WriterMaru
Vindicare605
Profile Blog Joined August 2011
United States16071 Posts
July 24 2025 16:51 GMT
#482
On July 25 2025 01:44 Promised_pain wrote:
Show nested quote +
On July 25 2025 01:30 Charoisaur wrote:
On July 25 2025 01:29 Promised_pain wrote:
On July 25 2025 01:02 TeamMamba wrote:
On July 25 2025 00:56 Gescom wrote:
On July 25 2025 00:51 WombaT wrote:
Not every loss is a choke, fook sake!

If anything, Maru showed some pretty clutch play in pulling the boys while down match point and behind in the last set. Unfortunately for him Cure pulled a similarly clutch kill move.

Maru’s found basically every way to lose WCs, I think him losing to Oliveira was maybe the only real example of his play just falling apart in a choking fashion.

He’s been hard-countered by a teammate’s series planning (sOs), been battered by the superior player at the time (Serral). He’s planned a series awfully, dismantling a player with incredible defensive macro games and then throwing out garbage builds (Reynor)

Being clutch and a choker aren’t the only two options on the table.

Hot/based take, but IMO Maru fans drastically overestimate his skill level (particularly in 2025) and think the only way he can lose is because he choked, not because he was outplayed by a 'superior player at the time'.


Maru fans has always overestimated him. They make the most nonsense excuses for him after every elimination.

Such as jet lag, hiding builds, stubborn, toss Zerg Op etc

Outside of that very terran favourite patch in 2018-2019. Take that year away and Maru wouldn’t even be in this nonsense goat talks.
Maru has been the big fish in a little pond in korea for years. There is a reason why he has never wrong a world title because he doesn’t have that “it” factor.

Most fans and even the haters can recognize Serral skills through the eye test. Take any year away from Serral and he will still be the consensus goat


Facts. I think only Clem could take out Serral right now. But even if he manages to snatch a second world title the koreaboos are still gonna draw out the "but, but, but... GSL!" card. Serral never played and never will play in GSL, which is understandable since it would be a netloss considering the peanut price pool. On the other hand, Maru's had his chances for at least eight years (or however long the world title has been up for grabs), yet has never delivered.

So Serral never having played in the GSL should be rated higher than Maru reaching 2 finals and 4 ro4s in world championships?


If we reversed the roles and let Serral play in the GSL for eight years (like Maru has had his chances for world title) I would be surprised if he didn't win it at least once considering how he has been pretty much invincible against Koreans for years now


So you're basing everything on a fantasy what if that you have zero evidence of. That's a compelling argument.
aka: KTVindicare the Geeky Bartender
WombaT
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Northern Ireland25332 Posts
July 24 2025 16:52 GMT
#483
On July 25 2025 01:43 TheLordofAwesome wrote:
Show nested quote +
On July 25 2025 01:42 WombaT wrote:
On July 25 2025 01:27 TheLordofAwesome wrote:
On July 25 2025 01:25 darklycid wrote:
On July 25 2025 01:18 TheLordofAwesome wrote:
Artosis comments on herO's keyboard are so funny

Looks like herO goes out 3-0

Its kinda funny, protoss is supposedly in one of its Most broken States and we get maybe 1 toss in the ro4 at Most

I think it goes back to how different balance is at the very top vs anything lower level. I do think this is one of the strongest patches for "ladder toss" ever. Doesn't mean it translates into results vs Serral, Reynor, Solar, and Rogue, or vs Cure, Maru, Clem.

It seems unlikely to happen now but this was my big question of Clem’s PvT coming in.

Super strong on ladder and doing the business in weeklies, but how’s it look when we’re at by far the biggest LAN of the year, with pocket builds and set planning, as well as prioritising and peaking become factors.

It’s a shame we probably won’t see it, the world’s best mechanical player giving Toss a go, I think it would be fascinating

He played P for 2 games vs Byun, didn't he?

Aye he did to be fair.

