• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 20:00
CEST 02:00
KST 09:00
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
HomeStory Cup 27 - Info & Preview18Classic wins Code S Season 2 (2025)16Code S RO4 & Finals Preview: herO, Rogue, Classic, GuMiho0TL Team Map Contest #5: Presented by Monster Energy6Code S RO8 Preview: herO, Zoun, Bunny, Classic7
Community News
Weekly Cups (June 23-29): Reynor in world title form?6FEL Cracov 2025 (July 27) - $8000 live event13Esports World Cup 2025 - Final Player Roster14Weekly Cups (June 16-22): Clem strikes back1Weekly Cups (June 9-15): herO doubles on GSL week4
StarCraft 2
General
The SCII GOAT: A statistical Evaluation Weekly Cups (June 23-29): Reynor in world title form? How does the number of casters affect your enjoyment of esports? Esports World Cup 2025 - Final Player Roster HomeStory Cup 27 - Info & Preview
Tourneys
HomeStory Cup 27 (June 27-29) WardiTV Mondays SOOPer7s Showmatches 2025 FEL Cracov 2025 (July 27) - $8000 live event $200 Biweekly - StarCraft Evolution League #1
Strategy
How did i lose this ZvP, whats the proper response Simple Questions Simple Answers [G] Darkgrid Layout
Custom Maps
[UMS] Zillion Zerglings
External Content
Mutation # 480 Moths to the Flame Mutation # 479 Worn Out Welcome Mutation # 478 Instant Karma Mutation # 477 Slow and Steady
Brood War
General
BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/ BW General Discussion StarCraft & BroodWar Campaign Speedrun Quest ASL20 Preliminary Maps Unit and Spell Similarities
Tourneys
[BSL20] GosuLeague RO16 - Tue & Wed 20:00+CET The Casual Games of the Week Thread [Megathread] Daily Proleagues [BSL20] ProLeague LB Final - Saturday 20:00 CET
Strategy
Simple Questions, Simple Answers I am doing this better than progamers do.
Other Games
General Games
Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Nintendo Switch Thread Path of Exile What do you want from future RTS games? Beyond All Reason
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
TL Mafia Community Thread Vanilla Mini Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Trading/Investing Thread Stop Killing Games - European Citizens Initiative Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine Russo-Ukrainian War Thread
Fan Clubs
SKT1 Classic Fan Club! Maru Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
Anime Discussion Thread [Manga] One Piece [\m/] Heavy Metal Thread Korean Music Discussion
Sports
2024 - 2025 Football Thread Formula 1 Discussion NBA General Discussion TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023 NHL Playoffs 2024
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Blog #2
tankgirl
Game Sound vs. Music: The Im…
TrAiDoS
StarCraft improvement
iopq
Heero Yuy & the Tax…
KrillinFromwales
Trip to the Zoo
micronesia
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 602 users

SC2 Power Rank: September 2019

Forum Index > SC2 General
297 CommentsPost a Reply
1 2 3 4 5 13 14 15 Next All

SC2 Power Rank: September 2019

Text byTL.net ESPORTS
September 13th, 2019 21:02 GMT

Power Rank: September 2019

by TeamLiquid.net writers

The Power Rank returns after an extra-long break, taking into account a flurry of Korean and international tournament activity over the last six weeks. GSL Code S progressed into the semifinal stage, WCS Fall closed out the 2019 Circuit, and GSL vs. The World gave us our final taste of mixed-region competition before the Global Finals. Before we present the rankings, here's a summary of how our monthly list is compiled:

  • The Power Rank is an aggregate, average ranking of separate lists submitted by individual members of the TeamLiquid.net writing staff.
  • Criteria considered include, but are not limited to: Tournament placements, overall record, quality of opponents faced, and quality of play.
  • Recent results are weighted more heavily, but players receive benefit of the doubt for consistent performance over time.


Close, But No Cigar

(Wiki)RagnaroK: We've seen a handful of GSL underdog stories play out this year, but RagnaroK's quarterfinal run in Code S Season 3 might have felt the most 'real.' He had to beat far more established players such as sOs, Zest, and Classic to reach the playoffs, where he put up a surprisingly decent fight against Maru (he even ruthlessly picked apart his BC-mech strategy) before tapping out.

(Wiki)Reynor: The trend of Reynor being a beast on the Circuit but disappointment in international tournaments continued, as the Italian Zerg placed runner-up at WCS Fall shortly after getting swept by SpeCial at GSL vs. The World. Will the 2019 Global Finals be the tournament where he casts off this jinx in a big way?

