EPTAtlare's Power Rank 4/30/2011
All Power Ranks are based on my own opinions and stats based on the recent MLG performances, TSL, NASL and some ladder performances. I haven't watched enough IPL to consider putting it in here.
There will be spoilers in this thread, don't be an idiot and call me out for spoilering if you have any intention of not being spoiled by recent results
There will be spoilers in this thread, don't be an idiot and call me out for spoilering if you have any intention of not being spoiled by recent results
Also, for those (which I see is most) who don't understand what Power Ranking actually is, it isn't the top 10 NA players of all time or whatever, or my favourites, Power Ranking is who is on fire during the week, who is slumping and who was disappointing....
You don't always see Jaedong and Flash and 1 and 2 on the Power Rankings in Korea because they aren't always on their best. Maybe you guys should consider that for a minute!
You don't always see Jaedong and Flash and 1 and 2 on the Power Rankings in Korea because they aren't always on their best. Maybe you guys should consider that for a minute!
1.NaNiwa
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/1614.jpg)
NaNiwa is definitely not grabbing #1 with ease this week however well he is doing on the tournament Starcraft 2 Scene. The Swedish powerhouse has been showing everyone how well and safe Protoss can be played as of late despite the upcoming patch changes changing the way Toss may open and the new styles of Protoss that players such as Liquid'Tyler (Double Forge openings/heavy upgrade timings) and Mill.Adelscott (Gateway heavy style) have recently being showcasing well.
So far NaNiwa has only lost one game in his NASL group (he still has to play Slush this week) with some sort of forfeit to Strelok this week. In any case he had a strong showing against KawaiiRice (2-0) in the first week of NASL.
Winning MLG Dallas, placing into the semi-finals of the TSL (where he is favourites vs Hasuobs) and playing consistently in all of his other various leagues/tournaments while showing us some safe Protoss play has won NaNiwa first spot this week.
2. Empire.Kas
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/1693.jpg)
I feel pretty bad for not putting this boss as 1st place this week in the Power Ranks despite his strong (but equal) TSL results as NaNiwa so far. Kas however does beat most players because of his run alone in the TSL, showing the community some amazing decision-making that has won him many games to this date.
Kas is known for destroying the Euro weekly/monthly tournaments, lately he has won HomerJ Ttesports Cup Grand Final and placing second after losing to oGsMC at Copenhagen Games Tournament.
Kas's flexible and quick decision making his kept his #2 this week and we all look forward to seeing some more strong Terran play from him.
3. EGiNcontroL
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/1139.jpg)
Please don't be surprised by this because too many people seem to be. Geoff has proved to us how committed and in love with Starcraft he is. After a fairly mediocre year of 2010 he has really put his head down and gotten everything done. After placing 4th at MLG Dallas this year he showed us how much of a contender he is and how strong EG is beginning to look like a strong North American Powerhouse with IdrA back in the states to practice with EGMachine inhouse. After landing his amazing job at NASL as their head commentator it may be seen as him receiving Artosis syndrome (Not having enough time to play to keep at the tip top contenders level due to casting duties) but it has proved anything but.
Geoff is currently 3-0 in his group after beating oGsEnsnare, FXOqxc and CrunCher (all 2-1) and is playing DarkForce next week (which should prove interesting).
Geoff's amazingly safe but still stylistic Protoss is a great showcase for North American Protoss play and he deserves WAY more credit than he gets.
4. PraeThorZaiN
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/1795.jpg)
This would probably be alot of peoples pick for 1 or 2 (or even 3) and I wouldn't really argue with it. ThorZain, from what we know, is a Swedish Terran player with little notable acheivements besides winning 2011 TeamSpeak TeamLiquid Open #12 EU which qualified him for the TSL3. As a complete underdog, he so far has managed to topple FruitDealer, oGsMC and TSL2 Champion Liquid'Tyler in such an interesint fashion which has brought more and more attention to him.
However, despite all of his solid play, awesome decision making, great preparation (and some pretty damn entertaining games) we never get to see ThorZain anywhere else. There isn't a trace of him that I can find in any recent weekly tournaments and he definitely doesn't participate in many if at all. ThorZain secures a decent 4th place this week for the above reasons, but could have acheived much better (probably even #1) if he participated more in weekly tournaments/LAN's which could show us more of this new crowd favourite.
