Power Rank - MLG Spring Edition - Page 19

It's disappointing to think that the Oz of the present might really be the player he is ultimately destined to be. After showing some great all-around ability to make the top four of GSL November, Oz has plateaued like he wants to define the word. His good but not spectacular play has made him a Code S regular who just lacks a little something compared to the real title contenders.

GSL is the environment where Oz has played his best so far, and he's actually done even worse in foreign tournaments. Besides a 4th place finish at Winter Arena, he's been surprisingly unremarkable for a former GSL semi-finalist and someone who was considered a top five Protoss player in the world (no other top 16 finishes at foreign tournaments). Oz will still be around by Sunday, but probably not past lunch.

Since setting the Starcraft II world alight in November of 2011, Leenock has reverted back to being a talented young player who still needs to work on his game. In particular, his championship victory over NaNiwa at MLG Providence marked the last time he won an important PvZ series, and right now he's another one of those Zergs who must live in constant fear of various two-base all-ins. The upside for Leenock is that he's continued to be a tremendous ZvT player, a very good ZvZ player, and his ZvP has improved a lot when he can get to the mid-late game.

There's a certain amount of irrational faith in putting Leenock this high, considering his very middle of the road tournament production in 2012. It's because Leenock's first year as a player was marked by slow, steady growth that saw him work on his weaknesses to go from being a dangerous all-in user to an overall great player. He still has a lot of room to grow, and it's way too early to stop believing.

Inori looked pretty good last MLG Arena, where he defeated Thorzain, Losira, and Grubby, almost upsetting MC along the way. But more recently, he failed to deliver when his team needed him in the GSTL. Twice Inori was sent out against Zergs on favorable Protoss maps, and twice he returned to the bench with his tail in between his legs, begging for Symbol to avenge him. But this is MLG, and neither Inori nor the other members of the Team SCV Life will have someone else to clean up their mess. It will be up to Inori and Polt to show that TSL doesn't stand for Team Symbol's Lackeys.

Last MLG, seeded players had the privilege of picking their opponents and Polt was picked dead last, which speaks of how feared he is. MMA even choose MC, opting to play his worst matchup, rather than face Polt, a man who has given him nightmares in the past. And peoples' fear and reluctance to picking Polt was proved well-founded, as Polt eventually beat the favorite of the tournament, DRG, and went on to place 5th/6th.

But Polt is not without his faults and flaws. He failed to win against Losira in the GSTL, even when he got to pick a favorable map and then got into a favorable position on that map. And he has made it clear that he currently struggles against Zerg, citing the new Zerg buffs as the reason. Still, Polt is one of the most consistent Koreans in foreign tournaments and the bet that Polt will make it incredibly far in this tournament is just about as safe as the bet that he will produce good games with his friend and nemesis Stephano when they meet for the 200th time this MLG.

PuMa, PuMa, PuMa. What to say about PuMa? We know he's good, in fact, more than anyone else, we know just how good he is. We know his highs, but we also know his lows. So strong in foreign events, PuMa has met with nothing but futility in Korean ones. And as events like MLG and IPL have started looking more and more like the GSL, PuMa's results have dipped. With PuMa, there used to be a feeling of inevitability: the foreigners would stand aside and PuMa would take his cash. But now with this level of Korean competition... does PuMa really seem inevitable anymore? Or even a favorite? From history, we know that PuMa will probably stomp the foreigners he faces, and that should be enough for a solid finish. His talent is clear, and he has explosive potential that puts him up at this high ranking. But when he faces the cream of the Korean crop, as is certain, he can't be expected to advance much farther than that.

The foreigner hope, Stephano is clearly the one chance that a non-Korean could take the Spring Championship home. He's in the pools, he's playing just as well, if not better than ever, and as long as he doesn't sabotage himself physically, he should be in the final few competitors. There are few at MLG who can match Stephano in any match-up. His group is easy; only Polt should test him. How far can Stephano go after that? As far as he wants to go, really. The biggest challenges will doubtless be MC, who beat him at Red Bull Battlegrounds, MMA, who made him look silly the last time they played, DRG, who is DRG, and MKP, who is simply untouchable sometimes. But beyond that? It'd be a big upset to see Stephano go down.

