Ah, it's been too long. Two months after a Korean filled IPL4, we're back with another edition of the Power Rank. Last time we cut it off at an even twenty, because we figured an international audience wouldn't be all that interested (to put it nicely) in our droning on about Code A Koreans. As an unfortunate side effect, we missed out on talking about some of our favorite international players as well. So with this edition of the Power Rank, we're going back up to the full forty players. And yes, we're especially biased against whoever you happen to support.
The Criteria
*The Power Rank only takes players competing at MLG Spring Championship into account. The official MLG player list was used as a reference - some players may cancel or be absent from the tournament.
"Who would beat whom in a best of 101 series with their lives on the line?" That crossed our minds. So did "Who had the best tournament results in the past X months?" Those, and many other questions factored in as we attempted to figure out the contentious question: "who's better?" It was a complex process, which we're not even sure we completely understand ourselves. By reaching a compromise between more than one opinion, we've ensured that no one was pleased with the end result. A few notes:
The Power Rank does not suggest that a higher ranked player is better than a lower ranked player in a head to head. Rankings are based on a player's overall package. For example, there are many Protoss players ranked beneath Ryung who we think could beat him in a 1v1, but we think Ryung is just better on the whole.
Also, the PR is not a ranking of everyone's chances to win the tournament, though we will mention that purely as a point of interest for some players. There's a lot of bracket luck involved, as well as a considerable advantage given to players who start in the group stage. Again, the Power Rank is just our all-around answer to the question "who's better?"
Honorable mentions / barely missed the cut
SlayerS_Clide: Clide gifted SlayerS one GSTL all-kill before evaporating into thin air (the most likely theory is that he was employed as Mrs. Artosis' midwife). We have no idea how good he is now, except that he must be impressing everyone in the SlayerS house to deserve a trip to Anaheim.
In some ways, it's a little surprising that Bly is here. Known for a while as one of Europe's up and coming zerg players, his qualification for MLG Arena was a bit of a surprise regardless. But when he got to New York, the Ukrainian proved he belonged, edging BlinG and HuK, both with long attrition ZvPs on Tal'Darim. Another eye catching result came just this Wednesday night in the IPL TAC, as Bly sniped MarineKing on the way to a three kill of Prime that nearly brought Acer the victory. That's pretty impressive for a zerg who is still hardly known outside of Europe. Still, Bly sits on the edge of our rankings thanks to his generally weak ZvT and average ZvZ (European ZvZ has, however, matched up against Koreans better than any other foreigner MU). But hand Bly a ZvP, the match-up he told me he 'never loses', and it's certainly the case that he could topple some of the mid-range Korean protosses at Anaheim.
Beastyqt isn't always in attendance at European LANs, so this trip westward is a big fish out of water trip for him. But it's well deserved; the Serbian terran is one of the best players in Europe and surely one of the more underrated. In this writer's individual rankings, Beasty placed quite a few places higher, but he sits this late in the rankings because he's never been able to deliver on his promise at LANs before. Maybe something about the MLG atmosphere will make it click, but offline events have always been a point of struggle for Beasty. TvZ and TvT are where he's most comfortable. In these two match-ups, he could do some serious damage, perhaps even against some of the well-known Koreans. But TvP remains an Achilles heel, and Beasty has developed something of a reputation for BM among Europe's protoss players. Beasty could certainly go far; he has the talent. But for an event like this, he needs the mentality, and a decent amount of bracket luck would go a long way.
One of the hardest players out there to rank, like Socke, you never look good predicting where DeMusliM will end up. On one hand, look at who he's beaten. (NesTea! HerO!!) On the other, tournaments just don't seem to work out for DeMusliM in the sense of high finishes. Take IPL4, where DeMu was beaten 0-2 by MoOk, then went on to beat Zenio and CatZ 2-1 each, before losing 0-2 to Scarlett. Such is a DeMusliM tournament. Great wins against strong players, followed up almost immediately by crushing defeats against people you figured he could've beaten. Perhaps this sounds harsher than it should. I think DeMusliM is right on the edge of the 'elite player' catagory. Moreso than almost any other foreigner, DeMusliM lives and dies by the mindgames. He deploys cheese and abusive strategies with no remorse. Sometimes they work, feeding off of previous macro matches, or laying the ground for them. DeMusliM can go on killing spree when you least expect it. Sometimes the mindgames don't work, DeMu never gets that edge, or gets it turned against him, and it all goes to hell. So what will this be for DeMu? Depends on the match--ups of course. We know already that DeMu can beat the best in the world, especially in TvZ and TvT, but there are several top PvTers at Anaheim. They'll be tough.
CrazymovING is another token Korean recruited to a foreigner team to give the team more depth. He is a fan favorite, as his hit and run tactics make for extremely entertaining games. Most notably, he took Hero to the brink in the first round of Code A by making nothing but mutalisks and zerglings. Last time at MLG, we saw him take 17th-20th, but in today's stronger player pool, he'll have to really put on his moves if he wants to get high enough to show off his trademark demented displacement on stream.
With his Red Bull Battlegrounds invite, it's probably no longer accurate to refer to Illusion as 'up and coming'. The brightest talent to come out of the Americas since Sheth, (and Scarlett's up there too) Illusion hasn't actually *won* anything, but his skill has been obvious despite the result. Beating coL.GanZi in Austin was a big win, even if he couldn't manage to advance from the group. At IPL4, we ought to remember his run in killing off three Code S players before being eliminated short of the money. All of these performances have understandably given Quantic confidence in his abilities, and he'll be off at Anaheim with high hopes. At MLG, of course he'll again need to put together a heroic performance just to get anywhere near the final rounds, but then again, so will everyone else. Illusion has the motivation, the momentum, and the skill to make it happen. I have a feeling we'll be rating him even higher next time around.
After taking the moral high ground in all those US immigration debates for years, I'm starting to understand the entire "they took our jobs!" mentality. It looks like both Golden and Sleep will be in the states for the time being, and they will surely win their fair share of online cups and knock plenty of Americans out of MLG open brackets before getting beaten by better Koreans. Luckily for us Americans, we have decades of experience in bringing over talented foreigners to our side, as they are usually unable to overcome the allure of our women, money and freedom. Rotterdam and viOLet were first, maybe these two will be next.
Socke is a player who will make your predictions look bad. Being in the pools, he will certainly finish in a higher position than this number puts him at. At the winter championships, Socke went on an improbable run, thrashing PuMa, DeMusliM, CrazymovING, and TheStC before finally losing to extended series HuK. At Spring Arena, Socke beat IdrA and ThorZaIN before barely losing to DongRaeGu. With numbers like that, putting Socke so late seems a bit weird. But Socke is is never an opponent who really strikes fear into the heart of his opponents. He's the personification of 'solid'. He rarely makes dumb mistakes, doesn't rage, freak out, do random crap, or lose confidence. His PvT is super solid, and MLG has had nothing if not a lot of terrans. His PvZ looks very sure at Arena as well, and given current trends, perhaps that may prove more useful than normal. PvP then is the weak point for Socke - recent losses to Insur and Sickness in the IPL TAC attest to that. But PvP is PvP, and anything can happen there. So will Socke win or threaten to win? Probably not in the near future. But will he continue to rack up high finishes and a few upsets? Count on it.
After Heart, Choya is our #2 candidate to do surprisingly well while everyone scratches their heads. While no one thinks that Choya will go very far into the championship bracket, the mere fact that he's remained a relevant player while fulfilling the responsibilities of being FXOpen's head coach is seriously impressive. He's been a valuable sniper for FXO in the GSTL, showing a level of strategic preparation that has often made up for his mechanical mistakes. If those GSTL performances are anything to go by, Choya could definite upset some of the more famous players with well planned builds.
While his Korean teammates are busy preparing for Code S, Zenio travels to the Anaheim to take a shot at an MLG title. There is a reason that Zenio isn't at home, practicing with his counterparts; he is not yet on their level to compete in Code S. In contrast to successful Zergs such as DRG or Stephano, Zenio's play always seems to be adapted on-the-fly. If you watch a lot of Zenio games, you will find that there is a lack of consistency, a lack of pattern, and a presence of chaos. This has the potential to confuse his opponents, but you can help but wonder if Zenio this lack of a fixed, well-practiced style is what's holding him back. Food for thought, at the very least.
Impressive at MLG Spring Arena, Grubby has been busy transcending 'The Grubby Line' even as we coined the term. The WC3 legend of course has more experience and a better mentality than almost anyone else in big tournaments, and lately his gameplay has been improving constantly as well, even at a high level. One of the keys for Grubby is his skill in PvP, which saves him a lot of unnecessary mirror match-up grief. But having mastered the art of PvZ timing pushes and lategame PvT control, Grubby really has no obvious weak spots. You still have the sense that he can just be killed through brute force; that players like DRG, MKP, or viOlet can simple out-muscle Grubby, or that he can be thrown off his game by an unknown opponent like Inori did at Arena. But if the Grubby line delineated the barrier between players who could beat the best and those who couldn't, and Grubby has gotten better since, then another good run from the Dutchman may be in the cards. He's in the pools as well, which is a massive advantage.
There are two sides to Ret. On one hand we have the Ret that won the Red Bull Lan in Orlando, the Ret that beat Mvp in macro games, and the Ret many have called one of the most talented foreigners to play this game. Or he could be the Ret that disappointingly lost to the same all-in twice against Parting at the Red Bull Battlegrounds, the Ret who recently lost to Grubby 1-7, or the Ret that often times fails to meet our incredibly high expectations of him. Ret has the potential to go incredibly far in this tournament, but at the same time, there is the possibility he will once again drop out with little more than a whimper.
One thing I will say is that Ret's ZvP will be incredibly scary at this MLG. In the past few months, Ret has shown amazing ZvP, capable of hanging with the top Korean Protoss. But there are always small holes in his play that cause him to lose disappointingly. At Dreamhack Stockholm, Ret had an easy win versus Genius on Daybreak if it were not for neglecting to spine his 4th. At the Red Bull Battlegrounds, against Parting, Ret just seemed to have a lack of knowledge on how to hold a particular all-in. And although Ret played amazingly versus Squirtle and took him to the wire at the Battlegrounds, he made small, but key mistakes in the late game. If he's found the solutions to these problems, Ret should be stronger than ever.
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.
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.
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.
Lucky did quite well for himself in a bygone day and age where Protoss players didn't really know how to take their third safely, deal with muta-ling backstabbing at all, or make good decisions in base trade scenarios. Now that Protoss players have become better in general, Lucky has lost his specialty match-up and fallen back to the middle of the pack. Despite this, Lucky still retains some characteristics that help him get just a little bit further that you would expect in tournaments: he's not afraid to go all-in, and he handles base trades more intelligently than most.
Dream is a Terran player on the team MVP, a team that has come a long way from relying solely on DongRaeGu to carry them along. And Dream is the very definition of a middle tier, somewhat forgettable Code A Korean, as his best result in the GSL is Code A Round of 8. Dream's biggest and only foreigner tournament experience is MLG Winter Arena where he took a respectable 7th-8th place, beating Losira and Leenock along the way. More recently, Dream took his shot at the Code A qualifiers again where he lost to Losira in the finals. =(
Still it says something that MVP chooses to send Dream over its other players, including Genius, sC, and Finale. Maybe it says something about the team's confidence in the player in particular or the hope that he can repeat his foreigner tournament performance. Viewers who don't follow the starcraft scene as closely might just know Dream as random Korean #827, but devoted followers of the scene know him as the one and only, the unique and nightmarish Dream!
Monsteris a Zerg player on the team MVP, a team that has come a long way from relying solely on DongRaeGu to carry them along. And Monster is the very definition of middle tier, somewhat forgettable Code A Korean, as his best result in the GSL is Code A Round of 16. Monster's biggest and only foreigner tournament experience is Dreamhack Stockholm where he took a respectable 4th place, beating Nerchio and Mana along the way. More recently, Monster took his shot at the Code A qualifiers again where he qualified!
Still it says something that MVP chooses to send Monster over its other players, including Genius, sC, and Finale. Maybe it says something about the team's confidence in the player in particular or the hope that he can repeat his foreigner tournament performance. Viewers who don't follow the starcraft scene as closely might just know Monster as random Korean #418, but devoted followers of the scene know him as the one and only, the unique and ferocious Monster!
Tails is a Protoss player on the team MVP, a team that has come a long way from relying solely on DongRaeGu to carry them along. And Tails is the very definition of middle tier, somewhat forgettable Code A Korean, as his best result in the GSL is Code A Round of 16. Tails's biggest and only foreigner tournament experience is IPL4 where he took a respectable 9th-12th place, beating Parting and coL.Ganzi along the way. More recently, Tails took his shot at the Code A qualifiers again where he qualified!
Still it says something that MVP chooses to send Tails over its other players, including Genius, sC, and Finale. Maybe it says something about the team's confidence in the player in particular or the hope that he can repeat his foreigner tournament performance. Viewers who don't follow the starcraft scene as closely might just know Tails as random Korean #321, but devoted followers of the scene know him as the one and only, the unique and nimble Tails!
Ryung might have the most unique skillset of all the players competing at MLG Anaheim. His TvT is truly top class, and he could easily knock out title contenders like MKP, MMA, or Polt. Ryung's TvZ isn't quite as good as his TvT, but it will be good enough for him to play evenly against anyone short of DongRaeGu or Symbol.
Unfortunately for Ryung, all of this comes at the price of being very weak at TvP. In particular, Ryung has trouble surviving past the first ten minutes against opponents who are aggressively inclined, and several of our beloved foreigners have built up their vs. Korea confidence at his expense.