But I think it would have been another kettle of fish to play say, Maru in a Bo5 or Bo7
'You'll always be the cuddly marsupial of my heart, despite the inherent flaws of your ancestry' - Squat
TheLordofAwesome
Profile Joined May 2014
Korea (South)2655 Posts
Last Edited: 2025-07-24 16:57:10
July 24 2025 16:56 GMT
#484
Rotti highlighting how Classic's preparation for Clem is paying off. Love this kind of insight.

Since Maru is out, I'm rooting for Classic to win it all.
SHODAN
Profile Joined November 2011
United Kingdom1107 Posts
July 24 2025 16:57 GMT
#485
nice try Clem
Poopi
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
France12883 Posts
July 24 2025 17:00 GMT
#486
Classic looking strong despite a few mistakes
Clem is stressed out, Hopefully he calms himself down
WriterMaru
onPHYRE
Profile Joined October 2010
Bulgaria923 Posts
Last Edited: 2025-07-24 17:01:36
July 24 2025 17:01 GMT
#487
On July 25 2025 01:51 Vindicare605 wrote:
Show nested quote +
On July 25 2025 01:44 Promised_pain wrote:
On July 25 2025 01:30 Charoisaur wrote:
On July 25 2025 01:29 Promised_pain wrote:
On July 25 2025 01:02 TeamMamba wrote:
On July 25 2025 00:56 Gescom wrote:
On July 25 2025 00:51 WombaT wrote:
Not every loss is a choke, fook sake!

If anything, Maru showed some pretty clutch play in pulling the boys while down match point and behind in the last set. Unfortunately for him Cure pulled a similarly clutch kill move.

Maru’s found basically every way to lose WCs, I think him losing to Oliveira was maybe the only real example of his play just falling apart in a choking fashion.

He’s been hard-countered by a teammate’s series planning (sOs), been battered by the superior player at the time (Serral). He’s planned a series awfully, dismantling a player with incredible defensive macro games and then throwing out garbage builds (Reynor)

Being clutch and a choker aren’t the only two options on the table.

Hot/based take, but IMO Maru fans drastically overestimate his skill level (particularly in 2025) and think the only way he can lose is because he choked, not because he was outplayed by a 'superior player at the time'.


Maru fans has always overestimated him. They make the most nonsense excuses for him after every elimination.

Such as jet lag, hiding builds, stubborn, toss Zerg Op etc

Outside of that very terran favourite patch in 2018-2019. Take that year away and Maru wouldn’t even be in this nonsense goat talks.
Maru has been the big fish in a little pond in korea for years. There is a reason why he has never wrong a world title because he doesn’t have that “it” factor.

Most fans and even the haters can recognize Serral skills through the eye test. Take any year away from Serral and he will still be the consensus goat


Facts. I think only Clem could take out Serral right now. But even if he manages to snatch a second world title the koreaboos are still gonna draw out the "but, but, but... GSL!" card. Serral never played and never will play in GSL, which is understandable since it would be a netloss considering the peanut price pool. On the other hand, Maru's had his chances for at least eight years (or however long the world title has been up for grabs), yet has never delivered.

So Serral never having played in the GSL should be rated higher than Maru reaching 2 finals and 4 ro4s in world championships?


If we reversed the roles and let Serral play in the GSL for eight years (like Maru has had his chances for world title) I would be surprised if he didn't win it at least once considering how he has been pretty much invincible against Koreans for years now


So you're basing everything on a fantasy what if that you have zero evidence of. That's a compelling argument.


No evidence? You don’t think there is evidence Serral would absolutely dominate a few of those GSLs? How about winning multiple world titles and being the best player in the world in both the eye test and Aligulac.


Saying it’s different and the preparation makes it so, the game is fundamentally the same and that’s a terrible argument. Everyone always preps for Serral and there are plenty of tournaments he won where the players had weeks if not months to prepare for him and failing badly.

