Welcome to our annual Road to BlizzCon series! As we have done in years prior, we will be releasing 16 articles previewing the WCS Global Finals—one article for each player. Below are the sixteen players who, through their performances across the whole year, have qualified for the biggest StarCraft II tournament of the year.
In some of the past years, we decided to release these articles under certain themes. Tarot in 2014, a fictional storyline in 2015. This year, we decided on another little twist that will hopefully keep you interested in our pieces as they are released. We will be publishing our articles in the overarching form of a Power Rank. That means Kelazhur, whose article is released today, ranks at #16 in the BlizzCon Power Rank, the card next to him will reveal the player ranked at #15, and so on. When all individual articles are released, the Power Rank will be revealed.
This post will serve as a portal for all our 2017 Road to BlizzCon articles. The cards at the bottom will spin if you hover your mouse over them, and will reveal a player—but only if that player's article has been released. Clicking that image will send you directly to the corresponding article. That way you can easily keep up with the Power Rank as it is released, and can easily catch up on any articles you may have missed.
We hope you'll enjoy our coverage of this year's Global Finals!
I dont understand why you even cover the non kr players. They are of no relevance to this tournament. The actual tournament Starts in the ro8 with 8 koreans.
16. Kelazhur 15. SpeCial 14. TRUE 13. Snute 12. Nerchio 11. Elazer 10. GuMiho 9. Serral 8. Neeb 7. soO 6. TY 5. herO 4. Stats 3. Dark 2. Rogue 1. INnoVation
I'd love to see Major rank higher but his performance at Montreal was just abysmal. Meanwhile TRUE hasn't had a lot of opportunity to show what he has but his ZvZ at least still looks to be top level. I only place Snute / Nerchio / Elazer above him because I believe they are more well rounded, better vT and vP but worse vZ. Serral edges out GuMiHo as a nod to his Rank 1 Korea status, if any of the foreigners will take a game off a korean t or p I think it will be Serral and GuMiHo is the best target he could hope for. It's a toss up between soO, Neeb and TY, with Neeb having strong recent results but against lesser competition while soO and TY have been slumping. At the end of the day I put even a slumping TY or soO over Neeb. I feel like the top 5 are pretty much confirmed here, and I think the reasoning for herO = Stats < Dark < INnoVation = Rogue is relatively self explanatory; these guys have been dominating all the recent tournaments they play in. herO vs Stats and iNnoVation vs Rogue were hard picks, but I ended up choosing the more consistent players over the ones with more recent successes.
On October 11 2017 00:04 evolsiefil wrote: I dont understand why you even cover the non kr players. They are of no relevance to this tournament. The actual tournament Starts in the ro8 with 8 koreans.
realistically speaking probably the best blizzc9n bet for foreigners. serral and neeb all can go head to head with all but the very best (rogue, inno, dark), and nerchio snute elazer and maybe even special could pull off upsets and make it to ro8.
but as a veteran sc2 watcher i will believe foreigner success when i see it, and not get my hopes up before.
Hundreds of tournaments have happened where promising foreigners were put up against top koreans and they get wrecked.
On October 11 2017 00:04 evolsiefil wrote: I dont understand why you even cover the non kr players. They are of no relevance to this tournament. The actual tournament Starts in the ro8 with 8 koreans.
I'm a KR elitist and i think Serral and Neeb are at least on par with soO and Gumiho.
He has actually become a solid player this year. I'd like to see him triumph over the Koreans.
15. True
True is a player I enjoy watching, because he sees the game in his own way. And he keeps upsetting my top favorites.
14. Nerchio
He often either plays too safe or too greedy, as if he was simply unlucky at times. Perhaps he can do some magic in this tournament.
13. SpeCial
The guy looks nearly unstoppable at his best, but sometimes loses to people that are supposed to be much worse than him. We will see which side of him attends the tournament.
12. Snute
Snute is terrifyingly clever in super-late-game scenarios. I'd like to see him get there, and beat the Koreans in style.
11. Serral
Serral has a low variety of very solid play-styles, that are hard to break with anything less than stellar play or strategies that abuse his generic style. The guy doesn't allow any mistakes from his opponents. Being a Finn, I'm automatically rooting for him.
10. herO
His agressive strategies are as entertaining as his defense is stellar. One of the best at the top of his game.
