0-5 vs Hera in KOTD5 and 0-3 vs Tatoh in Masters of Arena : both a "one-map" type of tourney which are very very different than other tourneys which feature a diverse map-pool
what usually happens in such settings is the order of selection of civs can make a huge difference because its only one map and you cannot really guess what civ your opponent will pick out of their draft so you may run into an unfavorable civ matchup. Ofc you can try and wait till your opponent uses the dangerous civ and choose to use more "flexible" civs early on, but that may result in you dropping a game (first game of the day maybe), then you're forced to use your stronger civ and end up running into the civ you wanted to avoid
Something similar happened to Viper - Tatoh series. The Kotd was quite a stomp, just felt like Viper had a bad day and couldn't even shake the monstrous Hera, who really really outplayed him on a pure skill level (important to note Skill here vs mind games/strategy)
But in the 0-3 vs Tatoh :
Still don't think there's ever been a more complete player than TheViper. His dynasty maybe over. It may not be over. We will never know. But one thing I do know is that he is still a joy to watch, always providing us with the most entertaining games ever! So just be grateful for that and enjoy
what usually happens in such settings is the order of selection of civs can make a huge difference because its only one map and you cannot really guess what civ your opponent will pick out of their draft so you may run into an unfavorable civ matchup. Ofc you can try and wait till your opponent uses the dangerous civ and choose to use more "flexible" civs early on, but that may result in you dropping a game (first game of the day maybe), then you're forced to use your stronger civ and end up running into the civ you wanted to avoid
Something similar happened to Viper - Tatoh series. The Kotd was quite a stomp, just felt like Viper had a bad day and couldn't even shake the monstrous Hera, who really really outplayed him on a pure skill level (important to note Skill here vs mind games/strategy)
But in the 0-3 vs Tatoh :
- G1 Viper Ethiopions vs Tatoh Malay -> A civ matchup which probably suits Eth in late game due to Torsion Engine SO, bbc and faster firing arbs. But Viper forgot ballistics (huge mistake) and ended up losing the game even from a winning position. kudos to tatoh, not really "outplayed" TheViper per se but simply played consistent and capitalized on Viper's error
- G2 Viper Portuguese vs Tatoh Mongols -> again like i mentioned above, a civ matchup viper wanted to 100% avoid because if Mongols get to Mangudais, Portuguese are pretty toast. Now the game played out differently with Viper doing a Daut Castle, then trying to fimp monks to make something happen, but mangudais were already on the field with him losing too many vils, cannot recover and gg. That being said, even if the game played out normally, Portuguese have like a 20% chance to win Mongols in imp imo, with some sort of early imp Arb bbc play
- G3 Viper Burgundians vs Tatoh Spanish -> Viper being forced to use his "best" civ on Arena but ends up facing Conqs, probably the strongest unit vs the eco focused approach of Burgundians. I gotta give it to Tatoh, he really mind gamed (or just random guessed, we'll never know fs) and hit 2/2 for the civ matchups you'd likely want in that set.
Still don't think there's ever been a more complete player than TheViper. His dynasty maybe over. It may not be over. We will never know. But one thing I do know is that he is still a joy to watch, always providing us with the most entertaining games ever! So just be grateful for that and enjoy