I’ve read some ridiculous things on here but this is a terrible take.

Side note - my Serral 5:3 Classic finals prediction looking good.
Livin' this life like it was written.
Zzzapper
Profile Joined September 2011
1796 Posts
Last Edited: 2025-07-24 17:02:39
July 24 2025 17:01 GMT
#488
Let's go protoss! 8-3 in maps between these two since RSL now, I really think Classic can do it

On July 25 2025 02:00 Poopi wrote:
Classic looking strong despite a few mistakes
Clem is stressed out, Hopefully he calms himself down


The heart rate monitor is a bit silly and it's obviously gonna vary between individuals but I saw 160 for Clem vs 90 Classic at one point during that game
dysenterymd
Profile Joined January 2019
1237 Posts
July 24 2025 17:03 GMT
#489
On July 25 2025 02:01 onPHYRE wrote:
Show nested quote +
On July 25 2025 01:51 Vindicare605 wrote:
On July 25 2025 01:44 Promised_pain wrote:
On July 25 2025 01:30 Charoisaur wrote:
On July 25 2025 01:29 Promised_pain wrote:
On July 25 2025 01:02 TeamMamba wrote:
On July 25 2025 00:56 Gescom wrote:
On July 25 2025 00:51 WombaT wrote:
Not every loss is a choke, fook sake!

If anything, Maru showed some pretty clutch play in pulling the boys while down match point and behind in the last set. Unfortunately for him Cure pulled a similarly clutch kill move.

Maru’s found basically every way to lose WCs, I think him losing to Oliveira was maybe the only real example of his play just falling apart in a choking fashion.

He’s been hard-countered by a teammate’s series planning (sOs), been battered by the superior player at the time (Serral). He’s planned a series awfully, dismantling a player with incredible defensive macro games and then throwing out garbage builds (Reynor)

Being clutch and a choker aren’t the only two options on the table.

Hot/based take, but IMO Maru fans drastically overestimate his skill level (particularly in 2025) and think the only way he can lose is because he choked, not because he was outplayed by a 'superior player at the time'.


Maru fans has always overestimated him. They make the most nonsense excuses for him after every elimination.

Such as jet lag, hiding builds, stubborn, toss Zerg Op etc

Outside of that very terran favourite patch in 2018-2019. Take that year away and Maru wouldn’t even be in this nonsense goat talks.
Maru has been the big fish in a little pond in korea for years. There is a reason why he has never wrong a world title because he doesn’t have that “it” factor.

Most fans and even the haters can recognize Serral skills through the eye test. Take any year away from Serral and he will still be the consensus goat


Facts. I think only Clem could take out Serral right now. But even if he manages to snatch a second world title the koreaboos are still gonna draw out the "but, but, but... GSL!" card. Serral never played and never will play in GSL, which is understandable since it would be a netloss considering the peanut price pool. On the other hand, Maru's had his chances for at least eight years (or however long the world title has been up for grabs), yet has never delivered.

So Serral never having played in the GSL should be rated higher than Maru reaching 2 finals and 4 ro4s in world championships?


If we reversed the roles and let Serral play in the GSL for eight years (like Maru has had his chances for world title) I would be surprised if he didn't win it at least once considering how he has been pretty much invincible against Koreans for years now


So you're basing everything on a fantasy what if that you have zero evidence of. That's a compelling argument.


No evidence? You don’t think there is evidence Serral would absolutely dominate a few of those GSLs? How about winning multiple world titles and being the best player in the world in both the eye test and Aligulac.


Saying it’s different and the preparation makes it so, the game is fundamentally the same and that’s a terrible argument. Everyone always preps for Serral and there are plenty of tournaments he won where the players had weeks if not months to prepare for him and failing badly.

I’ve read some ridiculous things on here but this is a terrible take.

Side note - my Serral 5:3 Classic finals prediction looking good.

if Serral played a lot of GSL, I think he almost certainly would have won several. But at the end of the day, in a GOAT conversation, we can only compare their actual achievements, not what might have happened.

