Welcome to KeSPA Cup—the first Global Event of 2016! It’s been a long buildup to the main event over the last couple of weeks, but we’re finally about to kick off the Korea vs the World rivalry we’ve been looking forward to all year. One group will be played per day from Tuesday to Friday, before a day off leads us into the playoffs on Sunday and Monday. Join us for a power rank of the sixteen players in attendance. As usual, the standard qualifiers apply—this is a PR collated from the votes of seven writers, ensuring that none of us are happy with the final result. For the first time though, we’re showing exactly how each of us voted, allowing all of you to abuse us personally in the comments instead of hiding under the TL Esports banner.

Power Rank

#16: MVP.Pet

Pet ZvZ'd his way through the qualifier. Fortunately for the suspense here, that tells us next to nothing about his skill overall, especially because nothing was streamed. Pet's only other ventures have come online against mixed competition, with mixed results. HIs GSL Season 2 was cut short by Stork in Code A.
The only thing that makes me think Pet has any chance of taking the odd map is that he beat SSL runner-up and Cross Finals Champion Dark in his final qualifying series. Regardless of what match-up you're playing, beating Dark is impressive.

So good on you, Pet. Let's see what you've got. Until then, though, I'm putting you at #16. [E/N: So is everyone else]

munch	Olli	TheOneAboveU	hexhaven	Destructicon	banjoetheredskin	Soularion
16	16	16	16	16	16	16

#15: Millenium.MarineLorD

Let’s not beat around the bush; it’s been a pretty disappointing year for MarineLorD. Sure, 2nd place at DH Valencia was impressive, albeit falling crushingly short after Nerchio’s dominant 4-0 win in the final, but results elsewhere have been lacking. Top 16 finishes at WCS Winter and Summer, a top 8 place at HSC, and assorted other low finishes aren’t really anything to be embarassed about, but after the hype train that was Nation Wars last December, it’s been a swift fall from grace. At the start of the year, MarineLorD stated that he wanted at least a $50,000 haul from the year to justify the progamer life; as we come to the end of 2016, it seems he’s likely to fall short. Nothing is expected of him here, and he’ll be the biggest underdog of the foreigner triple threat in this competition (especially given his tough group). Then again, we have to remember the run that kicked off his year; the run that announced him as a threat in Legacy of the Void. None of those players he demolished will be here—Hydra, PartinG and INnoVation—but Korea does not forget. They’ll be gunning for him, but with nothing to lose here, MarineLorD may well give them one more thing to remember.

munch	Olli	TheOneAboveU	hexhaven	Destructicon	banjoetheredskin	Soularion
15	15	15	15	13	14	15

#14: PSISTORM.TRUE

With a WCS title under his belt, TRUE didn't need any additional WCS Points. Regardless, he qualified through the NA qualifier with flying colors. That's in stark contrast to his Open Qualifier performance, though, where he was quickly 2-0'd by Super. If that is anything to go by, then TRUE might face some trouble in KeSPA Cup. Nevertheless, he has done very well against any kind of competition in the foreign scene, of which some players are ranked higher than TRUE himself here, so I will cut him some slack.

Inexperience in Korea will not be his downfall, as TRUE was a Code S player before relocating to the US. He's also in arguably the weakest group. But this ranking is not about who has the best chances to advance, it's about who we think are the best players overall. And although TRUE is good, we agreed that the players above him are better.

munch	Olli	TheOneAboveU	hexhaven	Destructicon	banjoetheredskin	Soularion
13	12	14	14	14	15	14

#13 JinAir.Trap

Despite Jin Air’s overwhelming success this year, Trap’s gone under the radar in 2016. A top 16 finish in GSL S1 was encouraging, looking particularly clean against Super, but poor performances in Season 2 contributed to early exits in both competitions. Usurped by Cure for Jin Air’s 4th spot, Trap’s had little to do in the back end of 2016. Then again, Trap’s never been a player who’s particularly impressed in the Korean starleagues, save for his breakout 5th place finish in WCS KR S3 2013. He’s always been a player who kicks it up a gear in his rare forays in foreign events with remarkable reliability—top 4 at the WCS S3 Finals in 2013, 1st and 4th at MLG Anaheim and Red Bull Washington respectively in 2014, and his silver medal at IEM Katowice last year. Shorn of those opportunities this year, this will be Trap’s final chance in 2016; can he conjure up some weekender magic once more?

