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[D] Greatest overall Starcraft player of all time?

Forum Index > SC2 General
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WombaT
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Northern Ireland25215 Posts
August 12 2019 21:23 GMT
#1
After Innovation was democratically (and hence correctly) anointed as the SC2 GOAT and I think consensus is that Flash is the Brood War GOAT it got me pondering as to who is the best overall player on average across the two games?

Weirdly enough it seems a rarely discussed topic, unless I’m looking in all the wrong places, thought it would stir some debate.

Flash and Jaedong were hall of famers in Brood War and had results in SC2 that would be considered pretty damn good for players not called Flash and Jaedong

Rain had a lot of hype around him as being one of the coming men in Brood War before the end of the Kespa era and never really got to fulfil that for reasons outside his control, switched to SC2 where he became the best Protoss if not the best overall player for periods, then switched back where he’s had fantastic results in the post-Kespa Brood War scene. Soulkey was in a vaguely similar boat to my knowledge.

Those are a few names that spring to mind given my relatively limited knowledge of BW talent.
'You'll always be the cuddly marsupial of my heart, despite the inherent flaws of your ancestry' - Squat
Z3nith
Profile Joined October 2017
485 Posts
August 12 2019 21:29 GMT
#2
Either Rain or Soulkey. Of the really good brood war players only Jaedong can really claim to have been successful at Sc2, Flash had his moments but just wasn't incredible. Actually FantaSy could be in the running.
Duceman
Profile Joined June 2018
United States87 Posts
August 12 2019 21:38 GMT
#3
It’s still Flash.

He’s won more championships in Brood War than anyone else in both games combined, and he did win an IEM and regularly performed well in GSL and Proleague in StarCraft II.
Elentos
Profile Blog Joined February 2015
55511 Posts
August 12 2019 21:38 GMT
#4
On August 13 2019 06:29 Z3nith wrote:
Either Rain or Soulkey. Of the really good brood war players only Jaedong can really claim to have been successful at Sc2, Flash had his moments but just wasn't incredible. Actually FantaSy could be in the running.

Fantasy is still less successful than Flash in either game.
Every 60 seconds in Africa, a minute passes.
WombaT
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Northern Ireland25215 Posts
August 12 2019 21:38 GMT
#5
On August 13 2019 06:29 Z3nith wrote:
Either Rain or Soulkey. Of the really good brood war players only Jaedong can really claim to have been successful at Sc2, Flash had his moments but just wasn't incredible. Actually FantaSy could be in the running.

Fantasy’s achievements thus far are less than what Flash was managing when he was in the scene. Flash won a tournament and made GSL Ro8 in his time, which is pretty decent if you compare to the current Terran pool nowadays.

The cool thing about Fantasy is he actively chose SC2 for a new challenge, he’s done military and he seems to be improving all the time, so I’m super interested to see what heights he can hit in SC2 given time.

Despite being salty about it being a vote, i am excited to see what he can bring to GSLvstW
'You'll always be the cuddly marsupial of my heart, despite the inherent flaws of your ancestry' - Squat
Xain0n
Profile Joined November 2018
Italy3963 Posts
August 12 2019 22:28 GMT
#6
Flash or NaDa in BW, for sure.
I would vote for Rain overall, he was a very prominent player in Sc2 and he is the top Protoss in Brood War at the moment; no other player reached the same dimension in both of the games.
Fango
Profile Joined July 2016
United Kingdom8987 Posts
Last Edited: 2019-08-12 22:35:47
August 12 2019 22:35 GMT
#7
It's still Flash. Maybe you can make an argument for Rain now but I don't think his legacy stands up
Zest, sOs, PartinG, Dark, and Maru are the real champs. ROOT_herO is overrated. Snute, Serral, and Scarlett are the foreigner GOATs
WombaT
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Northern Ireland25215 Posts
Last Edited: 2019-08-12 22:36:59
August 12 2019 22:35 GMT
#8
On August 13 2019 07:28 Xain0n wrote:
Flash or NaDa in BW, for sure.
I would vote for Rain overall, he was a very prominent player in Sc2 and he is the top Protoss in Brood War at the moment; no other player reached the same dimension in both of the games.

Yeah I mean eras aside I think Rain can have a claim to have at one stage been the best player in both games, depends how we weight it I suppose.
'You'll always be the cuddly marsupial of my heart, despite the inherent flaws of your ancestry' - Squat
Poopi
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
France12839 Posts
August 12 2019 22:40 GMT
#9
It’s kinda unfair because some players didn’t get the chance to play broodwar. Also in the foreign side the top players also came from a wc3 background, Stephano comes to mind.