(FWIW I still think Serral is the goat. We just can't give him credit for GSL's he could/would have won if he'd participated. )
Serral | Inno | sOs | soO | Has | Classic
WombaT
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Northern Ireland25332 Posts
July 24 2025 17:03 GMT
#490
On July 25 2025 01:41 TheLordofAwesome wrote:
Show nested quote +
On July 25 2025 01:39 tigera6 wrote:
On July 25 2025 01:32 WombaT wrote:
On July 25 2025 00:56 Gescom wrote:
On July 25 2025 00:51 WombaT wrote:
Not every loss is a choke, fook sake!

Maru’s found basically every way to lose WCs, I think him losing to Oliveira was maybe the only real example of his play just falling apart in a choking fashion.

He’s been hard-countered by a teammate’s series planning (sOs), been battered by the superior player at the time (Serral). He’s planned a series awfully, dismantling a player with incredible defensive macro games and then throwing out garbage builds (Reynor)

Being clutch and a choker aren’t the only two options on the table.

Hot/based take, but IMO Maru fans drastically overestimate his skill level (particularly in 2025) and think the only way he can lose is because he choked, not because he was outplayed by a 'superior player at the time'.

I think the one thing they don’t overestimate is his skill level, least in terms of playing the game. He’s absolutely bonkers at it.

If we’re talking both players combined, I think the highest quality set I’ve ever seen was Maru vs Serral on Radhuset.

If Maru has a weakness, IMO he struggles to beat people who equal or even surpass his skill level at times. I think his strongest periods were when JAGW were still a thing, and maybe that helped cover it a little.

There is that contrast with Serral, even if he doesn’t necessarily 100% solve a new rival who hits his level in raw mechanical ability, he figures ways to remain competitive. Reynor was having some joy, but Serral wrested that H2H back in his general favour. Clem was smacking Serral around in 2024 when he levelled up, but Serral in 2025 has managed to beat him in a Bo9, and even in losses they’re always into the decider.

When Maru and Serral finally started meeting in tournaments more regularly, Maru couldn’t figure out how to arrest the slide and it actually got more one-sided over time. To the degree Maru has basically the worst record against Serral outside of Cure among S-A tier pros.


The problem I have with how Maru played for the last couple years, more often on TvZ and TvT, is how he always tend to build more worker and CC instead of unit production. He seems to be too fine sitting at home in the dark and just die to a push because he doesnt have enough units. I feel like his TvP worked so well recently because he can jus shove it at any moment and win the game.

I agree. I think part of that is due to injury. Maru definitely slowed down a lot since his peak.

I dunno I think it’s a bit of a myth in ways, with something in it in others.

According to Mizenhauer Maru’s shoulder was an issue before he became a progamer, and he turned down an approach from a BW team for this reason.

APM isn’t everything but he’s still gapping every other non-Clem Terran, sometimes considerably. There’s a reason he’ll play games and lose 10-15 workers and still be even or ahead, his mechanics are still crazy.

I think his injury issues do affect things like a volume of play and that affects his shape, but Maru locked in doesn’t seem much slower as a player, if at all.
'You'll always be the cuddly marsupial of my heart, despite the inherent flaws of your ancestry' - Squat
DarkPlasmaBall
Profile Blog Joined March 2010
United States44329 Posts
July 24 2025 17:08 GMT
#491
Those storms! Bye SCVs.
"There is nothing more satisfying than looking at a crowd of people and helping them get what I love." ~Day[9] Daily #100
TheLordofAwesome
Profile Joined May 2014
Korea (South)2655 Posts
Last Edited: 2025-07-24 17:12:41
July 24 2025 17:09 GMT
#492
On July 25 2025 02:03 WombaT wrote:
Show nested quote +
On July 25 2025 01:41 TheLordofAwesome wrote:
On July 25 2025 01:39 tigera6 wrote:
On July 25 2025 01:32 WombaT wrote:
On July 25 2025 00:56 Gescom wrote:
On July 25 2025 00:51 WombaT wrote:
Not every loss is a choke, fook sake!