munch	Olli	TheOneAboveU	hexhaven	Destructicon	banjoetheredskin	Soularion
14	14	13	13	11	13	13

#12: TING.Neeb

Arguably the best American player, Neeb, is hard to rank. Summed up in short, it's because there are two different players wrapped in one Neeb. One that is good enough to 4-0 a GSL champion online and dominate foreign opposition, and another who, at the first sign of glory, lets himself be overcome by panic and nerves. These two play the game differently. Whereas regular Neeb approaches the game similarly to Zest, figuring out builds, refining them and executing them very well, nervous Neeb lets it fall apart. Execution requires a level of calmness, a view from above and cold blood, and nervousness directly opposes that. Neeb is his own worst enemy, because his personality almost directly opposes his style of play.

If that were not the case, chances are Neeb would dominate the foreign scene entirely and, naturally, be ranked higher. How this translates to his performance at the offline KeSPA Cup is hard to say. He has had some time to get accustomed to Korea, having lived there for a few weeks now. He may have played against others in this event on ladder before. But Korea is a rough neighborhood, and competition will be harder than ever before. Neeb may come into the tournament with a 'nothing to lose' attitude, calming his mind and letting him perform well, but he may also crumble under the heavy weight of Korea's greatest players. A group with ByuN, Zest and Rogue could absolutely do both.

munch	Olli	TheOneAboveU	hexhaven	Destructicon	banjoetheredskin	Soularion
12	13	12	11	15	11	8

#11 JinAir.Rogue

There’s been no more confusing player to watch in Korea this year than Rogue. From the utter consistency of 2015—five top 8 finishes out of six in the starleagues—to the crazy ups and downs of 2016, Rogue’s definitely taken a backward step this year. Still, for every dispiriting defeat, there’s an equally uplifting reminder of Rogue at his creative best, not least in his multiple unorthodox victories over Zest during the year. His ZvZ has grown from strength to strength (7-0 in Proleague this year), and he’s arguably the best mirror matcher that the race has to offer right now. What we saw last year from Rogue was a player who’d crush through lesser opposition in the early rounds, before being unable to beat the best in the business when the pressure ramped up. Arguably, it’s been completely the opposite this year; clutch for Jin Air in ace matches, while having enough tools to take out unsuspecting opposition. It’s a formula that thwarted him in the starleagues, but the fast paced KeSPA Cup rounds, Rogue could spring an upset.

munch	Olli	TheOneAboveU	hexhaven	Destructicon	banjoetheredskin	Soularion
10	10	10	12	10	12	12

#10: KT.Zest

Never did I imagine that Zest would fall this hard after his dominant GSL winning run. It's taken only seven series to push him from what could still be the throne of this ranking down to tenth place. Those series are the last ones he has played. Every one of them he lost. But it isn't that he lost them, it's the manner he lost them in. While he was painting near perfect pictures previously, his strokes now seem blunt and rough. His execution appears especially questionable, his decisions sometimes off.

Now, seven series is not much to write someone off completely. With three GSL trophies and a KeSPA Cup in Korea alone, Zest's ability to bounce back stronger than ever is immense. His recent form makes you wonder if #10 is even low enough, but the fact that he won a GSL this year and was the best player in the world for a long time lets him stay here. Class is permanent, and Zest most certainly has it, but his form does not appear to be there right now.

munch	Olli	TheOneAboveU	hexhaven	Destructicon	banjoetheredskin	Soularion
11	11	11	9	8	10	10

#9 EURONICS.Nerchio

Is there really another choice right now for ‘Best Foreigner in SC2’? Nerchio’s relentless self-promotion, both on the message boards and in the server, has garnered him plenty of fans around the world. Not without reason; the EURONICS zerg has put together an awesomely consistent set of results since the release of Legacy of the Void. He’s reached the top 8 in eight of his ten competitive appearances since DH Winter 2015, including the runners up spot at WCS Spring and the gold at DH Valencia—a record that only Neeb comes close to matching. It’s not just foreigners that Nerchio is crushing though; in the past four months, his record against KR-based Koreans is 20-6, including six victims from his rampage through SHOUTcraft Kings September. The Polish zerg is a very real threat here, and if his motivation for success here isn’t already at an all-time high, certain comments from SKT Dark might push him over the edge. Nerchio notably shares a group with Dark’s teammate Classic, and success here could well mean an awkward night in the SKT house.

munch	Olli	TheOneAboveU	hexhaven	Destructicon	banjoetheredskin	Soularion
9	9	8	8	12	9	7

#8: Afreeca.Patience

It may be time to re-evaluate Patience as a player. Always talked about as someone who isn't good enough to hang with the very best, but occasionally take games off them, the Afreeca ace has finally hit his stride and it's become impossible to deny it. That's why, at the last event before BlizzCon, Patience is still fighting for a spot, and he isn't far off either. Had Classic failed to qualify for KeSPA Cup, Patience' ticket to Anaheim would already be booked.