With the right brackets, Ryung could very well make it far in the tournament, and with some VERY good luck, he could even win it all... Nah, he'll probably get eliminated by Gatored in losers' round seven.
Huk's hopes in this tournament should solely depend on one thing: Can he dodge Heart? Heart's aggressive play and tendency to all-in you at any given point seems to be a Kryptonite for Huk and a source of constant frustration. In the last three MLGs, Huk met up with Heart a total of four times and lost 1-2 in all four series. For all the hearts Huk consistently makes both in-game with probe waypoints and out-of-game on his chest, it's a bit ironic that the human incarnation of Heart would be such a consistent thorn in his side.
JYP’s situation is similar to what it was when he first joined EG. He is a fairly solid player, able to take games and series off of the best. He was even called upon as Slayers’ last player in the GSTL, beating a Zerg and a Protoss, when Slayers knew the opposing team had no strong Terrans left. Which brings me to JYP’s biggest weakness, his abysmal 22% winrate in PvT. JYP is notorious for having the single worst matchup in all of top tier Starcraft 2 pro-gaming relative to his other matchups, worse than MMA's TvP, Ryung's TvP, and Mana's PvZ combined. While his PvT skills have definitely improved since his early days in TSL, they'll still be a huge hindrance to him getting far in this tournament. And who knows what will happen if he manages to match up against Ryung; perhaps neither player will be able to win and the games will drag out indefinitely.
ByuL came on my radar after he joined Fnatic and immediately took home a three kill in the KSL. An fairly unheralded member of the family Elephantidae, ByuL recently gained a lot more attention after four killing LG-IM in the GSTL While not the most exposed and notable participant, everything I've seen from ByuL suggests that he is a one of the more fearsome players in attendance at Anaheim. Comfortable with a bunch of styles, (and being a recent BW switch, his cheese is well aged) with good mechanics, I put him higher on my list. But again, it's hard for some editors to put unknown talent above known mediocrity. ByuL may not perform up to his GSTL level, he may be jetlagged, nervous, or just plain not up to the level of competition at MLG. But those are factors that we can't account for. In the short while that he's been playing SC2 full-time, ByuL has been gaining ground extremely fast, and at the point where he can take down three Code S players in a row, that's damn impressive.
"Best foreigner after Stephano" is a prestigious title these days, and at this tournament, Thorzain gets it largely because he's the last foreigner to win a tournament. Thorzain has shown he can take games off top Koreans, but at the same time he's shown he's not immune to middle tier Koreans and top foreigners, as he was knocked out of MLG Arena last month by the Protoss one-two punch combo of Inori and Socke. Combine this with his tendency to lose to Sase in many international tournaments, and we can see that it's hard to say he's clearly better than the other top-tier international players. His once touted TvP has fallen to become his worst matchup and his source of ruin in many tournaments.
Still, if anyone can solve a matchup weakness, it's Thorzain. His analytical and meticulous approach to the game inspires confidence in his ability to patch up any seemingly glaring weaknesses in his play. We saw this at the Red Bull Lan in Orlando, when he no longer wished to be just the spoon Terran and worked to incorporate consistent drops in his play, and at DH Stockholm, where he overcame his 1 - 10 record against Polt to win the championship. As long as the EG curse has not fully set in yet, expect Thorzain to excel, spooning those his path into a slow and methodical death.
Poor Ganzi. He always produces good results (Code A winner, round of 4 GSL, consistent MLG placements), but his un-flashy play combined with his unassuming personality doesn't make for many fans. He's also not particularly strong or weak at a certain matchup and doesn't have huge quirks in this play, which doesn't make for many good storylines. You can probably expect Ganzi do well again at this MLG, but will his games blow you out of the park and will he follow up his wins with outlandish ceremonies? Probably not.
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.
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.
He's back! Hopefully, we'll get a chance to interview Losira at MLG Anaheim and ask him where the hell he's been.
After two great silver-medal performances at MLG Columbus 2011 and GSL July, Losira quietly disappeared like a Starcraft documentary. He mentioned in a recent interview after regaining Code A status that he simply allowed himself to get lazy, which led to an instant drop off in form. It's been almost a year since he's been a relevant player, and it would be interesting to hear the details on how his mentality changed during that period.
In any case, Losira looks like he's about 85% of the way back to being the player we remember him as, and he's getting better fast. He stormed through Code A qualifiers, has been stomping people in online tournaments, and is LG-IM's best team league player. His 4-kill over TSL in the GSTL should count as his unofficial "I'm back!" announcement, even though it was immediately responded to with a "so what?" from TSL_Symbol as he reverse all-killed LG-IM.
Here's a fun bit of trivia from IPL4: Smix gained more new fans than aLive. Yeah, it was that kind of tournament. And yeah, I guess aLive is that kind of player (I feel like I should remind everyone that he did happen to win the entire thing).
IPL4 deserves some blame for somehow putting together a tournament format where the second place player was actually BETTER than the first place player, but at the same time aLive just had some really bad timing. Mvp had already monopolized all the fans of brutally efficient, often cheesy, play-to-win style macro Terrans, and there was really no reason for anyone to follow a similar player with three less GSL championships.
While aLive's championship run didn't affect his reputation like it would have for other players, it did affect his play in a fairly normal way: he went into the oft-seen post-championship slump. After returning to Korea he lost to Leenock in Code A, and then proceeded to get bruised and beaten in a tough Up/Down group. He also failed to contribute much to FnaticRC as their Ace in the GSTL, leaving it to Moon and Byul to rack up the wins instead.
aLive has been a consistently excellent Terran player for most of 2012, so we're confident he'll get out of his rut sometime soon – maybe even at this very tournament. Now, getting people to give a damn about his results? That's another problem altogether.
Heart owes a lot to MLG and Complexity. Before MLG, Heart was a relatively no name, with no real results to speak of. Then, Complexity took a gamble, picked him up, and gave him the opportunities to travel abroad to show his skills. It turned out that MLG was the perfect fit for him as in the three MLGs he attended, he achieved 3rd, 3rd/4th, and 5th/6th in each of them.
Heart’s tendency of all-ining more games than not may be his reason for his success. In MLG’s hectic format, players don’t have a full week to prepare for a few games as in GSL. Thus, an opponent doesn’t have time to carefully plan his build for a specific map to be safe versus all-ins and account for all possibilities. Players have to resort to more generic unpracticed builds. This is where Heart gets you. First, he throws you off with his all-ins at any point in the game, giving you the sense he is capable of any sort of play. Then, he hits you with his perfectly capable macro play, usually in game 3, when you’re on edge, trying to account for any and all plays he could possibly throw at you. By this point, most players will have succumbed to the pressures of both the gauntlet that is MLG and Heart himself. So to any players unfortunate enough to match versus Heart: Don’t underestimate him, because at MLG, you’ll be playing on his turf.
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.
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.
viOlet's story has to be among the best in Sc2. Mediocre, one-time Code S korean moves to Texas, becomes way better than he ever was in Korea. Now, he's just short of getting his next chance back in Code S, this time as a foreigner-conquering seeded player. viOlet really does have talent though; while he can sometimes do things a bit weirdly, and sometimes his map vision and multi-task aren't the best, viOlet has a killer instinct, a knack for always finding the one thing he can do to take the game. He's done well against macro-passive oriented players, timing attack oriented players, and agressive, micro-focused players. As MLG Spring Arena showed, he has no troubles with ZvZ and ZvT. At Red Bull Battlegrounds, he showed some weakness in ZvP, but his losses to Squirtle were in close, epic games. There's not much doubt now that viOlet has improved, or that he has the Stephano-like mentality that allows him to improve in less than ideal situations. The top end of this MLG won't be too different from the Arena that viOlet won, although the brackets might not align quite so well. But with the right draw, it could all happen again for viOlet.
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.
Due to Mvp winning the previous Code S championship despite the fact that he was the underdog (and played like the underdog) in pretty much every single round, former multiple-champions have been granted nearly infinite credit from the bank of esports. That's why MMA and MC are still up here at #5 and #4, despite the fact that their most recent results haven't been so hot.
In particular, MMA suffered the humiliation of being eliminated from MLG Arena II by GoOdy, something that would have warranted banishment from the Power Rank for any other Korean Terran. However, since MMA won MLG Columbus 2011, GSL October, the Blizzard Cup, IEM Kiev, and Iron Squid, he has enough past credit built up to survive maybe three or four losses to GoOdy before he defaults.
It's a more familiar situation for MC, who almost seems to enjoy putting on a facade of meekly getting eliminated from one tournament only to kick ass and enrich his coffers at another. Already this year we've seen him follow a disappointing showing at the Blizzard Cup with a championship at HomeStoryCup IV, and an early elimination from MLG Winter Arena with more gold at the IEM World Championship. If we're to believe this is cyclical, then MC should be due for a quiet MLG after taking home the championship at Red Bull Battlegrounds... but who knows what could happen?
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.
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.
Writers: NrGmonk, tree.hugger and Waxangel. Graphics: Meko Editors: Waxangel and Antoine.
Heart over aLive....I dont know man. Check SC2earnings.com again LOL
But then again its MLG and Heart is a regular attendee there, while aLive doesnt seem to be able to establish his seed for the pools there.
Nice to see ByuL rated fairly well, yes I expect some of him, but whats his ID in the Open bracket anyways? Couldnt find him.
SymboL over DRG, thats the only real risky one in here, DRG has done more damage, more 2nd or 1st places and gained more experience so far, but SymboL is easily the hottest Zerg right now, without a doubt.
Agree completely with the rest of the seeds, MKP is the King of MLG.
to be honest i think it will come down to drg mkp or symol as the winner i really wanna see symbol take a championship especially since he completely CRUSHED mkp last time they faced off. also DRG V Symbol will be epic
i love those rankings. I have to agree on most of it. The only thing that bothers me is the socke and sase ranking. I mean socke 32th really? If you read the well written text for him you get a whole different feeling. And i love sase, he is so interesting to watch, but to put him on 25th with so few good results in tournaments? Besides that very good ranking imho.
Edit: demuslim could be also like 5-10 ranks higher. he is doing so well at NASL
On June 08 2012 10:27 OrbitalPlane wrote: i love those rankings. I have to agree on most of it. The only thing that bothers me is the socke and sase ranking. I mean socke 32th really? If you read the well written text for him you get a whole different feeling. And i love sase, he is so interessting to watch, but to put him on 25th with so few good results in tournaments. Besides that very good ranking imho.
thats true, wasnt Socke the foreigner to take out some known Korean (I forgot who) and steal a map off the mighty DRG?
Hoping for DRG, Leenock, Symbol Losira to kick ass here! I guess I sound like a zerg fanboy, but other players I like in this tournament (MC, Choya, Polt) feel like they have less of a chance. Not that you can ever write out MC or Polt, they love foreign money.
Poor Ganzi - so misunderstood. Just watch his streams or interviews and you guys will see what a fun and cool guy he is! Also a very respectable player. Best of luck to Ganzi and Oz. Take the top 2 spots!!
Interesting! I'm beginning to doubt Stephano, I'm not sure why but I just don't feel like he can keep up with the top, but who can really blame for not being able to keep up with people like MKP, DRG, MMA and MC? I do not agree on Bly at the bottom, I mean the guy beat MKP whos #1? that doesn't make sense to me. Nice write up though!
On June 08 2012 10:40 las91 wrote: Good lord, this top 40 is insane and then there's the huge open bracket where anyone can make a run from anywhere... should be an amazing tournament.
in the current korean meta, zerg has been in absolutely ominous form lately (just look at the GSTL - zerg floor wipes in at least 2 matchups this season from memory). My tip is DRG for this one. Going off form, my outside tip is Symbol.
I dont see how you can put Stephano ahead of Violet considering Violet is on a tear and beat him at Arena #2. Also what major tournament has Symbol won?? He reverse all-killed IM, but thats not winning a MLG or GSL. No way in hell should you have put symbol ahead of DRG. Symbol hasnt won anything yet while DRG has won everything.
IPL4 deserves some blame for somehow putting together a tournament format where the second place player was actually BETTER than the first place player
Huh? What does this even mean? I'm afraid this went over my head...
IPL4 deserves some blame for somehow putting together a tournament format where the second place player was actually BETTER than the first place player
Huh? What does this even mean? I'm afraid this went over my head...
ie they meant that squirtle had a better performance at ipl4 than alive, but lost to alive
On June 08 2012 11:17 mrRoflpwn wrote: Mc and Grubby! As for the best player in the world... MVP fosho!
Im curious to see how well MVP can do in this type of Tourney. Given time to prepare (GSL) he is obviously amazing, but idk how well he can do.
He's won an MLG before, but that was when his wrists were not exploding.
his wrists has been bad for a long time. and he won MLG Anaheim with ease and got top 4 coming from the open bracket at providence. Not to forget he won Blizzcon and WCG (MKP was also apart of) all of which are weekend tournaments.
IPL4 deserves some blame for somehow putting together a tournament format where the second place player was actually BETTER than the first place player
Huh? What does this even mean? I'm afraid this went over my head...
ie they meant that squirtle had a better performance at ipl4 than alive, but lost to alive
Well, Squirtle had a better run, but aLive was the best player at the tournament because he won the tournament. That's the same with all tournaments I feel. aLive beat Squirtle convincingly 5-3 in the finals, so I think the writeup is a bit too harsh on aLive by suggesting the guy he beat in the finals was nevertheless still better than him. Squirtle had a more impressive run, but aLive was #1 at IPL 4. Just my thoughts
On June 08 2012 10:14 Hall0wed wrote: Top 3 will be Symbol, DRG, Losira.
