SC2 World Ranking, Part 5: Rags to Riches

Part 4: http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?id=359642

+ Show Spoiler [Introduction] +

Lately, I've heard lots of discussion about a StarCraft 2 World Ranking based on tournament results. Essentially, the concept is that you assign points for tournament rankings. Unfortunately, no matter how it is done, the ranking will always be subjective. One person may say that the GSL is worth as much as every other tournament combined, whereas another person may say that the GSL is worth about as much as a MLG.

How do I get around this "subjective" problem? Here's my answer: I'll let you choose the values!

That's right, I'm starting a project to create a World Ranking. The cool thing is that you get to choose how many points each victory is worth and more.

Make sure you enable Macros when you download this version:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/43612415/World Ranking.xlsm

+ Show Spoiler [How to Use] +

The first sheet is known as "Values" and it is the only spreadsheet you should edit. The left column shows the ranking of the player and the right column shows the points that the player receives from that ranking. For example, 1st 5,000 means that the winner of the tournament receives 5,000 points.

Only edit the highlighted areas!

The "Sort" button will automatically sort the lists in order of points.

The sheet known as "Rankings" has the ultimate ranking which you are looking for.

+ Show Spoiler [Regression] +

One thing that is very popular in point rankings such as this is the concept of regression. Basically, your points degrade over time, meaning that a GSL today is worth more than a GSL one year ago. I completely agree with this idea, so I've included this.

The sheet "Values" has a "Regression Factor" which you can edit. Right now, the spreadsheet only supports simple regression - exponential decay. Here's how the regression model works:

New Point Value = Original Point Value * (Regression Factor)^(# of Days since the Tournament)

The value I prefer is "0.99769217652702". If you use this value, the number of points will be halved after 300 days (so 10,000 points becomes 5,000 points), the number of points will be 25% after 600 days (so 10,000 points becomes 2,500 points), and so on.

You may choose your own value! If you do not wish to use regression (you think a GSL from one year ago is worth exactly the same as a GSL today), then simply use the value "1".

However, this is not completed yet! In fact, I need your help!

+ Show Spoiler [Checklist] +

IEM
NASL
Iron Squid
TSL
Red Bull LAN
Assembly
WCG
WCS
HomeStory
OSL
ESWC
BlizzCon
GSL Code A
Other major tournaments/one-off tournaments (such as IPL Hot Import Nights, GSL All-Stars Invitational, MLG Global Invitational, etc.)
Tournament rankings without prize pool (such as MLG 9th place)

+ Show Spoiler [My Progress] +

Part 1: I started this project on Google Spreadsheets and added the three GSL Open Seasons. NesTea topped the rankings with his GSL Open Season win.

Part 2: I added all of the GSL Code S seasons including the World Championship, Super Tournament, and Blizzard Cup. I also moved the project to Microsoft Excel, which is much much faster than Google Spreadsheets. With the addition of more GSL seasons, the GSL king (also known as Mvp) topped the rankings.

Part 3: I added IPL. I changed the spreadsheet into a macro-enabled spreadsheet and protected each sheet except "Values". The addition of IPL allowed Squirtle to break the top ten!

Part 4: I added MLG. MLG gave a lot of points to DongRaeGu and MarineKing, and they rose many places. MC, MMA, and Leenock also rose some places, while NesTea didn't gain any points.

Part 5: I added DreamHack. A high placement in DreamHack allowed Genius to overtake aLive and break into the top 10.

+ Show Spoiler [How You Can Help!] +

I need lists of tournament rankings. First, I need the name of the tournament, and the date it ended. Then, I need a list of players starting from 1st place until last place. Here's an example:

GSL Open Season 1
10/2/2010

FruitDealer
RainBOw
Ensnare
LiveForever
HongUn
InCa
Maka
TricKsteR
anypro
Check
Clide
Hyperdub
LegalMind
Nettie
San
TOP
IdrA
JookTo
justfake
Keeping
Maru
Polt
TaeJa
Tankboy
TheWinD
TLO
ZanDarke
Zenio
Aory
Artosis
Astraea
BrEEzE
Cella
Cezanne
Chipmunk
Dos
FoCuS
Genius
Gerrard
GuineaPig
Hansin
JiTaeHoon
jjonga
JSL
Junwi
LosirA
MC
miso
Myth
NesTea
New
RenieHouR
SengKun
Sopia
Spunky
SSoja
TorcH
Wind
Xian
Yong

My next goal is foreign tournaments. Do not worry about Code A yet!

Finally, here is my own ranking:

+ Show Spoiler +

1. 26,913 Mvp
2. 22,173 DongRaeGu
3. 17,938 MC
4. 16,919 MMA
5. 15,815 NesTea
6. 14,021 MarineKing
7. 9,788 Seed
8. 9,330 Polt
9. 7,623 Leenock
10. 6,821 Genius

With the addition of DreamHack, Polt gained a lot of points, while Genius gained enough to overtake aLive and break into the top 10.

My most recent addition was DreamHack and you can't overlook that epic DreamHack win of 2011. I am, of course, referring to HerO's win at DreamHack Winter 2011.

It's a classic story of hard work leading to success. Unsuccessful in Brood War, he kept pushing on. Unsuccessful in StarCraft 2 (under team oGs), he kept pushing on. The talent was there, it was apparent from his stream. He would get close, such as a 6th place MLG finish which pushed DongRaeGu to the limit. That end goal was still out of his reach.

Then DreamHack Winter came and everything fell into place. HerO looked amazing, a new rivalry was born with EGPuMa, and it was his redemption. When you give up everything to become a progamer, you need something to redeem your choice, something to prove that you weren't a complete fool.

DreamHack has a really nice environment. The way Liquid rushed the stage when HerO won, the way HerO was overcome with emotion as he faced a roaring crowd, the spectacular stage. In a way, I felt sorry for MarineKing when he won MLG Winter Arena. There was no crowd, and his win felt lacking. HerO's win felt like the complete opposite. It was fulfilling, it was glorious.

For every story of a HerO, there are countless stories of failure. Even now, as HerO struggles to win another major title and reclaim his glory, his story is uncertain. Still, I'm sure that DreamHack Winter made HerO believe that everything, all the failures, all the doubts...

[image loading]

They were all undeniably worth it.

Part 6: http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?id=360007

SC2 World Ranking, Part 5: Rags to Riches

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