The G5L trophy is headed back into storage, as four-time Code S champion Maru suffered his first ever Code S finals loss at the hands of TY in the Season 3 finals. But if the match ended in disappointment for Maru, the fans would certainly have left pleased as the two top Terrans delivered an all-time classic match—a fitting 10th anniversary gift for a tournament series that had garnered an unfortunate reputation for boring finals.
The recent advent of raven-centric late-game play in TvT did nothing to bog down the series, as two of the best multi-tasking Terrans of all time looked to be active through all stages of the game. When we did get to see a super-late game battle between battlecruisers, there was no wearisome staring contest involved—instead, the game spiraled into a chaotic ending sequence when TY tried to pull off an audacious charge into Maru's main.
The highlight of the series was an incredible send-off match for the popular map Golden Wall, which saw TY forced to relocate his main base twice before pulling out a come-from-behind victory.
With two Code S championships in 2020 (and a semifinal finish to boot), TY has locked down his place as the best GSL player of the year. It's a late-career surge that comes a full thirteen years after TY's television debut in Brood War, an accomplishment that defies comparison. Only Maru's delayed peak in 2018, eight years after his debut, comes close. TY's victory also extended another, perhaps even more unmatchable record he holds: Most Code S titles won as active GSL commentator. The score is TY: 2, everyone else: 0.
Interestingly enough, TY made casting the focus in his post-match interview. When asked if he'd continue to prove that he's the best StarCraft II player at the upcoming Super Tournament 2 (scheduled to begin on December 2nd), TY slyly dodged the question and said that he'd try to become a better commentator for the viewers. Considering that TY has Korea's #1 seed at IEM Katowice 2021 nearly locked down, could you really blame him for shifting his focus for a while?
Finals: TY 4 - 2 Maru
Game 1 - Eternal Empire: Maru opened up with double-barracks proxy-reapers, which TY managed to discover by cautiously SCV scouting through the likely proxy locations. TY immediately cancelled his building command center after discovering the proxy, and pivoted to 1-base tech while placing bunkers for defense. Despite these preparations from TY, Maru still managed to force 4 reapers into TY's main and got a great trade by sacrificing the reapers for 3 SCVs and most of TY's early army.
Maru went for fast double-expansions behind his reapers, which meant TY's only advantage was his faster tech. Unfortunately for TY, his attempt to go for cloaked banshees was scouted by a floating barracks from the prior proxy strategy, forcing TY to cancel his plans and follow Maru into a macro game with a slight disadvantage.
In an unusual twist, Maru opted to go for a Mech army, whereas TY went for the standard Marine-Tank-Viking armies of TvT. Then, in an even more unusual twist, Maru made an abrupt change back into a standard bio army, while still getting mech upgrades from double armories. In any case, both players were content to stay withdrawn until they established four bases, minus a couple of harassing excursions here and there.
In his recent TvT matches, Maru had looked to make a fast transition to mass ravens whenever he saw an opportunity. However, it was TY who took that approach in this match, halting his tank production early and going for 3-starport ravens. Maru eyed a raven transition as well, but made his shift considerably slower than TY, stopping to build some vikings and liberators in a more orthodox style.
However, TY's forward-looking strategy wouldn't pay off. As the two players went up to five bases, both looked to establish some map control with their now sizable armies. Maru had a big advantage in terms of both viking and tank count, so TY split up his marine-marauder based army in two for what seemed to be a delaying action. But this decision only saw the two halves of TY's army get brutalized by Maru's full-strength force in two separate skirmishes, giving Maru a significant lead in army supply. Maru pounced on the opportunity and continued to push forward, with his combination of Tanks, Vikings, and Liberators able to advance freely against the tank-light TY. TY's ravens arrived on the battlefield too late to slow Maru down, leaving TY no choice but to surrender against Maru's unstoppable push.
Game 2 - Ice and Chrome: Maru opened with 2-barracks reapers once more, but this time built both barracks in his main. As for TY, he went for one base tech again.
While TY held off Maru's initial Reaper harassment much more handily than in game one, he was still put into an unfavorable early-game position when he threw away his first two cyclones (TY's cyclones ran into the alluring trap of Maru's empty natural, and were subsequently ambushed by Maru's hiding troops). However, the situation quickly swung back into TY's favor, as his cloaked banshee tech went unscouted this time around. Waiting to hit with two Banshees at once, TY killed enough of Maru's SCVs to gain a significant economic lead.
Maru was forced to chase TY into a macro game from behind, and TY's advantage would eventually manifest in a superior viking-tank count in the mid-game. When TY rolled out with his army, Maru was forced to concede the designated siege-nook at his fourth base (you all know where) to TY's tanks. Tanks whaled away at the planetary fortress for several minutes, with Maru desperately keeping it alive with mass SCV repairs. But with Maru so occupied at his fourth, TY was free to do anything and everything else. He took to striking at Maru's other bases, all while expanding wildly over his own side of the map.