Symbol and DRG I can see, however I'm still not sure if LosirA has it in him to place in a top 3 of this MLG, despite 4-killing TSL. Although he played very well, he still shows that he can fall to great players like Polt (Yes, he beat Polt, but that was more to Polt not just lifting his command centers and losing 3 orbitals to ~30 lings).
My personal prediction for Top 3 is Symbol, DRG, and MC.
Dream is a Terran player on the team MVP, a team that has come a long way from relying solely on DongRaeGu to carry them along. And Dream is the very definition of a middle tier, somewhat forgettable Code A Korean, as his best result in the GSL is Code A Round of 8. Dream's biggest and only foreigner tournament experience is MLG Winter Arena where he took a respectable 7th-8th place, beating Losira and Leenock along the way. More recently, Dream took his shot at the Code A qualifiers again where he lost to Losira in the finals. =(
Still it says something that MVP chooses to send Dream over its other players, including Genius, sC, and Finale. Maybe it says something about the team's confidence in the player in particular or the hope that he can repeat his foreigner tournament performance. Viewers who don't follow the starcraft scene as closely might just know Dream as random Korean #827, but devoted followers of the scene know him as the one and only, the unique and nightmarish Dream!
Monsteris a Zerg player on the team MVP, a team that has come a long way from relying solely on DongRaeGu to carry them along. And Monster is the very definition of middle tier, somewhat forgettable Code A Korean, as his best result in the GSL is Code A Round of 16. Monster's biggest and only foreigner tournament experience is Dreamhack Stockholm where he took a respectable 4th place, beating Nerchio and Mana along the way. More recently, Monster took his shot at the Code A qualifiers again where he qualified!
Still it says something that MVP chooses to send Monster over its other players, including Genius, sC, and Finale. Maybe it says something about the team's confidence in the player in particular or the hope that he can repeat his foreigner tournament performance. Viewers who don't follow the starcraft scene as closely might just know Monster as random Korean #418, but devoted followers of the scene know him as the one and only, the unique and ferocious Monster!
Tails is a Protoss player on the team MVP, a team that has come a long way from relying solely on DongRaeGu to carry them along. And Tails is the very definition of middle tier, somewhat forgettable Code A Korean, as his best result in the GSL is Code A Round of 16. Tails's biggest and only foreigner tournament experience is IPL4 where he took a respectable 9th-12th place, beating Parting and Ganzi along the way. More recently, Tails took his shot at the Code A qualifiers again where he qualified!
Still it says something that MVP chooses to send Tails over its other players, including Genius, sC, and Finale. Maybe it says something about the team's confidence in the player in particular or the hope that he can repeat his foreigner tournament performance. Viewers who don't follow the starcraft scene as closely might just know Tails as random Korean #321, but devoted followers of the scene know him as the one and only, the unique and nimble Tails!
On June 08 2012 11:17 mrRoflpwn wrote: Mc and Grubby! As for the best player in the world... MVP fosho!
Im curious to see how well MVP can do in this type of Tourney. Given time to prepare (GSL) he is obviously amazing, but idk how well he can do.
He's won an MLG before, but that was when his wrists were not exploding.
his wrists has been bad for a long time. and he won MLG Anaheim with ease and got top 4 coming from the open bracket at providence. Not to forget he won Blizzcon and WCG (MKP was also apart of) all of which are weekend tournaments.
On June 08 2012 11:17 mrRoflpwn wrote: Mc and Grubby! As for the best player in the world... MVP fosho!
Im curious to see how well MVP can do in this type of Tourney. Given time to prepare (GSL) he is obviously amazing, but idk how well he can do.
He's won an MLG before, but that was when his wrists were not exploding.
his wrists has been bad for a long time. and he won MLG Anaheim with ease and got top 4 coming from the open bracket at providence. Not to forget he won Blizzcon and WCG (MKP was also apart of) all of which are weekend tournaments.
On June 08 2012 11:17 mrRoflpwn wrote: Mc and Grubby! As for the best player in the world... MVP fosho!
Im curious to see how well MVP can do in this type of Tourney. Given time to prepare (GSL) he is obviously amazing, but idk how well he can do.
He's won an MLG before, but that was when his wrists were not exploding.
his wrists has been bad for a long time. and he won MLG Anaheim with ease and got top 4 coming from the open bracket at providence. Not to forget he won Blizzcon and WCG (MKP was also apart of) all of which are weekend tournaments.
mvp was seeded at providence
MVP played through the open bracket at providence: Proof!
Great Write up. Now I really want to seea JYP - Ryung match. Plus, this line is priceless "Losira quietly disappeared like a Starcraft documentary". If we saw a mostly Zergs in the top ten, I wouldn't be too surprised.
On June 08 2012 11:17 mrRoflpwn wrote: Mc and Grubby! As for the best player in the world... MVP fosho!
Im curious to see how well MVP can do in this type of Tourney. Given time to prepare (GSL) he is obviously amazing, but idk how well he can do.
He's won an MLG before, but that was when his wrists were not exploding.
his wrists has been bad for a long time. and he won MLG Anaheim with ease and got top 4 coming from the open bracket at providence. Not to forget he won Blizzcon and WCG (MKP was also apart of) all of which are weekend tournaments.
IPL4 deserves some blame for somehow putting together a tournament format where the second place player was actually BETTER than the first place player
Huh? What does this even mean? I'm afraid this went over my head...
ie they meant that squirtle had a better performance at ipl4 than alive, but lost to alive
Which is hard to agree with considering the first BO5 went 5 games and then Alive swept him, it's not like Squirtle went 3-0 and then 2-3. Alive won Five out of seven games against him, that's good enough for me.
Socke 32? Really? He constantly performs well and you got players like Ret,Huk above him? He is simply the most underrated player in the scene. Watch him and Inori this MLG they will do alot better then people expect
Seriously, why do people call DRG or MKP the best/potential best player in the world when MVP is still around? The two of them are no more dominant now then he was at his height last year - they're less dominant if anything - and he is still winning championships. MVP has consistently crushed MKP on the biggest stage in GSL (going 8-2 in finals games), and to my recollection, he's positive against DRG in meaningful series/games as well. (Don't quote me there) Starcraft II isn't in its infancy anymore and people need to start looking at the big picture, rather than the last two-three wins when determining the top player rankings. (Obviously, MVP isn't attending this MLG, and I'm speaking to the comments about MKP being the best player in the world; as well as the guy who called him a bonjwa) (lol)
Lets compare MVP's major accomplishments to MKP's. MVP: Seven major championships, including a record four GSL's. MKP: Two major championships, including zero GSL's, and a 2-8 record against MVP in GSL finals. (Relevant to point out because we're comparing the two of them)
How many times have we seen an elite player drop off for months at a time - or all together - after tearing up a tournament or two? MVP has been winning tournaments for a year and a half now, and what are his low points? Once or twice (tops) falling to code A? Playing through injury, and mostly against protoss - his worst matchup - he still took down the most recent GSL. People need to stop calling MKP the best player in the world based on his two tourney wins, and consistent play alone. He might be nearly as consistent as MVP over starcraft two, but for the longest time he was known as the guy who was a guarantee to choke in the finals. MVP has never had any sort of negative stigma associated with his name aside from morons calling him out for not macroing in 100% of the games he plays. During MVP's aleged 'slump' towards the later part of 2011, he still came second at a GSL, and got to the round of 4 the next time around.
This isn't an MVP fan party, it's simply reality. He has won more tournaments, made more money, and has been more consistent than anyone else in starcraft two, period. It's not debatable.
Also, going back to my point about him throwing in cheeses and all-ins nowadays: Remember last year when he was known as the hands down best macro player in the world? Yeah, it's still the same guy.
On June 08 2012 12:52 pariahGT wrote: Seriously, why do people call DRG or MKP the best/potential best player in the world when MVP is still around? The two of them are no more dominant now then he was at his height last year - they're less dominant if anything - and he is still winning championships. MVP has consistently crushed MKP on the biggest stage in GSL (going 8-2 in finals games), and to my recollection, he's positive against DRG in meaningful series/games as well. (Don't quote me there) Starcraft II isn't in its infancy anymore and people need to start looking at the big picture, rather than the last two-three wins when determining the top player rankings. (Obviously, MVP isn't attending this MLG, and I'm speaking to the comments about MKP being the best player in the world; as well as the guy who called him a bonjwa) (lol)
Lets compare MVP's major accomplishments to MKP's. MVP: Seven major championships, including a record four GSL's. MKP: Two major championships, including zero GSL's, and a 2-8 record against MVP in GSL finals. (Relevant to point out because we're comparing the two of them)
How many times have we seen an elite player drop off for months at a time - or all together - after tearing up a tournament or two? MVP has been winning tournaments for a year and a half now, and what are his low points? Once or twice (tops) falling to code A? Playing through injury, and mostly against protoss - his worst matchup - he still took down the most recent GSL. People need to stop calling MKP the best player in the world based on his two tourney wins, and consistent play alone. He might be nearly as consistent as MVP over starcraft two, but for the longest time he was known as the guy who was a guarantee to choke in the finals. MVP has never had any sort of negative stigma associated with his name aside from morons calling him out for not macroing in 100% of the games he plays. During MVP's aleged 'slump' towards the later part of 2011, he still came second at a GSL, and got to the round of 4 the next time around.
This isn't an MVP fan party, it's simply reality. He has won more tournaments, made more money, and has been more consistent than anyone else in starcraft two, period. It's not debatable.
Also, going back to my point about him throwing in cheeses and all-ins nowadays: Remember last year when he was known as the hands down best macro player in the world? Yeah, it's still the same guy.
PR is all about who is the best player atm, and not about past acomplishments, or else savior and oov would be on BW ppower rank.
While Ii agree MVP is much more consistent than MKP, I don't think he is the indisputedbest player on the world. I stilll would bet on him on a Bo7 due to his mind games and such, but not on a Bo101 because I think MKP is just a better plaayer overall.
On June 08 2012 12:52 pariahGT wrote: Seriously, why do people call DRG or MKP the best/potential best player in the world when MVP is still around? The two of them are no more dominant now then he was at his height last year - they're less dominant if anything - and he is still winning championships. MVP has consistently crushed MKP on the biggest stage in GSL (going 8-2 in finals games), and to my recollection, he's positive against DRG in meaningful series/games as well. (Don't quote me there) Starcraft II isn't in its infancy anymore and people need to start looking at the big picture, rather than the last two-three wins when determining the top player rankings. (Obviously, MVP isn't attending this MLG, and I'm speaking to the comments about MKP being the best player in the world; as well as the guy who called him a bonjwa) (lol)
Lets compare MVP's major accomplishments to MKP's. MVP: Seven major championships, including a record four GSL's. MKP: Two major championships, including zero GSL's, and a 2-8 record against MVP in GSL finals. (Relevant to point out because we're comparing the two of them)
How many times have we seen an elite player drop off for months at a time - or all together - after tearing up a tournament or two? MVP has been winning tournaments for a year and a half now, and what are his low points? Once or twice (tops) falling to code A? Playing through injury, and mostly against protoss - his worst matchup - he still took down the most recent GSL. People need to stop calling MKP the best player in the world based on his two tourney wins, and consistent play alone. He might be nearly as consistent as MVP over starcraft two, but for the longest time he was known as the guy who was a guarantee to choke in the finals. MVP has never had any sort of negative stigma associated with his name aside from morons calling him out for not macroing in 100% of the games he plays. During MVP's aleged 'slump' towards the later part of 2011, he still came second at a GSL, and got to the round of 4 the next time around.
This isn't an MVP fan party, it's simply reality. He has won more tournaments, made more money, and has been more consistent than anyone else in starcraft two, period. It's not debatable.
Also, going back to my point about him throwing in cheeses and all-ins nowadays: Remember last year when he was known as the hands down best macro player in the world? Yeah, it's still the same guy.
I agree with you to an extent. Obviously MVP has a much more distinguished record, BUT I believe recent form (Results in 2012) would favour MKP somewhat. As you said last year MVP was the best macro player in the world, well... that was last year when he didn't have an injury. Would MVP have far more distinctive results had he not been overcome with injury? Possibly. We'll have to wait till he recovers won't we? But as it is, I believe MKP in their current state, is a far better player.
On June 08 2012 13:30 ChrysaliS_ wrote: Incredibly foreigner-biased as usual, don't blame the writers though, like they said no one wants to go on reading about Code A Koreans.
not really. I see only Stephano in Top 10, where is it Foreigner biased? Imo a few Foreigners are even ranked slightly lower than I would put them.
Nice write up, it was fun to read, especially the comment on Sheth. Overall I'd agree with the rankings, I'm personally hoping to see either a foreigner, Violet, or MKP take it, but there are so many other good players that I'm a fan of, so hopefully there will be great games this weekend.