#10

[image loading]
Zest
New!
After lurking just on the outside of the top ten in the last PR, Zest officially enters the rankings after PvP'ing his way to the Code S quarterfinals. Though he couldn’t make it past Rogue in the playoffs (in a rather weak and forgettable series from both players), it continued a trend for Zest where he's earning mid-high placements in every tournament he enters. Zest may not be a title contender, but he takes herO's PR spot as the grind-it-out, pretty good Protoss player.

His biggest weakness right now is clearly PvZ, even saying he'd rather face Stats in PvP than TRUE in a PvZ. Not only was this exemplified in his loss to Rogue, but also in his losing streak to Solar (who beat him 6-2 in maps over three different series) and his Ro16 loss to RagnaroK. If Zest is to challenge for a BlizzCon spot at Super Tournament II, he'll need to patch-up this weakness quickly.


#9

[image loading]
Rogue
New!
It’s hard to believe this for a player of Rogue's reputation and skill, but this is his first entry into the top 10 in 2019. But the results speak for themselves: After finishing 2018 by placing top four at the Global Finals, he's had minimal impact in 2019's major tournaments.

A top eight finish in GSL Code S remained his best result—until now. A few days ago, Rogue finally broke his quarterfinal curse in Korean leagues and now stands in the top four of Code S for the first time ever. And while his quarterfinal against Zest was not convincing in any way, his Ro16 matches against Stats and Solar were a much better showcase of his power.

This rise in form comes at an opportune timing, as the BlizzCon race in Korea is still fully ongoing, and Rogue may just be in the right time and place to still make it over the finishing line with strong Code S and Super Tournament performances. It's all about getting hot at the right time, as Rogue showed everyone at the 2017 Global Finals.


#8

[image loading]
TY
No change
TY's decision to become a part-time GSL caster after dropping out of the Ro32 in Code S Season 2 seemed like a transitional move, but his recent run to the Code S top eight reminded us why he's uncontested as Korea's #2 Terran. Unfortunately, for replacement caster soO, TY has been sent back to the casting desk after a close 2-3 loss to Dark in the quarterfinals.

TY has actually been quite unfortunate, getting eliminated from Code S by the best Zerg player in the GSL and also getting eliminated from GSL vs. The World by the best Zerg player, period, in Serral. Faced with some softer competition, TY could have advanced a round or two more and possibly picked up a better Power Rank spot. But these are the results we have to go by, so it's a steady stay at the #8 spot for TY.


#7

[image loading]
Solar
No change
When Solar crushed Maru's turtle-mech on Thunderbird, it seemed like he had all the skills needed to make a late push for a Global Finals spot. In playing the the toxic, suffocating late-game Zerg style with BL-Infestor, Solar looked every bit as good as Serral. Unfortunately for Solar, he doesn't have Serral's ability to reach the late-game at will, losing to Maru's revised, bio-centric strategies (to be fair, it's not like Serral plays vs Maru-tier bio pushes on the Circuit). Also, Solar isn't quite the ZvZ player Serral is, losing to Rogue on the cusp of securing a quarterfinal spot.

Despite his disappointing elimination in the Code S group of death, Solar remained a powerful force online. And seeing that he can play best-in-world level StarCraft for at least one game stretches, there's still a chance remaining that he'll succeed at the desperate dash for a BlizzCon spot at Super Tournament II.


#6

[image loading]
Classic
-2
Classic seemed to be aging like a fine wine in 2019, but his performances have rapidly began to sour toward the end. Despite coming into his GSL Ro16 group as the seeded player and favorite to advance, he got dismantled by a surging RagnaroK and got out PvPed by Dear, resulting in his first group stage elimination of the year. Combined with his loss to the low-ranked Creator in the round of 32 and 3-3 'tie' against SpeCial at GSL vs. The World (when you include the team match), one has to wonder if he's losing momentum at the most inopportune time.

Should Classic receive permission to travel to BlizzCon from Korea's military, it will be interesting to see if he plays like the title contender we thought him to be all year, or if he's fallen into being 'just' another strong competitor.


#5

[image loading]
Stats
-2
Stats quietly slides down the power rankings, having suffered an upset of sorts in his GSL group of death. Stats came in with the most momentum, having defeating Serral to win ASUS ROG and haing swept Maru in GSL vs. The World. And while a player can't be faulted too much for losing to Rogue and Maru, Stats was defeated so thoroughly that everyone was confused by his Jekyll and Hyde like performances. The Ro16 setback exemplified how the reputedly steady Stats has actually been rather inconsistent on the year, both giving up and starring in upsets.