Maru's defensive prowess allowed him to semi-stabilize on five bases and follow TY into the raven phase of the game, but he faced a massive uphill battle in terms of economy and map control. When Maru used his ravens to finally lift the prolonged siege on his fourth base, TY simply sent the rest of his army to destroy one of Maru's expansions on the other end of the map. It looked like TY could just bounce back and forth between Maru's expansions until Maru ran out of steam.
But losing expansion and SCVs freed up more of Maru's supply for troops, and he eventually gathered about 150 supply worth of Marine-Raven-Viking for a desperation attack. TY had stayed on over 80 SCVs throughout the game, and seemed initially disoriented when he had to confront this huge army charging down the center of the map. However, TY assessed the expansion situation correctly and made a shrewd move, letting Maru's force slowly mow through his bases while he sent his own forces to counter attack Maru's remaining expansions. Since TY had taken nearly every other expansion on the map, and had plenty of MULEs to mine with, he could afford to trade three of his expansions for two of Maru's and still be in a better spot.
Things played out as expected when one player has income and the other does not, with TY able to wear down Maru's last army and force a GG.
Game 3 - Submarine: Maru put his 2-rax reapers aside and went for fast tech, while TY opened with a fast expansion. While TY held off early hellion-reaper harassment without incident, the true threat from Maru would come later in the form of quick attack with two tanks, two vikings, and two ravens. Maru set up a low-ground siege outside of TY's main, close enough to kill off a single Barracks (an error from TY).
TY contemplated committing to dislodging this force, even sending some ravens to plant auto-turrets (completely ineffectual), but quickly changed course and decided to counterattack before Maru could reinforce his sieging force or simply retreat home. The counterattack worked out beautifully for TY, as he was able to kill a tank at Maru's third base and force a lift-relocate on the command center. He was also able to kill off Maru's intruding tanks for free when their viking-raven escort absconded in response to the counterattack.
Picking up three easy tank kills gave TY a big advantage at that stage of the game, and he looked to capitalize. It's hard to tell if the following move was premeditated or opportunistic, but TY flew his two ravens into Maru's main for some auto-turret harass, and then led Maru's vikings on a merry chase. The distraction gave TY the space he needed to walk his tanks and vikings right up to Maru's main and start a low ground siege (Maru actually scanned twice in fear of such a move, but TY waited until the scans ended and charged right in). TY's well-placed tanks smashed Maru's forces that came hastily running back to defend, opening up the floodgates for TY's reinforcements to start streaming across the map. Maru couldn't hold out for very long, and conceded the 2-1 lead to TY.
Game 4 - Deathaura: The two players' opening diverged slightly once again, with Maru opting for faster tech while TY went for quicker expansion. Neither Maru's early hellion-reaper harass nor follow-up marine-mine drop did much to slow TY down, giving TY a bit of an economic advantage as the two players built up on three bases.
That early advantage let TY make the first major mid-game move, launching an ambitious three-prong attack with a marine drop into Maru's main, a raven/auto-turret attack at the natural, and a tank siege at the third. The attack netted TY a decent number of SCV kills, but was costly in terms of army casualties. However, it all worked out fine for TY as Maru's counter-drop ended up being just as costly, but without the benefit of getting any economic damage done.
TY decided this was his chance to make another rapid transition into the late game, stopping tank production entirely in order to start mass raven production. When Maru belatedly followed TY's late-game transition, TY looked even further ahead hastily teched up to battlecruisers as well. As the two players rushed to secure the remaining bases on their respective sides of the map, hit and run tactics with battlecruisers proved to be a thorn in Maru's side. But paradoxically, Maru's marines were more fleet-footed than TY's air-based armada, and Maru stayed even with TY in the skirmishes around the corner expansions.
Tired of rudimentary hit and run tactics with his battlecruisers, TY went for a much riskier move. Sending his BC's to attack Maru's corner base as they had done many times, TY waited for Maru's vikings and ravens to arrive on defense. When they did, TY teleported out—but not back to his own bases. Instead, the BCs jumped deep into Maru's territory, joining up with TY's remaining contingent of marines and medivacs to try and capture Maru's main. However, this move turned out to be catastrophic for TY. The combination of anti-armor missile and auto-turrets shredded TY's marines, leaving the battlecruisers to be wiped out by Maru's vikings (it certainly didn't help that TY had stopped air attack upgrades at 1/3, while Maru had gone up to full 3/3).
