The Greatest Starcraft 2 Defense Ever: Maru vs. Reynor

One of the greatest matches of Starcraft 2 ever, with Maru vs. Reynor playing another epic Best of 5 that goes back and forth. Maru displaying one of the best starcraft defenses of all time.
Match: Maru vs. Reynor
Tournament: ESL Pro Tour - Valencia 2022 Finals
VODs: / esl_sc2
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StarCraft 2 is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game developed and released by Blizzard Entertainment.

[@SC2HL]

If you have any suggestions for highlights/matches - Let me know on twitter (@SC2HL) or respond here!

[@salvagedsteelstudio]

For obvious reasons, maybe next time, don't upload finals > quarterfinals

[@kawibomber6098]

Where is tastosis!? Haha

[@artanis5163]

please some RagnaroK games from GSL He got some cool proxy hatchery builds and fun games.

[@biglittledude496]

I think you should let the end game screen settle a bit on these long games just so we can digest before getting thrown into another awesome game

[@skevoid]

I'll watch seniors' netball if Artosis and Tasteless cast it.

[@MichaelNatrin]

Can't imagine how exhausting this match would have been for the players. Fantastic back & forth battles.

[@tigera6]

yeah, and the winner still have to play 2 more series after this.

[@AF-tv6uf]

This was insanely good.

[@alexchen3764]

@@tigera6 yup poor Maru had to play two more series within a few hours, with the finals against Dark. Amazing stamina

[@huy4697]

It’s the thrill.

[@mrmoon5682]

@@tigera6 holy, feel like you have to go like 10 ot in csgo

[@ajcannQn]

That ending where Maru had the bank and remaxxed. You either die a terran or live long enough to see yourself become the zerg.

[@jaynguyen8777]

sounds like sarah kerrigan quote

[@Sapreme]

@@jaynguyen8777 You either die a terran or live long enough to become the zerg, and then back to terran again, but then back to zerg again, maybe a little bit of xel naga

[@SimplyDuker]

@@jaynguyen8777 Unbeknownst to her, she lived long enough to become a literal God as well.

[@bobzombie2710]

Imagine thinking you could die as terran.

[@diwajerebation4077]

@@bobzombie2710 coop fan vs 'playing like maru' enjoyer

[@Pkedya2boy]

That one marauder at 29:39 has one hell of a plot armor to have survived that

[@Yetidelamontagne]

No one gonna believe him in Joey bars when he's gonna tell his story.

[@elusivellama]

The one marine a few seconds earlier who got picked up and then kicked back out to stand alone against the swarm of zerglings, which then immediately retreat when he alone starts firing at them.

[@johanqin]

he stared death in the face and lived to see another day

[@thomaschevrierlaliberte5884]

That part was actually quite epic when looking at it from your perspective!

[@manopeace9175]

Yeah the marauder survived the battle, but did he survive the war?

[@carlmarl6531]

On a side note, SC has so many good commentators.

[@aimwell7089]

If you watch a lot of GSL you only know two casters < 3

[@lordlopikong6940]

I personally like lowko casting more

[@johnkim9025]

@@lordlopikong6940 nah he’s so annoying and bad

[@johnkim9025]

@@aimwell7089 The goats 🐐

[@TurnOnTheBackburner]

Tasteless/Artosis is the best duo.

[@Divert486]

I love Maru's cam. He doesnt even look like hes playing a game. Hes just bored watching a bad netflix documentary.

[@ExuCaliba]

I love maru's stoic poker face during the matches lmao

[@belloffields]

Turning off his emotions like a machine to fully embody mech-play.

[@elusivellama]

Maru is an ice cold killer.

[@tholos2758]

True Korean

[@gokhanyuksel3782]

He is a legend ... Look at his face in the middle of action.. no sign of stress..playing like a machine and do what it must be done in any situation

[@jarrettdittmer9367]

I'm a simple man, I see Maru, i click.

[@swifter439]

Me too

[@mirrorimage2866]

same

[@juan-tj1xf]

With fresh coffee :)

[@stephenfreeman3174]

Lol. Same but for Reynor

[@czedrickcatan-mcdo486]

Same

[@qweenqween99]

I really do feel like pro SC2 games are at their all-time highest skill level and viewer interest level, especially those TvZ bangers really elevate the game on a whole new level

[@tristannottrysten]

Its so cool cuz most TvZ start off with terran hopelessly holding on and then turning the tides and hard slam the zerg. Like a literal movie about never giving up

[@YoureASquidYoureAKid]

18:20 That lurker is going to heaven

[@jetman8856]

It was... liberated

[@Makeeto]

Gangsta's paradise started playing in my head

[@TheContractorTV]

DATA-C is an "underwater" map like 2000 atmospheres is. Perhaps they are on the same planet?

