SPOTV Starleague 2015 Season 1

Confirming His Majesty
Maru wins Naver SC2 Starleague Season 1

Brackets and standings on Liquipedia
Starleague

by Destructicon

It was a difficult couple of years for Maru for time had made his OSL win feel like a distant memory. Though he still showed flashes of brilliance, one had to wonder if he wouldn't go the way of jjakji. However, after many tough runs that where cut disappointingly short, after many tragic losses and near misses, Maru has finally claimed that second championship that has eluded him for so long. When Dream threatened to unceremoniously unseat him as the young Prince of Terran, Maru defended his crown and claimed another Starleague title on his first try. The added pressure barely phased the nonchalant nonpareil: he crushed Dream in a merciless and one sided series.

Game 1 - Merry Go Round

With the introductions out of the way, the series began on a map known for its endless harassment possibilities. Yet both players eschewed that option and instead opted for less aggressive openings: rax into factory hellions before CC. Dream tried to set the pace by inflicting damage early, but Maru outwitted his opponent, drawing gasps from the crows. The Jin Air ace hid his initial hellions and launched a perfectly executed flank to rout Dream's initial forces. With map control his, Maru seized the initiative by soft containing Dream in his main while landing his own natural CC earlier. Upon realizing the gravity of the situation, Dream fielded a flurry of counter drops to relieve the pressure at his front, and he was able to force Maru back. This was not without a heavy price as Dream had to sacrifice pieces of his army, giving Maru the army advantage. This spurred Maru to use hellion drops of his own while penning Dream in his natural. With his options out, Dream again went for a Hail Mary; this time, he was able to pull Maru out of position, kill several SCVs and destroy the relocated main CC. It was a good move from the SKT Terran, but he had sacrificed too much of his army. With a superior force, Maru set up a wide concave and pushed to grab the first map of the series.

Game 2 - Overgrowth

With the early lead his, Maru threw Dream a curve ball: a proxy marauder. Unfortunately for him, Dream chose a build that was considered even or slightly ahead: an early reaper. Dream immediately ran into the hidden barracks and sent his reaper to the other side of the map realizing that Maru would have no units to defend. The SKT Terran then built a bunker up his ramp while frantically queuing marines. Maru was undeterred and chipped away at SCVs at the front while microing his SCVs at home, and a moment of inattention from Dream allowed the reaper to be surrounded. By the end of the early game the two players were surprisingly even, but then their paths diverged once again. Maru put himself in a great position with two follow up CCs, while Dream's response was a marine widow mine drop and cloaked banshees. But Maru was cautious: his scans caught glimpses of both attacks and he shut down both attempts hard. The two of them settled into a relatively calm mid game, teching and setting up 3rds with Maru at the regular location and Dream at the forward position. Dream could not contain his aggressive tendencies forever though, and after much poking and prodding he found an opening at Maru's 3rd and scored several SCV kills. Maru tried to respond by posturing around the 3rd, and then the nat, but was unable to find an opportunity. Sensing one himself, Dream sent a large squad of marines across the map and managed to gut and destroy the nat of Maru. However it looked much like Game 1, where Dream had lost most of his army for a base. Maru launched a massive counter-attack on Dream's 3rd while his own third was under attack, but Maru could not be stopped. He pushed all the way into Dream's natural, severing his units and bases from each other. Dream tried a daring flank that ambushed all of his opponent's tanks, but 3/3 finished just in time for Maru to clean up Dream's remaining forces.

Game 3 - Foxtrot Labs

With his life on the line, Dream reverted to playing defensively. Both players opened conservatively, but Maru's poison of choice this game was a marine and widow mine drop with a 3CC transition. Dream had somehow anticipated this, and he deflected the attack with little effort. Realizing that he had a small window, Dream decided that it was in his best interest to drop Maru to death. They traded blows, but Dream was slightly more efficient with his endeavors. Growing bolder with each attack, he consolidated his lead with a gutsy tank drop, massacring several SCVs and units as Maru squirmed his way through his sim city. Then, with Maru reeling, Dream found the game winning opening to drop and stop stim. Comfortable with his advantage, Dream expanded and continued to harass, halting Maru's upgrades. The SKT Terran was now ahead in every measure, and a final assault on his opponent's third gave Dream a way back into the series.

Game 4 - Deadwing

That comeback was short lived, however, as Maru choked the fight out of Dream on Deadwing. Right out of the gate Maru caught Dream unaware with double reapers and an early hellion attack to punish Dream's early expansion. A cloaked banshee arrived soon after, and Maru put on a clinic. He scored dozens of kills, forced so many scans, and stopped several buildings from being completed. Dream fell hopelessly behind and visibly became frustrated, and Maru dispatched his opponent after toying with him into the mid game.

Game 5 - Catallena

After such a miserable game on Deadwing, many expected the title round newcomer to capitulate with a whimper. Yet Dream was not done, and he relaxed into his chair to play another macro game. Both players mirrored each other's builds for a good 5 minutes, and their attempts to deal some damage early were deflected without much incident. The game came to a head once stim and tanks were finished, and Maru moved across the map with a noticeable swagger. He scanned and found a blind spot in the main just before his defensive sensor tower could finish, and walked away to the tune of 15 SCVs eliminated. Dream's building placement barred him from defending his mineral line efficiently, and he lost depots and ebays because of his positioning. Visibly flustered, Dream loaded up to go for his own big drop, but his pitifully small army was intercepted in the middle of the map and destroyed. Maru packed his medivacs full and boosted back into Dream's tattered main, extinguishing Dream's hopes of taking another map and sealing the fourth win and a second Starleague title.



With his victory in the Naver Starleague, he sent a clear message: Maru is here to stay. He would not go the way of the one off champions; he would not become the next Seed or jjakji; he would not be dethroned as one of the elite terrans of Starcraft 2. His victory has cemented his place as one of the best players in the new generation of professional Starcraft and as one of the leading men of the terran race. We have watched Maru age from a child wistfully competing in the GSL, to an adolescent prodigy claiming an unlikely title, to a young man confirming his majesty over the game. He's grown up right before our very eyes, and we know that he can become so much more.

Writers: Destructicon, lichter
Graphics: shiroiusagi.
Photos: R1CH, silverfire.
Editors: lichter