by stuchiu

The sun will rise and set, the seasons will change in their turn, and the young will overtake the old. There are many champions gathered at Blizzcon, and they all seek different goals. Some wish to further gild their already shining legacies, while others hope to restore their past glory. Others, still, fight for what might be their only chance to vindicate the years they have put into professional gaming with one single championship. But for all fifteen players, whatever their goal, it may already be too late. The hourglass has been flipped: their time is ending, and MaruPrime's is only beginning.

Three years in, the youngest veteran of StarCraft 2 is no longer a prospect, a player with potential, or someone to watch out for in the future. No, the future is now. That potential was unlocked in Heart of the Swarm, and it has been growing ever since. Six months ago Maru was a perennial Code A player. Three months ago he was the youngest royal roader to win the Ongamenet Starleague. Two weeks ago we learned that his finals run was no fluke, with Maru reaching consecutive semi-finals in both WCS Korea and the Season Finals. We now know that his OSL championship run was a challenge issued to the rest of the world: "Take notice, for my time has come."

While Maru still has more to prove before he can lay claim to the title of best Terran, he possesses an almost otherworldly quality when compared to even the best of his peers. Innovation plays the most flawless, mistake-free games. Polt is a genius of tactics and positioning. TaeJa is a juggernaut in the late game. Mvp has mystical, magical powers. But none of them can fight like Maru.

There is no one who can flank, split, drop, stutter-step, and drop quite like him. Like his famous predecessor, MarineKingPrime, Maru's stellar micro and choice of engagements makes anything possible. Give him a banshee and a chair and he can take out the WCS EU champion in a Bo5. Give him a 1-1-1 and he can tear apart Flash’s standard macro builds; give a triple-cc and he can pull off a jaw-dropping defense against Flash's 1-1-1. Outside of battle Maru is just another good Terran with a penchant of switching between hyper-aggressive builds and hyper-greedy builds, another similarity to the late MKP. But in combat there is no better player, and it has made Maru a champion.

In his last three tournament runs, Maru has defeated top caliber players of every race. In his run to the Auction OSL finals, he took out sOs and INnoVation, the two finalists of the WCS Season 1. Once he reached the finals stage, he took out the defending champion Rain by a 4 - 2 score. In the following Code S tournament, he handily defeated Flash, Kangho and a reformed Jjakji. At the Season 3 Finals in Canada, he defeated Code S finalist soO and two WCS EU champions in duckdeok and MMA. Maru is done proving himself against top players—he's the top player others must prove themselves against.

However, there is one player who has survived Maru's rampage, a player who has prevented Maru from walking into Blizzcon as the #1 player in the world. The sole exception, the Soul Survivor: Dear.


Twice now Maru and Dear have fought in the semi-finals, once in the WCS Korea, and once at the Season Finals. Both times, Dear defeated Maru 3-1 in matches that eclipsed the eventual grand-finals in terms of sheer excitement. Just as Maru has pushed the boundaries of what we thought was possible with Terran, Dear has done for Protoss. On defense his units were positioned perfectly, second and third waves of templars were always hidden, and his compositions were always changing to confuse Maru. At the same time, a precise number of zealots and templars could always be spared for a counter-attack, enough to gain Dear an advantage but not so much as compromise his defenses. If Maru was able to shatter Rain's wall of ice with blunt force, then going up against Dear has been like punching a wall of water.

Looking at the Blizzcon bracket, there is a very realistic possibility that these two will meet once more in the semi-finals. Should they meet again happen, it will surely be Maru's most difficult challenge of the tournament. But in the end, Maru must know that Dear is just another old player, looking to enjoy his long delayed time in the sun. To begin his reign, Maru must bring the legacies of these old men to an end.

Writers: stuchiu.
Photo: Silverfire.
Editor: Waxangel.