[@true_xander]

23:12 Hellbat's dream come true

[@elusivellama]

Maru winning a game after being brought to the brink of defeat and then turning it around: "Another victory. Emotions felt: apathy. I will record this into my databank with mnemonic eye blinks."

[@LiveWell6]

Watching his play makes me think he is the best in the world. I know he doesn't always win everything and props to those who beat him but it seems like that it is different Zergs that knock him off and not one person that is consistently better. What he can get out of his army is so impressive.

[@lvluptoaverage52]

He is the best in the world. Now Zerg is never easy to play who ever says they are doesn’t know S. But they tend to be better than Terran. You can tell because Terran tend to win based on skills. Ghost are great maybe the best unit on the whole game but it takes a lot of skill to make them work. Everything terra. Takes so much work.

[@LiveWell6]

@@lvluptoaverage52 that makes sense. Terran is a bit like a mobile glass cannon. One bad disruptor hit or zergling surround and Terran is in deep trouble. So it is a very unforgiving race to place but can do incredible things if in the right hands that can avoid disaster consistently.

[@lvluptoaverage52]

@@LiveWell6 exactly I feel like at anytime you can get KOed. Like a skilled boxer that you know is better than the opponent but that at anytime one hit one mistake and he is out

[@lordbry470]

@@lvluptoaverage52 I agree, terran is infact the hardest race to pull off. You can see most of the wrist injuries are from terran pro players

[@lvluptoaverage52]

@@lordbry470 I thought it was because we can’t get a girlfriend but you do have a point there

[@gwot]

Reynor cam's so intense, turning his head, whole body moves. Maru just barely moves his eyeballs

[@Arnono97]

he can turn his head and everythink but the last match was a win.

[@chrisbarrett2117]

1:03:09 seeing Maru micro a single hellbat at this stage of the game is just awesome

[@zegermans750]

Maru always makes ghosts look so broken

[@januszkurahenowski2860]

Yeah, and when you make ghosts in game and they don't do that much without Maru's control lol

[@AAAAAA-jj4mr]

@@januszkurahenowski2860 foken banelings mate, why they don't want to wait till I pack mine ghost to medivacs, barbarians without manners.

[@Pzychosis]

Because they are

[@diwajerebation4077]

@@Pzychosis this, 'oh reynor makes zerg look so broken'

[@lhfirex]

This match is so good we get an hour of highlights. Thanks for giving them to us!

[@DaneElec256mb]

Lol at the Lurker being killed at 18:15 and slowly ascending to heaven.

[@peterilisituk2830]

22:39 funniest pickup I've seen in a while.

[@sumelar]

Those broodling floods just melting away to the hellbats was extremely satisfying to watch.

[@moistnugget4147]

Wow. The title wasn't even click bait, these games were incredible

[@TheManWithTheFryingPan]

29:41 marauder be like "what... I'm alive?"

[@Scawtsauce]

I love how zombie is using pigs lingo, corruptor pissing. swarm host throwing their babies etc.. well played.

[@Santisima_Trinidad]

There are few things i have never seen in a starcraft replay at this point. But "rapid reignition systems" being upgraded was something i had never seen before.

[@jorgemichaelquino7562]

Maru always Use that upgrade especially in the late game Tvz

[@randommcranderson5155]

it improves medivac afterburn a lot and maru likes using his medivacs to dart in and out, but its still not good enough to be early in a build when you have other priorities.

[@vothaison]

19:43 that tank on the left did ton of friendly fire for a whole minute.

[@joeytcb]

the little interview videos they showed before this game were so funny

[@samwellcirilo6486]

Man, if he aint got covid he got hot playing sc2. A part of me says im too old for this but yeah im a fan of sc2. Keep them coming!

[@Ryuujinv01]

That moment 8 minutes in when Reynor first lost that attack was entirely upgrades. Bulk of the fight took place in the 10 second window where Marus 1-1 finished but only Reynors armor finished. Rough.

[@aboithatsaboi182]

Having to give up after winning a fight. That's gotta feel bad

[@TheGreenTaco999]

35:54 one of the most cinematic moments in a real match

[@bwhity]

hats off to both of these legends!