So all in all it’s kinda pointless since Flash won a lot in BW and was decent at sc2, while Rain was better at sc2 and worse at BW but still in a good shape right now, best Protoss post post kespa switch?

Most sc2 goat contenders didn’t compete enough in BW (Maru...).

INno idk how promising he was in BW but he flourished in sc2 and didn’t came back.
WriterMaru
WombaT
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Northern Ireland25215 Posts
August 12 2019 22:52 GMT
#10
On August 13 2019 07:40 Poopi wrote:
It’s kinda unfair because some players didn’t get the chance to play broodwar. Also in the foreign side the top players also came from a wc3 background, Stephano comes to mind.

So all in all it’s kinda pointless since Flash won a lot in BW and was decent at sc2, while Rain was better at sc2 and worse at BW but still in a good shape right now, best Protoss post post kespa switch?

Most sc2 goat contenders didn’t compete enough in BW (Maru...).

INno idk how promising he was in BW but he flourished in sc2 and didn’t came back.

True but as discussions go it’s not really meant to be fair as it’s difficult to be so.

In current year not that many top foreigners have much of a WC3 background, they tend to be SC2 exclusive, or at least matured as players with SC2
'You'll always be the cuddly marsupial of my heart, despite the inherent flaws of your ancestry' - Squat
Fango
Profile Joined July 2016
United Kingdom8987 Posts
Last Edited: 2019-08-12 23:01:28
August 12 2019 22:58 GMT
#11
On August 13 2019 07:40 Poopi wrote:
Most sc2 goat contenders didn’t compete enough in BW (Maru...).

Only Maru, Life, and Taeja fall in here. Every other legendary sc2 player came from BW (Mvp, soO, Dark, sOs, Zest, Stats, Rogue, INno, TY, Soulkey, NesTea etc)

Of course most didn't peak until post kespa switch which isn't really there fault either.

But that will always happen when discussing GOAT accross multiple games. In counterstrike for example only f0rest, Neo, and GetRight are really contenders due to the fact all the other legendary players peaked in one game only, with many not even being pros during the 1.0-1.6 era.
Zest, sOs, PartinG, Dark, and Maru are the real champs. ROOT_herO is overrated. Snute, Serral, and Scarlett are the foreigner GOATs
SamirDuran
Profile Joined May 2012
Philippines894 Posts
August 12 2019 23:15 GMT
#12
It would be rain and soulkey for me. They both dominated sc2 and bw with their own respective race. I bet bogus would be as good as them if he returned to bw after his period of domination but he did not.
Don't practice until you can get it right, practice until you can't get it wrong.
SAFenix
Profile Joined July 2011
Canada439 Posts
August 12 2019 23:25 GMT
#13
I think Rain has the strongest argument.

Starcraft2:
He was the best Protoss player during his SC2 time. Not only do his tournament results reflect this (GSL champ, SSL champ, OSL champ, WCS champ, etc.), but more importantly, his Proleague results indicate this as well (consistently winning against aces of other teams, notably Zest and herO of KT and CJ in clutch matches). The reason I put more weight on Proleague is because during the KesPa era of SC2, most top players took Proleague more seriously than even GSL itself. The team they played for was more important than their individual results. Look at the way FlaSh played in Proleague versus the way he played in individual tournaments. A practice God like him clearly indicated he cared more about the team tournaments.

Broodwar:
He is now currently the best Protoss in post-KesPa BW. This is indisputable. He is also likely the best PvPer in BW history (sorry Bisu). He has won a KSL and an ASL. Unfortunately, it can be argued that the competition has decreased drastically in BW, and that is definitely a knock against him compared the old legends like JD, FlaSh, Bisu, etc.
mYi.Rain | SKT1.soO
jimminy_kriket
Profile Blog Joined February 2007
Canada5502 Posts
August 12 2019 23:41 GMT
#14
I think rain would get my vote as well. He was incredibly dominating in sc2 when he was playing, more so than flash by a decent bit. And like SAFenix said, he is the best current protoss player in bw, at least for the next few days until bisu starts smacking kids around again.

Flash is still definitely in the running though. You just have to ask yourself if the amount flash is better than everyone else at broodwar makes up for how much worse he was at sc2 (he really wasn't that bad). I personally don't think it does but I wouldn't argue if someone claimed it did.
life of lively to live to life of full life thx to shield battery
Chris_Havoc
Profile Joined August 2016
United States600 Posts
August 12 2019 23:56 GMT
#15
It's hard to argue against FlaSh. 3 OSL titles. 3 MSL titles. 3 ASL titles. Proleague monster in BW (and not bad in SC2 except for that one losing streak). Plus IEM Toronto in SC2.