On June 08 2012 12:52 pariahGT wrote: Seriously, why do people call DRG or MKP the best/potential best player in the world when MVP is still around? The two of them are no more dominant now then he was at his height last year - they're less dominant if anything - and he is still winning championships. MVP has consistently crushed MKP on the biggest stage in GSL (going 8-2 in finals games), and to my recollection, he's positive against DRG in meaningful series/games as well. (Don't quote me there) Starcraft II isn't in its infancy anymore and people need to start looking at the big picture, rather than the last two-three wins when determining the top player rankings. (Obviously, MVP isn't attending this MLG, and I'm speaking to the comments about MKP being the best player in the world; as well as the guy who called him a bonjwa) (lol)
Lets compare MVP's major accomplishments to MKP's. MVP: Seven major championships, including a record four GSL's. MKP: Two major championships, including zero GSL's, and a 2-8 record against MVP in GSL finals. (Relevant to point out because we're comparing the two of them)
How many times have we seen an elite player drop off for months at a time - or all together - after tearing up a tournament or two? MVP has been winning tournaments for a year and a half now, and what are his low points? Once or twice (tops) falling to code A? Playing through injury, and mostly against protoss - his worst matchup - he still took down the most recent GSL. People need to stop calling MKP the best player in the world based on his two tourney wins, and consistent play alone. He might be nearly as consistent as MVP over starcraft two, but for the longest time he was known as the guy who was a guarantee to choke in the finals. MVP has never had any sort of negative stigma associated with his name aside from morons calling him out for not macroing in 100% of the games he plays. During MVP's aleged 'slump' towards the later part of 2011, he still came second at a GSL, and got to the round of 4 the next time around.
This isn't an MVP fan party, it's simply reality. He has won more tournaments, made more money, and has been more consistent than anyone else in starcraft two, period. It's not debatable.
Also, going back to my point about him throwing in cheeses and all-ins nowadays: Remember last year when he was known as the hands down best macro player in the world? Yeah, it's still the same guy.
I agree with you to an extent. Obviously MVP has a much more distinguished record, BUT I believe recent form (Results in 2012) would favour MKP somewhat. As you said last year MVP was the best macro player in the world, well... that was last year when he didn't have an injury. Would MVP have far more distinctive results had he not been overcome with injury? Possibly. We'll have to wait till he recovers won't we? But as it is, I believe MKP in their current state, is a far better player.
if he was a far better player he would have won the gsl
Interesting that IdrA doesn't even get an honorable mention while HuK is at #19. Most of HuK's tournament success is due to lucky PvP brackets...if he can't hang in code A he definitely doesn't deserve to be above some of those other players.
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.
</p> </div> </div>Writers: NrGmonk, tree.hugger and Waxangel. Graphics: Meko Editors: Waxangel and Antoine.
Even DRG didn't pull off that reverse all-kill lol I do have to say, as much as Symbol really worked hard and made a name for himself, Coach Lee is amazing too. People can hate him or love him for the rumors that go around about him, but one things for sure; he really knows how to train and make players. He told fellow teamliquid TSL fan Dragonborn to watch out for Symbol 6 months ago, and now here he is. I think Symbol can easily take this MLG home for sure I personally think Polt is still the best when it comes to a terran player standing a chance against the swarm though. He's not the only one pointing at the buff towards the ever increasing uphill battle for Terran players. He also has a knack for keeping the team together. After seeing how hard the players worked, TSL definitely deserves to be on the top. + Show Spoiler +
As a zerg fan, I pray that I see no more Ultralisks! Its painful to see DRG and Stephano throw away games over Ultras. Whatever happened to baneling drops?!
On June 08 2012 12:52 pariahGT wrote: Seriously, why do people call DRG or MKP the best/potential best player in the world when MVP is still around? The two of them are no more dominant now then he was at his height last year - they're less dominant if anything - and he is still winning championships. MVP has consistently crushed MKP on the biggest stage in GSL (going 8-2 in finals games), and to my recollection, he's positive against DRG in meaningful series/games as well. (Don't quote me there) Starcraft II isn't in its infancy anymore and people need to start looking at the big picture, rather than the last two-three wins when determining the top player rankings. (Obviously, MVP isn't attending this MLG, and I'm speaking to the comments about MKP being the best player in the world; as well as the guy who called him a bonjwa) (lol)
Lets compare MVP's major accomplishments to MKP's. MVP: Seven major championships, including a record four GSL's. MKP: Two major championships, including zero GSL's, and a 2-8 record against MVP in GSL finals. (Relevant to point out because we're comparing the two of them)
How many times have we seen an elite player drop off for months at a time - or all together - after tearing up a tournament or two? MVP has been winning tournaments for a year and a half now, and what are his low points? Once or twice (tops) falling to code A? Playing through injury, and mostly against protoss - his worst matchup - he still took down the most recent GSL. People need to stop calling MKP the best player in the world based on his two tourney wins, and consistent play alone. He might be nearly as consistent as MVP over starcraft two, but for the longest time he was known as the guy who was a guarantee to choke in the finals. MVP has never had any sort of negative stigma associated with his name aside from morons calling him out for not macroing in 100% of the games he plays. During MVP's aleged 'slump' towards the later part of 2011, he still came second at a GSL, and got to the round of 4 the next time around.
This isn't an MVP fan party, it's simply reality. He has won more tournaments, made more money, and has been more consistent than anyone else in starcraft two, period. It's not debatable.
Also, going back to my point about him throwing in cheeses and all-ins nowadays: Remember last year when he was known as the hands down best macro player in the world? Yeah, it's still the same guy.
I agree with you to an extent. Obviously MVP has a much more distinguished record, BUT I believe recent form (Results in 2012) would favour MKP somewhat. As you said last year MVP was the best macro player in the world, well... that was last year when he didn't have an injury. Would MVP have far more distinctive results had he not been overcome with injury? Possibly. We'll have to wait till he recovers won't we? But as it is, I believe MKP in their current state, is a far better player.
if he was a far better player he would have won the gsl
at his current condition, I can't see MVP winning any tournament other than the GSL
I was surprised at how well foreigners did at RB and IEM actually. I want to say that a foreigner will win, but this is looking a liiiiittle too stacked.
On June 08 2012 12:52 pariahGT wrote: Seriously, why do people call DRG or MKP the best/potential best player in the world when MVP is still around? The two of them are no more dominant now then he was at his height last year - they're less dominant if anything - and he is still winning championships. MVP has consistently crushed MKP on the biggest stage in GSL (going 8-2 in finals games), and to my recollection, he's positive against DRG in meaningful series/games as well. (Don't quote me there) Starcraft II isn't in its infancy anymore and people need to start looking at the big picture, rather than the last two-three wins when determining the top player rankings. (Obviously, MVP isn't attending this MLG, and I'm speaking to the comments about MKP being the best player in the world; as well as the guy who called him a bonjwa) (lol)
Lets compare MVP's major accomplishments to MKP's. MVP: Seven major championships, including a record four GSL's. MKP: Two major championships, including zero GSL's, and a 2-8 record against MVP in GSL finals. (Relevant to point out because we're comparing the two of them)
How many times have we seen an elite player drop off for months at a time - or all together - after tearing up a tournament or two? MVP has been winning tournaments for a year and a half now, and what are his low points? Once or twice (tops) falling to code A? Playing through injury, and mostly against protoss - his worst matchup - he still took down the most recent GSL. People need to stop calling MKP the best player in the world based on his two tourney wins, and consistent play alone. He might be nearly as consistent as MVP over starcraft two, but for the longest time he was known as the guy who was a guarantee to choke in the finals. MVP has never had any sort of negative stigma associated with his name aside from morons calling him out for not macroing in 100% of the games he plays. During MVP's aleged 'slump' towards the later part of 2011, he still came second at a GSL, and got to the round of 4 the next time around.
This isn't an MVP fan party, it's simply reality. He has won more tournaments, made more money, and has been more consistent than anyone else in starcraft two, period. It's not debatable.
Also, going back to my point about him throwing in cheeses and all-ins nowadays: Remember last year when he was known as the hands down best macro player in the world? Yeah, it's still the same guy.
I agree with you to an extent. Obviously MVP has a much more distinguished record, BUT I believe recent form (Results in 2012) would favour MKP somewhat. As you said last year MVP was the best macro player in the world, well... that was last year when he didn't have an injury. Would MVP have far more distinctive results had he not been overcome with injury? Possibly. We'll have to wait till he recovers won't we? But as it is, I believe MKP in their current state, is a far better player.
if he was a far better player he would have won the gsl
at his current condition, I can't see MVP winning any tournament other than the GSL
also, GO ON DRGGGGGGGGGGGG
I agree with you, but still if MKP was far better than the guy who just won the last GSL then he would have won it instead.
I'm attending, I live in Anaheim, and if MARINEKING wins I'm going to flip the fuck out. I will definitely be happy as hell if a non-Korean wins (especially iNcontroL), but MKP all the way! I'm really looking forward to chanting M-K-P! M-K-P! M-K-P! M-K-P! M-K-P!
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.
</p> </div> </div>Writers: NrGmonk, tree.hugger and Waxangel. Graphics: Meko Editors: Waxangel and Antoine.
Even DRG didn't pull off that reverse all-kill lol I do have to say, as much as Symbol really worked hard and made a name for himself, Coach Lee is amazing too. People can hate him or love him for the rumors that go around about him, but one things for sure; he really knows how to train and make players. He told fellow teamliquid TSL fan Dragonborn to watch out for Symbol 6 months ago, and now here he is. I think Symbol can easily take this MLG home for sure I personally think Polt is still the best when it comes to a terran player standing a chance against the swarm though. He's not the only one pointing at the buff towards the ever increasing uphill battle for Terran players. He also has a knack for keeping the team together. After seeing how hard the players worked, TSL definitely deserves to be on the top. + Show Spoiler +
no bias at all
Just checked your Twitter.
Wow, you are actually a girl.
Cheers for Coach Lee, he keeps pulling out new Talents that become Top players
On June 08 2012 12:52 pariahGT wrote: Seriously, why do people call DRG or MKP the best/potential best player in the world when MVP is still around? The two of them are no more dominant now then he was at his height last year - they're less dominant if anything - and he is still winning championships. MVP has consistently crushed MKP on the biggest stage in GSL (going 8-2 in finals games), and to my recollection, he's positive against DRG in meaningful series/games as well. (Don't quote me there) Starcraft II isn't in its infancy anymore and people need to start looking at the big picture, rather than the last two-three wins when determining the top player rankings. (Obviously, MVP isn't attending this MLG, and I'm speaking to the comments about MKP being the best player in the world; as well as the guy who called him a bonjwa) (lol)
Lets compare MVP's major accomplishments to MKP's. MVP: Seven major championships, including a record four GSL's. MKP: Two major championships, including zero GSL's, and a 2-8 record against MVP in GSL finals. (Relevant to point out because we're comparing the two of them)
How many times have we seen an elite player drop off for months at a time - or all together - after tearing up a tournament or two? MVP has been winning tournaments for a year and a half now, and what are his low points? Once or twice (tops) falling to code A? Playing through injury, and mostly against protoss - his worst matchup - he still took down the most recent GSL. People need to stop calling MKP the best player in the world based on his two tourney wins, and consistent play alone. He might be nearly as consistent as MVP over starcraft two, but for the longest time he was known as the guy who was a guarantee to choke in the finals. MVP has never had any sort of negative stigma associated with his name aside from morons calling him out for not macroing in 100% of the games he plays. During MVP's aleged 'slump' towards the later part of 2011, he still came second at a GSL, and got to the round of 4 the next time around.
This isn't an MVP fan party, it's simply reality. He has won more tournaments, made more money, and has been more consistent than anyone else in starcraft two, period. It's not debatable.
Also, going back to my point about him throwing in cheeses and all-ins nowadays: Remember last year when he was known as the hands down best macro player in the world? Yeah, it's still the same guy.
I agree with you to an extent. Obviously MVP has a much more distinguished record, BUT I believe recent form (Results in 2012) would favour MKP somewhat. As you said last year MVP was the best macro player in the world, well... that was last year when he didn't have an injury. Would MVP have far more distinctive results had he not been overcome with injury? Possibly. We'll have to wait till he recovers won't we? But as it is, I believe MKP in their current state, is a far better player.
if he was a far better player he would have won the gsl
at his current condition, I can't see MVP winning any tournament other than the GSL
also, GO ON DRGGGGGGGGGGGG
Other than the most prestigious tournament in the world? What is that based off of anyways? He rarely travels abroad to play in tournaments, when he does, he wins like 50% of the time. People seem to be forgetting that he has had these wrist issues for ages now. They were common knowledge back when he won MLG Anaheim last year; which was like 11 months ago. Also, the games we've seen from him recently have all been TVPs. Granted, he's won those series, but he has ALWAYS looked like a much more dominant player in the other two matchups.
On June 08 2012 13:59 striderxxx wrote: MMA is waaay overated, he is no where near his peak any more.
Neither was Mvp, or MC. The writer's point is that these people who manage to win several huge championships don't really just fall off.
In addition, the guy just won the Iron Squid like a month ago...I mean, does losing two games to Goody REALLY affect people's perception of MMA that much? Alright, he also went 1-3 in his Up/Downs, but come on, the sample size is way too small to start calling MMA 'way overrated.'
Gogo LosirA ! Kick ass this MLG Hoping to see a good Ret aswell, but like the OP says we never know wich Ret we get And poor Grubby in an insane group, hope you will suprise us bro and kick ass in it.
I was surprised at how well foreigners did at RB and IEM actually. I want to say that a foreigner will win, but this is looking a liiiiittle too stacked.
fuckin lol'd. Symbol back to back carrying his team.
On June 08 2012 11:17 mrRoflpwn wrote: Mc and Grubby! As for the best player in the world... MVP fosho!
Im curious to see how well MVP can do in this type of Tourney. Given time to prepare (GSL) he is obviously amazing, but idk how well he can do.