Patience is not your everyday cheesy Protoss anymore. He's now someone who easily 2-0'd INnoVation and sOs, despite the latter having everything to lose. He's the one who knocked GSL champion Zest out of Starleague in a Bo5. He beat TY and Cure to get there in the first place. Patience is now good enough to compete with the best, and to beat them. And right here, he can prove it by securing his place at the Global Finals. That's why, deservedly so, Patience ranks at #8 and may even deserve higher if his recent form is anything to go by.

munch	Olli	TheOneAboveU	hexhaven	Destructicon	banjoetheredskin	Soularion
8	8	9	10	9	6	9

#7 CJ.herO

herO was by far the most polarising player in the entire PR. Ranked as high as #4 by one writer, and as low as #11 by another, the CJ ace seems to be the one player that we can’t really agree on at all. That’s partly because he’s neither had the eyecatching starleague placements of some of those above him, nor the mindboggling Proleague results of others (Maru). Still, it bears repeating that while it’s been a step down from his stellar 2015, herO’s still had a great year. Two top 8 finishes in the GSL have been paired with a 20-9 record in Proleague—results all the more impressive given how disastrously the rest of CJ have performed this year. Let’s not forget too—herO still has an outside chance of stealing the 8th seed for BlizzCon. Sure, it’s unlikely—he’ll need to win the whole thing, while hoping Classic and Patience drop out early—but with one more target to aim at, 2016’s not quite over yet for herO.

munch	Olli	TheOneAboveU	hexhaven	Destructicon	banjoetheredskin	Soularion
4	6	5	7	7	8	11

#6: JinAir.Maru

A single Ro16. That's Maru's individual league achievements throughout the whole year. Despite all the talk that Korean competition is too rough, which may very well be the case, Maru just didn't show up in them. He failed to qualify for anything in Season 1, fell out of Starleague in S2 Challenger again. His GSL S2 run was ended by MyuNgSiK and Dear, just about summing up that chapter of his career. So why is he at #6?

Well, Maru's Proleague record is absurd. 22-4 is good, no matter how you spin it. And despite being eliminated from every individual competition early, Maru rarely looked bad in defeat. He did, however, look absolutely dominant in victory. It's incredibly hard to rank Maru due to his lack of individual success, but we've decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and agreed that the way he played Proleague all year deserves a decent ranking. So welcome at rank 6, Maru.

munch	Olli	TheOneAboveU	hexhaven	Destructicon	banjoetheredskin	Soularion
5	7	7	6	6	3	6

#5 KT.Stats

“Anything that Stats can do, Zest can do better”. It’s a fact that Stats’ big brother on KT proved time and again in the first half of the year. It was Zest who won his starleague final; Zest who led KT to Proleague success. That’s the perceived wisdom though. Since his SSL loss to Dark, Stats went from strength to strength; winning the Cross Finals over Zest and Dark while embarking on a 15-1 winstreak in Proleague. Where Zest has struggled, Stats has made his case to be KT’s #1 player, even if a tight 2-3 loss to Classic kicked him out of the SSL and a rare bad day at the office led to 0-2s from Cure and MyuNgSiK in the GSL. Stats has always been the dark horse of the protoss pack. Zest, Classic, herO and sOs have all tasted success on multiple occasions, but Stats is still yet to stand on the stage as a champion—let’s be honest, the Cross Finals don’t really count. His consistency throughout the year has delivered him a guaranteed spot at BlizzCon; it’s time for him to add the KeSPA Cup cherry to the cake.

munch	Olli	TheOneAboveU	hexhaven	Destructicon	banjoetheredskin	Soularion
7	5	6	4	5	7	5

#4: SKT.Classic

Currently sitting very uncomfortably in #8 of the Korean WCS rankings, Classic has definitely stepped up from where he was earlier this year. To be honest with you, this writer (Olli) thinks that Legacy of the Void is absolutely not a game made for Classic, a player who previously excelled at no single thing in particular, but was the most versatile Protoss in the world. He can do absolutely everything at a very high level, and HotS simply had more strategies for him to use. The more Classic is allowed to do, the better he is. That's why I still don't think that he's as good as he was in the previous expansion. When he won his SSL and IEM titles, Classic was the best player in the world. Those heights he hasn't reached since.