I feel too many underestimate FlaSh's play in SC2 in 2013 & 2014 and only remember his losing streak in 2015.
Owner of the SC2 Esports Anthology channel on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SC2EsportsAnthology
WombaT
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Northern Ireland25215 Posts
August 13 2019 00:10 GMT
#16
On August 13 2019 08:41 jimminy_kriket wrote:
I think rain would get my vote as well. He was incredibly dominating in sc2 when he was playing, more so than flash by a decent bit. And like SAFenix said, he is the best current protoss player in bw, at least for the next few days until bisu starts smacking kids around again.

Flash is still definitely in the running though. You just have to ask yourself if the amount flash is better than everyone else at broodwar makes up for how much worse he was at sc2 (he really wasn't that bad). I personally don't think it does but I wouldn't argue if someone claimed it did.

Absolutely.

Flash is just so crazily good at Brood War that being merely rather good at SC2 may still have him come out top, depending on how you’re weighting it.

For me it’s Rain given I think he’s pretty much unique in being the best in the world at both, at some stage in his career. Bisu in his comeback AMA (translated gloriously by Jinjin) said that within SKT internal rankings he was 1 and Rain was running him close, so it does seem that if Kespa BW had continued he would have had a good shot and he was one of the unlucky ones whose time to shine was cut short there. I believe Bogus/Innovation was extremely highly rated too.

I think Flash is probably the best gamer there’s ever been given how hard BW is inherently, given how competitive the scene was and given how pre-eminent he was within his field, given it’s a 1v1 game and various other factors.

I’d still maybe give it to Rain on a combined metric of considering both BW and SC2 though
'You'll always be the cuddly marsupial of my heart, despite the inherent flaws of your ancestry' - Squat
WombaT
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Northern Ireland25215 Posts
August 13 2019 00:18 GMT
#17
On August 13 2019 08:41 jimminy_kriket wrote:
I think rain would get my vote as well. He was incredibly dominating in sc2 when he was playing, more so than flash by a decent bit. And like SAFenix said, he is the best current protoss player in bw, at least for the next few days until bisu starts smacking kids around again.

Flash is still definitely in the running though. You just have to ask yourself if the amount flash is better than everyone else at broodwar makes up for how much worse he was at sc2 (he really wasn't that bad). I personally don't think it does but I wouldn't argue if someone claimed it did.

To requote you again, not bad at all.

Flash was one of the best Terrans around in his time, he won a tournament, he placed high elsewhere, he did well in Proleague, he made GSL round of 8s and was still a relative new player to the scene.

He’s a better player from his accomplishments than most current Terrans all things considered, and really underrated as an SC2 player, the Flash name really weighs down what he actually managed to accomplish.

I think from memory besides GuMiho/TY/Inno/Maru Flash was the last Terran to win a big tournament

'You'll always be the cuddly marsupial of my heart, despite the inherent flaws of your ancestry' - Squat
DarkPlasmaBall
Profile Blog Joined March 2010
United States44300 Posts
August 13 2019 00:35 GMT
#18
It's still Flash imo.
"There is nothing more satisfying than looking at a crowd of people and helping them get what I love." ~Day[9] Daily #100
Xain0n
Profile Joined November 2018
Italy3963 Posts
August 13 2019 00:48 GMT
#19
On August 13 2019 09:18 Wombat_NI wrote:
Show nested quote +
On August 13 2019 08:41 jimminy_kriket wrote:
I think rain would get my vote as well. He was incredibly dominating in sc2 when he was playing, more so than flash by a decent bit. And like SAFenix said, he is the best current protoss player in bw, at least for the next few days until bisu starts smacking kids around again.

Flash is still definitely in the running though. You just have to ask yourself if the amount flash is better than everyone else at broodwar makes up for how much worse he was at sc2 (he really wasn't that bad). I personally don't think it does but I wouldn't argue if someone claimed it did.

To requote you again, not bad at all.

Flash was one of the best Terrans around in his time, he won a tournament, he placed high elsewhere, he did well in Proleague, he made GSL round of 8s and was still a relative new player to the scene.

He’s a better player from his accomplishments than most current Terrans all things considered, and really underrated as an SC2 player, the Flash name really weighs down what he actually managed to accomplish.

I think from memory besides GuMiho/TY/Inno/Maru Flash was the last Terran to win a big tournament



Hm, no: Byun, Polt, MMA, ForGG, Bomber won Premier tournaments as Terran after Flash did.