Stats will be thankful that he's still in solid position to make it to BlizzCon, despite this latest setback. The closest competition in TY and Dear are now out of the GSL, and as long as Stats can get any kind of result in the second Super Tournament, he'll lock up a BlizzCon spot (barring the unlikely miracle run from the outsiders). However, he'll need to figure out how to tighten up his game and bring his best play to the Global Finals.


#4

[image loading]
Trap
+1
This month, Trap was the victor in the three-way race to be called the best Korean Protoss, putting in solid results all around. Trap dominated his Code S Ro16 group, handily defeating both Cure and TY to reach the playoffs. There, he also dispatched of KeeN in quite a dominant fashion with a 3-0 victory. Trap continued to be an online powerhouse as well, winning both an OlimoLeague Weekly and Monthly Finals for some extra cash (including solid wins vs TRUE, GuMiho, Solar and Cure).

Overall, it's been a good month for Trap, mostly beating the players he should beat, and really only suffering a 'bad' loss to Serral at GSL vs. The World. His PvT series have been looking quite one-sided, and a victory in his upcoming semifinal match against Maru would shoot him even further up the rankings.


#3

[image loading]
Maru
+3
It speaks to our faith in Maru that we're quickly hopping back on the bandwagon after a good, but not-entirely-convincing month. He's clearly not the super-dominant Maru of 2018—GSL vs. The World was a low point, where Maru gave up a one-sided 0-3 to Stats for an early exit.

But Code S gave us plenty of reason to hope for the return of god-mode Maru. Yes, he did lose his initial series 1-2 to Solar, and basically admitted that he couldn't mech his way to a win in the late game (unthinkable for prime Maru). But Maru remained composed, changed his strategy, and got his revenge in Solar with aggressive and entertaining bio play. Also, his late-game mastery seemed fully intact against Protoss, as he absolutely destroyed Stats in a series that made you wonder what the hell happened at GSL vs. The World. Maru then took out RagnaroK 3-1 in the Code S quarterfinals—a weird series that saw his mech play undermined again, but where his bio offensive was still overwhelming.

Maru's upcoming match against Trap will help decide whether or not we kick this hype bandwagon into overdrive, and start anticipating that Serral vs Maru showdown months ahead of BlizzCon.


#2

[image loading]
Dark
-1
Despite an embarrassing ZvZ undressing at the hands of Elazer at GSL vs. The World, Dark still lands at the #2 spot.

If there was an 'interim Korean champion' title belt, Dark would be the owner by default. After all, he's still the Code S champion from Season 2, reached the Code S semifinals once again this season, and he hasn't lost a match to a Korean opponent since APRIL. It's enough to make us look past his unthinkable upset vs Elazer for now, even with Maru and Trap in fierce pursuit. Also, in a period where there were few matches between top-tier Koreans besides the Code S group of death, it helped Dark's case that he beat TY in the most difficult playoff match.


#1

[image loading]
Serral
+1
At long last, Serral has claimed the one accolade missing from his gleaming competitive resume: #1 in the TL.net Power Rank.

While Serral was certainly deserving of the top spot in the months after the 2018 Global Finals, TL.net writers 'robbed' him of such an accolade by putting the Power Rank on hiatus during the off-season after BlizzCon (we did give him our 'Player of the Year' award). Unfortunately, after Serral's relatively slow start to 2019 (losing WCS EU to Reynor, top eight at IEM Katowice), he couldn't lock up the #1 spot once the Power Rank resumed.

This was more a source of consternation for Serral fans on TL.net than Serral himself, who basically told us 'I don't care' when asked about his previous PR placements. In any case, it's finally official. Shout it from the mountain tops! Print this list out and frame it in on your wall! Get a custom trophy made that says "#1 TL Power Rank" and mail it to Serral's house! After showing absolutely dominant form to win both GSL vs. The World and WCS Fall, it's indisputable that Serral belongs at #1.