Maru’s found basically every way to lose WCs, I think him losing to Oliveira was maybe the only real example of his play just falling apart in a choking fashion.

He’s been hard-countered by a teammate’s series planning (sOs), been battered by the superior player at the time (Serral). He’s planned a series awfully, dismantling a player with incredible defensive macro games and then throwing out garbage builds (Reynor)

Being clutch and a choker aren’t the only two options on the table.

Hot/based take, but IMO Maru fans drastically overestimate his skill level (particularly in 2025) and think the only way he can lose is because he choked, not because he was outplayed by a 'superior player at the time'.

I think the one thing they don’t overestimate is his skill level, least in terms of playing the game. He’s absolutely bonkers at it.

If we’re talking both players combined, I think the highest quality set I’ve ever seen was Maru vs Serral on Radhuset.

If Maru has a weakness, IMO he struggles to beat people who equal or even surpass his skill level at times. I think his strongest periods were when JAGW were still a thing, and maybe that helped cover it a little.

There is that contrast with Serral, even if he doesn’t necessarily 100% solve a new rival who hits his level in raw mechanical ability, he figures ways to remain competitive. Reynor was having some joy, but Serral wrested that H2H back in his general favour. Clem was smacking Serral around in 2024 when he levelled up, but Serral in 2025 has managed to beat him in a Bo9, and even in losses they’re always into the decider.

When Maru and Serral finally started meeting in tournaments more regularly, Maru couldn’t figure out how to arrest the slide and it actually got more one-sided over time. To the degree Maru has basically the worst record against Serral outside of Cure among S-A tier pros.


The problem I have with how Maru played for the last couple years, more often on TvZ and TvT, is how he always tend to build more worker and CC instead of unit production. He seems to be too fine sitting at home in the dark and just die to a push because he doesnt have enough units. I feel like his TvP worked so well recently because he can jus shove it at any moment and win the game.

I agree. I think part of that is due to injury. Maru definitely slowed down a lot since his peak.

I dunno I think it’s a bit of a myth in ways, with something in it in others.

According to Mizenhauer Maru’s shoulder was an issue before he became a progamer, and he turned down an approach from a BW team for this reason.

APM isn’t everything but he’s still gapping every other non-Clem Terran, sometimes considerably. There’s a reason he’ll play games and lose 10-15 workers and still be even or ahead, his mechanics are still crazy.

I think his injury issues do affect things like a volume of play and that affects his shape, but Maru locked in doesn’t seem much slower as a player, if at all.

Sometimes I go back and watch Maru vs Dark playing the 2019 GSL Super Tournament Finals. Maru goes down 0-3 or 1-3 to Dark in the first part of the Bo7. Maru is playing slower styles when he loses these games.

Then Maru turns on the speed for the last 3 games. He wins the next 3 games in a row and the finals. IMO Maru looks just as fast as Clem does in these games. Back in 2014, Maru looked that fast in every single game. This match from 2019 is one of the last such performances that I can remember from Maru. I can't say I have seen many games from Maru since 2021 with the level of speed that he displays in 2019.

I do agree that Maru's general mechanics (SCV production, lategame spellcaster control, expanding, positioning) are better than almost every other Terrans. He is still the best lategame Terran player in the world, by far. I just feel that his speed has dropped off a cliff compared to how fast he used to be, and that is probably attributable to the kind of chronic injuries to wrists and shoulders that ended the careers of many other SC2 Terran players.
Charoisaur
Profile Joined August 2014
Germany15961 Posts
July 24 2025 17:10 GMT
#493
On July 25 2025 02:03 WombaT wrote:
Show nested quote +
On July 25 2025 01:41 TheLordofAwesome wrote:
On July 25 2025 01:39 tigera6 wrote:
On July 25 2025 01:32 WombaT wrote:
On July 25 2025 00:56 Gescom wrote:
On July 25 2025 00:51 WombaT wrote:
Not every loss is a choke, fook sake!