This led to instantaneous role-reversal, with TY emptying his bank to try and remax on viking-raven-marine, while Maru saw his first battlecruisers come online. Maru used his momentary army lead to shatter the equal-expansion equilibrium, tearing down both of TY's corner bases. TY desperately tried to retake those vital expansions before his other bases ran dry, but found it too daunting to try and directly fight Maru's growing battlecruiser fleet. Thus, TY made the only move left to him, and gathered his maxed out marine-viking-raven force for another attack on Maru's main.
Maru made a savvy decision similar to the one TY had made on Ice and Chrome, and simply accepted the base trade. He still had corner bases with plenty of harvestable resources left, as well as a considerable bank. Once the two players were done razing each other's territory unopposed, Maru was still left with his BCs and supporting units, two mining bases, and newly constructed production facilities, while TY was left with nothing but his standing army. TY had no choice but to take on Maru's BC fleet in a final, doomed engagement, after which he GG'd out.
Game 5 - Golden Wall: TY brought out his first dedicated early game attack of the series, skipping his reaper and going for a very fast marine drop. Maru played a more economy oriented build, going for a fast expansion at his backdoor base. While TY killed off some SCVs with focus fire, he didn't quite get the damage he needed with his drop. After holding off the early attack, Maru moved out with his tanks and started laying siege to TY's main from the south side of Golden Wall (TY had expanded to the northern side and kept his backdoor minerals closed). However, Maru was a bit too eager with this counterattack, as he left his main wide open to yet another cloaked banshee follow-up from TY. Two cloaked banshees did severe damage to Maru's economy once more (a total of 25 SCVs lost since the start of the game), putting Maru in a difficult position.
For a while, it looked like Maru might be forced to play out the 3-base vs 3-base macro game from a disadvantage, with him claiming the south side of the map while TY dominated the north. However, it soon became TY's turn to be overaggressive with an advantage, giving Maru a way back into the game. TY marched his main marine-tank army across the north side of the map, around the same time that Maru had gathered his forces for another push through the southern pass. Rather than pull his troops back to defend, TY decided he would have to base trade, sending his troops to attack Maru's backdoor expansion (the central mineral wall had been mined out, connecting north and south). While TY had a slightly bigger army, Maru had a 20~30 second head start. And, more importantly, the two players' decisions on where to take their naturals meant Maru was starting the base trade from inside TY's main (ferrying his troops across the backdoor mineral wall), while TY started the basetrade at Maru's natural.
TY lifted his buildings to reestablish a new 'main' base at his natural, but soon found his relocated home under siege tank fire from the high ground. That forcedTY to float his buildings and relocate all his bases yet again, with his usual 'third' becoming his new 'main,' while his gold mineral base became his 'natural' expansion. Meanwhile, on the other side of the map, TY was stopped after clearing out Maru's backdoor expansion, as he was unable to push through Maru's high ground tanks and into the main. TY pulled his troops back to defend his newly established bases, ceding back control of Maru's backdoor expansion and resetting the game at a bizarrely even two-base vs two-base state.
This highly unusual situation must have been extremely difficult to assess, and Maru ended up erring on the side of even more offense. Noticing the wide gap between TY's two bases, Maru made a feint to draw TY's troops north toward the new 'main' before making a quick U-turn for an attack on the 'natural' at the gold base. Unfortunately for Maru, going in blind into the gold base cost him dearly, as some well-positioned tanks blasted apart the marines coming up the ramp.
There would be little time for anyone to take a breather, as TY soon gathered his marines for an attack through the northern pass. Given how the series had gone thus far, it was no surprise to see Maru respond by mobilizing his troops for a simultaneous counterattack from the south. But unlike the first base trade, the terrain features of Golden Wall now worked in TY's favor. TY had already relocated all of his important buildings, and had no need to hold his old main and natural. On the other hand, Maru's main had mined out, and its high ground advantage no longer held any meaning. TY's forces razed all of Maru's mining bases, while Maru's forces were halted outside TY's mineral-laden new main. Left without any income, Maru GG'd out.
Game 6 - Pillars of Gold: Both players went for factory-before-CC builds to start, with TY teching up to a Marine drop while Maru went for the more defensive play by starting tank production earlier. In any case, both players played passively for the time being, going up three bases and macroing up.
TY made the first major move, pushing forward as if to start a siege, but loading up three medivacs with marines for a drop in the main when he perceived an opening. However, defensive auto-turrets and a well-placed tank shut down the attack with ease, giving Maru a brief window to be aggressive. Maru rolled out with his main ground army, starting a low-ground siege just outside of TY's natural.