9. Elazer
I have no idea how he suddenly became the monster that he is right now. But the results in minor tournaments speak that his form is excellent. Struggles sometimes vs terran.
8. Neeb
While a bit generic in style, his execution is most often so tenderly crisp I'd love him as a bacon. Makes protoss look like a piece of art when you watch his POV in twitch. The machanics, my gosh.
I don't have time for in depth follow-up of this ranking, but here goes my last spots:
On October 11 2017 03:48 Fango wrote: I predict herO and Gumiho will be ranked far higher than they should be. Also that Rogue will be ranked number 1 when it should be Inno
herO I think has a good case for best Protoss atm, gvien his performance at the Super Tournament. Gumiho has been pretty unimpressive recently, I'd say he's probably the weakest Korean at Blizzcon. Rogue and Inno are very evenly matched, I could see either one as #1.
On October 11 2017 03:48 Fango wrote: I predict herO and Gumiho will be ranked far higher than they should be. Also that Rogue will be ranked number 1 when it should be Inno
herO I think has a good case for best Protoss atm, gvien his performance at the Super Tournament. Gumiho has been pretty unimpressive recently, I'd say he's probably the weakest Korean at Blizzcon. Rogue and Inno are very evenly matched, I could see either one as #1.
I think soO is the weakest korean, he really didn't look impressive lately
On October 11 2017 03:48 Fango wrote: I predict herO and Gumiho will be ranked far higher than they should be. Also that Rogue will be ranked number 1 when it should be Inno
herO I think has a good case for best Protoss atm, gvien his performance at the Super Tournament. Gumiho has been pretty unimpressive recently, I'd say he's probably the weakest Korean at Blizzcon. Rogue and Inno are very evenly matched, I could see either one as #1.
herO's results have a clear pattern. Brilliance at quick weekenders (ST1/2, Shangai), but failure at the bigger/longer running events (he did poorly in Katowice, SSL premier, and only made GSL playoffs once). I don't expect anything special from him at blizzcon.
And I know I'm bringing my bias up again, but I think Inno beats out Rogue. Yes Rogue beat him 3-2 at ST2, but he basically got 2 free maps against mech (I don't think any terran can beat Rogue with mech tbh). If Inno was smarter and played bio I think he edges out Rogue ever so slightly
On October 11 2017 03:48 Fango wrote: I predict herO and Gumiho will be ranked far higher than they should be. Also that Rogue will be ranked number 1 when it should be Inno
herO I think has a good case for best Protoss atm, gvien his performance at the Super Tournament. Gumiho has been pretty unimpressive recently, I'd say he's probably the weakest Korean at Blizzcon. Rogue and Inno are very evenly matched, I could see either one as #1.
I think soO is the weakest korean, he really didn't look impressive lately
He did defeat Stats at the Super Tournament, and his ZvZ is always among the best. I have a hard time imagining him losing in the Ro16 at Blizzcon.
Gumiho on the other hand I could see falling in the Ro16.
On October 11 2017 03:48 Fango wrote: I predict herO and Gumiho will be ranked far higher than they should be. Also that Rogue will be ranked number 1 when it should be Inno
herO I think has a good case for best Protoss atm, gvien his performance at the Super Tournament. Gumiho has been pretty unimpressive recently, I'd say he's probably the weakest Korean at Blizzcon. Rogue and Inno are very evenly matched, I could see either one as #1.
herO's results have a clear pattern. Brilliance at quick weekenders (ST1/2, Shangai), but failure at the bigger/longer running events (he did poorly in Katowice, SSL premier, and only made GSL playoffs once). I don't expect anything special from him at blizzcon.
And I know I'm bringing my bias up again, but I think Inno beats out Rogue. Yes Rogue beat him 3-2 at ST2, but he basically got 2 free maps against mech (I don't think any terran can beat Rogue with mech tbh). If Inno was smarter and played bio I think he edges out Rogue ever so slightly
Blizzcon is a short tournament, even though it does last slightly longer than a weekender. Agreed on the mech freewins, but Rogue's ZvBio is also insanely strong. I do tend to favor Inno slightly in bio TvZ though. That being said, with LBH + the current map pool favoring Zerg, I could understand an argument for Rogue at #1.
I would say Dark's ZvBio is actually better than Rogue's, but Rogue has superior ZvP and ZvMech. Dark is the clear pick for #3 imo.
