EPTBest Player Ever? - Page 7
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I3oxerfan
215 Posts
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Klive5ive
United Kingdom6056 Posts
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falls
United States168 Posts
Nada - Statistically the best player Savior, Oov - Nigh-invincible during their primes Boxer - Duh.. Bisu, Jaedong, Flash - Arguably the best players in their respective races | ||
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SilverSkyLark
Philippines8437 Posts
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Metallingus
Philippines468 Posts
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immacolate
Serbia199 Posts
...and I think it's a shame that ooov is at the bottom | ||
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disciple
9070 Posts
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2rhyme
Romania79 Posts
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Sok4R
Germany124 Posts
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SilverSkyLark
Philippines8437 Posts
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oneofthem
Cayman Islands24199 Posts
then there is raw execution skill. here we can divide things into macro mechanics and micro mechanics. i favor the former, because there is at least a strategic understanding here that it is important to doing things that do not show immediate results, results worthy of 10 second youtube gloryshots. mechanics with macro is perhaps easier to acquire by training and paying attention to derived wisdom, and players with good micro can lean toward a different strategic balance, favoring pressure and such. but a wise man once said, so what if it works in practice, does it work in theory? micro execution skill is averse to theory, whereas you can't understand macro mechanics without some spreadsheets. advantage macro. now, even displays of good micro can be displays of good game understanding, and thus in a sense macro ability. micro in different stages of the game are not equal, and the choice of devoting attention to particular units in particular junctures is a strategic choice. microing your scouting scv is a basic example, but so is savior's frequent use of drones etc to block rushing units' pathing, allowing him to make more drones and delay sunken etc. for a particular micro play, what is impressive is often the intention behind the maneuver, not the sheer execution skill required. now, people sometimes confuse good macro with the ability to outplay the opponent through successive build choices, etc etc, that result in a victory by numbers. the ability to mass units is not all that worthwhile, what is worthwhile is the ability to make the conditions favorable to massing units. the truly dominant players are those that cannot be beaten in a game of many decisions. a third factor, which already is present in the above two, is aesthetics. what kind of ability do you prefer, or what kind of game do you conceive starcraft to be. there are really a lot of opposing poles, micro vs macro, aggressiveness vs positional milking, etc. i will just bring out mind vs body. the sheer ability to move one's fingers is a useful physical trait, and so is the ability to think fast and think well. this seems like the overhanging choice of styles that dominate other considerations, so giving it the third factor is not unreasonable. to me, the mental side of things is more impressive. i haven't thought about why this is the case until now. it seems that great plays made on decisions rather than clicking power really showcase the meaning of expertise. if we ask the question of best player ever, without specifying starcraft, we probably will put more emphasis on natural mechanical abilities, but to ask, who is the best starcraft player, i think we should consider the player whose play truly display a good grasp of the game. in this sense, even a player with bad natural abilities in say clicking fast, or simply inattentive, but who plays a style that maximizes his effectiveness given the natural handicaps, is more impressive than the guy with high natural ceiling but lacking robust game sense. now, the case studies are pretty easy to figure out given the standard outlined above. i discount nada, and boxer somewhat, for different but similar reasons. nada is the most naturally gifted player in terms of the sheer ability to command things, maybe flash or jaedong comes close, but nada is simply the best known for this area. this makes him a good player, but it is not that impressive. the talent to play games well is not interesting, the ability to play starcraft is. ipxzerg, oov, gorush etc are boosted. oov and savior are not known for their apm, and gorush is asleep half the time. but they are too good to let that hinder them. during the time when they were dominant, . savior is imo the superior, although oov is the picture is complicated when we observe that the work of devising builds and revolutionizing the optimum strategies, including devising counters, is being treated more seriously today, or at any rate the people who do this work with greater experience and history. is it fair to say that flash is more innovative than boxer or oov because his builds are more perfect. obviously a lot of unknowns go into answering that question. bisu, jaedong and flash are more interesting cases. they play in an era of more settled strategies, and they all have outstanding mechanical ability, which carries them frequently. it is difficult to know whether their play relies on more understanding or mere mechanics. since today's players are expected to be complete, given the level of competition, it is increasingly difficult to make the distinction. each plays with an understanding of their strengths, and thus corresponding strategic flavors. flash relies on excellent micro to do the greediest builds, etc. is that more micro or macro? today's players are obviously better in terms of skill, but why are they required to be this way, or put it another way, that they play to this level is more due to them being in this era than any special ability of their own. it is then not fair to discount the legacies of older players whose dominance raised the competitive focus. the term to describe the legacies is probably greatest rather than best. greatest player ever is either savior or oov. savior is 1a, oov is 1b or maybe a bit below that. a special class is reserved for natural talents like nada and july, although i am biased against july and there is method to his madness. boxer is just a fun player whose worth cannot be measured by the topic question. | ||
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Phearlock
Norway400 Posts
Second place would probably be a tie between savior and nada, nada's staying power through the ages of starcraft and saviors recent rise back to a good form being the reasons. | ||
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dibban
Sweden1279 Posts
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ktp
United States797 Posts
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I3oxerfan
215 Posts
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Victor
New Zealand1016 Posts
ez | ||
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FaCE_1
Canada6170 Posts
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FlamyDeath
Netherlands146 Posts
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Lukeeze[zR]
Switzerland6838 Posts
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