Following the theme of the series, TY decided the best move here was to counterattack. While Maru's tanks could only pick off some outlying buildings and units while struggling to advance further, TY's drop into Maru's main hit a sweet spot and killed off several SCVs. This decisive move swung the momentum of the match in TY's favor, and Maru was forced to pull back his tanks and adopt a more defensive posture.
However, by that point, TY had established air control with a higher viking and liberator count, and was ready to mount a serious offensive. While Maru proved to be a tenacious defender, his inability to take back air control meant he could not directly challenge TY's main army. Though TY made a few sloppy plays that allowed Maru to take favorable trades, ultimately he snowballed his advantage into a fourth and final victory.
No mention of the 2HP CC on Golden Wall??? That game went from "won for TY" to "advantage to Maru" because TY missed the natural CC by 2HP (and he had marines + vikings in range of it). Seems like the sort of drama suitable to include in a recap like this
Thanks for the recap, definitely an incredible series!
Super happy for TY. I've been rooting for him so hard since 2016 (especially after his first GSL finals loss against Zest). Yes, he defeated Cure in Season 1, but beating the best Terran in Maru and exacting revenge for that tragic Game 7 in 2018 has gotta be so damn sweet. I hope he keeps practicing this hard next year and wins a 3rd.
I'm disappointed for Maru but it was an incredible series. TY is just too smart, he adapted perfectly after every loss and Maru couldn't figure it out.
Game 2 was a perfect representation of their 2 skillsets. TY macros like a beast, perfect positioning. Maru charging into fights he shouldn't win, but does due to his perfect control, while TY fails to do the same when he tries.
TY with 2 Code S wins out of 3 and a top 4 placement in the other, i think for me that cements him as the best player in Korea for 2020? I'm sad Maru didn't get his G5L trophy but i cannot begrudge TY on how he seemingly retired into the casting world to come back into the scene in his best form ever, crazy!
On November 03 2020 03:12 Pandemona wrote: TY with 2 Code S wins out of 3 and a top 4 placement in the other, i think for me that cements him as the best player in Korea for 2020? I'm sad Maru didn't get his G5L trophy but i cannot begrudge TY on how he seemingly retired into the casting world to come back into the scene in his best form ever, crazy!
Great write up too
Don't know, Maru had a good run at Katowice, won ST and King of Battles. But probably TY it is, but it would be much easier to tell had he had a better result at Katowice or ST.
On November 03 2020 03:22 rogzardo_ wrote: This series taught me that tvt banshees are good
Banshees suck because everyone in TvT opens raven, and usually 1-2 cyclones. TY just worked out when Maru wasn't going raven (Ice and Chrome + Golden Wall) and basically won the games with a cloak banshee(s).
On November 03 2020 03:12 Pandemona wrote: TY with 2 Code S wins out of 3 and a top 4 placement in the other, i think for me that cements him as the best player in Korea for 2020? I'm sad Maru didn't get his G5L trophy but i cannot begrudge TY on how he seemingly retired into the casting world to come back into the scene in his best form ever, crazy!
Great write up too
Don't know, Maru had a good run at Katowice, won ST and King of Battles. But probably TY it is, but it would be much easier to tell had he had a better result at Katowice or ST.
ST + King of Battles is nowhere near 2 Code S come on now. Rogue has a better case.
Amazing tournament from TY. He was in such good shape in all of his matches. So nice to see him avenge that 2018 loss too.
Imagine if TY hadn't screwed up in game 7 of that 2018 code s finals. Then it would be TY and Maru with three championships each today. Funny that in the end it is only that one game which separates them.
I'm still so bummed I did not find the energy to watch the vods... will probably do apparently it's an amazing series. Super mega disappointed Maru could not lift the cursed G5L trophy but TY is an amazing player as well, so congratulations to him. I hope to see Maru win another GSL title before the end of it... Amazing year in Korea for TY, 2 wins and a ro4. That would be considered insanely good if Maru did not top that with 3 GSL wins in a year (even 4 in a row).
On November 03 2020 03:12 Pandemona wrote: TY with 2 Code S wins out of 3 and a top 4 placement in the other, i think for me that cements him as the best player in Korea for 2020? I'm sad Maru didn't get his G5L trophy but i cannot begrudge TY on how he seemingly retired into the casting world to come back into the scene in his best form ever, crazy!
Great write up too
Don't know, Maru had a good run at Katowice, won ST and King of Battles. But probably TY it is, but it would be much easier to tell had he had a better result at Katowice or ST.
ST + King of Battles is nowhere near 2 Code S come on now. Rogue has a better case.
Yeah player of the year has to go to either TY, maybe Rogue has a case if he wins Super Tournament.
TY being outstanding in GSL but invisible in other tournaments is a bit strange though.
Interestingly Maru was only a couple games off winning both Katowice and this Code S, which would have undoubtedly swung it over to him.
