Maru Vs Soo. Discussion and Analysis of Dominance

hello! :D Firstly, I am aware that I am far from being a Starcraft 2 guru. I simply think there is something interesting here worth discussing.

I originally titled it "...Mental Dominance" but I dont want to give the wrong impression about SoOs incredible gangsterass starcraft prowess overall

SoO is one of a handful of players that can, time to time, be described as "perhaps the greatest player in Starcraft 2s history when accounting for longevity." Or something like that.

That being said.

In this particular series, he was made to look (I Believe) as if he were a bit of a puppet throughout this series, most obviously in game 4.

SoO had MASSIVE advantages at multiple points in this game and never capitalized. And, it even looked as if capitalizing on his advantages was a futile or trivial task against someone like Maru that was so in tune to his game.

These advantages being when he scouted a proxy rax build early on and then later developed a bank over 5 times his opponents while holding the desired amount of bases on the map. (Which I understand is not often viewed as a big deal by the community)

Since Maru never "felt" like he was in trouble despite all of this, it is the natural assumption of the observer to justify this display with imbalance.

I personally believe this is where the psychological edge lies. If you can make your opponent believe that they are at a fundamental disadvantage that should hardly be overcome(racial imbalance in this case), you have seeded within them a doubt that you only need to nurture and cultivate so that it will, in turn, destroy themselves. (NUKES AND MISSILES) You have given them the excuse they needed to not better themselves, overcome themselves, and therefore overcome you, the opponent. Think Avilo :D

When you fall prey to the idea of imbalance as an observer, you tend to overlook SoOs "poor" (considering the expertise at this level of play and his incredible history) reaction to his early scout, or his ineptitude in allowing his swarm hosts to get removed from the game entirely in a moment of weakness. Weakness, I am arguing, CREATED and executed on by Maru.

There is a deeper reason why someone like Maru in those moments doesnt feel like they are ever in trouble than imbalance.

“One thing I've learned in the last seven years: in every game and con there's always an opponent, and there's always a victim. The trick is to know when you're the latter, so you can become the former.”

Think of Savior, Boxer, Life, SoS, etc.

My opinion, and it is only an opinion of course, and my argument, is this...

Perhaps Maru's greatest strength next to his technical skill is his development of strategy and gamesmanship throughout his years of playing. This is something he has always had over his opponents in the early game, and it is this awareness of how to make THEM the victim and HIM the "opponent" of the victim that we see result in dominance. He has translated this ability to the late game.

I think that if you watch this series again with a keen eye, you will see how brilliant Maru has become, at least in certain moments such as this one. Brilliance can be fleeting, and Starcraft has a history of showing its fleeting nature since day one.

Enjoy the moment, it is fun to watch this greatness, which at anytime could be reversed on him and used against him if he were to face an opponent who was, >in that moment< a smarter player.