In his Sc2 career, Flash won one IEM, had the most victories as Terran in Proleague(and the best overall record in one season) and reached two second places and three ro4 in Premier tournaments; he never went past ro8 in Code S and never won a Major tournament. Not impressive at all when you are God, aLive is arguably more accomplished.

Jaedong was a much more successful(despite kong-esque) sc2 player, I don't think he is below Flash if we combine Sc2 and BW. Rain is on another level, however, since he became the best Protoss and won multiple tournaments in both games even if he never was the best player in the world; in my opinion, being S tier in both games is better than being Bonjwa in BW and A/B tier in Sc2.
WombaT
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Northern Ireland25215 Posts
August 13 2019 00:50 GMT
#20
On August 13 2019 09:48 Xain0n wrote:
Show nested quote +
On August 13 2019 09:18 Wombat_NI wrote:
On August 13 2019 08:41 jimminy_kriket wrote:
I think rain would get my vote as well. He was incredibly dominating in sc2 when he was playing, more so than flash by a decent bit. And like SAFenix said, he is the best current protoss player in bw, at least for the next few days until bisu starts smacking kids around again.

Flash is still definitely in the running though. You just have to ask yourself if the amount flash is better than everyone else at broodwar makes up for how much worse he was at sc2 (he really wasn't that bad). I personally don't think it does but I wouldn't argue if someone claimed it did.

To requote you again, not bad at all.

Flash was one of the best Terrans around in his time, he won a tournament, he placed high elsewhere, he did well in Proleague, he made GSL round of 8s and was still a relative new player to the scene.

He’s a better player from his accomplishments than most current Terrans all things considered, and really underrated as an SC2 player, the Flash name really weighs down what he actually managed to accomplish.

I think from memory besides GuMiho/TY/Inno/Maru Flash was the last Terran to win a big tournament



Hm, no: Byun, Polt, MMA, ForGG, Bomber won Premier tournaments as Terran after Flash did.

In his Sc2 career, Flash won one IEM, had the most victories as Terran in Proleague(and the best overall record in one season) and reached two second places and three ro4 in Premier tournaments; he never went past ro8 in Code S and never won a Major tournament. Not impressive at all when you are God, aLive is arguably more accomplished.

Jaedong was a much more successful(despite kong-esque) sc2 player, I don't think he is below Flash if we combine Sc2 and BW. Rain is on another level, however, since he became the best Protoss and won multiple tournaments in both games even if he never was the best player in the world; in my opinion, being S tier in both games is better than being Bonjwa in BW and A/B tier in Sc2.

Sorry I meant to say as active players.

Bomber did for sure but he looks a thousand miles off currently.
'You'll always be the cuddly marsupial of my heart, despite the inherent flaws of your ancestry' - Squat
ZigguratOfUr
Profile Blog Joined April 2012
Iraq16955 Posts
August 13 2019 02:14 GMT
#21
It all comes down to how you weigh things when comparing Flash who was pretty good at SCII but the best in BW, and Rain who was very good at both. I'd give it to Rain on the (very arbitrary) basis that he has the better Hybrid Proleague record.
Djzapz
Profile Blog Joined August 2009
Canada10681 Posts
August 13 2019 02:19 GMT
#22
Has to be Flash for me. His dominance in SCBW is something else.
"My incompetence with power tools had been increasing exponentially over the course of 20 years spent inhaling experimental oven cleaners"
Nakajin
Profile Blog Joined September 2014
Canada8989 Posts
August 13 2019 02:53 GMT
#23
I would go Flash-Rain than JD, all well above the pack.

Then you got your Nada, Boxer, Soulkey, ForGG, Stork...
Writerhttp://i.imgur.com/9p6ufcB.jpg
arcane1129
Profile Joined January 2011
United States271 Posts
August 13 2019 04:04 GMT
#24
Jaedong needs more love in this discussion. In a span of 2 years of SC2 he had 15 premier tournament semifinal or better finishes, including a win at ASUS Rog and a silver at Blizzcon.
yangluphil
Profile Joined July 2015
318 Posts
August 13 2019 04:44 GMT
#25
Rain's SC2 career is criminally underrated. He was not one of the best. His level of play was the highest among all protoss greats imo, better than Zest, sOs and Stats. If you actually studied protoss plays back in the day, you will find this guy had so many details and star sense in his seemingly boring defensive and reactive play (just ask Artosis or Rotti who are not as much a fan of Stats as they were of Rain, even though they play similar styles). Pro players commented that Rain does not practice as hard as others and spent much of his practice time thinking about the game. He was the protoss Serral before there is Serral, when protoss success relied mostly on mindgames and 2 base all-ins by other players. Then in BW his play is extremely dynamic and exciting that you can hardly believe it is the same person.