On November 03 2020 07:40 Poopi wrote: I'm still so bummed I did not find the energy to watch the vods... will probably do apparently it's an amazing series. Super mega disappointed Maru could not lift the cursed G5L trophy but TY is an amazing player as well, so congratulations to him. I hope to see Maru win another GSL title before the end of it... Amazing year in Korea for TY, 2 wins and a ro4. That would be considered insanely good if Maru did not top that with 3 GSL wins in a year (even 4 in a row).
Honestly TY should have won their last GSL finals encounter so it feels good that he got his revenge.
On November 03 2020 03:12 Pandemona wrote: TY with 2 Code S wins out of 3 and a top 4 placement in the other, i think for me that cements him as the best player in Korea for 2020? I'm sad Maru didn't get his G5L trophy but i cannot begrudge TY on how he seemingly retired into the casting world to come back into the scene in his best form ever, crazy!
Great write up too
Don't know, Maru had a good run at Katowice, won ST and King of Battles. But probably TY it is, but it would be much easier to tell had he had a better result at Katowice or ST.
ST and KoB are trivial when compared with Code S, think of 2018-19, while Maru won 4 consecutive GSL, he got none ST.
Great last game for an amazing map that definitely produced some memorable and unpredictable games in 2020.
Also great map for someone as creative as TY, who was 12-1 on it in GSL. The loss was an amazing close game vs. Parting. Also remember his Douyu cup win vs. Parting that was one of the most unlikely wins (given how hard his cheese was shut down) ever. I think it was even with his tournament life on the line.
Also agree about the write up (except for missing the 2 HP). Easily one of the most exciting GSL finals and most certainly one of the highest caliber finals in terms of skills and decision making.
Terrans winning might make me generally dry heave, but if any Terran is gonna win TY is one I’m capable of genuinely being happy for, plus Maru losing does my heart good.
On November 03 2020 03:12 Pandemona wrote: TY with 2 Code S wins out of 3 and a top 4 placement in the other, i think for me that cements him as the best player in Korea for 2020? I'm sad Maru didn't get his G5L trophy but i cannot begrudge TY on how he seemingly retired into the casting world to come back into the scene in his best form ever, crazy!
Great write up too
Don't know, Maru had a good run at Katowice, won ST and King of Battles. But probably TY it is, but it would be much easier to tell had he had a better result at Katowice or ST.
ST + King of Battles is nowhere near 2 Code S come on now. Rogue has a better case.
Rogue has the same issue as every year, won something, totally didn't deliver anywhere else.
On November 03 2020 03:12 Pandemona wrote: TY with 2 Code S wins out of 3 and a top 4 placement in the other, i think for me that cements him as the best player in Korea for 2020? I'm sad Maru didn't get his G5L trophy but i cannot begrudge TY on how he seemingly retired into the casting world to come back into the scene in his best form ever, crazy!
Great write up too
Don't know, Maru had a good run at Katowice, won ST and King of Battles. But probably TY it is, but it would be much easier to tell had he had a better result at Katowice or ST.
ST and KoB are trivial when compared with Code S, think of 2018-19, while Maru won 4 consecutive GSL, he got none ST.
And yet he had good runs outside of the Code S while TY had literally only Code S good runs. Like I say, it is him but his outside Code S performance wasn't even close to Maru's 2018 and it's not like he was sometrhing special(outside of WESG)
On November 03 2020 17:16 Zambrah wrote: Terrans winning might make me generally dry heave, but if any Terran is gonna win TY is one I’m capable of genuinely being happy for, plus Maru losing does my heart good.
On November 03 2020 17:16 Zambrah wrote: Terrans winning might make me generally dry heave, but if any Terran is gonna win TY is one I’m capable of genuinely being happy for, plus Maru losing does my heart good.
Why? Whats wrong with Maru?
He’s the kind of Terran that has dominant streaks that make me bored of the game. It stops being who will win?! and becomes *yawn* Maru doesn’t have TvT guess he wins why bother watching.
Rogue and Bo7s is on that same boring level, and I’d think the same of Serral and Reynor too if they didn’t stir so much dumb community shit up since I like to read the drama lol.
Overall, predictability in SC2 is something I find boring, TY is at least the kind of player that can do weird stuff to liven games up.
Also I grew up with GomTvT and I’m a Protoss fan, so I’m predisposed to dislike Terran from my WoL genetics.
On November 03 2020 03:12 Pandemona wrote: TY with 2 Code S wins out of 3 and a top 4 placement in the other, i think for me that cements him as the best player in Korea for 2020? I'm sad Maru didn't get his G5L trophy but i cannot begrudge TY on how he seemingly retired into the casting world to come back into the scene in his best form ever, crazy!