He's won an MLG before, but that was when his wrists were not exploding.
his wrists has been bad for a long time. and he won MLG Anaheim with ease and got top 4 coming from the open bracket at providence. Not to forget he won Blizzcon and WCG (MKP was also apart of) all of which are weekend tournaments.
On June 08 2012 11:17 mrRoflpwn wrote: Mc and Grubby! As for the best player in the world... MVP fosho!
Im curious to see how well MVP can do in this type of Tourney. Given time to prepare (GSL) he is obviously amazing, but idk how well he can do.
He's won an MLG before, but that was when his wrists were not exploding.
his wrists has been bad for a long time. and he won MLG Anaheim with ease and got top 4 coming from the open bracket at providence. Not to forget he won Blizzcon and WCG (MKP was also apart of) all of which are weekend tournaments.
On June 08 2012 11:17 mrRoflpwn wrote: Mc and Grubby! As for the best player in the world... MVP fosho!
Im curious to see how well MVP can do in this type of Tourney. Given time to prepare (GSL) he is obviously amazing, but idk how well he can do.
He's won an MLG before, but that was when his wrists were not exploding.
his wrists has been bad for a long time. and he won MLG Anaheim with ease and got top 4 coming from the open bracket at providence. Not to forget he won Blizzcon and WCG (MKP was also apart of) all of which are weekend tournaments.
On June 08 2012 15:30 amiGo_O wrote: Liquid, Y U NO believe in Grubby?
Well he is in the "group of death" imo, symbol, mkp and the "easiest win" for grubby would be dream, who is after all a korean terran, so i know where my moneys at.
man, i hope the prime terrans have been studying hard and concocting some amazing new builds. i still remember when mkp roflstomped drg at winter champs with great play
Some interesting descriptions, but what the heck were you thinking when writing about #33 Goldenlight. Shows how weak you are taking the moral low ground..
I love it, thanks so much :-D. I didn't follow the BW pro-scene much (sadly didn't realize it existed until after SC2 came out ), but I still always enjoyed reading the BW Power Ranks, and they're even more fun when they're about players I already know pretty well. This really gets me pumped to watch the games this weekend!
MKP DRG and MC up there for sure. Consistent performers and very well used to the tournament formats. Symbol on fire will be unstoppable and if MMA has tvz beast mode on, I believe that will be enough for him to use his confidence to get past his mediocre tvp and tvt
Hm not sure if I agree putting symbol above DRG in rankings considering what DRG has done past 6 months and then symbol >>. Weird not to see MVP in there either?
I don't think MVP is the best player in the world right now, to be honest. Wrist issues or no, watching MKP actually play, control, macro, micro, I simply see more to like about MarineKing's play than MVPs right now.
As far as not winning GSL...firstly, he sabotaged himself a little by picking Parting in his group over anyone weaker, to try and mend relations with Startale, but secondly, all the people who are saying this...I get the impression these people are the FIRST people who would say that winning one tournament doesn't prove your overall level. If MKP had won GSL, I don't believe for a second any of the naysayers would have become yaysayers. I think they'd have just switched to criticising MKPs past inconsistency, and started whining about "Well how long is he gonna stay there lolololololol"
MKP has mojo nobody else does right now. Even Bonjwa don't win every single match in their calendar, nobody has any right to expect that of MKP before they'll admit he's good enough to deserve #1, even if its just a grudging acceptance of others opinions. There's certainly no way anyone can say he wouldn't be able to beat MVP in any given series. We all know that predicting an MVP 4-0 is just being way overconfident in MVPs abilities, and underestimating MKP's. Those games could be played a hundred times and it'd be close every time. Very close. Too close.
And honestly, what I remember about the GSL finals was Squirtle's play. I think we all know why.
IdrA is like Anakin Skywalker. The chosen one, whose dedication and talent which saw him to CJ, albeit B-team, but then he was supposed to bring balance to the nations in Starcraft 2, not leave it in Korean hands.
I totally disagree on that MKP#1 thing. MKP lost nearly anything he attended to lately and u put him on No1 spot? I like your work in general (making articles etc on the site) but this ranking just sounds like a big fanboy post, nothing else.
Remind my words and check the post !!AFTER!! MLG is over: MKP won't win this thing (100 % sure). Mentioning this all-kill is stupid too. He already lost but was given a 2nd chance and everyone knows about it. Its no art and nobody will ever respect that win in GSTL.
I like MKP, no grudge against him. But he absolutely isnt the favorite for any tournament on the world at the moment. MVP is the better and more consitent Terran, even just won the GSL and u still put MKP above him, even though MKP is on a big downward trend... this last line i just wrote proves enough to show that that MKP#1 thing is just stupid.
Besides from that thanks for taking the time to make an article on the site in general =)
On June 08 2012 17:58 ULuMuGuLu wrote: I totally disagree on that MKP#1 thing. MKP lost nearly anything he attended to lately and u put him on No1 spot? I like your work in general (making articles etc on the site) but this ranking just sounds like a big fanboy post, nothing else.
Remind my words and check the post !!AFTER!! MLG is over: MKP won't win this thing (100 % sure). Mentioning this all-kill is stupid too. He already lost but was given a 2nd chance and everyone knows about it. Its no art and nobody will ever respect that win in GSTL.
I like MKP, no grudge against him. But he absolutely isnt the favorite for any tournament on the world at the moment. MVP is the better and more consitent Terran, even just won the GSL and u still put MKP above him, even though MKP is on a big downward trend... this last line i just wrote proves enough to show that that MKP#1 thing is just stupid.
Besides from that thanks for taking the time to make an article on the site in general =)
Even if what you said hadn't been complete bullshit, I don't think I'll be "reminding your words", since you obviously can't comprehend that this is a power rank for a tournament, and MVP isn't IN said tournament.
On June 08 2012 17:58 ULuMuGuLu wrote: I totally disagree on that MKP#1 thing. MKP lost nearly anything he attended to lately and u put him on No1 spot? I like your work in general (making articles etc on the site) but this ranking just sounds like a big fanboy post, nothing else.
Remind my words and check the post !!AFTER!! MLG is over: MKP won't win this thing (100 % sure). Mentioning this all-kill is stupid too. He already lost but was given a 2nd chance and everyone knows about it. Its no art and nobody will ever respect that win in GSTL.
I like MKP, no grudge against him. But he absolutely isnt the favorite for any tournament on the world at the moment. MVP is the better and more consitent Terran, even just won the GSL and u still put MKP above him, even though MKP is on a big downward trend... this last line i just wrote proves enough to show that that MKP#1 thing is just stupid.
Besides from that thanks for taking the time to make an article on the site in general =)
The all kill was in the KSL finals last week where he beat Bomber, Curious, Parting, Ace, Hack and Squirtle.
On June 08 2012 17:54 GuitarBizarre wrote: I don't think MVP is the best player in the world right now, to be honest. Wrist issues or no, watching MKP actually play, control, macro, micro, I simply see more to like about MarineKing's play than MVPs right now.
As far as not winning GSL...firstly, he sabotaged himself a little by picking Parting in his group over anyone weaker, to try and mend relations with Startale, but secondly, all the people who are saying this...I get the impression these people are the FIRST people who would say that winning one tournament doesn't prove your overall level. If MKP had won GSL, I don't believe for a second any of the naysayers would have become yaysayers. I think they'd have just switched to criticising MKPs past inconsistency, and started whining about "Well how long is he gonna stay there lolololololol"
MKP has mojo nobody else does right now. Even Bonjwa don't win every single match in their calendar, nobody has any right to expect that of MKP before they'll admit he's good enough to deserve #1, even if its just a grudging acceptance of others opinions. There's certainly no way anyone can say he wouldn't be able to beat MVP in any given series. We all know that predicting an MVP 4-0 is just being way overconfident in MVPs abilities, and underestimating MKP's. Those games could be played a hundred times and it'd be close every time. Very close. Too close.
And honestly, what I remember about the GSL finals was Squirtle's play. I think we all know why.
Not really.
Mvp has far superior TvT and decision making, since he plays excellent Mech.
Hes up against MKP with a more than clear record, in fact hes unbeaten against MKP in a Bo3 or Bo5
Both Mvp and aLive have far superior TvT, nobody can win a Bo5 or Bo7 against any of these Mech gods, except maybe MMA.
On June 08 2012 17:58 ULuMuGuLu wrote: I totally disagree on that MKP#1 thing. MKP lost nearly anything he attended to lately and u put him on No1 spot? I like your work in general (making articles etc on the site) but this ranking just sounds like a big fanboy post, nothing else.
Remind my words and check the post !!AFTER!! MLG is over: MKP won't win this thing (100 % sure). Mentioning this all-kill is stupid too. He already lost but was given a 2nd chance and everyone knows about it. Its no art and nobody will ever respect that win in GSTL.
I like MKP, no grudge against him. But he absolutely isnt the favorite for any tournament on the world at the moment. MVP is the better and more consitent Terran, even just won the GSL and u still put MKP above him, even though MKP is on a big downward trend... this last line i just wrote proves enough to show that that MKP#1 thing is just stupid.
Besides from that thanks for taking the time to make an article on the site in general =)
Yeah, but MKP has crazy success at MLG's. Including arenas, he won 2 mlg's in a row and then came in 2nd to DRG in the third one that he entered. He deserves to be #1.
I am shocked, and appalled, at the lack of Rotti in this power rank. The man has near perfect scouting information on most of the players (from his casting) and he has practicing quite a bit.
I'm thinking it'll be an open bracket ROOTerdam vs. MLGKingPrime in the finals.
Still, the sheer amount of SC2 packed into this one MLG weekend should be insane.
I don't think MKP is going to win. Symbol is the favourite in my book. It will be interesting to see if he can keep his momentum going because if he can, he will all kill Anaheim. Hopefully a foreigner gets atleast top 8.
"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." <--- Fantastic :D
Is it me, or does Socke get some awful luck in tourneys? He always seems to get some really hard match up, or put in a group or death right at the start.
Ok so I had to scroll through several times to see if Select was truly not in the top 40 and was not given an honorable mention, but it seems he has been forgotten. He is pretty much flat out better then the honorable mentions not to mention the fact that in the invite online qualifiers for This Tournament he pretty much had the hardest road and still won the NA qualifiers beating artist, violet (who is certainly ranked high) and mook to win the NA bracket. I'm not sure how his lack of appearance in the top 40 can be justified.
I would rate beastyqt above illusion sase and that kind of players. Hes been working hard and it seemed to have affected his game greatly. I hope that he would make good results on anaheim!
On June 08 2012 10:11 Payson wrote: Surprised IdrA didn't make the Top 40 for this list. Only 3 foreigners in the Top 20 though =/
Good write up and rank! Excited for Anaheim!
why would idra be in there?
that ranking is a bit frustrating to watch with all the koreans :/
and i also don't get why they put socke at 32. i mean he is one of the 3 foreigners that managed to qualify for the pool play and on his way he beat a lot of great players
he finished 2nd at the EU qualifiers for the Arena only barely losing to stephano 5-3 and then at the arena he beat for example Thorzain (who is seeded ahead of him) and he was at a huge advantage in game 2 vs DRG almost knocking the (arguably) best zerg on the planet out...
and yet he is #6 amongst the foreigners that are attending behind ret (who only even qualified for arena because some of the guys in the EU qualifier couldn't attend and then didn't qualify for poolplay at the championships) and behind thorzain who he beat in the arena
On June 08 2012 19:44 Kontys wrote: These sc2 power ranks are so full of bullshit. --sorry, but I don't think any of this accurately represents the players relative standings.
I'm gonna have to agree on that. Huk #19, I don't think so (more like low 30ish).
On June 08 2012 17:56 Mobius_1 wrote: IdrA is like Anakin Skywalker. The chosen one, whose dedication and talent which saw him to CJ, albeit B-team, but then he was supposed to bring balance to the nations in Starcraft 2, not leave it in Korean hands.
Haha so true, so true. How ironic is that, Zerg has never been stronger and yet Idra has never been weaker than he is now.
Outside bet for the event for me is Losira, he just is playing at a different level at the moment. Like he is really smart about how he engages battles and decision making. Like he barely lost to Symbol in a game where he was hard countered and really it came down to 1 poor attack that he had to do to make sure the game wasn't just going to end because he was far behind at macro. Id love to see him kinda beat the odds like if you look at the lineup its pretty sick.
Boring guess is it might be a DRG MKP final. With Stephano finishing top 8 but getting knocked out in a ZvZ or something. I wasn't surprised at all that none of the BW pros decided not to participate.
On June 08 2012 17:54 GuitarBizarre wrote: I don't think MVP is the best player in the world right now, to be honest. Wrist issues or no, watching MKP actually play, control, macro, micro, I simply see more to like about MarineKing's play than MVPs right now.
As far as not winning GSL...firstly, he sabotaged himself a little by picking Parting in his group over anyone weaker, to try and mend relations with Startale, but secondly, all the people who are saying this...I get the impression these people are the FIRST people who would say that winning one tournament doesn't prove your overall level. If MKP had won GSL, I don't believe for a second any of the naysayers would have become yaysayers. I think they'd have just switched to criticising MKPs past inconsistency, and started whining about "Well how long is he gonna stay there lolololololol"
MKP has mojo nobody else does right now. Even Bonjwa don't win every single match in their calendar, nobody has any right to expect that of MKP before they'll admit he's good enough to deserve #1, even if its just a grudging acceptance of others opinions. There's certainly no way anyone can say he wouldn't be able to beat MVP in any given series. We all know that predicting an MVP 4-0 is just being way overconfident in MVPs abilities, and underestimating MKP's. Those games could be played a hundred times and it'd be close every time. Very close. Too close.
