WCS Season II Finals

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MaruPrime at the WCS Season 2 Finals

by stuchiu

Three years ago, MaruPrime qualified for the first ever GSL Open. Though that season will forever and always belong to ephemeral Fruitdealer, many future stars also came from that first class. There is a great feel of tradition then, that three years later, four of the sixty-four players who graced the first GSL will once more compete against each other in one of the greatest competitions in the world. MC was the first among them to make a name for himself as he won two GSLs. Polt then won the Super Tournament, and went on to become an American hero. TaeJa went on a killing spree during the summer of 2012, letting everyone know that online play does translate to the live stage.

And finally, there is Maru. As the youngest and last member of that elite class, Maru has joined their ranks as the OSL Champion.

As you can tell from the time gap, it has been a long and tough climb to the top for Maru. After his first appearance in the GSL Open, Maru was unable to qualify for the GSL for nearly a year. He then spent yet another year as a fringe Code S and Code A player, occasionally showing amazing games during his Code A runs, only to fall short time and time again in Code S. HotS didn't offer much hope at first, with Maru starting off the first season stuck in Code A.

Maru was not the only one struggling—his entire team was falling apart as well. Byun still crumbled in stressful situations. Instead of being revitalized by the new changes in HotS, MKP became even less focused, more haphazard in his play. Creator fell the hardest of all, his superior defensive talent almost completely nullified in the new expansion. At this lowest point in both Maru and Prime's histories, even a player such as SKT's Soo was able to call out Prime as being "easy" without reproach.

85 days ago, change began as Maru entered his first ever OSL after winning his Up & Down matches. 64 days ago, Maru scored an upset as he stomped both sOs and effort in his Ro32 group. Some called it bo1 luck, and others instead blamed sOs for his poor play. Either way, Maru moved on. 34 days ago, Maru pulled off his second upset as he made it out of a group containing Trap, Supernova and Kangho in first place. And again, some called it luck, and others called it an easy group. Whatever the case, most agreed that it was the end of the road for an impressive Maru. Reaching the Ro8 was a grand achievement for one so young, but there was no more luck to be had from there on out, with only the chosen few able to move on.

29 days ago, Maru scored his third upset as he defeated the paragon of consistency, Symbol, by a score of 3 - 1. And while it was impressive, no one believed Maru could get past Innovation. 22 days ago, Maru upset the best player in the world in Innovation by a score of 4 - 0. And once again, even as everyone admitted they were impressed, the story shifted toward Innovation’s inability to defend against enemy all-ins. 11 days ago, Maru scored his final upset as he defeated Rain 4 - 2 in the grand finals of the OSL.

Surely now, no one dares say "I'm impressed with Maru, but..."

No, there are no more excuses left. No more reasons to give. From beginning to end, Maru has been doubted, and from beginning to end, Maru has crushed those doubts. He has forced us to reevaluate him as a player in each and every round of the OSL. After three years of fighting, Maru has reached the summit of Starcraft 2.

So now where will he go now? That is the real question. Some champions immediately fall off. Some get complacent, while others just cannot keep up with the evolving metagame. Others are intoxicated by that moment of glory, hungering for only more. Some are satisfied with their one major achievement, and are happy to settle at a slightly lower level. What kind of Champion will Maru become? He is young, but he is a veteran of over three years, of Brood War and StarCraft II. Is he exhausted, or does his passion still burn? Will he get his championship only to fall down into the pits like Seed, Jjakji and Sniper? Will he burn bright for a year like Life, MMA and DRG, before burning into ash? Or will he become a legend, a player like Mvp?

For a champion, the hardest trial is always after the first victory. The WCS Season Finals is our first step toward finding out what kind of champion Maru will be.

Today, he is in Germany. On Friday he will play his first match. And by Sunday he will have either fallen from his lofty perch, or will be soaring to new heights.

WCS Season II Finals: Ro16 Group D Preview

Maru, MMA, aLive*, Scarlett

*aLive replaces Jim, who was unable to participate due to Visa issues.

The first thing that stands out is who isn’t here. Jim once more faced visa issues, and because of that he was replaced by the WCS America's 6th place finisher EG.aLive. This changes the entire complexion of the group, as Jim added added a lot of unpredictability to an already fearsome bunch of players. With Alive replacing Jim, the group has become been pared down to two races, and the myriad scenarios of "will this player get his/her best match-up or not" has been greatly simplified. Now, it boils down to two major questions: Which Terran has the best TvT, and which ones can beat Acer.Scarlett's monster ZvT?

As to the first question. it is hard to say. To start, all three players are stylistically similar in being heavy bio users. Among the three of them I give MaruPrime the edge as he is the most willing to cheese, giving him a wider breadth of options on how to eliminate the other two. Between MMA and aLive, it's close. Acer.MMA showed a lot of strength in the Terran mirror during the ATC Finals, but in the end he still went even against ForGG and lost to Dream. Alive on the other hand lost to Taeja fairly easily in WCS America, so it makes it hard to say exactly how he matches up against the Acer Terran, but for now I give the slight edge to MMA.

Now, about the only Zerg, and only foreigner in the group. Sandwiched between three Terrans, Scarlett is probably slightly behind against Maru because of his versatility, able to win with 11/11, proxy reapers, or in large macro games. She is probably even with MMA, so that will come down to mental strength and maps (Scarlett should feel free to tell us we've grossly over or underestimated her ZvT if she reads this). And like we saw from her 3 - 0 series against aLive in WCS America, she has the advantage in that match-up.

Put it all together, and the favorites in the group to make it out in first and second are most likely Maru and Scarlett. After winning OSL, Maru is the favorite in terms of both momentum and skill. Scarlett is probably the other favorite when you consider just how strong her TvZ is and that she will most likely be only preparing for TvZ against opponents who have to split their time between TvT and TvZ. But this is still an extremely even group all around, with any of the players able to beat the others on a given day. Alive vs. Scarlett is the only one that seems kind of one-sided, but aLive could definitely TvT his way into the Ro8.

For all of the players here, they will all have to harness their very best play to move on. Maru has to find the strength he found in his OSL run. MMA has to bring out that form he had years ago if he wants a spot. Scarlett will have to show that not only can she play at the same high level she did against Dream and aLive, but do it over and over again against the likes of Maru and MMA. And Alive will have to call on his dark power to show up at every tournament and eliminate fan favorites.

Predictions:

Maru > Alive
MMA > Scarlett
Maru > MMA
Scarlett > Alive
Scarlett > MMA

Maru and Scarlett advance.

Writers: stuchiu.
Editor: Waxangel.