Great write up too
Don't know, Maru had a good run at Katowice, won ST and King of Battles. But probably TY it is, but it would be much easier to tell had he had a better result at Katowice or ST.
ST + King of Battles is nowhere near 2 Code S come on now. Rogue has a better case.
TY being outstanding in GSL but invisible in other tournaments is a bit strange though.
It is, and it's the same with Stats (although he has started to win some ESL cups). What is it with these KT/Splyce/Afreeca bois
On November 03 2020 03:12 Pandemona wrote: TY with 2 Code S wins out of 3 and a top 4 placement in the other, i think for me that cements him as the best player in Korea for 2020? I'm sad Maru didn't get his G5L trophy but i cannot begrudge TY on how he seemingly retired into the casting world to come back into the scene in his best form ever, crazy!
Great write up too
Don't know, Maru had a good run at Katowice, won ST and King of Battles. But probably TY it is, but it would be much easier to tell had he had a better result at Katowice or ST.
ST + King of Battles is nowhere near 2 Code S come on now. Rogue has a better case.
TY being outstanding in GSL but invisible in other tournaments is a bit strange though.
It is, and it's the same with Stats (although he has started to win some ESL cups). What is it with these KT/Splyce/Afreeca bois
Is it actually strange considering almost every noteworthy tournament this year has been an online event running at the same time as Code S? It's pretty undeniable that the prep format of Code S was his primary focus. Also not like it's complete invisibility what with us being 1 map away from KoB and Code S having the same finals.
On November 03 2020 17:16 Zambrah wrote: Terrans winning might make me generally dry heave, but if any Terran is gonna win TY is one I’m capable of genuinely being happy for, plus Maru losing does my heart good.
Why? Whats wrong with Maru?
He’s the kind of Terran that has dominant streaks that make me bored of the game. It stops being who will win?! and becomes *yawn* Maru doesn’t have TvT guess he wins why bother watching.
Rogue and Bo7s is on that same boring level, and I’d think the same of Serral and Reynor too if they didn’t stir so much dumb community shit up since I like to read the drama lol.
Overall, predictability in SC2 is something I find boring, TY is at least the kind of player that can do weird stuff to liven games up.
Also I grew up with GomTvT and I’m a Protoss fan, so I’m predisposed to dislike Terran from my WoL genetics.
Hehe, fair enough
Yeah, Maru and Serral for SC2 its kind of like Schumacher was for F1
On November 03 2020 17:16 Zambrah wrote: Terrans winning might make me generally dry heave, but if any Terran is gonna win TY is one I’m capable of genuinely being happy for, plus Maru losing does my heart good.
Why? Whats wrong with Maru?
He’s the kind of Terran that has dominant streaks that make me bored of the game. It stops being who will win?! and becomes *yawn* Maru doesn’t have TvT guess he wins why bother watching.
Rogue and Bo7s is on that same boring level, and I’d think the same of Serral and Reynor too if they didn’t stir so much dumb community shit up since I like to read the drama lol.
Overall, predictability in SC2 is something I find boring, TY is at least the kind of player that can do weird stuff to liven games up.
Also I grew up with GomTvT and I’m a Protoss fan, so I’m predisposed to dislike Terran from my WoL genetics.
He’s a player I have the utmost respect for, but he’s not exactly Mr Charisma either
On November 03 2020 03:12 Pandemona wrote: TY with 2 Code S wins out of 3 and a top 4 placement in the other, i think for me that cements him as the best player in Korea for 2020? I'm sad Maru didn't get his G5L trophy but i cannot begrudge TY on how he seemingly retired into the casting world to come back into the scene in his best form ever, crazy!
Great write up too
Don't know, Maru had a good run at Katowice, won ST and King of Battles. But probably TY it is, but it would be much easier to tell had he had a better result at Katowice or ST.
ST + King of Battles is nowhere near 2 Code S come on now. Rogue has a better case.
TY being outstanding in GSL but invisible in other tournaments is a bit strange though.
It is, and it's the same with Stats (although he has started to win some ESL cups). What is it with these KT/Splyce/Afreeca bois
Is it actually strange considering almost every noteworthy tournament this year has been an online event running at the same time as Code S? It's pretty undeniable that the prep format of Code S was his primary focus. Also not like it's complete invisibility what with us being 1 map away from KoB and Code S having the same finals.
No their priorities are pretty clear and I do think they are the way they should be. It's just that the lack of online results has been the tendency for more than just this year (online Stats is basically a meme).
On November 03 2020 03:22 rogzardo_ wrote: This series taught me that tvt banshees are good
Banshees suck because everyone in TvT opens raven, and usually 1-2 cyclones. TY just worked out when Maru wasn't going raven (Ice and Chrome + Golden Wall) and basically won the games with a cloak banshee(s).
