Board Thread:Questions and Answers/@comment-118.211.8.204-20150302141811/@comment-3551173-20150927232937

I think the main difference between Yuuki and Heathcliff is foreknowledge, in the case with Heathcliff, he was aware of all possible sword skills because he arranged them and knows how each one goes it would be like knowing where sword strikes would go and isn''t dependent on reaction time. Yuuki has phenomenal reaction speed that likely exceeds Kirito's so she can react faster which gives her a natural advantage against all opponents, Kayaba would just have an advantage in SAO because he is the creator and can predict how  each sword skill goes.