I did not watch, but I suspect viper simply made a mistake in not walling -- it can happen to anybody, especially in the high-octane RB wololo games. Maybe it was a difficult map to wall and he felt it wouldn't pay off, or he had a bad matchup so he had to risk doing "eco cheese" and trying to get to 3tc immediately. In the end every decision in aoe2 is a bet and they don't always pay off. I certainly don't think pride came into the picture -- it has been years since people actually went no walls as a point of pride. And viper wouldn't underestimate players who are clearly top 5. Maybe that's why your comment rubbed people the wrong way.
It's funny though, viper used to be the king of new settings because "he's got tons of experience and is so creative" but now others are better at that skill. I guess he's just ahead in consistency, correct strategy more often than others, and never bad micro. Still of course he can micro quite well but maybe lierrey and hera are a bit better at that.
Now the Ara specialists hera and lierrey are the best at new settings!
It's funny though, viper used to be the king of new settings because "he's got tons of experience and is so creative" but now others are better at that skill. I guess he's just ahead in consistency, correct strategy more often than others, and never bad micro. Still of course he can micro quite well but maybe lierrey and hera are a bit better at that.
Now the Ara specialists hera and lierrey are the best at new settings!