So what you're saying is Banshees suck, except when they are good?
well banshees kinda suck. Unless you use em to backstab someone defenseless, then they are awesome. Btw TY went cloaked banshee as a response to double rax reaper.
Great finals, but Maru was just off. TY did his thing and punished Maru for not using Ravems and being agressive. Maru played like shit tho, in 2018 TY read Maru sucessfully every game but still lost because Maru was way better at everything else. Maru didn't even come close to that magic this time.
On November 03 2020 17:16 Zambrah wrote: Terrans winning might make me generally dry heave, but if any Terran is gonna win TY is one I’m capable of genuinely being happy for, plus Maru losing does my heart good.
Why? Whats wrong with Maru?
A Protoss player enjoys players who plays coinflips prepared over a week for a living. What a surprise!
On November 04 2020 01:26 Morbidius wrote: Great finals, but Maru was just off. TY did his thing and punished Maru for not using Ravems and being agressive. Maru played like shit tho, in 2018 TY read Maru sucessfully every game but still lost because Maru was way better at everything else. Maru didn't even come close to that magic this time.
TY deserved this no doubt. But to be honest I don't cheer for him for so many years wanting to be the best all the time, but because of his clever and flexible gameplay through all those years. It is extremely hard to say who was better in this final. TY got some precise decision making which helped him in some situations, but after all both TY and Maru are top. May be the reason I never cheered for Maru previously is that he is not the only prodigy in this e-sport scene and TY deserved this legendary spot. Statistics can only mislead, those are two amazing players.
On November 04 2020 01:26 Morbidius wrote: Great finals, but Maru was just off. TY did his thing and punished Maru for not using Ravems and being agressive. Maru played like shit tho, in 2018 TY read Maru sucessfully every game but still lost because Maru was way better at everything else. Maru didn't even come close to that magic this time.
I wish I could play as shit as Maru...
He played like shit by Maru standards, not by your standards. TY read him like a book in 2018 as well, but could not translate build order wins into a overall win because Maru was much better. Saying a player is playing badly compared to the most dominant and sucessful run in SC2 history should not be controversial in a very experienced forum, but everyone is so insecucure due to Blizzard dropping support so here we are. Maru died twice to banshees in a Raven meta, that was shit, lets not pretend it wasn't.
On November 03 2020 17:16 Zambrah wrote: Terrans winning might make me generally dry heave, but if any Terran is gonna win TY is one I’m capable of genuinely being happy for, plus Maru losing does my heart good.
Why? Whats wrong with Maru?
A Protoss player enjoys players who plays coinflips prepared over a week for a living. What a surprise!
On November 04 2020 01:26 Morbidius wrote: Great finals, but Maru was just off. TY did his thing and punished Maru for not using Ravems and being agressive. Maru played like shit tho, in 2018 TY read Maru sucessfully every game but still lost because Maru was way better at everything else. Maru didn't even come close to that magic this time.
I wish I could play as shit as Maru...
He played like shit by Maru standards, not by your standards. TY read him like a book in 2018 as well, but could not translate build order wins into a overall win because Maru was much better. Saying a player is playing badly compared to the most dominant and sucessful run in SC2 history should not be controversial in a very experienced forum, but everyone is so insecucure due to Blizzard dropping support so here we are. Maru died twice to banshees in a Raven meta, that was shit, lets not pretend it wasn't.
You said he played like shit, if you had merely solely said he wasn’t at his imperious best compared to his previous finals then sure.
What does insecurity have to do with it? Outside of hardcore fanboys I imagine most were merely looking a decent or better final with both participants showing up, and I think we got that.
As to why TY got so much work done with banshees, hey I’m not sure. TY analysed the series but alas I don’t speak Korean. Given how great Maru was in King of Battles just recently maybe he took some gambles in build choices to throw TY off and got punished heavily.
There aren’t many players who have risky build gambits pay off as consistently as Maru has over the years, maybe the JAGW build strategising committee got it wrong this series.
On November 04 2020 02:54 Morbidius wrote: Hide nested quote - On November 04 2020 01:50 WombaT wrote: On November 04 2020 01:26 Morbidius wrote: Great finals, but Maru was just off. TY did his thing and punished Maru for not using Ravems and being agressive. Maru played like shit tho, in 2018 TY read Maru sucessfully every game but still lost because Maru was way better at everything else. Maru didn't even come close to that magic this time.
I wish I could play as shit as Maru...