In Proleague, he was the SKT race that had Innovation, Soo, Flash and Classic, all in their career peaks. Let that sink in. In terms of raw talent among SC2 players, Terran has Maru, Mvp; Zerg has Serral, Life, and Protoss has Rain and sOs (sorry Zest and Stats).
Neither party will be missed.
WaesumNinja
Profile Joined February 2012
210 Posts
August 13 2019 08:39 GMT
#26
Flash feels like the obvious choice, but if you take the question in a more abstract sense, and don't focus on sum of trophies over the longest time, and think of more meanings behind the word 'greatest', then I'd pick Boxer for sure.
Z3nith
Profile Joined October 2017
485 Posts
August 13 2019 09:25 GMT
#27
On August 13 2019 13:44 yangluphil wrote:
In terms of raw talent among SC2 players, Terran has Maru, Mvp; Zerg has Serral, Life, and Protoss has Rain and sOs (sorry Zest and Stats).


You could perhaps make a case for Rain as having the most raw talent of the Protoss players but definitely not sOs. In terms of raw talent PartinG btfo of both of them in my view.

Also I think you forgot Taeja, probably the most naturally gifted player to ever play the game.
Poopi
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
France12839 Posts
August 13 2019 09:34 GMT
#28
On August 13 2019 18:25 Z3nith wrote:
Show nested quote +
On August 13 2019 13:44 yangluphil wrote:
In terms of raw talent among SC2 players, Terran has Maru, Mvp; Zerg has Serral, Life, and Protoss has Rain and sOs (sorry Zest and Stats).


You could perhaps make a case for Rain as having the most raw talent of the Protoss players but definitely not sOs. In terms of raw talent PartinG btfo of both of them in my view.

Also I think you forgot Taeja, probably the most naturally gifted player to ever play the game.

Meh. Most gifted player yet he never even won a GSL? I really don't see how people are able to see players "gift / talent". All top pros are at the top end of the curve talent wise, and while some players will have more abilities at certain parts of the game (Maru's micro for example), it'll always come down to grit / hard work / patches / composure under pressure at tournaments / a bit of luck.

Take Serral for example, it took him a very long time before being at this level consistently that allows him to win top tournaments. Does that mean he is not very talented? I doubt it. Are others players who peaked more quickly than him more talented, if they didn't achieve his level of play?

Grubby "famously" said that he was a slow learner, yet he peaked very high in warcraft 3, so that comforts me in the belief that talent is too diluted among other factors to be measurable. Greatness on the other hand is far easier to grasp, especially with hard facts such as achievements.
WriterMaru
Elentos
Profile Blog Joined February 2015
55511 Posts
August 13 2019 09:52 GMT
#29
On August 13 2019 13:44 yangluphil wrote:
In Proleague, he was the SKT ace that had Innovation, Soo, Flash and Classic, all in their career peaks.

Flash wasn't on SKT and Inno joined SKT after Rain left (not to mention nowhere near a career peak).
Every 60 seconds in Africa, a minute passes.
Z3nith
Profile Joined October 2017
485 Posts
August 13 2019 09:56 GMT
#30
On August 13 2019 18:34 Poopi wrote:
Show nested quote +
On August 13 2019 18:25 Z3nith wrote:
On August 13 2019 13:44 yangluphil wrote:
In terms of raw talent among SC2 players, Terran has Maru, Mvp; Zerg has Serral, Life, and Protoss has Rain and sOs (sorry Zest and Stats).


You could perhaps make a case for Rain as having the most raw talent of the Protoss players but definitely not sOs. In terms of raw talent PartinG btfo of both of them in my view.

Also I think you forgot Taeja, probably the most naturally gifted player to ever play the game.

Meh. Most gifted player yet he never even won a GSL? I really don't see how people are able to see players "gift / talent". All top pros are at the top end of the curve talent wise, and while some players will have more abilities at certain parts of the game (Maru's micro for example), it'll always come down to grit / hard work / patches / composure under pressure at tournaments / a bit of luck.

Take Serral for example, it took him a very long time before being at this level consistently that allows him to win top tournaments. Does that mean he is not very talented? I doubt it. Are others players who peaked more quickly than him more talented, if they didn't achieve his level of play?

Grubby "famously" said that he was a slow learner, yet he peaked very high in warcraft 3, so that comforts me in the belief that talent is too diluted among other factors to be measurable. Greatness on the other hand is far easier to grasp, especially with hard facts such as achievements.