[@markstokes7110]

these replays are alot more enjoyable to watch having only the relevent gameplay uploaded. Good job

[@mattgehrke3115]

Agreed, trims the fat and what’s left is pure delicious A1 meat

[@evankuo2578]

23:14 is the hellbat dream

[@slakinboyz]

When Terran hits maxed ut ghost mech, its such an uphill battle for zerg. Winnable for sure but you have to use your infestors and vipers perfectly or you just end up butting your head into it until you are out of resources

[@Cti4er]

well it's not like it easy for terran to control his army. Hellbats must be microed to be in the front of the army and defend the Thors, he has to use very expensive ghost when they can easily die from bannelings, snipershots must be microed as well. There is enough micromanagement that Terran must do nearly perfect to have the higher ground.

[@jialerchew884]

that's what terrans have to do against every race every build lol

[@shiinashana4032]

.-. Terran is the race that receive the least benefits from rapid fire to be fair ....

[@ML-oe3oy]

not when Terran, it is when Maru hit maxed out ghosts.

[@slakinboyz]

@@Cti4er was not trying to imply it is easy job for Terran. Ive seen plenty of infestors neural a ghost and emp the rest of the ghosts for the win. It does speak to the ghosts power that one of the best counters to it is itself tho

[@yunfanfan9452]

Maru's defense since more than a year ago has been absolutely insane. Never saw anyone better. If Clem learns Maru's defense, coupled with Clem's unparalleled offense, we'd have the strongest Terran ever. Maru of course is still very strong in offense too, but I think Clem bested Maru since at least a year ago.

[@krispywater]

Match: Maru vs. Clem Tournament: ESL Pro Tour 2021. Take a look when Maru absolutely decimates Clem.

[@yunfanfan9452]

@@krispywater I guess I should specify that I was thinking about TvZ. We all know Clem had always had issues with TvT and Maru has been the #1 T over the last few years. But I meant that the offense of Clem in TvZ is just unparalleled. Maru on the other hand is not as successful in TvZ offense, sometimes relying on impeccable defense to turn games around.

[@drejade7119]

@@krispywater Maru is the best TvT player. No doubt about that but in TvZ, Clem can be quite better in offense while Maru is better in defense.

[@mikeempey2483]

Great casting!

[@jeffrey6067]

9:50 to 9:52 is my new ring tone

[@lexwayfarer5771]

without his edgy italian rapper hoodie reynor's power level is just not the same

[@yourtags4876]

Man, watching hundred army fighting each others is more fun than 10 strong hero hitting tower and shite

[@hookedonphones1681]

33:42 holy cow that is like Tastosis level commentary. God bless zombiegrub for that one

[@teddanville6996]

Not too sure why Maru didn’t do this against Dark in the grand finals. Maybe he is too tired and doing another 3+ hours is not worth it. Cutting his shoulder some slack is a wise choice because he still has GSL to play.

[@tigera6]

Because Dark never let him play this style. Dark went straight into early double Evol, 3 macro hatch and start printing lingbane while keep smashing it into Maru base before he was ready for it. The only time they really go late game, which is map 4, Maru almost took Dark down but he was a bit short on army at the end of the push.

[@junevue9665]

Dark is aagressive player in yhe beggining so it stops the whole ghost mech play

[@soligaming5729]

Yeah the defense of Maru is awesome, but I imagine it cost so much energies to play like that.

[@teddanville6996]

@@tigera6 not too sure what you are talking about. Ling banes early game are only good if you can surround or do run-by when your opponent is out of position, which is exactly what happened game 1 and 2 in the Dark vs Maru series. That wouldn’t happen if Maru just turtle up at home instead of trying too hard to look for drops. Once the Terran turtle, the Zerg need to fast expand instead of just making more lings banes with not enough worker since you need big money to break through Terran defense.

[@tigera6]

@@teddanville6996 Maru army composition wasnt able to turtle against the mass lingbane style from Dark, he would just hit Maru 4th and 3rd over and over again until he dried up while Dark slowly taking more base on the map. What Maru did "wrong" was that he had too many workers, not enough army, and he didnt put down the 2nd Factory to make Mines/Tanks non-stop. Maru instead still went for his usual build with Bio into Ghost, which is not good against Lingbane,

[@isaiaslopez8567]

Great match up. So much mechanics to win v zerg. Great game tho, maru is the best, and raynor is a beast

[@juztina7346]

54:00 coruptor A move with swarm host... by reynor

[@allopeth]

18:18 flying lurker 😮

[@IceWolf-id3hf]

I have only played starcrafts campaign and a few games against ai, but this is so fascinating

[@muhammadzinc5228]

Winner of Serral vs. Clem: Imba Widow Mines

[@twuble96]

Excellent

[@thomasblanc3457]

Zerg: Fear the Swarm Maru: Back at ya buddy

[@Scawtsauce]

Maru and teleporting into ravager biles. name a more iconic duo.