He played like shit by Maru standards, not by your standards. TY read him like a book in 2018 as well, but could not translate build order wins into a overall win because Maru was much better. Saying a player is playing badly compared to the most dominant and sucessful run in SC2 history should not be controversial in a very experienced forum, but everyone is so insecucure due to Blizzard dropping support so here we are. Maru died twice to banshees in a Raven meta, that was shit, lets not pretend it wasn't.
I definitely don't agree with much of what you say. TY's TvT has consistently been in the top one or two terran players for several years in a row. Maru's is excellent, but his real strength has always been vs. other races. There have been times that he has been vulnerable to several terran players in good form and it has stopped his run (think Gumiho, aLive etc.)
Maru is a better player overall, but TY is arguably more rounded in this MU. I watch a lot of both of their games. I think that Maru's army control is amazing and his crisis management superb. He has excellent game sense and excellent reactive play. I think he is used to just using this amazing skillset to wear down his opponent. Against TY this is less likely to happen. He was often out positioned and TY made some excellent strategic decisions that put Maru on the backfoot in this series. Maru seemed more content to make larger army pushes and was hurt by TY's ability to skirmish multiple places at once.
I think TY got the best of many of the openings in the series. Banshees might be out of the meta, but if Maru hadn't have been as aggressive in G5 it's not like they would have put TY that far behind. They should still be used at least once in a long series and TY would have prepared it as a follow up to his initial harassment. They worked particularly well because Maru was being aggressive, but in that case something has to give. If he wasn't aggressive he would have gone to the mid-game with a slight advantage, but not one that would definitely have decided the game. In G2, TY might well have built them as a reaction to double reaper, knowing that Maru may skip tech such as cyclones after delaying his tank tech to get 2rax.
In regards to 2018 TY almost beat Maru who was at his peak, however I don't think TY was in his top form. He seemed to be performing much better in 2017. I wouldn't say that TY read Maru particularly well in that series. Maru opened proxies many times, and of course TY was going to scout it/be aware of it. It was no secret this was going to happen. Maru had mixed success, in which the games came out in reasonable positions for them both (he was certainly not out of the games). In G3 or 4 (not the ultra late game battlecruiser one) it snowballed to a win for Maru. Watch the replays in game 6 and 7 in which Maru had to win to keep the series alive. TY had a great opportunity to win in game 6 after getting the best of the early game if he had have been more aggressive. In game 7 Maru bet it all on a 2 base push. He would have lost if A) TY scouted better or B) wasn't as greedy. To me it seemed like a very even series and they were probably only seperated by a bit of decisiveness.
Either way, both players played excellently in both series and were not separated by much. Saying Maru wasn't good takes away from one of the best finals in GSL, from TY's level and from Maru himself who's control seemed as good as ever (look at his reaper control and some of his engagements when he was behind which prolonged game 2 and 6). Maru has been known for years for his ability to win complex 2 base situations like on Golden Wall and Submarine, but a few days ago he was outthought and just slightly outplayed by the best TvT player in GSL history (check the all time stats if you want, it's not even close).
Not a bad performance at all, considering Maru is historically least confident in his TvT (even if statistics say otherwise). He seemed pretty tilted or disjointed towards the end of it all, but that doesn't take away from TY being on a whole other level lately. Hell of a series and definitely the most competitive and exciting finals this year. The final score doesn't speak to the quality of the games; it could have easily been a 4-3 if TY had only made a few more mistakes.
On November 03 2020 03:22 rogzardo_ wrote: This series taught me that tvt banshees are good
Banshees suck because everyone in TvT opens raven, and usually 1-2 cyclones. TY just worked out when Maru wasn't going raven (Ice and Chrome + Golden Wall) and basically won the games with a cloak banshee(s).
So what you're saying is Banshees suck, except when they are good?
Every unit can be countered.
I'm saying they suck because their respective counter (raven-cyclone) is part of every standard TvT opener and has been for a while. It's rare for anyone to open without at least 2 ravens and 1 cyclone unless they're going for a fast tank-viking push.
Only now do I realize that the 42nd finals ended 4-2, as is tradition!
On August 15 2020 18:39 [PkF] Wire wrote: Rogue gifted g4 just so that we continue the 40th finals -> 4-0 41th finals -> 4-1 trend. The real GOAT ! Can't wait for soO to lose 4-2 in next season finals !
On August 15 2020 18:39 [PkF] Wire wrote: Rogue gifted g4 just so that we continue the 40th finals -> 4-0 41th finals -> 4-1 trend. The real GOAT ! Can't wait for soO to lose 4-2 in next season finals !
mindblowing . Technically this trend can't go on forever but here is another good reason to be longing for the 43th - not like we were needing one anyway !
Both of the players are poster children for why I still watch competitive SC2 daily, just mind blowing how good some of these series in the last few years have been.
EPT
