There have already been several threads about laming, including this fairly recent one with a poll:
Over 100 people participated in the poll, and only 10% definitively disapprove of laming as a feature. I’ll reiterate my own opinion, which is that laming, like any other tactical or strategic aspect of the game whereby one may gain an advantage over an opponent, is fine. The beauty of it is that, while your opponent can do it, so can you. You can also prevent it by being proactive (not that it works 100% of the time, but the odds are excellent if you go into the game with that intention). By the way, some civ bonuses (like Celts) are specifically made with laming in mind, at least when it comes to sheep, so it is definitely intended to be part of the game. Now, it’s clear that there are some shenanigans afoot with how pathing currently “works,” and that should be fixed (including making boar blocking possible again), but other than that, I wouldn’t change a thing.
Regarding the HC3 Finals, most of us would have liked a closer match and some wins for Hera, but even without laming, I don’t see those games going much differently, at most a 4:1 in favor of Viper. Viper was always one step ahead, and I don’t think Hera was at his peak in terms of mindset (for example, his Incas pick on Slopes was a desperate and highly reactionary choice). Da Snek is and has been in a league of his own for years, and while some players give him a run for his money on certain elements of the game (micro, macro, mindset, civ/map strategy, preparation, consistency/endurance), he’s the full package that regularly synthesizes all of these elements into his gameplay, especially when it comes to major tournaments.