[NSSL] Grand Finals: Maru vs Dream Preview Text by TL.net ESPORTS Graphics by v1 2014 WCS SPOTV Starleague 2015 Season 1



Maru

A Reversal of Roles



Dream

A Reversal of Fortunes



Brackets and standings on Liquipedia

Starleague



A Reversal of RolesA Reversal of FortunesBrackets and standings on Liquipedia Maru: A Reversal of Roles by Destructicon



It's quite remarkable how similar and 's stories really are: both picked up the game at a young age as terrans, both started on old eSF teams and transitioned to KeSPA teams, and both are already veterans of the scene. But for all their similarities they do differ in one key aspect: Maru has managed to fulfill—for the most part—his potential while Dream has yet to do so. Yet the tide is never still. What was once fact is now thrown into question and the fortunes of the two have begun to change. It is fitting that the two prodigies must now face off in what has been a reversal of their destinies.



traces his origin to PRIME, a team well know for fostering powerhouse terrans focused on micro based play and styles. He debuted in the 2010 Open GSL Season 1, but had trouble finding success. For most of WoL he stood in the shadow of his mentors, MarineKing and ByuN, though every now and then he would show glimpses of his brilliance: his 6-0 all-kill of StarTale in the KSL, or his exciting series vs in Code A.



However with the launch of Heart of the Swarm Maru finally started climbing. He qualified for Code S and played an exciting set of series vs , narrowly losing. He reached the main stage of the OSL, defeating notable players such as, sOs, Trap, and . Then he faced his first great hurdle, . However to everyone's surprise Maru dispatched him in a comically easy stomping. Catapulted into the finals, Maru played his heart out against . Despite falling behind 2-0, he managed to rally and win it the title 4-2. Maru had done the impossible: he defeated the two best players of their respective races back to back to become one of the youngest champions in history.







It looked like he had finally come into his own, but Maru's tale had seemingly passed its zenith so soon. Despite qualifying and doing well in many events—the WCS Season 2 Final, WCS Korea Season 3, WCS Season 3 Final, 2013 Blizzcon—he was repeatedly denied another championship. His fortunes should have changed when he was picked up by Jin Air in December 2013, but alas a title in 2014 escaped his grasp as well. Even though we still remember him for his single title and his incredible games, the year and a half of disappointment has eroded his aura of a champion. His recent losses to at IEM Taipei, in the GSL and at IEM Katowice suggested that he was close, but not there yet.



If it were any other young terran with these results we would be calling him a rising star, but Maru attained his peak too soon and has been unable to reach as high ever since. He's maintained his place among the game's elite, but he has faltered to either a rising star or the eventual champion in many of his tournaments. He has been unable to find ways around adversity, a surprising fact considering the way he wrestled INnoVation and Rain to the ground in his title winning run. That championship should have marked the beginning of a legacy, but that legacy has stalled.



Unlike his opponent, Maru has no choice but to win. Anything else would be considered a bitter disappointment. Based on his bracket stage performance, Maru appears impossible to stop. He demolished Leenock in a TvZ clinic, barely breaking out a sweat. Against Stats in the semi finals, the normally secure protoss crumpled under the pressure of Maru's drops and runbys. The Jin Air Ace displayed the talents that have made him a broad favorite for most of the tournaments he enters, and form, at least in NSSL, is on his side. He's the defending champion of Starleagues, in a sense, and the title appears his for the taking.



Strange then, how this appears so familiar: could he be the Rain to Dream's Maru from 2013? He is the established star, the title holder, the best in class. He faces a precocious talent awaiting to fulfill his potential; a phenom that defeated the best player in the world to get this far. It's a reversal of roles for Maru, but could it also be a reversal of fortunes? This is as close as he's come to a Korean title in years, and this is his chance to deserve the accolades placed upon him. The story has changed since 2013: a new team, a new role, a new Starleague. Yet his goal remains the same.



All he has to do is win.