Yes but I was arguing the point about natural talent specifically. Someone can be incredibly naturally talented at something without ever achieving a lot. The thing that made Taeja arguably the most naturally talented player was the fact that he could not practice for a month then just walk in and win a tournament. Your argument about his lack of a GSL actually affirms this as GSL is one of the few tournaments that requires a widely different skillset beyond just ability (that being prep).
Poopi
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
France12839 Posts
Last Edited: 2019-08-13 10:41:18
August 13 2019 10:39 GMT
#31
On August 13 2019 18:56 Z3nith wrote:
Show nested quote +
On August 13 2019 18:34 Poopi wrote:
On August 13 2019 18:25 Z3nith wrote:
On August 13 2019 13:44 yangluphil wrote:
In terms of raw talent among SC2 players, Terran has Maru, Mvp; Zerg has Serral, Life, and Protoss has Rain and sOs (sorry Zest and Stats).


You could perhaps make a case for Rain as having the most raw talent of the Protoss players but definitely not sOs. In terms of raw talent PartinG btfo of both of them in my view.

Also I think you forgot Taeja, probably the most naturally gifted player to ever play the game.

Meh. Most gifted player yet he never even won a GSL? I really don't see how people are able to see players "gift / talent". All top pros are at the top end of the curve talent wise, and while some players will have more abilities at certain parts of the game (Maru's micro for example), it'll always come down to grit / hard work / patches / composure under pressure at tournaments / a bit of luck.

Take Serral for example, it took him a very long time before being at this level consistently that allows him to win top tournaments. Does that mean he is not very talented? I doubt it. Are others players who peaked more quickly than him more talented, if they didn't achieve his level of play?

Grubby "famously" said that he was a slow learner, yet he peaked very high in warcraft 3, so that comforts me in the belief that talent is too diluted among other factors to be measurable. Greatness on the other hand is far easier to grasp, especially with hard facts such as achievements.


Yes but I was arguing the point about natural talent specifically. Someone can be incredibly naturally talented at something without ever achieving a lot. The thing that made Taeja arguably the most naturally talented player was the fact that he could not practice for a month then just walk in and win a tournament. Your argument about his lack of a GSL actually affirms this as GSL is one of the few tournaments that requires a widely different skillset beyond just ability (that being prep).

A tournament full of foreigners maybe, wasn't he the king of foreignerland? And "lack of practice" is difficult to assess, maybe he thought about the game or watched streams idk.

If he was so talented, why is he struggling so hard since he came back? It's been 10 months and he can't beat Heromarine. So I maintain and call bs on TaeJa being more talented than other top terrans. All top players have roughly the same talent, that is being able to go to the top of the food chain on this game.
WriterMaru
Xain0n
Profile Joined November 2018
Italy3963 Posts
August 13 2019 10:46 GMT
#32
On August 13 2019 19:39 Poopi wrote:
Show nested quote +
On August 13 2019 18:56 Z3nith wrote:
On August 13 2019 18:34 Poopi wrote:
On August 13 2019 18:25 Z3nith wrote:
On August 13 2019 13:44 yangluphil wrote:
In terms of raw talent among SC2 players, Terran has Maru, Mvp; Zerg has Serral, Life, and Protoss has Rain and sOs (sorry Zest and Stats).


You could perhaps make a case for Rain as having the most raw talent of the Protoss players but definitely not sOs. In terms of raw talent PartinG btfo of both of them in my view.

Also I think you forgot Taeja, probably the most naturally gifted player to ever play the game.

Meh. Most gifted player yet he never even won a GSL? I really don't see how people are able to see players "gift / talent". All top pros are at the top end of the curve talent wise, and while some players will have more abilities at certain parts of the game (Maru's micro for example), it'll always come down to grit / hard work / patches / composure under pressure at tournaments / a bit of luck.

Take Serral for example, it took him a very long time before being at this level consistently that allows him to win top tournaments. Does that mean he is not very talented? I doubt it. Are others players who peaked more quickly than him more talented, if they didn't achieve his level of play?

Grubby "famously" said that he was a slow learner, yet he peaked very high in warcraft 3, so that comforts me in the belief that talent is too diluted among other factors to be measurable. Greatness on the other hand is far easier to grasp, especially with hard facts such as achievements.


Yes but I was arguing the point about natural talent specifically. Someone can be incredibly naturally talented at something without ever achieving a lot. The thing that made Taeja arguably the most naturally talented player was the fact that he could not practice for a month then just walk in and win a tournament. Your argument about his lack of a GSL actually affirms this as GSL is one of the few tournaments that requires a widely different skillset beyond just ability (that being prep).

A tournament full of foreigners maybe, wasn't he the king of foreignerland? And "lack of practice" is difficult to assess, maybe he thought about the game or watched streams idk.