On October 11 2017 03:48 Fango wrote: I predict herO and Gumiho will be ranked far higher than they should be. Also that Rogue will be ranked number 1 when it should be Inno
herO I think has a good case for best Protoss atm, gvien his performance at the Super Tournament. Gumiho has been pretty unimpressive recently, I'd say he's probably the weakest Korean at Blizzcon. Rogue and Inno are very evenly matched, I could see either one as #1.
herO's results have a clear pattern. Brilliance at quick weekenders (ST1/2, Shangai), but failure at the bigger/longer running events (he did poorly in Katowice, SSL premier, and only made GSL playoffs once). I don't expect anything special from him at blizzcon.
And I know I'm bringing my bias up again, but I think Inno beats out Rogue. Yes Rogue beat him 3-2 at ST2, but he basically got 2 free maps against mech (I don't think any terran can beat Rogue with mech tbh). If Inno was smarter and played bio I think he edges out Rogue ever so slightly
Blizzcon is a short tournament, even though it does last slightly longer than a weekender. Agreed on the mech freewins, but Rogue's ZvBio is also insanely strong. I do tend to favor Inno slightly in bio TvZ though. That being said, with LBH + the current map pool favoring Zerg, I could understand an argument for Rogue at #1.
I would say Dark's ZvBio is actually better than Rogue's, but Rogue has superior ZvP and ZvMech. Dark is the clear pick for #3 imo.
Blizzcon is technically a weekender, but it's still on a much larger/longer level than the others. What makes herO better in weekenders, is the fact that the players haven't spent days/weeks practicing specific builds to play against him (like they would in a starleague).
But until you reach the ro4 at blizzcon, it's almost the same as GSL in terms of how long you get to prepare (better than GSL in terms of group stages, as each group is played over 2 days). And also, like GSL, every single match is top priority for the players involved (lilbow isn't in this one), and they will dedicate most (if not all) practice hours to it.
And although we haven't seen Dark vs mech recently, I'd like to think it's decent. During his match in GSL against Inno he wasn't at all prepared for the comp.
On October 11 2017 03:48 Fango wrote: I predict herO and Gumiho will be ranked far higher than they should be. Also that Rogue will be ranked number 1 when it should be Inno
herO I think has a good case for best Protoss atm, gvien his performance at the Super Tournament. Gumiho has been pretty unimpressive recently, I'd say he's probably the weakest Korean at Blizzcon. Rogue and Inno are very evenly matched, I could see either one as #1.
You think Gumiho is below TY? Maybe TY has done something in some small online tournament lately, but as I don't pay attention to those, my last memory of him is failing to qualify for the super tournament.
I remember Gumi getting knocked out of the Ting Open by a combined score of 6-2 by Elazer. It's an online tournament, sure, but I doubt any top 8 Koreans wants to lose 6-2 to a foreigner.
I just feel like TY has had an overall more solid year than Gumi, and neither of them did particularly well in the ST 2.
On October 11 2017 14:35 FrkFrJss wrote: I remember Gumi getting knocked out of the Ting Open by a combined score of 6-2 by Elazer. It's an online tournament, sure, but I doubt any top 8 Koreans wants to lose 6-2 to a foreigner.
I just feel like TY has had an overall more solid year than Gumi, and neither of them did particularly well in the ST 2.
And to add to that Elazer's ZvT is his worst match-up by a significant margin.
On October 11 2017 14:35 FrkFrJss wrote: I remember Gumi getting knocked out of the Ting Open by a combined score of 6-2 by Elazer. It's an online tournament, sure, but I doubt any top 8 Koreans wants to lose 6-2 to a foreigner.
I just feel like TY has had an overall more solid year than Gumi, and neither of them did particularly well in the ST 2.
And to add to that Elazer's ZvT is his worst match-up by a significant margin.
On October 11 2017 14:35 FrkFrJss wrote: I remember Gumi getting knocked out of the Ting Open by a combined score of 6-2 by Elazer. It's an online tournament, sure, but I doubt any top 8 Koreans wants to lose 6-2 to a foreigner.
I just feel like TY has had an overall more solid year than Gumi, and neither of them did particularly well in the ST 2.
And to add to that Elazer's ZvT is his worst match-up by a significant margin.
Actually, I'm not sure it is his worst matchup.
