Who is currently the Zerg King?

NEW POLL










Note:THIS IS NOT A BALANCE DISCUSSION, please don't make it one.

Who is currently the best Zerg in the world?
This is a question that has not been asked in awhile. Lets take a look at our contenders.

The Man on the Throne: "A true king is neither husband nor father; he considers his throne and nothing else." - Pierre Corneille





Nestea

Accomplishments:
2010 Sony Ericsson Global StarCraft 2 League Open Season 2
Gainward PlayXP.com SC2 Tournament StarCraft II Tournament 2nd Place
Top 4 2011 Intel GSL Sponsorship League Season 2: Code S
+ Show Spoiler +

Since his GSL Open Season 2 win and strong GSL showings in Open Season 3 and GSL January, IMNestea/Zergbong has been generally accepted as the best Zerg player in the World. However a string of poor performances have put his grasp on the throne into question. The most significant of these defeats have been:

1. Losing in GSL March Code S Group Play
2. Losing in the first round of the TSL 3
3. Losing in the first round of the GSL World Championships

Despite his disappointing losses, Nestea has maintained his image as greatest Zerg player in the world due to his incredible success in ZvZ. Nestea was formerly undefeated in live TV matches until Dimaga beat him 2-1 in the GSL World Championships. Is Nestea still the Zerg Overmind? Or have his recent tournament failures pulled back into the pack?




Contenders: “When you strike at a king, you must kill him” - Ralph Waldo Emerson





July

Accomplishments:
2011 Intel GSL Sponsorship League Season 2: Code S

The God of War is a bit of an enigma right now. In GSL March Code S he crushed through players like Nada and MVP to secure a spot in the finals. However his quick 3-1 defeat at the hands of oGsMC and loss to MVP in the GSLWC make him a questionable pick. Is his high aggressive low econ play a viable long term style or have opponents already figured his strategies out?




Losira

Accomplishments:
2011 Intel GSL Sponsorship League Season 2: Code A
Clash of the Houses: Incredible Miracle

IMLosira aka MiniTea is perhaps the hottest Zerg player in the World right now. Coming off of a dominating run through Code A. Losira is one of the few Zergs with a good record versus protoss at 14-6 and like his teammate Nestea, Losira has a terrific record in ZvZ at 7-1. However Losira has not yet been tested against top Code S talents such as MC, MKP, and Nestea. GSL May will be his chance to show if he is a true contender for the throne.





Dimaga

Accomplishments:
yeah...link

The only man who can say he has beaten Nestea on television, Dimaga is our Ukrainian superhero. The only foreigner to defeat a Korean in the GSLWC, Dimaga also had an impressive performance in the Korea vs. The World showmatch, defeating MVP and July. Yet despite these victories, Dimaga has no Top Tournament wins to show for. Is Dimaga about to produce a top level win? Or will he sit in mediocrity in small European tournaments?





Sen

Accomplishments:
2011 GSL World Championship Asia Qualifiers
2010 FXOpen Path of Ascension Invitational
2011 IEM Season V Chinese Qualifier
2010-2011 DreamHost Root Gaming WARZONE Tournament
Man of Day[9]'s nightmares

With the Korean battlenet ID Zergking, Sen clearly has his eyes on the throne. The best player from Taiwan, Sen definitely deserves a spot amongst the World's best Zergs. However, Sen has not done very well in top foreign competition with early losses in the GSL and MLG Dallas. Sen also has a losing record in ZvT, highlighted by his recent loss to SlayerSBoxer in the TSL 3. It's tough to criticize Sen since he is also a full time university student in Taiwan and his losses have been against some of the best players in the world. We can look forward to seeing Sen at his full potential after he graduates from college this year.





IdrA

Accomplishments:
2010 Major League Gaming Pro Circuit: DC
2010 IEM Global Challenge Gamescom
IGN Proleague Season One

EGIdra aka The Gracken is the the game's most polarizing figure. Like the New York Yankees and Manchester United, you either hate him or love him, there is no middle ground. Known for his fantastic mechanics, preference for macro, and rage-filled outbursts, Idra is perhaps the most important figure for Starcraft 2 e-sports. He enters any foreign tournament as a favorite to win yet he has not achieved gold since MLG DC back in October (EG Masters Cup doesn't count guys).

I would compare him to Kobe Bryant. Kobe is an asshole, as a lifetime Lakers fan I feel comfortable saying this. But Kobe is also an alpha male and a winner. He has no time for lesser beings and those who do not give the game 100% focus. Kobe also has a temper and a history of clashes with authorities; he racks up more technicals than any other superstar.

Idra went all-in when he decided to uproot his life and go to Korea to give 100% of himself to Starcraft. Like Kobe he treats inferior players with disdain and has no time for those who don't share his focus.

But that is where the comparison ends. Kobe is a true competitor. Again and again he has willed himself to the top of the Basketball world. Idra's play has always been impressive yet his results have been lackluster. He also has a penchant to complain and pout when he views the odds to be stacked against him. Many were disappointed when it appeared that Idra gave up against TLO at MLG Dallas and against oGsMC at the Dreamhack invitational. Champions do not give up. Idra has the talent to become our Zerg King, but unless he changes his heart he will just be another Lebron James.




Wild Cards: "Wild Card Bitches! Yeeeehaww" - Charlie Kelly


Ah the wildcards. Some of them are former winners who have fallen off, such as Fruitdealer and Moon, while others have been impressive newcomers, such as Sheth and Min. While none of these players are currently a legitimate challenger to Nestea's throne, they are interesting players who may someday rise to the top.

Fruitdealer - GSL Open Season 1 Champion. Has performed poorly since.

Moon - 2nd Place IEM World Championships. But bumped out of Code A in March.

Darkforce - Badass Name. Won a ton of small European tournaments but has yet to make a splash in top tournaments.

Sheth - Super Nice guy. Like Darkforce he has yet to make a good run in top tournaments.

Check - Meh. Just meh.

Mondragon - Roaches. Has not played enough tournaments yet but his TSL 3 showing was very impressive.

SlayersMin - Great GSTL performance.

Leenock - Keep trying Leenock!

Morrow - Very good Zerg with several runner up performances in top tournaments.

Ret - Talented as hell, disappointing performances in large tournaments.

Kyrix - Has not impressed since GStars tournament.

Zenio - Has not impressed since he stopped dyeing his hair.

Moonglade - thanks schimmetje, I overlooked him.

MVPViolet - Good showing so far in Code A.

ZeNEX CoCa - Good showing so far in Code A.

SlayerS Yugioh- Code A.

TSLRevival- Code B?

ZeNEX line- Code B?

Empire.Nerchio - He is ripping through all the EU online tournaments. 1st in TLPD, oddly enough, he switched to zerg from random only two months or so ago. - 5ukkub

Personally I think Nerchio needs to play a big tournament before he gets any real consideration.








Conclusions:

For 3-4 months the undisputed best Zerg in the world was IMNestea. His consistently high performance in the toughest league, GSL Code S, and ZvZ dominance made it clear he was the best. I believe he is still the front-runner but only by a hair. Overall I voted for the empty throne and I'm glad that the polls agreed.

GSL May Code S may be our answer to this question. If Nestea finishes with a top 4 spot, he will probably retain the title. The only threat may be if July or Losira makes it to the finals or wins the entire thing. If nothing else, I'm glad that the discussion proved that Idra is by far the game's most polarizing figure. Every other comment seemed to be a post attacking or defending him and his play.




:edit: 4/30/2011
New poll for the denizens of this thread.