Credits and acknowledgements

Ranking contributors: TeamLiquid.net writing staff
Writers: Destructicon, Orlok, TheOneAboveU, Wax.
Editor: Wax
Photo Credit: hexhaven
Facebook Twitter Reddit
TL+ Member
ZigguratOfUr
Profile Blog Joined April 2012
Iraq16955 Posts
September 13 2019 21:17 GMT
#2
Oh it finally happened.
Paukum
Profile Joined August 2014
Norway60 Posts
September 13 2019 21:21 GMT
#3
Maru's last games against Ragnarok were pretty convincing.
Dave4
Profile Joined August 2018
494 Posts
Last Edited: 2019-09-13 21:25:51
September 13 2019 21:24 GMT
#4
Umm Serral is a bit high isn't he?
+ Show Spoiler +
kidding
IshinShishi
Profile Joined April 2012
Japan6156 Posts
September 13 2019 21:30 GMT
#5
Once again TL with their foreigner bias, cant take these PRs seriously anymore, jesus
So... what that make you? Good? You're not good. You just know how to hide, how to lie
Dave4
Profile Joined August 2018
494 Posts
Last Edited: 2019-09-13 21:40:36
September 13 2019 21:36 GMT
#6
I am so happy for Serral, this has been the one achievement missing on his mantelpiece for so long now but he has worked so hard for so long and had to overcome so much to do it. Who would have thought it would take 10 premierships in 18 months to accomplish this.

Thanks to the writers as always xo.
Shuffleblade
Profile Joined February 2012
Sweden1903 Posts
September 13 2019 21:41 GMT
#7
Thanks for PR was fun read, hoping for jin air climbers =D
Maru, Bomber, TY, Dear, Classic, DeParture and Rogue!
onPHYRE
Profile Joined October 2010
Bulgaria908 Posts
September 13 2019 21:42 GMT
#8
Serral finally did it
Livin' this life like it was written.
HolydaKing
Profile Joined February 2010
21254 Posts
September 13 2019 22:13 GMT
#9
Hopefully this doesn't make Serral slump like it did for others before. Good list, I'd put Ragnarok above Zest though.
MoDiV
Profile Joined July 2019
United States90 Posts
September 13 2019 22:20 GMT
#10
Serral finally got #1 on the power rankings. he can now safely be called the best player in the world
TentativePanda
Profile Joined August 2014
United States800 Posts
Last Edited: 2019-09-13 22:43:37
September 13 2019 22:42 GMT
#11
Crazy to think this is Rogue's first top 4 in Code S. Wtf??

Congrats to Serral for being so dominant that TL writers weren't too scared to be honest about power rankings after considering the whining foreign korean fanboys sure to start raging about how Serral has never won a Code S (because he doesn't want to play in it) but also about how foreigners playing in GSL are ruining the korean scene.


On September 14 2019 06:30 IshinShishi wrote:
Once again TL with their foreigner bias, cant take these PRs seriously anymore, jesus

I think it's no one that can take you seriously anymore, actually.


On September 14 2019 06:42 onPHYRE wrote:
Serral finally did it

You mean TL writers finally did it
Nakajin
Profile Blog Joined September 2014
Canada8989 Posts
Last Edited: 2019-09-13 22:43:05
September 13 2019 22:42 GMT
#12
Zest is the 10th best player in the world and still suck, trully one of a kind.
Writerhttp://i.imgur.com/9p6ufcB.jpg
Musicus
Profile Joined August 2011
Germany23576 Posts
September 13 2019 22:43 GMT
#13
Let's see if this placing ends up as a curse or if Serral is immune to this stuff. Good to see Serral where he belongs.
Maru and Serral are probably top 5.
KobeSteak
Profile Joined August 2019
39 Posts
September 13 2019 22:51 GMT
#14
Goat Serral back where he belongs.
dysenterymd
Profile Joined January 2019
1199 Posts
Last Edited: 2019-09-13 23:21:49
September 13 2019 23:21 GMT
#15
Zest is so bad.

But actually quite good, he seems to keep getting solid results.

Is he the best bad player?

Or the worst good player?

I'm not sure.
Serral | Inno | sOs | soO | Has | Classic
tigon_ridge
Profile Joined March 2019
482 Posts
Last Edited: 2019-09-13 23:59:00
September 13 2019 23:48 GMT
#16
I always find it funny how much credence people give to opinion pieces. For me, Aligulac is far more accurate. There was never a time since late 2018 that Serral should've fallen to #2, let alone #3. Reynor should also be on the list, but he gets ignored just because he hasn't had enough opportunities to prove himself against the "big league" gsl players. Apparently, taking two series off of the best player in the world twice in one year to win two tournaments doesn't count for much around here. Some idiot claimed that there's a pro-foreigner bias. lol It's the opposite—it's pro-Korean, by far. Yes, we know Koreans dominate this game, but that's no excuse for being so negligent towards Reynor's super-consistent high performance. I think that's almost disrespectful.
tigon_ridge
Profile Joined March 2019
482 Posts
Last Edited: 2019-09-13 23:52:08
September 13 2019 23:51 GMT
#17
error? deleted
dUTtrOACh
Profile Joined December 2010
Canada2339 Posts
September 14 2019 00:10 GMT
#18
TY is holding it down for the casters still.