Dream: A Reversal of Fortunes by The_Templar



Dream’s path to relevancy was far less recognized and fulfilling than his opponent’s. Although he was one of the youngest players that made it to Code A in the first year of Starcraft II, Dream failed to take advantage of his position as potentially one of the next greats and was instead overshadowed by more adept competitors who took over and became the standard. Dream had flashes of brilliance that allowed him to occasionally beat the very best—who can forget his upset against ?—but could never sustain this level of ability for long enough to put together a deep run. Instead of making an impressive entrance into Code A and later Code S, he languished in the first few rounds for years, drowning in a veritable sea of often unremarkable players.



Failure in the GSL led to a drop in activity in Korea, and Dream started to try his luck abroad. He started finding success at the end of WoL, beginning with a second place finish at IEM Katowice in early 2013. Yet this lone tournament run failed to inspire anything more than a single, short-lived Code S qualification later that year. Meanwhile, in the Acer Teamstory Cup, Dream became a key player for MVP; his 18-10 record was capped off by five wins against Acer in the playoffs. One of his defining victories, against on Red City, displayed a distinctive and effective style based around heavy aggression as well as his ability to micro with precision in the face of utter chaos. Although he was finding success in the European team league, Dream still failed to make a mark in the GSL, and eventually the MVP player was confined to team leagues after an extremely close and heart-wrenching



After a promising start to HotS, 2014 was a letdown in multiple ways. After missing out on 2014’s first Code S by the slimmest of margins, Dream failed to re-qualify for the rest of the year. A lack of other individual league results, combined with MVP’s withdrawal from the ATC, meant that Dream’s only real results came from miscellaneous qualifiers and Proleague. His Proleague record across four rounds was only 6-6, and he was frequently rotated in and out of MVP’s lineup, trading spots with and a fallen . While he was hardly playing poorly, the moments in which Dream seemed like one of the strongest players in the world were few and far between, and his accomplishments in Korea became nonexistent.



As such, it seemed like a surprise and a colossal mismatch when Dream joined SKT and then managed to qualify for both of 2015’s premier Korean events. His NSSL challenger opponent, , was one of the strongest players of 2014. While Terran was the Samsung Zerg’s weakness, Solar still had a 70% win rate in matches against Dream’s race in the three months leading up to their Challenger match. Even though Dream had to have some proof of consistency and skill to even get picked up by SKT, most expected Solar to easily take the series, forcing his opponent into obscurity once again.



Dream destroyed him. Playing a fairly active TvZ style, Dream patiently ran up a 2-0 lead on the back of excellent textbook play. His style was additionally distinctive, as he continuously saved thors from near-certain death with medivacs, and one of 2014’s breakout players looked like the clearly inferior player. Even though Solar managed to avoid a 3-0 by repelling Dream’s drops in one game, Dream hardly looked troubled as he took the fourth map in a similar way. While he managed to squeak through his GSL group, attention on Dream was centered around his NSSL run, as he followed up his victory by topping a group of death including and the other finalist, Maru.







Many veterans of the scene who finally achieve a playoff run in a league such as WCS or GSL quickly succumb for one reason or another, whether it’s due to nerves, a mental block, or just running into a championship contender. Dream, instead of following suit, has instead re-enacted Maru’s lost OSL run. After dismantling a mid-tier player in the Ro8, both players found themselves facing the strongest player in the world—Maru was challenged by a dominant while Dream had to match his promising TvZ against a player who had established himself as the player to beat in Korea who aimed for a simultaneous GSL, NSSL, and IEM title, . Similarly to Maru, Dream took a quick lead and played the series of his life in order to upset the triple championship threat and make it to the finals against a player that he isn’t really expected to beat.



Even though Dream has already far exceeded everyone’s expectations in this tournament, losing in the finals would still be a disappointment. His run’s parallels to Maru’s in the OSL two years ago are striking, and he faces similar odds going into this finals. If Maru defeats Dream, not only does Maru show that he is the superior of the two, but Dream also fails to become anything that Maru became. By taking the match, Dream won’t necessarily be Maru’s equal historically, but he would emerge as another successful prodigy from the early stages of Starcraft II and would become a newer, different version of Maru, able to stand by himself as one of the best players in the world.