Maru’s found basically every way to lose WCs, I think him losing to Oliveira was maybe the only real example of his play just falling apart in a choking fashion.

He’s been hard-countered by a teammate’s series planning (sOs), been battered by the superior player at the time (Serral). He’s planned a series awfully, dismantling a player with incredible defensive macro games and then throwing out garbage builds (Reynor)

Being clutch and a choker aren’t the only two options on the table.

Hot/based take, but IMO Maru fans drastically overestimate his skill level (particularly in 2025) and think the only way he can lose is because he choked, not because he was outplayed by a 'superior player at the time'.

I think the one thing they don’t overestimate is his skill level, least in terms of playing the game. He’s absolutely bonkers at it.

If we’re talking both players combined, I think the highest quality set I’ve ever seen was Maru vs Serral on Radhuset.

If Maru has a weakness, IMO he struggles to beat people who equal or even surpass his skill level at times. I think his strongest periods were when JAGW were still a thing, and maybe that helped cover it a little.

There is that contrast with Serral, even if he doesn’t necessarily 100% solve a new rival who hits his level in raw mechanical ability, he figures ways to remain competitive. Reynor was having some joy, but Serral wrested that H2H back in his general favour. Clem was smacking Serral around in 2024 when he levelled up, but Serral in 2025 has managed to beat him in a Bo9, and even in losses they’re always into the decider.

When Maru and Serral finally started meeting in tournaments more regularly, Maru couldn’t figure out how to arrest the slide and it actually got more one-sided over time. To the degree Maru has basically the worst record against Serral outside of Cure among S-A tier pros.


The problem I have with how Maru played for the last couple years, more often on TvZ and TvT, is how he always tend to build more worker and CC instead of unit production. He seems to be too fine sitting at home in the dark and just die to a push because he doesnt have enough units. I feel like his TvP worked so well recently because he can jus shove it at any moment and win the game.

I agree. I think part of that is due to injury. Maru definitely slowed down a lot since his peak.

I dunno I think it’s a bit of a myth in ways, with something in it in others.

According to Mizenhauer Maru’s shoulder was an issue before he became a progamer, and he turned down an approach from a BW team for this reason.

APM isn’t everything but he’s still gapping every other non-Clem Terran, sometimes considerably. There’s a reason he’ll play games and lose 10-15 workers and still be even or ahead, his mechanics are still crazy.

I think his injury issues do affect things like a volume of play and that affects his shape, but Maru locked in doesn’t seem much slower as a player, if at all.

Disagree. Up until 2018/2019 he was generally regarded as the fastest player in the scene, now the consensus is that he's not the fastest anymore. Also just the fact he changed his playstyle from aggressive control freak to defensive lategame master.
Many of the coolest moments in sc2 happen due to worker harassment
darklycid
Profile Joined May 2014
3510 Posts
July 24 2025 17:13 GMT
#494
On July 25 2025 02:10 Charoisaur wrote:
Show nested quote +
On July 25 2025 02:03 WombaT wrote:
On July 25 2025 01:41 TheLordofAwesome wrote:
On July 25 2025 01:39 tigera6 wrote:
On July 25 2025 01:32 WombaT wrote:
On July 25 2025 00:56 Gescom wrote:
On July 25 2025 00:51 WombaT wrote:
Not every loss is a choke, fook sake!

Maru’s found basically every way to lose WCs, I think him losing to Oliveira was maybe the only real example of his play just falling apart in a choking fashion.

He’s been hard-countered by a teammate’s series planning (sOs), been battered by the superior player at the time (Serral). He’s planned a series awfully, dismantling a player with incredible defensive macro games and then throwing out garbage builds (Reynor)

Being clutch and a choker aren’t the only two options on the table.

