Here's the thing though, age of empires 2 has evolved throughout the years and the level has only gone up. There's no telling if the peak Viper from 2018-19 who destroyed everyone (only Liereyy came close to being #2) would be able to beat the current level of Hera and Liereyy simply because the players have improved so muchMaybe it’s being a prisoner of the moment, but seems likely Hera will end up widely viewed as the top player in aoe2 after a few more S tier tourneys are complete. He’ll never be as dominant as Viper was though. The level of competition is simply too high nowadays.
It’s also completely possible Viper retains his title of best player if he is able to be more consistent. His peak level still surpasses anyone else’s IMO.