I had SaSe higher, (way higher, actually) but as consolation for dropping him a bit, I get to do his write-up. At the Red Bull Battlegrounds, we saw every side to SaSe; the unstoppable PvT that defeated both TaeJa and ThorZaIN, the fragile PvZ that fell to Sheth, and then tenacious PvP that wasn't quite good enough against MC. Every time you see SaSe play, he's impressive. His attention to detail in the little things, his ability to create unique solutions to gameplay problems; these are the things the things that define the Swedish protoss. Sometimes if you watch without paying attention or listen to an inexperienced commentator, you'll miss the little things that it feels like only SaSe is out to perfect. Often overshadowed in results by the brute-force style of NaNiwa, it's the finesse of SaSe that's really special. I put SaSe in the group of six foreigners that I think could hold their own in Code S. The results he achieves; getting the farthest of any foreigner in the IPL4 Open Bracket, making it into the money of the MLG Winter Championship, (teammate NaNiwa did marginally better in a much easier group, and was placed three rounds father forward, go figure) and losing to the eventual champ at RB Battlegrounds, aren't as well known. But if you look at the details it's clear Quantic have a special player. The bracket advantages don't lie with SaSe yet again, but you can be sure he'll make the most of what he's given.

At the top, there's MarineKing. He does lose sometimes, against PartinG and TaeJa in the GSL, or to DRG at MLG Arena #1, or even cross-server to Bly (the last of our PR, interestingly) in the IPL TAC. But in terms of results, and in terms of how they look in achieving those results, MKP probably has the best claim to the #1 in the world spot. His six kill in the KSL finals, erasing the entire stacked Startale line-up, was an incredible feat. But without a GSL championship, we can't quite give the crown to MKP just yet. He's the favorite to take it all here. If he wins, if he takes his second straight MLG championship, then the title is his. But lose, and then the title of best in the world is up in the air again. A few of his rivals for the throne are in attendance at MLG. MKP has a target on his back. Can he hold out?

We'll see.

Alicia was once the great Protoss hope, the next big thing, and the one prophesied to bring balance to the force. Since then, he has done nothing but disappoint us and these days, his good performances, such as earning third in the MLG Arena qualifiers, are the exception rather than the norm. He also hasn't qualified for GSL in a while and now may only be the fourth best Korean Protoss on SlayerS-EG behind Puzzle, Crank, and JYP, as shown by SlayerS' player choices in the GSTL. Alicia is also not known for making huge upsets as some other people around this level, so expect him to place solidly in the middle of the pack.

DRG would be a safe choice for second in our power rankings. In the last four MLGs, DRG has placed in the top 2 in three of them. He has recently won a GSL. And he has shown he can devastate entire GSTL teams by himself, a feat that no player has yet matched. Until now.

Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, TSL was a struggling team with a huge Zerg lineup filled with players that were, for the most part, indistinguishable. But one day, rather abruptly, Symbol decided he had had enough of it, got up, separated himself from the pack, and became one of the best Zergs in the world. No one has more momentum going into this MLG as much as Symbol, as in the last few months, he’s taken 2nd place at Iron Squid, 2nd place at MLG Spring Arena II Korean qualifier, and 2nd place at MLG Spring Arena II in addition to qualifying for code S.

But more recently, Symbol achieved something even more legendary, something only DRG had achieved before him. He became a “True Ace” for his team, a player with the ability to single handedly carry his entire team on his back, regardless of how much his teammates faltered, failed, and conspired to lose the series. He is the hero that TSL needs, and if he's the one they deserve, then they must have rescued a burning bus full of orphans in their past lives. And on his way to leading TSL to GSTL glory, Symbol has taken out a total of nine players in two matches, including Moon, Oz, Byul, Alive, Losira, Nestea, and MVP, an incredible run for anyone. In fact, in just these last 3 months alone, Symbol’s record versus champions include 3-0 vs MKP, 4-1 vs Nestea, 2-2 vs MVP, 2-0 vs Jjakji, 2-2 vs MC, 2-0 vs Stephano, 4-4 vs Polt, and 4-4 vs MMA.

The only notable GSL champion Symbol has not yet butt heads with is DRG, the player with whom he now contends for the title of best Zerg in the world. This MLG will be a test for both players. We will have an opportunity to see which is stronger, DRG’s consistency or Symbol’s seemingly unstoppable momentum. And whoever comes out the other end will have a very good claim to the throne of the swarm.