Looking solely at his versus Korean results just in 2017, his vP and vT matchups are relatively similar, and his vZ matchup is his worst matchup by far. Of course, this is inflated by him beating up on Keen and aLive, and he's only played 44 maps total against Korean Terrans (online and offline).
This lines up with his results against foreigners, with his vP and vT having similar (if inflated) results with his vZ being his worst matchup by a large margin.
I somehow still believe that because of Illness or something similar, one of the Koreans will not be able to go to BlizzCon, so sOs will play as a substitute. So I am wondering, where will you put sOs in that ranking ...
I like personal predictions! So here is my: 16. Kelazhur (foreigner #7) 15. Nerchio (foreigner #6) 14. Snute (foreigner #5) 13. Elazer (foreigner #4) 12. Serral (foreigner #3) 11. SpeCial (foreigner #2) 10. Neeb (foreigner #1) 09. TRUE (tricky and fun to watch, but a little bit weak today) 08. Stats (greedy and hungry, can loss everything) 07. soO (the most stability, but nothing special, but he is lovely man) 06. herO (cheeky as always) 05. TY (mastermind, smooth and cool with everything) 04. INnoVation (standart as a usual morning, but robotic cold heart, engine oil and nuts) 03. GuMiho (mastermind, bag of builds) 02. Dark (mastermind of mastermind) 01. Rogue (mastermind of mastermind of mastermind, he beat 3-0 Maru)
Looking solely at his versus Korean results just in 2017, his vP and vT matchups are relatively similar, and his vZ matchup is his worst matchup by far. Of course, this is inflated by him beating up on Keen and aLive, and he's only played 44 maps total against Korean Terrans (online and offline).
This lines up with his results against foreigners, with his vP and vT having similar (if inflated) results with his vZ being his worst matchup by a large margin.
Does not make much sense to look at historical results as Elazer has only started to play full time pro in June 2017 (thats like 3-4 hours of practice every other day vs 12 hours of practice everyday) this alone gave him 1 wcs chamionship and 2x wcs semifinals and for the last month or so he has been practicing in Korea. Im not saying it will change anything, but Im pretty sure there is a good chance for that.
On October 11 2017 03:48 Fango wrote: I predict herO and Gumiho will be ranked far higher than they should be. Also that Rogue will be ranked number 1 when it should be Inno
herO I think has a good case for best Protoss atm, gvien his performance at the Super Tournament. Gumiho has been pretty unimpressive recently, I'd say he's probably the weakest Korean at Blizzcon. Rogue and Inno are very evenly matched, I could see either one as #1.
You think Gumiho is below TY? Maybe TY has done something in some small online tournament lately, but as I don't pay attention to those, my last memory of him is failing to qualify for the super tournament.
TY doesn't play in small online tournaments. He only plays in the big events, and when he does normally performs well. That's why people rank him highly despite not seeing him for a while.
Gumiho has done nothing impressive since he won GSL. I don't think he's even beaten a single zerg since then (?). He does play in online cups though, and has been losing a lot to foreigners lately. He's by far the weakest korean on paper going into blizzcon
Looking solely at his versus Korean results just in 2017, his vP and vT matchups are relatively similar, and his vZ matchup is his worst matchup by far. Of course, this is inflated by him beating up on Keen and aLive, and he's only played 44 maps total against Korean Terrans (online and offline).
This lines up with his results against foreigners, with his vP and vT having similar (if inflated) results with his vZ being his worst matchup by a large margin.
Does not make much sense to look at historical results as Elazer has only started to play full time pro in June 2017 (thats like 3-4 hours of practice every other day vs 12 hours of practice everyday) this alone gave him 1 wcs chamionship and 2x wcs semifinals and for the last month or so he has been practicing in Korea. Im not saying it will change anything, but Im pretty sure there is a good chance for that.
Just because you practice more doesn't mean that your favourite/least favourite matchups will change. If anything, it means your results will be better overall.
For instance, before Neeb went full time into Starcraft, he was already a beast in PvP, and he ended winning KeSPA Cup off the back of it.
Additionally, PvT has been his weakest matchup for A long time, and it didn't change (from being his worst matchup) when he went to Korea.
Looking solely at his versus Korean results just in 2017, his vP and vT matchups are relatively similar, and his vZ matchup is his worst matchup by far. Of course, this is inflated by him beating up on Keen and aLive, and he's only played 44 maps total against Korean Terrans (online and offline).