5. EGIdrA
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/600.jpg)
Love him or hate him, theres either one (or both in alot of cases) choice you can go with Greg, his attitude and play-style. After a disappointing performance in MLG Dallas and an even worse TSL performance against the up and coming CrunCher it looked for a while like the Gracken was in a form slump since he had returned from Seoul to Arizona. However, to IdrA's credit, he is laddering hard and keeping a very high rank on the ladder (staying in the top 10 in the world and mostly 1 - 3 on NA Ladder) he is showing that he is far from slumping. This is also shown through his NASL stats which put him at the top of his group with his flawless record so far of 2-0 after beating Cloud and Socke.
I predict IdrA will continue to succeed and eventually rise to the top 3 of my Power Ranks in the coming weeks. He wins 5th this week because of his nice recovery despite jet lag/re-adjusting to living back in the US and his decent streaming performances.
6. FXOSheth
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/1301.jpg)
Now this should definitely drop some jaws since this pick may not be seen by most as a 6th place contestant (or even a Power Rank qualifier) but Shaun has showed alot of people lately what he is capable of.
In case you live under a rock, Sheth placed reasonably well at MLG Dallas (he is 17th) and has being streaming for a few hours a day showing us alot more about his playstyle and some nice grandmaster perspective on the game.
However, besides from his absurdly high ladder ranking he is also doing amazing at NASL, currently sporting a 3-0 record so far after handily beating Artosis and Grubby 2-0 while edging out a 2-1 win against STRainbow.
Sheth is really showing his full potential and should really get more attention. He gets 6th this week because of his solid performances across the board.
7. CoLCrunCher
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/2254.jpg)
I think alot of people expected CrunCher to be higher on the list, especially since he is getting much more popular these days as he makes his marks on the Starcraft 2 scene.
An ex-Warcraft 3 progamer, Cruncher won 2011 TeamSpeak TeamLiquid Open #10 NA qualifying him to vs EGIdrA in the first round of the TSL3. After beating IdrA in an infamous set we will all remember, CrunCher continued, besting Mondragon (a former Brood War legend) and pushed his way through the tournament bracket until NaNiwa defeated him last weekend.
Cruncher performed well at MLG Dallas and is performing mediocre at the NASL with going 1-2 with a hard match next week against the inform Korean Zerg legend Julyzerg.
CrunCher is a personality that is here to stay, he wins 7 for this week but if I was asked a week or two ago I would have placed him much higher, say 4th or so for his strong performances before he has began to slump a little. His different style of Protoss is nice and refreshing to see and he often streams so his fanbase is constantly increasing.
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/1169.jpg)
Fenix is amazing, and by amazing I mean as consistent as you could be. This longtime Brood War player has moved over well, playing steadily at all MLG's that he has attended and now the NASL where he has lead to a strong and promising lead in his group with a score of 3-0 after beating ViBE, KiwiKaKi and Grubby so far convincingly.
Fenix has lately shown us some more of his aggressive drop play and great tactics which has put him far ahead in many important games.
Fenix simply deserves 8th spot this week for doing so well at NASL, he is blowing my mind right now at how easy he makes his matchups look even when he is in a tightspot.
Fenix may stay in the same spot or jump up in the coming weeks depending on his performance, but I have faith he will be a shadow Power Ranks contender for a long time to come.
9. White-Ra
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/1148.jpg)
White-Ra is basically this weeks wildcard for me, coming in at #9 I feel like he has performed quite well lately but not amazing like we've seen some of the explosions of tournament wins he leaves in his trail when he gets on form. White-Ra so far has had the hardest 3 weeks in the NASl and yet he has still managed to hold on well with a 2-1 score after playing and beating Power rank #7 CrunCher and Sjow (the awesome Ukrainian Terran) until losing to July this week 0-2. At the moment July looks pretty invincible so I feel like despite the loss the Duckload has really continued his good run so far and has a good chance to beat the current last place in his group FXOqxc next week when they meet.
10. ROOTKiwiKaKi
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/1784.jpg)
Kiwikaki is possibly the biggest crowd favourite alongside TLO, Kiwikaki barely puts in foot in the door and snatches the #10 spot this week after placing 2nd at MLG Dallas. The creative Protoss has remained quite steady afterwards even after Blizzard nerfed the Archon Toilet (much to his dismay I would imagine). So far KiwiKaKi is 2-1 in his NASL groups after losing to Power Rank #8 FnaticFenix this week.
KiwiKaKi continues to show us more and more of why everyone loves to watch his play with his strong and entertaining tournament showings.
That just about raps up this weeks Power Rank for Sc2 done by me, Atlare! :D
If you'd like to leave some feedback/opinions, then by all means do so just remember to stay positive in this thread
. In the future I'll be using links more heavily but its kinda 5am at the moment so i'll be editing it in later if needed!