But he has definitely improved compared to his early days in the new game. His SSL semifinal series against Dark was one of the best series of the year, played at an immensely high level. Despite Dark barely edging out a win in the end, Classic did plenty to show that he is still very much one of the greats. His form is good, he looks good in every match-up, he's a championship caliber player. And, perhaps most importantly, Classic has everything to play for, with Patience on his heels in WCS.

munch	Olli	TheOneAboveU	hexhaven	Destructicon	banjoetheredskin	Soularion
6	4	4	5	4	5	4

#3 KT.TY

Much like Stats, TY’s seemingly fated to be ‘that player who places highly but fails to win’. Denied GSL victory by his teammate Zest, he’s nonetheless been excellent throughout 2016. Following up his GSL silver with a pair of top 8 finishes gives him a consistency other players on this list can only dream of, and he was only denied further glory by some inspired PvT from Dear, and some world class ZvT from his traditional nemesis Dark. Still, it’s all added up to another year of ‘not quite’ for the KT terran—not quite good enough in TvP to beat Zest or Dear; not quite good enough in TvZ to beat Dark; not quite good enough in TvT to beat Maru. Much like Stats, TY’s always been good, but not the best. What better time to correct that status than the first Global Event of 2016?

munch	Olli	TheOneAboveU	hexhaven	Destructicon	banjoetheredskin	Soularion
3	3	3	2	2	4	3

#2: Samsung.Solar

Solar has deserved to be the highest ranking Zerg in something for so long. This time, there's no soO to automatically rank above him, as it was in 2014. No Life, as in 2015. And with Dark not qualifying for KeSPA Cup, his current rival isn't here either. And thus, Solar is the best Zerg at this event. The reigning Starleague champion almost added another trophy to his growing stack, but was ultimately out-ZvZ-ed by Dark in a deciding fifth game of the Cross Finals. With top class ZvZ, arguably the best ZvP on the planet, and largely untested ZvT that we expect to be quite decent as well, Solar is one of the hottest contenders to take home KeSPA Cup as well.

munch	Olli	TheOneAboveU	hexhaven	Destructicon	banjoetheredskin	Soularion
2	2	2	3	3	2	2

#1 ByuN

Besides Pet, there was only one player that all seven of us agreed on. The reigning GSL champion is on a hot streak that rivals anything we’ve seen this year so far. ByuN shares Zest’s impenetrable aura in Season 1, and Maru’s irresistable force during his unbeaten proleague run. His TvP prowess is off the charts; since the start of July, ByuN is 80-8 in the matchup, with just one series loss to Classic in the SSL (having beaten Classic in their opening match). With 4-1 wins over both Dear and sOs en route to the GSL title, that particular streak doesn’t look like stopping anytime soon, with his transcendent micro control making mincemeat of protoss’ traditional adept-heavy armies. An 80% winrate in TvT in the same timeframe is hardly poor either, including a win over INnoVation (although it must be mentioned that he’s yet to face either TY or Maru this year).

If he’s got one weakness, it’s that his TvZ is shaky sometimes, though his weakness against lategame zerg is more a generic terran concern than one attributable to him in particular. His 2-3 loss to Dark in the Cross-Finals demonstrated his inability to crack late game ultra-heavy compositions, although such a tight loss to the best ZvTer in the world is hardly a loss to be ashamed of. We’re in an age where none of the players we watch are perfect; there’s no 2011 Mvp to be found here. But in a set of players who all have their faults, ByuN shines as the star with the highest peaks. If he performs to his peak potential, with no Dark to stop him here, ByuN’s the clear favourite to take the tournament.

munch	Olli	TheOneAboveU	hexhaven	Destructicon	banjoetheredskin	Soularion
1	1	1	1	1	1	1

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Writer: Olli, munch
Editor: Olli, munch
Graphics: shiroiusagi