This lines up with his results against foreigners, with his vP and vT having similar (if inflated) results with his vZ being his worst matchup by a large margin.
Does not make much sense to look at historical results as Elazer has only started to play full time pro in June 2017 (thats like 3-4 hours of practice every other day vs 12 hours of practice everyday) this alone gave him 1 wcs chamionship and 2x wcs semifinals and for the last month or so he has been practicing in Korea. Im not saying it will change anything, but Im pretty sure there is a good chance for that.
Just because you practice more doesn't mean that your favourite/least favourite matchups will change. If anything, it means your results will be better overall.
For instance, before Neeb went full time into Starcraft, he was already a beast in PvP, and he ended winning KeSPA Cup off the back of it.
Additionally, PvT has been his weakest matchup for A long time, and it didn't change (from being his worst matchup) when he went to Korea.
While this might have changed, before GSL Elazer mentioned that in practice and on ladder he had a terrible win rate against terran but was doing well in ZvZ. I think one of the Koreans said something to the same effect.
Looking solely at his versus Korean results just in 2017, his vP and vT matchups are relatively similar, and his vZ matchup is his worst matchup by far. Of course, this is inflated by him beating up on Keen and aLive, and he's only played 44 maps total against Korean Terrans (online and offline).
This lines up with his results against foreigners, with his vP and vT having similar (if inflated) results with his vZ being his worst matchup by a large margin.
Does not make much sense to look at historical results as Elazer has only started to play full time pro in June 2017 (thats like 3-4 hours of practice every other day vs 12 hours of practice everyday) this alone gave him 1 wcs chamionship and 2x wcs semifinals and for the last month or so he has been practicing in Korea. Im not saying it will change anything, but Im pretty sure there is a good chance for that.
Just because you practice more doesn't mean that your favourite/least favourite matchups will change. If anything, it means your results will be better overall.
For instance, before Neeb went full time into Starcraft, he was already a beast in PvP, and he ended winning KeSPA Cup off the back of it.
Additionally, PvT has been his weakest matchup for A long time, and it didn't change (from being his worst matchup) when he went to Korea.
While this might have changed, before GSL Elazer mentioned that in practice and on ladder he had a terrible win rate against terran but was doing well in ZvZ. I think one of the Koreans said something to the same effect.
That's fair....though sometimes players claim to be good or bad in a matchup and then perform the opposite in tournaments.
On October 11 2017 03:48 Fango wrote: I predict herO and Gumiho will be ranked far higher than they should be. Also that Rogue will be ranked number 1 when it should be Inno
herO I think has a good case for best Protoss atm, gvien his performance at the Super Tournament. Gumiho has been pretty unimpressive recently, I'd say he's probably the weakest Korean at Blizzcon. Rogue and Inno are very evenly matched, I could see either one as #1.
You think Gumiho is below TY? Maybe TY has done something in some small online tournament lately, but as I don't pay attention to those, my last memory of him is failing to qualify for the super tournament.
On October 11 2017 03:48 Fango wrote: I predict herO and Gumiho will be ranked far higher than they should be. Also that Rogue will be ranked number 1 when it should be Inno
herO I think has a good case for best Protoss atm, gvien his performance at the Super Tournament. Gumiho has been pretty unimpressive recently, I'd say he's probably the weakest Korean at Blizzcon. Rogue and Inno are very evenly matched, I could see either one as #1.
You think Gumiho is below TY? Maybe TY has done something in some small online tournament lately, but as I don't pay attention to those, my last memory of him is failing to qualify for the super tournament.
TY doesn't play in small online tournaments.
He actually started doing it this week.
He did? Suprising that he starts doing them now when blizzcon is nearly 2 weeks away haha
On October 11 2017 03:48 Fango wrote: I predict herO and Gumiho will be ranked far higher than they should be. Also that Rogue will be ranked number 1 when it should be Inno
herO I think has a good case for best Protoss atm, gvien his performance at the Super Tournament. Gumiho has been pretty unimpressive recently, I'd say he's probably the weakest Korean at Blizzcon. Rogue and Inno are very evenly matched, I could see either one as #1.
You think Gumiho is below TY? Maybe TY has done something in some small online tournament lately, but as I don't pay attention to those, my last memory of him is failing to qualify for the super tournament.
TY doesn't play in small online tournaments.