Prediction



Maru Maru < TBA > Dream

Maru < TBA > Dream

< TBA > Dream

< TBA > Dream

Maru < TBA > Dream

< TBA > Dream

Maru < TBA > Dream < TBA >< TBA > Maru < TBA > Maru < TBA >< TBA > Maru < TBA >< TBA >

Dream



Dream’s path to relevancy was far less recognized and fulfilling than his opponent’s. Although he was one of the youngest players that made it to Code A in the first year of Starcraft II, Dream failed to take advantage of his position asone of the next greats and was instead overshadowed by more adept competitors who took over and became the standard. Dream had flashes of brilliance that allowed him to occasionally beat the very best—who can forget his upset against in Code A Rain ?—but could never sustain this level of ability for long enough to put together a deep run. Instead of making an impressive entrance into Code A and later Code S, he languished in the first few rounds for years, drowning in a veritable sea of often unremarkable players.Failure in the GSL led to a drop in activity in Korea, and Dream started to try his luck abroad. He started finding success at the end of WoL, beginning with a second place finish at IEM Katowice in early 2013. Yet this lone tournament run failed to inspire anything more than a single, short-lived Code S qualification later that year. Meanwhile, in the Acer Teamstory Cup, Dream became a key player for MVP; his 18-10 record was capped off by five wins against Acer in the playoffs. One of his defining victories, against Scarlett on Red City, displayed a distinctive and effective style based around heavy aggression as well as his ability to micro with precision in the face of utter chaos. Although he was finding success in the European team league, Dream still failed to make a mark in the GSL, and eventually the MVP player was confined to team leagues after an extremely close and heart-wrenching tiebreaker denied him a second attempt at Code S.After a promising start to HotS, 2014 was a letdown in multiple ways. After missing out on 2014’s first Code S by the slimmest of margins, Dream failed to re-qualify for the rest of the year. A lack of other individual league results, combined with MVP’s withdrawal from the ATC, meant that Dream’s only real results came from miscellaneous qualifiers and Proleague. His Proleague record across four rounds was only 6-6, and he was frequently rotated in and out of MVP’s lineup, trading spots with Billowy and a fallen Sniper . While he was hardly playing poorly, the moments in which Dream seemed like one of the strongest players in the world were few and far between, and his accomplishments in Korea became nonexistent.As such, it seemed like a surprise and a colossal mismatch when Dream joined SKT and then managed to qualify for both of 2015’s premier Korean events. His NSSL challenger opponent, Solar , was one of the strongest players of 2014. While Terran was the Samsung Zerg’s weakness, Solar still had a 70% win rate in matches against Dream’s race in the three months leading up to their Challenger match. Even though Dream had to have some proof of consistency and skill to even get picked up by SKT, most expected Solar to easily take the series, forcing his opponent into obscurity once again.Dream destroyed him. Playing a fairly active TvZ style, Dream patiently ran up a 2-0 lead on the back of excellent textbook play. His style was additionally distinctive, as he continuously saved thors from near-certain death with medivacs, and one of 2014’s breakout players looked like the clearly inferior player. Even though Solar managed to avoid a 3-0 by repelling Dream’s drops in one game, Dream hardly looked troubled as he took the fourth map in a similar way. While he managed to squeak through his GSL group, attention on Dream was centered around his NSSL run, as he followed up his victory by topping a group of death including Dark and the other finalist,Many veterans of the scene who finally achieve a playoff run in a league such as WCS or GSL quickly succumb for one reason or another, whether it’s due to nerves, a mental block, or just running into a championship contender. Dream, instead of following suit, has instead re-enacted Maru’s lost OSL run. After dismantling a mid-tier player in the Ro8, both players found themselves facing the strongest player in the world—Maru was challenged by a dominant INnoVation while Dream had to match his promising TvZ against a player who had established himself as the player to beat in Korea who aimed for a simultaneous GSL, NSSL, and IEM title, Life . Similarly to Maru, Dream took a quick lead and played the series of his life in order to upset the triple championship threat and make it to the finals against a player that he isn’t really expected to beat.Even though Dream has already far exceeded everyone’s expectations in this tournament, losing