And honestly, what I remember about the GSL finals was Squirtle's play. I think we all know why.
I can't agree more with you. Yes MVP has always delivered results wise, but MKP is just so much more promising when you watch him play.
You can tell there's untapped potential in him, you can tell he has huge nerve issues that prevent him to play at his best when he loses, whereas with MVP this is just as good as he's ever gonna get I feel.
MVP is the absolute master of preparation and mindgames that's for sure, but I don't think that makes him the "best" SC2 player and certainly not a bonjwa by any mean.
Great write-up. I'm cheering for a "underdog" to win. Those always make great moments to see the crowd get behind a player that hasn't had that level of success (remember Leenock?).
Why is puma so high on this list? his play is just not impressive..... I don't really understand the EG craze (Huk is great don't get me wrong) but putting a korean so high just because his team seems kinda dumb
Nicely made, although I would like to see MMA much lower in the ranks (15-30). He has been playing terribly lately. And Losira, that 4-kill doesn't justify top 20 (Byul's was much more impressive).
On June 08 2012 20:52 babybell wrote: Nicely made, although I would like to see MMA much lower in the ranks (15-30). He has been playing terribly lately. And Losira, that 4-kill doesn't justify top 20 (Byul's was much more impressive).
I dunno, I was really impressed by LosirA, he looks better than NesTea at this point.
Don't take this the wrong way or anything but I expect nothing in the results to reflect this ranking. Just like last time I simply get a gut feeling telling me "nahh....".
I understand that IdrA has been struggling, so I could see him not being in the top 40. But you're implying that desrow and Goody are better players? I like them all, but that implication is actually insane. Either the writers were forgetful about him or incredibly biased, and it's likely the latter if I recall the wording used from the last Power Ranking write-up. Anyway, no need to get up in arms about it. This doesn't really mean anything.
Hoping for some sick games this evening and weekend!
On June 08 2012 20:48 mTwTT1 wrote: idra has been training with one of the best protoss's in the world so that automaticly puts him within the top 10
That was pretty awesome to here that you both was trained together. You guys flame at each other a lot and have for a long time, but it came across much more of genuine hate rather than general dislike.
Ret, Socke, Huk are way overrated in this Power Rank. Don't get me wrong. I love ret, more than anyone :D, but as you guys said he is wayyyyyyy inconsistent to be on that list, at least in the position he is. Huk should be behind all the koreans. Don't get me wrong, he is good, he can beat any foreigner and can take games off koreans with ease. But he can't put them down. Just in rare cases. his mindset is already towards that. And Socke i can't say much.... never saw him doing much either despite beating foreigners.
I don't know why ppl keep complaining about Idra not in the rank. I love him also but what he has done recently despite beating foreigners in team leagues? Nothing much seriously. Stop complaining and accept the fact that he is already waiting for heart of the swarm (at least i think so).
And Grubby deserved a better spot after beating some koreans and placing high in most of foreigners tournaments.
Ret, Socke, Huk are way overrated in this Power Rank. Don't get me wrong. I love ret, more than anyone :D, but as you guys said he is wayyyyyyy inconsistent to be on that list, at least in the position he is. Huk should be behind all the koreans. Don't get me wrong, he is good, he can beat any foreigner and can take games off koreans with ease. But he can't put them down. Just in rare cases. his mindset is already towards that. And Socke i can't say much.... never saw him doing much either despite beating foreigners.
I don't know why ppl keep complaining about Idra not in the rank. I love him also but what he has done recently despite beating foreigners in team leagues? Nothing much seriously. Stop complaining and accept the fact that he is already waiting for heart of the swarm (at least i think so).
And Grubby deserved a better spot after beating some koreans and placing high in most of foreigners tournaments.
If read the text you would know that Socke actually also beat quite a number of Koreans and I would actually put him ahead of Grubby.
LoL @ Idra not being in top 40 power rank. He may not have the best results recently but there's a problem somewhere either way.. (probably bias because I don't think I've ever seen Idra with favorable articles on TL for him, except when he goes on a mad tournament win streak, just saying mangs).
Either way, this will be MLG Korean edition. Stephano will be the only foreigner who might make something happen.
On June 08 2012 21:07 Mr Showtime wrote: I understand that IdrA has been struggling, so I could see him not being in the top 40. But you're implying that desrow and Goody are better players? I like them all, but that implication is actually insane. Either the writers were forgetful about him or incredibly biased, and it's likely the latter if I recall the wording used from the last Power Ranking write-up. Anyway, no need to get up in arms about it. This doesn't really mean anything.
Hoping for some sick games this evening and weekend!
On June 08 2012 20:48 mTwTT1 wrote: idra has been training with one of the best protoss's in the world so that automaticly puts him within the top 10
That was pretty awesome to here that you both was trained together. You guys flame at each other a lot and have for a long time, but it came across much more of genuine hate rather than general dislike.
Love idra, great personality, but what has he done lately? Besides train with TT1 (another guy I wish the best) He's been slumping, and hasn't shown us a reason he's gotten out of it.
Desrow and Goody have a reason for the honorable mention: Desrow has been mediocre, but training in Korea. Goody's shout out is for beating mma
This is probably offtopic but since I can't find the proper MLG thread, I'm sorry, I must ask:
I don't have anykind of MLG viewing pass and probably won't watch any (especially with high price, the bad hours and the EURO 2012) but I would like to watch just the Kespa 8 matches (posibly the VODS - because of hours, again).
On June 08 2012 21:45 ForgottenOne wrote: This is probably offtopic but since I can't find the proper MLG thread, I'm sorry, I must ask:
I don't have anykind of MLG viewing pass and probably won't watch any (especially with high price, the bad hours and the EURO 2012) but I would like to watch just the Kespa 8 matches (posibly the VODS - because of hours, again).
How can I do that and what I would have to pay?
The Championship has free 480p, and VoDs are available in the stream players during the event.
On June 08 2012 21:45 ForgottenOne wrote: This is probably offtopic but since I can't find the proper MLG thread, I'm sorry, I must ask:
I don't have anykind of MLG viewing pass and probably won't watch any (especially with high price, the bad hours and the EURO 2012) but I would like to watch just the Kespa 8 matches (posibly the VODS - because of hours, again).
How can I do that and what I would have to pay?
The Championship has free 480p, and VoDs are available in the stream players during the event.
I was refering to the Kespa 8 VODs. Will those be available too?
On June 08 2012 21:45 ForgottenOne wrote: This is probably offtopic but since I can't find the proper MLG thread, I'm sorry, I must ask:
I don't have anykind of MLG viewing pass and probably won't watch any (especially with high price, the bad hours and the EURO 2012) but I would like to watch just the Kespa 8 matches (posibly the VODS - because of hours, again).
How can I do that and what I would have to pay?
The Championship has free 480p, and VoDs are available in the stream players during the event.
I was refering to the Kespa 8 VODs. Will those be available too?
This is the best writeup yet. TL is getting closer and closer to being able to write a good SC2 Power Rank.
Although i almost wish you would only do KR Power Rank. Way too much bias with foreigners. You give them too much credit or not enough. You have people like HuK who got lukcy at MLG with a few PvP's who are getting mentioned when they are really horrible, like HuK is just mediocre with a good pvp. You have so many players that are just 'shit' yet you dont mention other shitty players lilke Idra (who had a better MLG run than HuK last time, even if he went out a round earlier).
I wish you took 'skill' into affect, as well as who these guys are beating. Just because HuK got the farthest last Arena doesn't make his run good, he beat shitty foreigners at PvP then lost to his first 'semi-decent' Korean. Idra has actually been playing pretty well, his MLG run was better than HuKs even if he went out a round earlier. I just can't ever believe TL when they write about Foreigners, its like you guys go 'herp-derp' or something, especially if its about team EG.
Great write up. That hwangsin post was emotional stuff. Probably not gonna read it this, but I actually feel bad it took a post like that for me to watch a few of his games. His nexus first into 7 gate in PvT is brutal.
HWANGSIN TO TAKE IT ALL!
Edit - I'm an Idra fan but he doesn't deserve top 40 I don't think. Best of luck to him, but we are used to being dissapointed
On June 08 2012 21:19 Vanadiel wrote: I actually feel like Stephano can take it, all you guy have to do is to close all bars at Anaheim.
And lock Bling in a closet.
Lol. I love that fans instead of 'hating' on Stephano/Bling, just run with it. Every month another instance or two of something that just makes me think Stephano is French Partier who doesn't care about the 'scene', he just keeps adding notches on his belt of instances like last time. 'its ok guys i was just hungover', 'its ok we love you for not caring'
If somebody like Naniwa got trashed and sucked the next day, there would be a reddit/tl shitstorm of different topics. But Stephano can be arrogant/not care/get trashed/etc, and we still just say we love him. BIAS!, gotta love it
On June 08 2012 17:54 GuitarBizarre wrote: I don't think MVP is the best player in the world right now, to be honest. Wrist issues or no, watching MKP actually play, control, macro, micro, I simply see more to like about MarineKing's play than MVPs right now.
As far as not winning GSL...firstly, he sabotaged himself a little by picking Parting in his group over anyone weaker, to try and mend relations with Startale, but secondly, all the people who are saying this...I get the impression these people are the FIRST people who would say that winning one tournament doesn't prove your overall level. If MKP had won GSL, I don't believe for a second any of the naysayers would have become yaysayers. I think they'd have just switched to criticising MKPs past inconsistency, and started whining about "Well how long is he gonna stay there lolololololol"
MKP has mojo nobody else does right now. Even Bonjwa don't win every single match in their calendar, nobody has any right to expect that of MKP before they'll admit he's good enough to deserve #1, even if its just a grudging acceptance of others opinions. There's certainly no way anyone can say he wouldn't be able to beat MVP in any given series. We all know that predicting an MVP 4-0 is just being way overconfident in MVPs abilities, and underestimating MKP's. Those games could be played a hundred times and it'd be close every time. Very close. Too close.
And honestly, what I remember about the GSL finals was Squirtle's play. I think we all know why.
I can't agree more with you. Yes MVP has always delivered results wise, but MKP is just so much more promising when you watch him play.
You can tell there's untapped potential in him, you can tell he has huge nerve issues that prevent him to play at his best when he loses, whereas with MVP this is just as good as he's ever gonna get I feel.
MVP is the absolute master of preparation and mindgames that's for sure, but I don't think that makes him the "best" SC2 player and certainly not a bonjwa by any mean.
What's funny is MKP disagree with you. He said in the interview without a second thought that whether it's foriegner or Korean MVP is the best player in the world. You must have never seen how beautiful MVP played in the matchs like vs Top in GSL final,many times vs Leenock and more.
On June 08 2012 22:02 ohampatu wrote: This is the best writeup yet. TL is getting closer and closer to being able to write a good SC2 Power Rank.
Although i almost wish you would only do KR Power Rank. Way too much bias with foreigners. You give them too much credit or not enough. You have people like HuK who got lukcy at MLG with a few PvP's who are getting mentioned when they are really horrible, like HuK is just mediocre with a good pvp. You have so many players that are just 'shit' yet you dont mention other shitty players lilke Idra (who had a better MLG run than HuK last time, even if he went out a round earlier).
I wish you took 'skill' into affect, as well as who these guys are beating. Just because HuK got the farthest last Arena doesn't make his run good, he beat shitty foreigners at PvP then lost to his first 'semi-decent' Korean. Idra has actually been playing pretty well, his MLG run was better than HuKs even if he went out a round earlier. I just can't ever believe TL when they write about Foreigners, its like you guys go 'herp-derp' or something, especially if its about team EG.
Are you including the online qualifiers in your analysis there? In the actual arena IdrA didn't win a game.
On June 08 2012 21:19 Vanadiel wrote: I actually feel like Stephano can take it, all you guy have to do is to close all bars at Anaheim.
And lock Bling in a closet.
Lol. I love that fans instead of 'hating' on Stephano/Bling, just run with it. Every month another instance or two of something that just makes me think Stephano is French Partier who doesn't care about the 'scene', he just keeps adding notches on his belt of instances like last time. 'its ok guys i was just hungover', 'its ok we love you for not caring'
If somebody like Naniwa got trashed and sucked the next day, there would be a reddit/tl shitstorm of different topics. But Stephano can be arrogant/not care/get trashed/etc, and we still just say we love him. BIAS!, gotta love it
Stephano never said he didn't care about his fans, in fact he stated in an interview that the amount of support and mails he got was one of the reasons that made him continue for another year (before you say it, winning a ton of money is obviously another reason, if not the main one).
On the other hand, Naniwa says he doesn't care about anyone but his swedish fans, gives a bad image of foreigners to koreans, and stirs up drama and shitstorms.
Regardless of that, I'm not going to bring this up everytime someone mentions Naniwa, in fact I even said he should be one of the invites in the thread about the World Championship. Be mature and leave Stephano fans poke fun at him for enjoying his young life a bit too much.
Nice writeup, messing up the flag on Stephano ain't a big deal Is Losira confirmed to be sent? Wasn't sure, thought i read something about IM not sending him..
On June 08 2012 22:10 ohampatu wrote: Lol. I love that fans instead of 'hating' on Stephano/Bling, just run with it. Every month another instance or two of something that just makes me think Stephano is French Partier who doesn't care about the 'scene', he just keeps adding notches on his belt of instances like last time. 'its ok guys i was just hungover', 'its ok we love you for not caring'
If somebody like Naniwa got trashed and sucked the next day, there would be a reddit/tl shitstorm of different topics. But Stephano can be arrogant/not care/get trashed/etc, and we still just say we love him. BIAS!, gotta love it
The real problem is that the foreign scene wants to attach to someone who can win and the only guy with chances of doing it is Stephano. It's a shame that he has his fu%* up mentality towards the scene but what we can do.