If he was so talented, why is he struggling so hard since he came back? It's been 10 months and he can't beat Heromarine. So I maintain and call bs on TaeJa being more talented than other top terrans.


"Full of foreigners", yet ro8 and onwards usually were full koreans.
The answer is easy, TaeJa retired because he had wrists issues and apparently he still suffers from them.

I agree that it is extremely hard to value someone's "talent"; regarding Serral, he admittedly practice a healthy amount of hours but way less than the absurd schedules I have heard Others have and you have to take into consideration he was not playing on a regular basis before 2017.
Morbidius
Profile Joined November 2010
Brazil3449 Posts
August 13 2019 10:47 GMT
#33
Jaedong, post Kespa BW is very meh so i'd favor Jaedong over Soulkey and Rain.
Has foreign StarCraft hit rock bottom?
Poopi
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
France12839 Posts
Last Edited: 2019-08-13 10:51:51
August 13 2019 10:49 GMT
#34
On August 13 2019 19:46 Xain0n wrote:
Show nested quote +
On August 13 2019 19:39 Poopi wrote:
On August 13 2019 18:56 Z3nith wrote:
On August 13 2019 18:34 Poopi wrote:
On August 13 2019 18:25 Z3nith wrote:
On August 13 2019 13:44 yangluphil wrote:
In terms of raw talent among SC2 players, Terran has Maru, Mvp; Zerg has Serral, Life, and Protoss has Rain and sOs (sorry Zest and Stats).


You could perhaps make a case for Rain as having the most raw talent of the Protoss players but definitely not sOs. In terms of raw talent PartinG btfo of both of them in my view.

Also I think you forgot Taeja, probably the most naturally gifted player to ever play the game.

Meh. Most gifted player yet he never even won a GSL? I really don't see how people are able to see players "gift / talent". All top pros are at the top end of the curve talent wise, and while some players will have more abilities at certain parts of the game (Maru's micro for example), it'll always come down to grit / hard work / patches / composure under pressure at tournaments / a bit of luck.

Take Serral for example, it took him a very long time before being at this level consistently that allows him to win top tournaments. Does that mean he is not very talented? I doubt it. Are others players who peaked more quickly than him more talented, if they didn't achieve his level of play?

Grubby "famously" said that he was a slow learner, yet he peaked very high in warcraft 3, so that comforts me in the belief that talent is too diluted among other factors to be measurable. Greatness on the other hand is far easier to grasp, especially with hard facts such as achievements.


Yes but I was arguing the point about natural talent specifically. Someone can be incredibly naturally talented at something without ever achieving a lot. The thing that made Taeja arguably the most naturally talented player was the fact that he could not practice for a month then just walk in and win a tournament. Your argument about his lack of a GSL actually affirms this as GSL is one of the few tournaments that requires a widely different skillset beyond just ability (that being prep).

A tournament full of foreigners maybe, wasn't he the king of foreignerland? And "lack of practice" is difficult to assess, maybe he thought about the game or watched streams idk.

If he was so talented, why is he struggling so hard since he came back? It's been 10 months and he can't beat Heromarine. So I maintain and call bs on TaeJa being more talented than other top terrans.


The answer is easy, TaeJa retired because he had wrists issues and apparently he still suffers from them.

Where did you have this information? Or is it a guess?

On August 13 2019 19:47 Morbidius wrote:
Jaedong, post Kespa BW is very meh so i'd favor Jaedong over Soulkey and Rain.

I don't know how hard post kespa BW is, but Jaedong was successful financially in sc2 but chose the easiest paths in international tournaments and such, he wasn't doing that great. He is still a strong contender.
WriterMaru
Xain0n
Profile Joined November 2018
Italy3963 Posts
August 13 2019 11:50 GMT
#35
On August 13 2019 19:49 Poopi wrote:
Show nested quote +
On August 13 2019 19:46 Xain0n wrote:
On August 13 2019 19:39 Poopi wrote:
On August 13 2019 18:56 Z3nith wrote:
On August 13 2019 18:34 Poopi wrote:
On August 13 2019 18:25 Z3nith wrote:
On August 13 2019 13:44 yangluphil wrote:
In terms of raw talent among SC2 players, Terran has Maru, Mvp; Zerg has Serral, Life, and Protoss has Rain and sOs (sorry Zest and Stats).


You could perhaps make a case for Rain as having the most raw talent of the Protoss players but definitely not sOs. In terms of raw talent PartinG btfo of both of them in my view.

Also I think you forgot Taeja, probably the most naturally gifted player to ever play the game.