Hot/based take, but IMO Maru fans drastically overestimate his skill level (particularly in 2025) and think the only way he can lose is because he choked, not because he was outplayed by a 'superior player at the time'.

I think the one thing they don’t overestimate is his skill level, least in terms of playing the game. He’s absolutely bonkers at it.

If we’re talking both players combined, I think the highest quality set I’ve ever seen was Maru vs Serral on Radhuset.

If Maru has a weakness, IMO he struggles to beat people who equal or even surpass his skill level at times. I think his strongest periods were when JAGW were still a thing, and maybe that helped cover it a little.

There is that contrast with Serral, even if he doesn’t necessarily 100% solve a new rival who hits his level in raw mechanical ability, he figures ways to remain competitive. Reynor was having some joy, but Serral wrested that H2H back in his general favour. Clem was smacking Serral around in 2024 when he levelled up, but Serral in 2025 has managed to beat him in a Bo9, and even in losses they’re always into the decider.

When Maru and Serral finally started meeting in tournaments more regularly, Maru couldn’t figure out how to arrest the slide and it actually got more one-sided over time. To the degree Maru has basically the worst record against Serral outside of Cure among S-A tier pros.


The problem I have with how Maru played for the last couple years, more often on TvZ and TvT, is how he always tend to build more worker and CC instead of unit production. He seems to be too fine sitting at home in the dark and just die to a push because he doesnt have enough units. I feel like his TvP worked so well recently because he can jus shove it at any moment and win the game.

I agree. I think part of that is due to injury. Maru definitely slowed down a lot since his peak.

I dunno I think it’s a bit of a myth in ways, with something in it in others.

According to Mizenhauer Maru’s shoulder was an issue before he became a progamer, and he turned down an approach from a BW team for this reason.

APM isn’t everything but he’s still gapping every other non-Clem Terran, sometimes considerably. There’s a reason he’ll play games and lose 10-15 workers and still be even or ahead, his mechanics are still crazy.

I think his injury issues do affect things like a volume of play and that affects his shape, but Maru locked in doesn’t seem much slower as a player, if at all.

Disagree. Up until 2018/2019 he was generally regarded as the fastest player in the scene, now the consensus is that he's not the fastest anymore. Also just the fact he changed his playstyle from aggressive control freak to defensive lategame master.

Similar to dark who also went for less taxing Styles after His injury.
TheLordofAwesome
Profile Joined May 2014
Korea (South)2655 Posts
July 24 2025 17:17 GMT
#495
I guess this is why Terrans don't play macro games any more vs Protoss.
Poopi
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
France12883 Posts
July 24 2025 17:18 GMT
#496
Serral knows he has this tournament in the bag if Classic wins haha
WriterMaru
Zzzapper
Profile Joined September 2011
1796 Posts
July 24 2025 17:18 GMT
#497
Beautiful decisive move to finish that game, the complete opposite of what happened against Serral on the same map
DarkPlasmaBall
Profile Blog Joined March 2010
United States44329 Posts
July 24 2025 17:18 GMT
#498
Both games have been great so far. Clem playing well and Classic playing just a bit better.
"There is nothing more satisfying than looking at a crowd of people and helping them get what I love." ~Day[9] Daily #100
tigera6
Profile Joined March 2021
3397 Posts
July 24 2025 17:18 GMT
#499
So the plan for Serral to win EWC is buffing Protoss so they can get rid of Clem early, 4D Chess move.
dysenterymd
Profile Joined January 2019
1237 Posts
July 24 2025 17:19 GMT
#500
On July 25 2025 02:18 Poopi wrote:
Serral knows he has this tournament in the bag if Classic wins haha

Solar has a small chance and Serral vs Classic was a "close 3-0" so I wouldn't entirely rule a Classic W out.

But yes, if Clem's out Serral becomes the overwhelming favorite.
Serral | Inno | sOs | soO | Has | Classic
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