I would love 10 times more if it was Grubby, Incontrol, TLO, but unfortunately the only guy who can make something is the one that doesn't care. It sucks tho
On June 08 2012 22:02 ohampatu wrote: This is the best writeup yet. TL is getting closer and closer to being able to write a good SC2 Power Rank.
Although i almost wish you would only do KR Power Rank. Way too much bias with foreigners. You give them too much credit or not enough. You have people like HuK who got lukcy at MLG with a few PvP's who are getting mentioned when they are really horrible, like HuK is just mediocre with a good pvp. You have so many players that are just 'shit' yet you dont mention other shitty players lilke Idra (who had a better MLG run than HuK last time, even if he went out a round earlier).
I wish you took 'skill' into affect, as well as who these guys are beating. Just because HuK got the farthest last Arena doesn't make his run good, he beat shitty foreigners at PvP then lost to his first 'semi-decent' Korean. Idra has actually been playing pretty well, his MLG run was better than HuKs even if he went out a round earlier. I just can't ever believe TL when they write about Foreigners, its like you guys go 'herp-derp' or something, especially if its about team EG.
Are you including the online qualifiers in your analysis there? In the actual arena IdrA didn't win a game.
No, but in the series he played better than all foreigners except HuK imo. His game against Oz was 2-1 for instance, and he was the best at the NA qualifiers foreigner wise.
Im not saying he deserves to be on the list, i understand he has not won a single series this year in a major tournament. But i look at more than win/loss percentage. And he was just an example.
I just dont understand our foreigner rankings I guess. People like sheth getting mentioned, etc
On June 08 2012 22:10 ohampatu wrote: Lol. I love that fans instead of 'hating' on Stephano/Bling, just run with it. Every month another instance or two of something that just makes me think Stephano is French Partier who doesn't care about the 'scene', he just keeps adding notches on his belt of instances like last time. 'its ok guys i was just hungover', 'its ok we love you for not caring'
If somebody like Naniwa got trashed and sucked the next day, there would be a reddit/tl shitstorm of different topics. But Stephano can be arrogant/not care/get trashed/etc, and we still just say we love him. BIAS!, gotta love it
The real problem is that the foreign scene wants to attach to someone who can win and the only guy with chances of doing it is Stephano. It's a shame that he has his fu%* up mentality towards the scene but what we can do.
I would love 10 times more if it was Grubby, Incontrol, TLO, but unfortunately the only guy who can make something is the one that doesn't care. It sucks tho
If we dont make it known that this is 'unaccetable' then other people will aspire to be like him, and he'll never change. It was fine when he was 'only gonna be in the scene for a year'. But he has tasted money, and found its taste to his liking, so he will milk SC2 now for as much as he can. IDK. We write letters to sponsors about racial slurs, but we dont write letters about people playing hungover, or throwing finals matches cause their 'tired'.
I just want us to hold every pro to the same standards. Watching people like Orb who love the scene yet rage get lynched, and then watching us do the exact opposite for Stephano...it all makes me a sad panda
On June 08 2012 22:10 ohampatu wrote: Lol. I love that fans instead of 'hating' on Stephano/Bling, just run with it. Every month another instance or two of something that just makes me think Stephano is French Partier who doesn't care about the 'scene', he just keeps adding notches on his belt of instances like last time. 'its ok guys i was just hungover', 'its ok we love you for not caring'
If somebody like Naniwa got trashed and sucked the next day, there would be a reddit/tl shitstorm of different topics. But Stephano can be arrogant/not care/get trashed/etc, and we still just say we love him. BIAS!, gotta love it
The real problem is that the foreign scene wants to attach to someone who can win and the only guy with chances of doing it is Stephano. It's a shame that he has his fu%* up mentality towards the scene but what we can do.
I would love 10 times more if it was Grubby, Incontrol, TLO, but unfortunately the only guy who can make something is the one that doesn't care. It sucks tho
If we dont make it known that this is 'unaccetable' then other people will aspire to be like him, and he'll never change. It was fine when he was 'only gonna be in the scene for a year'. But he has tasted money, and found its taste to his liking, so he will milk SC2 now for as much as he can. IDK. We write letters to sponsors about racial slurs, but we dont write letters about people playing hungover, or throwing finals matches cause their 'tired'.
I just want us to hold every pro to the same standards. Watching people like Orb who love the scene yet rage get lynched, and then watching us do the exact opposite for Stephano...it all makes me a sad panda
i totally agree with u except for the final part. Unfortunately that just happens because Orb never achieved something meaningfull while stephano did. That sux but i'm with u on the rest.
I for one used to like him in the first tournaments. But after hearing so much "I don't care", "I don't like zvz so i didn't want to play", i simple started to regreat i had cheered for him before.
On June 08 2012 22:02 ohampatu wrote: This is the best writeup yet. TL is getting closer and closer to being able to write a good SC2 Power Rank.
Although i almost wish you would only do KR Power Rank. Way too much bias with foreigners. You give them too much credit or not enough. You have people like HuK who got lukcy at MLG with a few PvP's who are getting mentioned when they are really horrible, like HuK is just mediocre with a good pvp. You have so many players that are just 'shit' yet you dont mention other shitty players lilke Idra (who had a better MLG run than HuK last time, even if he went out a round earlier).
I wish you took 'skill' into affect, as well as who these guys are beating. Just because HuK got the farthest last Arena doesn't make his run good, he beat shitty foreigners at PvP then lost to his first 'semi-decent' Korean. Idra has actually been playing pretty well, his MLG run was better than HuKs even if he went out a round earlier. I just can't ever believe TL when they write about Foreigners, its like you guys go 'herp-derp' or something, especially if its about team EG.
Are you including the online qualifiers in your analysis there? In the actual arena IdrA didn't win a game.
No, but in the series he played better than all foreigners except HuK imo. His game against Oz was 2-1 for instance, and he was the best at the NA qualifiers foreigner wise.
Im not saying he deserves to be on the list, i understand he has not won a single series this year in a major tournament. But i look at more than win/loss percentage. And he was just an example.
I just dont understand our foreigner rankings I guess. People like sheth getting mentioned, etc
Oh, you're referring to a different arena than I thought. He played Oz at the Winter Arena, which was in February. He went out more than a round earlier there than HuK, though, which is why I was confused. The most recent arena (in which he did go out a round earlier than HuK, and the one whose online qualifiers I was referring to) was Spring Arena 2, in which IdrA did not win a map. He also didn't make it out of the Winter Championship open bracket. I think all of these performances combined are what the creators of the PR were taking into account - if you just look at a couple of good yet lost series by a player, you can justify putting up nearly anyone.
On June 08 2012 22:02 ohampatu wrote: This is the best writeup yet. TL is getting closer and closer to being able to write a good SC2 Power Rank.
Although i almost wish you would only do KR Power Rank. Way too much bias with foreigners. You give them too much credit or not enough. You have people like HuK who got lukcy at MLG with a few PvP's who are getting mentioned when they are really horrible, like HuK is just mediocre with a good pvp. You have so many players that are just 'shit' yet you dont mention other shitty players lilke Idra (who had a better MLG run than HuK last time, even if he went out a round earlier).
I wish you took 'skill' into affect, as well as who these guys are beating. Just because HuK got the farthest last Arena doesn't make his run good, he beat shitty foreigners at PvP then lost to his first 'semi-decent' Korean. Idra has actually been playing pretty well, his MLG run was better than HuKs even if he went out a round earlier. I just can't ever believe TL when they write about Foreigners, its like you guys go 'herp-derp' or something, especially if its about team EG.
This is proberly the worst post I ever read on TL. First you start off by saying to much bias with foreigners, then you mention how bad Huk are and then you say Idra played much better even he got no results whatsoever in 2012. His stats are the worst in the entire pro scene.
You talked about bias maybe you should really look into a mirror
This is going to be a really exciting event! MKP DRG and Symbol will all be fighting over top spot IMO but i'm really hoping we'll see some upsets here
MKP will beat MVP if it's about nothing like a ladder game or something. If there is money to be won, MVP will break him.
Last GSL MVP proved it like no other time before, and kept beating people who were supost to be better then him in every way possible. Never doubt the heart of a champion.
dont underestimate beastyqts tvp, a few weeks ago he kicked huks ass in some practise games (7-8 games i think?) and won most of them. i think symbol will have hes breaktrough here and win
Alot of people didn't seem to get my HuK and Idra example. I understand i blended the last 2 arenas in, but the point still stands. They are both horrible, yet you have 1 at rank 19 and 1 not ranked. Thats what I mean by Bias. They both suck, yet you think HuK winning a few pvp's before losing to a mid-tier korean is good.
Like the other guy said, great writing, but the power rank is just terrible because of foreigner placements. I think the KR placements are decent, although a few writers are putting people higher based off no tourney wins or 'hot streaks', etc.
Out of the 40, the following are all horribly incorrect, ill go from Rank 1. Thorzain at rank 16 is way way too high. He is good, but he has always got shit on in MLG. He isn't seeded into the brackets as far as I know. If he makes top 32 ill be surprised. He even complained about MLG and stated its format wasn't for him. Byul at rank 17. He is good, but really, let him win a couple of things before he is top 20. He shouldn't be so far ahead of so many different code s and code a players. Huk at rank 19. Really???? He is as bad as Idra. Like thats a fact. Idra can beat him now. And Idra doesn't win. HuK only has pvp, as soon as he hits a non protoss mid-tier KR he will crumble. SaSe at 25. Even in the writeup you talk about his skill and his 'non-winnings'. Quick everyone, lets make power ranks based off how good we think a player could be, and not how good he actually is in tournament settings.
On June 08 2012 10:03 TeamLiquid ESPORTS wrote: It's a more familiar situation for MC, who almost seems to enjoy putting on a facade of meekly getting eliminated from one tournament only to kick ass and enrich his coffers at another. Already this year we've seen him follow a disappointing showing at the Blizzard Cup with a championship at HomeStoryCup IV,
How was his Blizzard Cup performance "disappointing"? He got Top 4 and lost 2-3 to DRG after making Carriers when 2-1 up.
On June 08 2012 23:38 emc wrote: best in the world gets tossed around on TL like every other event. So whats bigger? GSL, MLG, IPL, NASL or DH? You guys make it hard.
Just because it changes a lot doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Otherwise Japan wouldn't have had a PM in forever.
On June 08 2012 23:38 emc wrote: best in the world gets tossed around on TL like every other event. So whats bigger? GSL, MLG, IPL, NASL or DH? You guys make it hard.
GSL is obviously the most important but that doesn't mean we ignore every other tournament.
On June 08 2012 23:16 Noocta wrote: The aLive write up make me so sad. T_T He's to MVP what GanZi was to MMA.
Mvp is the better player, but thats not where aLive aims to be.
aLive aims to be one of the Top 5 Terrans, and he definetly belongs there.
He just wants to get people to give him more credit on his strenghts, not only looking at his weaknesses (being very shy is obviously one of those weaknesses, as people consider him to be boring)
GanZi and MMA was a entireily different story, they were team mates, and one has to be the more popular player.
aLive doesnt have such pressure, he is the boss in fnatic, afterall they build up their new Korean team around him
symbol seems on fire right now, drg is always solid but marineking should take this if he goes with the same focus in the tournament like in the winter championships. i remember him saying something like "im so energized, i simply wanna play right now as if theres nothing else" before the first game. if he can get into that mindset again, he can crush anyone. if not, well see him choking like against parting & taeja in the last gsl season.
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.
</p> </div> </div>Writers: NrGmonk, tree.hugger and Waxangel. Graphics: Meko Editors: Waxangel and Antoine.
Even DRG didn't pull off that reverse all-kill lol I do have to say, as much as Symbol really worked hard and made a name for himself, Coach Lee is amazing too. People can hate him or love him for the rumors that go around about him, but one things for sure; he really knows how to train and make players. He told fellow teamliquid TSL fan Dragonborn to watch out for Symbol 6 months ago, and now here he is. I think Symbol can easily take this MLG home for sure I personally think Polt is still the best when it comes to a terran player standing a chance against the swarm though. He's not the only one pointing at the buff towards the ever increasing uphill battle for Terran players. He also has a knack for keeping the team together. After seeing how hard the players worked, TSL definitely deserves to be on the top. + Show Spoiler +
no bias at all
Just checked your Twitter.
Wow, you are actually a girl.
Cheers for Coach Lee, he keeps pulling out new Talents that become Top players
Sorry I was a bit harsh about Fnatic vs TSL rivalry, it was just very tense moment.
So you thought I was a guy this whole time? And lol it's fine, I almost threw my laptop out the window when LosirA went on his 4 kill rampage. Symbol is definitely riding out the confidence wave. Hopefully it'll go through MLG as well On top of that, I'd still like to see Inori do really well too. TSL needs to make the protoss player top tier too :D
On June 08 2012 23:16 Noocta wrote: The aLive write up make me so sad. T_T He's to MVP what GanZi was to MMA.
Mvp is the better player, but thats not where aLive aims to be.
aLive aims to be one of the Top 5 Terrans, and he definetly belongs there.
