Maru is the next player to become a "titan". In fact he already is. Whereas some people see Maru "failing", I see a young Terran prodigy (Maru is young) trying to win games on his own terms. He's looking to win, but with the conditions he's set himself. Maru has all the makings of a champion, he's more consistent than almost any other player on earth.
Why hasn't he won a lot? As I said, he's looking to win on his own terms. He's not looking for one isolated victory, he's looking to bring his A-game every time he plays and I mean his A-game.
I think a lot of players try to do everything to win. Maru tries to do everything to win securely, through his own solid micro, his mechanics and his planning. I see a lot of times Maru tries to do some strange build, it's not because he's clueless or stupid. It's because he's trying to win games strategically, by controlling the way the game goes. He's looking for the best possible way to win, not just "a win". That goes through play which excels at punishing mistakes: only the best players in the world can play on par with Maru because they don't give Maru the openings to exploit. A lot of his play revolves around that, it's a completely valid play style.
A game won solely on mechanics only works if you have the best mechanics in the world, which no one can really say they do. There are too many other big fish to rely just on that (I'm looking at you, Innovation). Maru tries to win games with better builds, aggressive micro in the early game (where a LOT of games are won and lost) and things that gives him the edge he needs to take out other players.
In a lot of ways, it's what Life is as a zerg player. To a lesser extent, it's also what Parting is, though he isn't as consistent as Maru or Life. That's why I consider these two la crème-de-la-crème. It's just that this is not Maru's final form.
Fantasy is a dark horse in every tournament he enters by the way. He's sick good.
Maru is the second-best Terran in the world after INnoVation, bar none, and you can argue even between those two. There's not a legitimate argument that Maru is outside the top 2.
And I'm 7/8 in my IEM series predictions so far (and come on WHO had FanTaSy beating Rain?!) Too bad I had Rain going all the way to the finals.
On March 04 2015 04:57 Yakikorosu wrote: That is a completely insane lineup. Only Patience looks a bit out of place but even he has potential to pull upsets.
herO > Cure Bbyong > Solar Zest > Hydra INnoVation > Life (I feel like this is the key match. If Life can beat INno I think he goes very very far.) Trap > Flash Rain > Fantasy Maru > Patience Dark > TaeJa
On March 14 2015 09:20 DomeGetta wrote: Anybody know where the hydra vs zest overgrowth vod can be seen? for some reason it's not in any of the vods I can find.
On March 14 2015 09:20 DomeGetta wrote: Anybody know where the hydra vs zest overgrowth vod can be seen? for some reason it's not in any of the vods I can find.