in the finals would still be a disappointment. His run’s parallels to Maru’s in the OSL two years ago are striking, and he faces similar odds going into this finals. If Maru defeats Dream, not only does Maru show that he is the superior of the two, but Dream also fails to become anything that Maru became. By taking the match, Dream won’t necessarily be Maru’s equal historically, but he would emerge as another successful prodigy from the early stages of Starcraft II and would become a newer, different version of Maru, able to stand by himself as one of the best players in the world. It's quite remarkable how similar Maru and Dream 's stories really are: both picked up the game at a young age as terrans, both started on old eSF teams and transitioned to KeSPA teams, and both are already veterans of the scene. But for all their similarities they do differ in one key aspect: Maru has managed to fulfill—for the most part—his potential while Dream has yet to do so. Yet the tide is never still. What was once fact is now thrown into question and the fortunes of the two have begun to change. It is fitting that the two prodigies must now face off in what has been a reversal of their destinies. Maru traces his origin to PRIME, a team well know for fostering powerhouse terrans focused on micro based play and styles. He debuted in the 2010 Open GSL Season 1, but had trouble finding success. For most of WoL he stood in the shadow of his mentors, MarineKing and ByuN, though every now and then he would show glimpses of his brilliance: his 6-0 all-kill of StarTale in the KSL, or his exciting series vs EffOrt in Code A.However with the launch of Heart of the Swarm Maru finally started climbing. He qualified for Code S and played an exciting set of series vs Soulkey , narrowly losing. He reached the main stage of the OSL, defeating notable players such as, SuperNova and Symbol . Then he faced his first great hurdle, INnoVation . However to everyone's surprise Maru dispatched him in a comically easy stomping. Catapulted into the finals, Maru played his heart out against Rain . Despite falling behind 2-0, he managed to rally and win it the title 4-2. Maru had done the impossible: he defeated the two best players of their respective races back to back to become one of the youngest champions in history.It looked like he had finally come into his own, but Maru's tale had seemingly passed its zenith so soon. Despite qualifying and doing well in many events—the WCS Season 2 Final, WCS Korea Season 3, WCS Season 3 Final, 2013 Blizzcon—he was repeatedly denied another championship. His fortunes should have changed when he was picked up by Jin Air in December 2013, but alas a title in 2014 escaped his grasp as well. Even though we still remember him for his single title and his incredible games, the year and a half of disappointment has eroded his aura of a champion. His recent losses to Life at IEM Taipei, PartinG in the GSL and Dark at IEM Katowice suggested that he was close, but not there yet.If it were any other young terran with these results we would be calling him a rising star, but Maru attained his peak too soon and has been unable to reach as high ever since. He's maintained his place among the game's elite, but he has faltered to either a rising star or the eventual champion in many of his tournaments. He has been unable to find ways around adversity, a surprising fact considering the way he wrestled INnoVation and Rain to the ground in his title winning run. That championship should have marked the beginning of a legacy, but that legacy has stalled.Unlike his opponent, Maru has no choice but to win. Anything else would be considered a bitter disappointment. Based on his bracket stage performance, Maru appears impossible to stop. He demolished Leenock in a TvZ clinic, barely breaking out a sweat. Against Stats in the semi finals, the normally secure protoss crumpled under the pressure of Maru's drops and runbys. The Jin Air Ace displayed the talents that have made him a broad favorite for most of the tournaments he enters, and form, at least in NSSL, is on his side. He's the defending champion of Starleagues, in a sense, and the title appears his for the taking.Strange then, how this appears so familiar: could he be the Rain to Dream's Maru from 2013? He is the established star, the title holder, the best in class. He faces a precocious talent awaiting to fulfill his potential; a phenom that defeated the best player in the world to get this far. It's a reversal of roles for Maru, but could it also be a reversal of fortunes? This is as close as he's come to a Korean title in years, and this is his chance to deserve the accolades placed upon him. The story has changed since 2013: a new team, a new role, a new Starleague. Yet his goal remains the same.All he has to do is win.