He actually started doing it this week.
He did? Suprising that he starts doing them now when blizzcon is nearly 2 weeks away haha
He is doing pretty well in the online cups too, made it all three finals of the ones he played.
Ofc I would always be hesitant to use online form as a predictor, and even moreso now when everyone is undoubtedly focusing on Blizzcon. Presumably they are just using these online cups as a way to hone fundamentals/standard builds.
On October 11 2017 03:48 Fango wrote: I predict herO and Gumiho will be ranked far higher than they should be. Also that Rogue will be ranked number 1 when it should be Inno
herO I think has a good case for best Protoss atm, gvien his performance at the Super Tournament. Gumiho has been pretty unimpressive recently, I'd say he's probably the weakest Korean at Blizzcon. Rogue and Inno are very evenly matched, I could see either one as #1.
You think Gumiho is below TY? Maybe TY has done something in some small online tournament lately, but as I don't pay attention to those, my last memory of him is failing to qualify for the super tournament.
TY doesn't play in small online tournaments.
He actually started doing it this week.
He did? Suprising that he starts doing them now when blizzcon is nearly 2 weeks away haha
He is doing pretty well in the online cups too, made it all three finals of the ones he played.
Ofc I would always be hesitant to use online form as a predictor, and even moreso now when everyone is undoubtedly focusing on Blizzcon. Presumably they are just using these online cups as a way to hone fundamentals/standard builds.
They are likely just using online cups as a bit of extra cash, seeing how there aren't any major events until blizzcon. Most of them are probably just playing standard and saving builds for blizzzon anyway, so I wouldn't use the form there as any indicator. Then again, all the top 8 are doing great online right now anyway
On October 11 2017 04:34 Shuffleblade wrote: My opinion:
16. Kelazhur 15. TRUE 14. Nerchio 13. Elazer 12. Snute 11 SpeCial 10. Serral 9. Neeb 8. TY 7. Stats 6. soO 5. GuMiho 4. Dark 3. herO 2. Rogue 1. INnoVation
Cheering for Rogue, soO, Serral and Neeb especially =)
Almost completely agree with this ranking except TY should switch with GuMiho. GuMiho is a great player but kind of underperform since GSL win. Also a bit of inconsistency, one tourney played badly and next day in other tourney, played well again. I hope he will bring his A game at BlizzCon.
Cheer for herO and soO. Non-Korean, cheer for Snute and Nerchio.
On October 11 2017 03:48 Fango wrote: I predict herO and Gumiho will be ranked far higher than they should be. Also that Rogue will be ranked number 1 when it should be Inno
herO I think has a good case for best Protoss atm, gvien his performance at the Super Tournament. Gumiho has been pretty unimpressive recently, I'd say he's probably the weakest Korean at Blizzcon. Rogue and Inno are very evenly matched, I could see either one as #1.
herO's results have a clear pattern. Brilliance at quick weekenders (ST1/2, Shangai), but failure at the bigger/longer running events (he did poorly in Katowice, SSL premier, and only made GSL playoffs once). I don't expect anything special from him at blizzcon.
And I know I'm bringing my bias up again, but I think Inno beats out Rogue. Yes Rogue beat him 3-2 at ST2, but he basically got 2 free maps against mech (I don't think any terran can beat Rogue with mech tbh). If Inno was smarter and played bio I think he edges out Rogue ever so slightly
That really isn't a clear pattern, herO was eliminated in the group stage of iem katowice which was played over a single day. Also Blizzcon is essentially a weekend tournament with a group stage the week before. If herO is ranked third or lower I don't see how you can argue that would be far higher than it should be based on form, herO's recent online results have been pretty stunning.
On October 11 2017 03:48 Fango wrote: I predict herO and Gumiho will be ranked far higher than they should be. Also that Rogue will be ranked number 1 when it should be Inno
herO I think has a good case for best Protoss atm, gvien his performance at the Super Tournament. Gumiho has been pretty unimpressive recently, I'd say he's probably the weakest Korean at Blizzcon. Rogue and Inno are very evenly matched, I could see either one as #1.
herO's results have a clear pattern. Brilliance at quick weekenders (ST1/2, Shangai), but failure at the bigger/longer running events (he did poorly in Katowice, SSL premier, and only made GSL playoffs once). I don't expect anything special from him at blizzcon.