[@user-hn6rm5hm4d]

SC2 is my childhood memory! respect

[@Vaeltis]

o7 RIP that single drone that got nuked at 18:30

[@consolidate84]

1:05:00 - those counter snipes.. 😬

[@tatsuuuuuu]

I wanted to see him commit them, they're all dead no matter what he does at that point. might as well use the DPS and finish off the battlecruisers.

[@daniellee7510]

damn thats a crazy game!

[@bakajanai.]

Its no surprise reynor hates maru lmao his terran feels like an entire different race

[@MultiNichts]

POG, 1Hour SC2HL yeaaaaah bby

[@tiberiusx22]

Imagine having fungals, abducts, parasitic bomb, neurals and blinding clouds at your disposal and still losing lol

[@thomaschung5623]

maru didn't even blink once throughout the whole game...

[@Misaki_eku]

maru: the best turtle in SC2😂

[@Necroneer]

Was this what made Reynor complain a bit about Maru turtling? I think I saw a short interview bit of that in SC2Day

It was before this lmao.

[@Necroneer]

@ Oh haha, poor Reynor, having to face against this annoying style of Maru.

[@recuerdameporf]

Solo Maru puede Aguantar tanto vs Zerg y Protos que gran player.

[@jxff2000]

i’m considering picking up starcraft 2 for the first time ever! who should i go with if i love feeling like a dark and brooding badass?

[@restiaswingman9730]

The undefeated magician

[@boreduser12]

Which game is highlighted in the title?

[@khmer5o3]

DAMN! I was rooting for the italian stallion! I love Zerg!

[@alexb6412]

Мару красавчик!)

[@KhoaNguyen-fs6to]

Maru, Maru ...

[@mirrorimage2866]

can i see the full uncut game with commentary somewhere?

[@alexanderalexander4598]

Dreamhack

[@manopeace9175]

I don't know how Maru can stay so cool during these long macro games. Just watch his face, there is almost no reaction to anything going on. Stay frosty brother.

[@jamesdi7261]

How the hell did Maru win the first game? Crazy

[@Dman40000]

my thoughts exactly

[@missbelled6700]

Near as I can tell, Ogre Zerg Gaming left Reynor way down in resources lost, and then once Maru 1) cleared most of the army and 2) got the mules on that top left base it was just doomed since Maru had the units to defend pure BLs (and they'd take a year and a half to get across the map so he probably felt pretty safe with that big army trade) Even so, idk how he actually does it. Too good.

[@jamesdi7261]

@@missbelled6700 thanks for your insights

[@pilandejericco2487]

can i ask why was serral not in this offline tournament?

[@ryanrust3055]

Flying lurker 18:16

[@brennanreidy2389]

Maru is just so insanely tactically advanced that you cant EVER count him out. Give the man 4 scv's and he can beat you.

[@imperialanvil6826]

man maru is a legendary beast GG ....

[@nawhz6292]

Maru is amazing

[@itsrye8001]

One thing I dont like about Maru is he's always taking the Overseers for granted. Lessens his ghosts capability by not blinding his enemy. Those overseers are snipe-worthy.

[@jonaldbalingit884]

Shikamaru prep-time Obi-wan High Ground Late Game Maru

[@Stance_Mindset]

I'm relatively new to SC2. But why aren't hydralisks used in tourneys and proplay?

[@shiinashana4032]

.-. depend on the build thou and the playing style too :I They are used a lot more in PvZ . Hydra-lingbane is still great against some medivac drop

[@rimonino]

1) they are very fragile 2) they're rather expensive 3) they're not particularly fast 4) only unlocked at lair tech, so that and being expensive means getting them is tied to the build 5) they don't seem to have a specialty except to morph into lurkers; defensive AA is queen/spore, dedicated offensive AA is corruptors That being said, they're a bit more present in the meta now than when this tournament aired. I hope it's not annoying that you're getting a reply 3 months after you posted lol

[@Kalameeto]

Ghost is by far the best unit of this game...

[@scproleplayepsilon-1118]

Woah i play starcraft 2!