He just wants to get people to give him more credit on his strenghts, not only looking at his weaknesses (being very shy is obviously one of those weaknesses, as people consider him to be boring)
GanZi and MMA was a entireily different story, they were team mates, and one has to be the more popular player.
aLive doesnt have such pressure, he is the boss in fnatic, afterall they build up their new Korean team around him
I meant that in term of play. Strong terran with all around solid play but no flush ? MVP is here before aLive in people mind.
On June 08 2012 23:16 Noocta wrote: The aLive write up make me so sad. T_T He's to MVP what GanZi was to MMA.
Mvp is the better player, but thats not where aLive aims to be.
aLive aims to be one of the Top 5 Terrans, and he definetly belongs there.
He just wants to get people to give him more credit on his strenghts, not only looking at his weaknesses (being very shy is obviously one of those weaknesses, as people consider him to be boring)
GanZi and MMA was a entireily different story, they were team mates, and one has to be the more popular player.
aLive doesnt have such pressure, he is the boss in fnatic, afterall they build up their new Korean team around him
I meant that in term of play. Strong terran with all around solid play but no flush ? MVP is here before aLive in people mind.
pretty similar style, both rely on their macro and strong decision making.
both are Mech monsters in TvT
Mvp was just successful with this before aLive - thats probably why he got overshadowed.
Different from that you ve got Bio players like Polt and MKP, who rely on Micro. MKP also kind of overshadows Polt here.
On June 09 2012 00:05 ohampatu wrote: Alot of people didn't seem to get my HuK and Idra example. I understand i blended the last 2 arenas in, but the point still stands. They are both horrible, yet you have 1 at rank 19 and 1 not ranked. Thats what I mean by Bias. They both suck, yet you think HuK winning a few pvp's before losing to a mid-tier korean is good.
Like the other guy said, great writing, but the power rank is just terrible because of foreigner placements. I think the KR placements are decent, although a few writers are putting people higher based off no tourney wins or 'hot streaks', etc.
Out of the 40, the following are all horribly incorrect, ill go from Rank 1. Thorzain at rank 16 is way way too high. He is good, but he has always got shit on in MLG. He isn't seeded into the brackets as far as I know. If he makes top 32 ill be surprised. He even complained about MLG and stated its format wasn't for him. Byul at rank 17. He is good, but really, let him win a couple of things before he is top 20. He shouldn't be so far ahead of so many different code s and code a players. Huk at rank 19. Really???? He is as bad as Idra. Like thats a fact. Idra can beat him now. And Idra doesn't win. HuK only has pvp, as soon as he hits a non protoss mid-tier KR he will crumble. SaSe at 25. Even in the writeup you talk about his skill and his 'non-winnings'. Quick everyone, lets make power ranks based off how good we think a player could be, and not how good he actually is in tournament settings.
im going to stop there, it gets worse from 25-32
Keep in mind that we take into account many more tournaments and results than the average TL user watches.
Thorzain: He recently won a tournament filled with Koreans and I can't really find a good argument for anyone below him to be placed above him. Keep in mind we don't take into account seeding when we rank. This is stated at the top of the post. Byul: This one may be premature, but it sure stirs up discussion. =) (which is one of the points of the power rank) We also not only look at results but at play, and Byul plays well. Huk: He's actually done decently well recently, placing very high in both Winter MLGs and beating a lot of good people at IPL4 including Hero, Virus, and Ryung. You can say he did well at recent MLGs because of PvP, but you still have to give him some credit for that. Sase: Sase always does well at foreign tournaments. He was the closest foreigner, along with Huk, to making it to pool play at IPL4. He got 2nd at Red Bull Lan, beat Thorzain and Taeja at Red Bull Battlegrounds, and always does well at MLGs. In fact, I think he's made it to pool play every time he's attended. Definitely enough tournament results to justify his placement.
I like the ranks. Power ranks are always subjective and open to argument. I mean, no objective ranking system is perfect, and I think intelligent interpretation of recent results can be very enlightening.
I'm going to say though, that I like posts with predictions rather than power ranks. Like, "Goody's gonna make the finals!!!" etc
[QUOTE]On June 08 2012 10:22 Olinim wrote: [QUOTE]On June 08 2012 10:14 Hall0wed wrote: Top 3 will be Symbol, DRG, Losira.[/QUOTE] So badly you hate Zerg?
hope we see plenty of photos from anaheim...wish i was there.
power ranks are fun but i think maybe some kind of other feature mixed in with it would be better, prediction articles?, then keep the power ranks to a top 10 with pretty graphics and all that fun stuff for hype value.
On June 08 2012 21:19 Vanadiel wrote: I actually feel like Stephano can take it, all you guy have to do is to close all bars at Anaheim.
And lock Bling in a closet.
Lol. I love that fans instead of 'hating' on Stephano/Bling, just run with it. Every month another instance or two of something that just makes me think Stephano is French Partier who doesn't care about the 'scene', he just keeps adding notches on his belt of instances like last time. 'its ok guys i was just hungover', 'its ok we love you for not caring'
If somebody like Naniwa got trashed and sucked the next day, there would be a reddit/tl shitstorm of different topics. But Stephano can be arrogant/not care/get trashed/etc, and we still just say we love him. BIAS!, gotta love it
Naniwa gets hate on a lot, yes, but did he change because of it?
Stephano is untouchable. His team isn't able to control him - he doesn't show up to Millennium's team matches and nothing is done about it - while organizers love to have him because he is the Western hope and he is charismatic on stage. When Stephano is in a tournament, people flock to the audience. Nobody else, besides IdrA, has the magnetism that Stephano has, but IdrA loses in the first match of major tournaments he goes to while Stephano ends up Top 3.
The music is going to end one of these days, but till then, Stephano dances on.
I think Scarlett would've deserved some honorable mention, she seems to be the korean-stomper if you look at last MLG and all I hear is that she's been practicing, ALOT.
On June 09 2012 02:31 Panthae wrote: I think Scarlett would've deserved some honorable mention, she seems to be the korean-stomper if you look at last MLG and all I hear is that she's been practicing, ALOT.
Place Socke higher than some of the foreigners who don't have any results worth mentioning, please. I mean come on, Socke even beat some of them in recent tournaments.
On June 08 2012 10:03 TeamLiquid ESPORTS wrote: After taking the moral high ground in all those US immigration debates for years, I'm starting to understand the entire "they took our jobs!" mentality.
The moral high ground is to favor people who ignored the laws and walk here from Mexico over everyone else in the world who follows the lawful immigration process? I'm confused.
Sorry, but for this being an article listed on the front page of this site, someone really should have proofread/edited it. I hate to be that guy, but when I literally have to go back and re-read a sentence because it was worded poorly or just flat out made no sense on more than one occasion, this can hardly be considered a professional article.
Other than that though, really enjoyed the read and can't wait to watch the games .
Edit: Just saw that two editors were cited...not really sure what to think of that.
On June 09 2012 02:31 Panthae wrote: I think Scarlett would've deserved some honorable mention, she seems to be the korean-stomper if you look at last MLG and all I hear is that she's been practicing, ALOT.
On June 08 2012 13:59 striderxxx wrote: MMA is waaay overated, he is no where near his peak any more.
'Nobody realizes this since it was not publicized at all, but MMA beat MKP 4-3 in the starswar korean online qualifier final like a little more than a week ago. He beat people like squirtle and creator on the way there in his worst matchup
On June 08 2012 23:38 emc wrote: best in the world gets tossed around on TL like every other event. So whats bigger? GSL, MLG, IPL, NASL or DH? You guys make it hard.
Just because it changes a lot doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Otherwise Japan wouldn't have had a PM in forever.
On June 08 2012 21:07 Mr Showtime wrote: I understand that IdrA has been struggling, so I could see him not being in the top 40. But you're implying that desrow and Goody are better players? I like them all, but that implication is actually insane. Either the writers were forgetful about him or incredibly biased, and it's likely the latter if I recall the wording used from the last Power Ranking write-up. Anyway, no need to get up in arms about it. This doesn't really mean anything.
Hoping for some sick games this evening and weekend!
On June 08 2012 20:48 mTwTT1 wrote: idra has been training with one of the best protoss's in the world so that automaticly puts him within the top 10
That was pretty awesome to here that you both was trained together. You guys flame at each other a lot and have for a long time, but it came across much more of genuine hate rather than general dislike.
well goody played way better at mlg arena than idra did and he beat mma who idra would probably lose 4-0 to (like he did vs alive)...
i don't konw how good desrow is but at least he had some training in korea and maybe is in shape while idra has been in horrible shape for like half a year now
On June 09 2012 06:17 Slardar wrote: Sexy lineup.... just got back from Vegas and now EURO CUP + MLG Anaheim? Hell Yeah! Go Foreigners ^^. + Show Spoiler +
I hope Thorzain shines this time, I really do. Furthermore I really enjoy seeing Grubby play, as well as Socke. Two Protoss I expect some good results from.
Thanks for the big write-up, I didn't follow professional SC2 for some time and it was good to read up on some of the players.
Good call on Symbol over DRG dude. Did you see that game 3 v. Puma??? no other zerg could play that perfect of a game. hands down DRG is in a league of his own when it comes to the Zerg race.
On June 08 2012 11:09 Flaggy wrote: I hope MarineKingPrime takes this. I can't wait to see him become the First Bonjwa in SC2. Fighting!
You have to be kidding. MKP is nowhere near a Bonjwa. I dont think you even know what that word means to be honest.
It's hilarious how every time that word is brought up people come in and cry.
On June 08 2012 12:52 pariahGT wrote: Seriously, why do people call DRG or MKP the best/potential best player in the world when MVP is still around? The two of them are no more dominant now then he was at his height last year - they're less dominant if anything - and he is still winning championships. MVP has consistently crushed MKP on the biggest stage in GSL (going 8-2 in finals games), and to my recollection, he's positive against DRG in meaningful series/games as well. (Don't quote me there) Starcraft II isn't in its infancy anymore and people need to start looking at the big picture, rather than the last two-three wins when determining the top player rankings. (Obviously, MVP isn't attending this MLG, and I'm speaking to the comments about MKP being the best player in the world; as well as the guy who called him a bonjwa) (lol)
Lets compare MVP's major accomplishments to MKP's. MVP: Seven major championships, including a record four GSL's. MKP: Two major championships, including zero GSL's, and a 2-8 record against MVP in GSL finals. (Relevant to point out because we're comparing the two of them)
How many times have we seen an elite player drop off for months at a time - or all together - after tearing up a tournament or two? MVP has been winning tournaments for a year and a half now, and what are his low points? Once or twice (tops) falling to code A? Playing through injury, and mostly against protoss - his worst matchup - he still took down the most recent GSL. People need to stop calling MKP the best player in the world based on his two tourney wins, and consistent play alone. He might be nearly as consistent as MVP over starcraft two, but for the longest time he was known as the guy who was a guarantee to choke in the finals. MVP has never had any sort of negative stigma associated with his name aside from morons calling him out for not macroing in 100% of the games he plays. During MVP's aleged 'slump' towards the later part of 2011, he still came second at a GSL, and got to the round of 4 the next time around.
This isn't an MVP fan party, it's simply reality. He has won more tournaments, made more money, and has been more consistent than anyone else in starcraft two, period. It's not debatable.
Also, going back to my point about him throwing in cheeses and all-ins nowadays: Remember last year when he was known as the hands down best macro player in the world? Yeah, it's still the same guy.
It sure seems like a fanboy rant. This is all fine, please read the thread next time before you comment like that? Also look at the games that were played this year. Achievement wise MVP is far ahead, game wise this year he is not as good as others.
[QUOTE]On June 11 2012 03:51 noddy wrote: [QUOTE]On June 08 2012 11:14 TommyP wrote: [QUOTE]On June 08 2012 11:09 Flaggy wrote: I hope MarineKingPrime takes this. I can't wait to see him become the First Bonjwa in SC2. Fighting![/QUOTE]
You have to be kidding. MKP is nowhere near a Bonjwa. I dont think you even know what that word means to be honest. [/QUOTE]
"It's hilarious how every time that word is brought up people come in and cry."
If somebody said Flash was a BW Bonjwa, i wouldnt have a problem with that, but MKP is no where near a Bonjwa, which is why I said that. People cry about it because people are stupid and use it to much.
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.
Yeah, that. Great showing by SaSe, great....great showing.
I think Quantic in general as a team has such amazing potential. They're kind of like the Oklahoma City Thunder of 2 years ago (basketball reference) :O They will be scary with time.
Whilst I know Power Ranks aren't meant to be a prediction of results, I thought it'd be fun to see how the top 10 compared to their pre-tournament power rankings for it, so here they are. If it weren't 4am I might go in to detail on each one, but alas it is so I've just left the original power ranking text with each one. Some interesting stuff. This post contains result spoilers for the top 10 finishers of MLG. Don't read it if you're planning to catch up later.
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?
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.
The top 10 was kinda accurate but the GSTL heroes have been overhyped. If all it takes is a good streak to be called top 2 zerg we may as well call Moon, ByuL and LosirA top 2 zerg :x.
EPT
SlayerS_Clide: Clide gifted SlayerS one GSTL all-kill before evaporating into thin air (the most likely theory is that he was employed as Mrs. Artosis' midwife). We have no idea how good he is now, except that he must be impressing everyone in the SlayerS house to deserve a trip to Anaheim.
GoSu,HwangSin: Deserves a mention for this post alone.
AcerBly ![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/images/flags2/rs.png)
I'll go with MC for 3rd I guess since apparently MMA won't be there either.
) 
![[image loading]](http://www.mymym.com/np/asusrogpolt.jpg)