And I know I'm bringing my bias up again, but I think Inno beats out Rogue. Yes Rogue beat him 3-2 at ST2, but he basically got 2 free maps against mech (I don't think any terran can beat Rogue with mech tbh). If Inno was smarter and played bio I think he edges out Rogue ever so slightly
That really isn't a clear pattern, herO was eliminated in the group stage of iem katowice which was played over a single day. Also Blizzcon is essentially a weekend tournament with a group stage the week before. If herO is ranked third or lower I don't see how you can argue that would be far higher than it should be based on form, herO's recent online results have been pretty stunning.
Doing poorly in almost all the starleagues and then amazing in almost every weekender is a clear pattern. Obviously you can find exceptions but it holds true for most events
Now although Blizzcon is technically a weekender, if you look at the actual time between matches it's quite long. Until you reach the ro4 you get more time to prepare than you might in GSL for example.
You get several weeks to prepare for the first group, and even that is played out over three days (even in starleagues you don't get days between group stage matches). Then for the ro8 you get another week as well.
Whoa... Rogue ranked No. 2 ahead of Stats and Dark? He just won 2 non-Starleague tournaments and he is ranked this high? I'm looking forward to see the reason behind this as soon as his story comes out. He was just so inconsistent at the beginning and middle of 2017 for him to be ranked this high. My guts also tell me he will not survive Group D of WCS Global Playoffs. =)
On October 23 2017 23:33 ARnisPH wrote: Whoa... Rogue ranked No. 2 ahead of Stats and Dark? He just won 2 non-Starleague tournaments and he is ranked this high? I'm looking forward to see the reason behind this as soon as his story comes out. He was just so inconsistent at the beginning and middle of 2017 for him to be ranked this high. My guts also tell me he will not survive Group D of WCS Global Playoffs. =)
Rogue must be very glad that he is in Group C, then.
On October 23 2017 23:33 ARnisPH wrote: Whoa... Rogue ranked No. 2 ahead of Stats and Dark? He just won 2 non-Starleague tournaments and he is ranked this high? I'm looking forward to see the reason behind this as soon as his story comes out. He was just so inconsistent at the beginning and middle of 2017 for him to be ranked this high. My guts also tell me he will not survive Group D of WCS Global Playoffs. =)
Rogue must be very glad that he is in Group C, then.
On October 23 2017 23:33 ARnisPH wrote: Whoa... Rogue ranked No. 2 ahead of Stats and Dark? He just won 2 non-Starleague tournaments and he is ranked this high? I'm looking forward to see the reason behind this as soon as his story comes out. He was just so inconsistent at the beginning and middle of 2017 for him to be ranked this high. My guts also tell me he will not survive Group D of WCS Global Playoffs. =)
Rogue must be very glad that he is in Group C, then.
On October 23 2017 23:33 ARnisPH wrote: Whoa... Rogue ranked No. 2 ahead of Stats and Dark? He just won 2 non-Starleague tournaments and he is ranked this high? I'm looking forward to see the reason behind this as soon as his story comes out. He was just so inconsistent at the beginning and middle of 2017 for him to be ranked this high. My guts also tell me he will not survive Group D of WCS Global Playoffs. =)
Rogue must be very glad that he is in Group C, then.
At least a foreigner wasn't ranked #2 this time. Rogue can be justified to some degree
Considering how strong foreigners are right now and they are stronger than ever, this ranking is ludicrous, but whatever :-) A Korean still has a good chance to win the event, but lower than ever before.
On October 23 2017 23:33 ARnisPH wrote: Whoa... Rogue ranked No. 2 ahead of Stats and Dark? He just won 2 non-Starleague tournaments and he is ranked this high? I'm looking forward to see the reason behind this as soon as his story comes out. He was just so inconsistent at the beginning and middle of 2017 for him to be ranked this high. My guts also tell me he will not survive Group D of WCS Global Playoffs. =)
Rogue must be very glad that he is in Group C, then.
He's in Group B...
But he would love to be in group A, RIP
Sorry to be the source of the confusion but what I meant is Rogue might not survive his Group B. I don't think he will beat Neeb and soO might snipe him. Just my prediction though... games still has to be played...
Have to say that I'm pretty satisfied with the way this year's Road to Blizzcon turned out. The PR structure was a neat twist, and the rankings themselves fueled interest without being too controversial.
EPT