Congratulations to Serral on wrecking the ceiling.
twitch.tv/duttroach
JJH777
Profile Joined January 2011
United States4400 Posts
September 14 2019 00:37 GMT
#19
On September 14 2019 08:48 tigon_ridge wrote:
I always find it funny how much credence people give to opinion pieces. For me, Aligulac is far more accurate. There was never a time since late 2018 that Serral should've fallen to #2, let alone #3. Reynor should also be on the list, but he gets ignored just because he hasn't had enough opportunities to prove himself against the "big league" gsl players. Apparently, taking two series off of the best player in the world twice in one year to win two tournaments doesn't count for much around here. Some idiot claimed that there's a pro-foreigner bias. lol It's the opposite—it's pro-Korean, by far. Yes, we know Koreans dominate this game, but that's no excuse for being so negligent towards Reynor's super-consistent high performance. I think that's almost disrespectful.


Reynor is only consistent in WCS. In every other event this year he has performed as an average foreigner would and that is a pretty big sample size at this point. IEM, WESG, Assembly, Homestory Cup, GSL vs the world. At all of those events he was only top 16 or worse. And it's not like he was only losing to the best of the best either. He was eliminated by players like Heromarine, Special, and Creator, Ptitdrogo, and Neeb in those events. All very good but none of them have been top 10 in the world at any point this year. Reynor being in the top 10 would definitely be foreigner bias.
Xain0n
Profile Joined November 2018
Italy3963 Posts
September 14 2019 00:44 GMT
#20
On September 14 2019 06:30 IshinShishi wrote:
Once again TL with their foreigner bias, cant take these PRs seriously anymore, jesus


Tell me you are joking, please. Rarely a #1 has been more deserved than Serral's!
1 2 3 4 5 13 14 15 Next All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Replay Cast
00:00
DH Dallas | TheStC Showmatch
CranKy Ducklings14
Liquipedia
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
PiGStarcraft494
SteadfastSC 197
StarCraft: Brood War
Rain 1410
Artosis 549
firebathero 83
League of Legends
Grubby3717
Counter-Strike
summit1g9692
taco 945
sgares273
Other Games
JimRising 426
Maynarde179
Pyrionflax158
shahzam92
Mew2King62
Organizations
Other Games
gamesdonequick1422
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 17 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• Hupsaiya 56
• davetesta50
• Migwel
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• sooper7s
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
StarCraft: Brood War
• Pr0nogo 5
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
• BSLYoutube
Dota 2
• Ler46
League of Legends
• masondota2824
• Stunt192
Other Games
• imaqtpie1344
Upcoming Events
Wardi Open
11h
PiGosaur Monday
1d
The PondCast
1d 10h
Replay Cast
2 days
RSL Revival
2 days
WardiTV European League
2 days
Replay Cast
3 days
RSL Revival
3 days
WardiTV European League
3 days
FEL
3 days
[ Show More ]
Korean StarCraft League
4 days
CranKy Ducklings
4 days
RSL Revival
4 days
FEL
4 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
5 days
RSL Revival
5 days
FEL
5 days
BSL: ProLeague
5 days
Dewalt vs Bonyth
Replay Cast
7 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Proleague 2025-06-28
HSC XXVII
Heroes 10 EU

Ongoing

JPL Season 2
BSL 2v2 Season 3
BSL Season 20
Acropolis #3
KCM Race Survival 2025 Season 2
CSL 17: 2025 SUMMER
Copa Latinoamericana 4
Championship of Russia 2025
RSL Revival: Season 1
Murky Cup #2
BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025
ESL Impact League Season 7
IEM Dallas 2025
PGL Astana 2025
Asian Champions League '25
BLAST Rivals Spring 2025
MESA Nomadic Masters
CCT Season 2 Global Finals
IEM Melbourne 2025
YaLLa Compass Qatar 2025

Upcoming

CSLPRO Last Chance 2025
CSLPRO Chat StarLAN 3
K-Championship
uThermal 2v2 Main Event
SEL Season 2 Championship
FEL Cracov 2025
Esports World Cup 2025
FISSURE Playground #2
BLAST Open Fall 2025
BLAST Open Fall Qual
Esports World Cup 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall 2025
BLAST Bounty Fall Qual
IEM Cologne 2025
FISSURE Playground #1
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2025 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.