Performance and strength in AoE2 are obviously the result of many different factors: Talent, practice, preparation, current form etc. There is also a degree of randomness/luck with regards to maps, draws, opponent (random brackets e.g.).
However, after watching many games of top level play, I'm increasingly getting the impression that talent is king. Talent=natural ability to play aoe2 at a top level, both due to mechanical abilities and strategical thinking/decision making etc.
This is not to say that practice, preparation and such don't matter. Of course they can decide games and even tournaments. But I feel that with a reasonable investment of time, talent just wins out.
There is quite some evidence for this: Many players have played aoe2 for years, have played countless games, yet never got close to the top. And at the very top, we've mostly seen the same couple of guys for years - there have only been few consistent newcomers, all of which arguably have very high talent (e.g. Liereyy and Hera, although ofc they aren't really "newcomers" anymore at this point).
Some individual examples:
1. Viper in DM. Viper barely plays the game mode, yet when he practices it a bit, he immediately becomes top1. Ofc RM skills translate to a degree, but DM is still its own thing. Many players practice DM a lot. Yet Viper just comes and wins.
2. Capoch. He hasn't had his best performance the last few months, but he is still playing well, in general. This is someone who hasn't played the game in literally YEARS, yet he comes back and after 1-2 years he is a top player. Whereas others grinded AoE2 for 5-10 years and never got close to that, even once.
3. Daut. Daut is, in terms of age, way beyond what most people would consider the top age for professional video gaming. Yet he has won a major tournament recently and is easily top5-10 atm. Of course he also has countless experience and practice, but I feel talent makes the difference here. He also performed well in AoE3 and RoN.
4. Jordan. A bit similar to Capoch - he quit the game for years, was completely out of the new meta. And after just 1-2 years he is a top contender again. In the meantime, others have played on a very high level for 5+ years straight, but he still wins.
5. Liereyy. He plays much less than other top players and is still easily a top3 contender.
Thoughts?
However, after watching many games of top level play, I'm increasingly getting the impression that talent is king. Talent=natural ability to play aoe2 at a top level, both due to mechanical abilities and strategical thinking/decision making etc.
This is not to say that practice, preparation and such don't matter. Of course they can decide games and even tournaments. But I feel that with a reasonable investment of time, talent just wins out.
There is quite some evidence for this: Many players have played aoe2 for years, have played countless games, yet never got close to the top. And at the very top, we've mostly seen the same couple of guys for years - there have only been few consistent newcomers, all of which arguably have very high talent (e.g. Liereyy and Hera, although ofc they aren't really "newcomers" anymore at this point).
Some individual examples:
1. Viper in DM. Viper barely plays the game mode, yet when he practices it a bit, he immediately becomes top1. Ofc RM skills translate to a degree, but DM is still its own thing. Many players practice DM a lot. Yet Viper just comes and wins.
2. Capoch. He hasn't had his best performance the last few months, but he is still playing well, in general. This is someone who hasn't played the game in literally YEARS, yet he comes back and after 1-2 years he is a top player. Whereas others grinded AoE2 for 5-10 years and never got close to that, even once.
3. Daut. Daut is, in terms of age, way beyond what most people would consider the top age for professional video gaming. Yet he has won a major tournament recently and is easily top5-10 atm. Of course he also has countless experience and practice, but I feel talent makes the difference here. He also performed well in AoE3 and RoN.
4. Jordan. A bit similar to Capoch - he quit the game for years, was completely out of the new meta. And after just 1-2 years he is a top contender again. In the meantime, others have played on a very high level for 5+ years straight, but he still wins.
5. Liereyy. He plays much less than other top players and is still easily a top3 contender.
Thoughts?