[@manfredisabitch8988]

At 01:03:00 the hellbat 🤣🤣

[@Jones-ke6bt]

Vipers should be able to abduct flying cc's.

[@totall4579]

Can anyone tell me the names of the casters of this game?

[@Khasidon]

What tournament was this?'

[@clee89]

iem valencia

[@eugeneponomarov7429]

Maru

[@PotatoMan1491]

Tell me how Zerg is not an unfinished race

[@weltsiebenhundert]

HELLBATS

[@m4a17878]

ghost is the only hope against late game zerg

[@Scawtsauce]

plus 1 ranged attack Reynor oof

[@gureguru4694]

hellbats are the real mvps. just look at them go

[@matejmalysak8562]

2:51 add 10hydralisk in the mix for the win maybe sacrifice 20 drones for higher army supply

[@busTedOaS]

you're not killing a terran with 10 extra hydras as Zerg there. the map is likely to get mined out at that point, so drones are more important.

[@Wow-673]

That’s a joke right? 10 hydras ain’t gonna break marine marauder medivac ghost behind a planterary fortress.

[@matejmalysak8562]

@@busTedOaS just cause u float in resources and trade as fast as you can to have advantage in next fight keep hydras in for the 2nd wave good for sniping tanks and ghost divided by banes

[@busTedOaS]

@@matejmalysak8562 he didnt even have missile upgrades there, only +1

[@BingGanAVA]

I only accept the good Terran player which is Maru

[@mmsizzlak]

I'm not a simple man, I'm a dumbass, I see pictures and I just click

[@Kingofredeyes]

Reynor - "Hey Ghost/Thor has been wrecking my Infestor/Broodlord play, why don't I just keep doing the same thing over and over again I'm sure it will work." At least when Dark was using the same attack timing over and over again it was actually working lol. Just a bit silly from Reynor here.

[@tigera6]

I think Reynor try to make it a point that he can beat Maru in lategame. Serral also tried to do the same last year, but didnt work neither, so he changed his approach to beating Maru in mid-game which work pretty well in IEM.

[@ML-oe3oy]

Pros practiced strategy like 1000s times before they use it. It is not like they can do another build on the fly. Maybe he still have a few other cheesy build up his sleeves, but that doesnt work in pro levels.

[@Kingofredeyes]

@@ML-oe3oy that inflexibility got him wrecked.

[@ML-oe3oy]

@@Kingofredeyes yes, of course he should have practice more strategy beforehand. I just meant doing some on the fly will not work on this level because they need to do most of the stuff by muscle memory to keep up the apm and that need a lot of practice. We can only say Reynor doesn't practice enough

[@Kingofredeyes]

@@ML-oe3oy if we are honest Reynor hasn't spent 1000s of hours at the game only playing brood/infestor. He has used every possible combination of units and who knows how many strategies. There is no justifiable reason why he wouldn't be able to adapt or try something different. Edit: Of course thinking about what do you really do against Terrain in the late game as zerg. Thor's counter air/roach, Hellbats counter lings/bane, ghost counter ultra/infestor/viper. Terrain has perfect counters to zerg in late game so about all you can do is what Dark did to Maru, beat them early before Terrain get/s access to all those tools.

[@manopeace9175]

"Greatest defense ever" Of course its Maru.

[@cuddlecakes7153]

why is Terran versus Zerg so popular?

[@visbaluz]

Marines vs xenos is a clássic

[@tahmidt]

man vs bugs

[@Santisima_Trinidad]

Just a very dynamic matchup. Protos versus terran is significantly less dynamic, just because of the way the tools each race has interact, kinda the same as protos versus zerg. Mirror matchups are then typically very boring and slow, just because of how thin the margins are when you're headbutting the same units together.

[@cuddlecakes7153]

@@Santisima_Trinidad That makes sense, thanks

[@TheDavidLiou]

Starship troopers lol

[@JM-bl3ih]

serves you right for being a zerg named raynor

[@user-sn5ef7mu1i]

I dont think this is even a fair match up Z is so favored if the T is not played Maru it would stand zero chance Late game T is unplayable, but Maru somehow does it he's inhuman

[@diwajerebation4077]

have the fastest units in the game on top of creep & nydus, deploy a unit that can fly through a third of the map & dash short distances, still manage to always hit the only spot with 20 slow hellbats everytime, how can reynor misuse swarm hosts this poorly

[@ktc3733]

Are you saying reynor is not the boss anymore?