Meh. Most gifted player yet he never even won a GSL? I really don't see how people are able to see players "gift / talent". All top pros are at the top end of the curve talent wise, and while some players will have more abilities at certain parts of the game (Maru's micro for example), it'll always come down to grit / hard work / patches / composure under pressure at tournaments / a bit of luck.

Take Serral for example, it took him a very long time before being at this level consistently that allows him to win top tournaments. Does that mean he is not very talented? I doubt it. Are others players who peaked more quickly than him more talented, if they didn't achieve his level of play?

Grubby "famously" said that he was a slow learner, yet he peaked very high in warcraft 3, so that comforts me in the belief that talent is too diluted among other factors to be measurable. Greatness on the other hand is far easier to grasp, especially with hard facts such as achievements.


Yes but I was arguing the point about natural talent specifically. Someone can be incredibly naturally talented at something without ever achieving a lot. The thing that made Taeja arguably the most naturally talented player was the fact that he could not practice for a month then just walk in and win a tournament. Your argument about his lack of a GSL actually affirms this as GSL is one of the few tournaments that requires a widely different skillset beyond just ability (that being prep).

A tournament full of foreigners maybe, wasn't he the king of foreignerland? And "lack of practice" is difficult to assess, maybe he thought about the game or watched streams idk.

If he was so talented, why is he struggling so hard since he came back? It's been 10 months and he can't beat Heromarine. So I maintain and call bs on TaeJa being more talented than other top terrans.


The answer is easy, TaeJa retired because he had wrists issues and apparently he still suffers from them.

Where did you have this information? Or is it a guess?

Show nested quote +
On August 13 2019 19:47 Morbidius wrote:
Jaedong, post Kespa BW is very meh so i'd favor Jaedong over Soulkey and Rain.

I don't know how hard post kespa BW is, but Jaedong was successful financially in sc2 but chose the easiest paths in international tournaments and such, he wasn't doing that great. He is still a strong contender.


That TaeJa retired because of wrist issues is well known and you can easily find arcticles on this site about that; as for him still suffering from wrist issues, I can't point you towards any reliable source but it was said multiple times on many streams(that's why I wrote "apparently"). It would easily explain why TaeJa hasn't been capable of improving, even if merely being back from the military would be enough looking at how the other returned players are performing.

Flash stayed in Korea but the only tournament he won in Sc2 was IEM Toronto; Jaedong had a much more accomplished career, regardless of his decision to play abroad.
raga4ka
Profile Joined February 2008
Bulgaria5679 Posts
Last Edited: 2019-08-13 18:17:44
August 13 2019 17:52 GMT
#36
Flash, one of the most decorated players in e-sports and the most dominant player ever in Broodwar and still going strong... a true genius of the game. Remembering his Kespa era win percentage and looking at his post Kespa era as well, he has above 70% wins in all 3 matchups in a span of over 700 official games by now.
Ideas
Profile Blog Joined April 2008
United States8097 Posts
Last Edited: 2019-08-13 18:18:07
August 13 2019 18:16 GMT
#37
On August 13 2019 06:29 Z3nith wrote:
Either Rain or Soulkey. Of the really good brood war players only Jaedong can really claim to have been successful at Sc2, Flash had his moments but just wasn't incredible. Actually FantaSy could be in the running.


IMO Fantasy essentially had the rug pulled out from under him at his peak in BW. In 2011-2012 he was crushing everyone that wasn't Jangbi. He had an absurd winning rate during that time including 3-0ing Flash in the OSL semifinals and beating him again in the last Proleague finals. When Kespa BW ended he was #1 in ELO. I truly believe that had KESPA stayed with BW he would have solidified himself above flash.

But then also there are a lot of SC2 players that I assume would have made fantastic BW players but never really got the chance. Also players like Bogus, stats, rain, and soulkey were still up-and-coming in BW and clearly going to be big players on the scene before the switch happened and then went on to be quite good in SC2 (and soulkey went back to BW and became arguably the best zerg around for the last year+).

But then yeah, flash is undisputed #1 BW player ever. This point of this thread is to argue about if his comparatively low SC2 results can be countered by a lesser BW player who did better in SC2? Not very interesting to argue about honestly. Just wanted to point out that fantasy was a damn good BW player and I miss watching his vultures
Free Palestine
NinjaNight
Profile Joined January 2018
428 Posts
August 13 2019 19:17 GMT
#38
Never watched BW but I'm not sure if there's a clear greatest SC2 player. Everyone I can think of seems too vulnerable because of some reason. Life banned for matchfixing, IMMvp dominated too early and disappeared, Maru loses at weekenders, Serral has had too short of a time, Innovation just loses too early at too many tournaments in general, etc.
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