• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 13:28
CEST 19:28
KST 02:28
  • 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
Code S RO12 Preview: Cure, Zoun, Solar, Creator2[ASL19] Finals Preview: Daunting Task30[ASL19] Ro4 Recap : The Peak15DreamHack Dallas 2025 - Info & Preview21herO wins GSL Code S Season 1 (2025)18
Community News
Weekly Cups (May 19-25): Hindsight is 20/20?0DreamHack Dallas 2025 - Official Replay Pack7[BSL20] RO20 Group Stage2EWC 2025 Regional Qualifiers (May 28-June 1)9Weekly Cups (May 12-18): Clem sweeps WardiTV May3
StarCraft 2
General
DreamHack Dallas 2025 - Official Replay Pack Code S RO12 Preview: Cure, Zoun, Solar, Creator herO wins GSL Code S Season 1 (2025) DreamHack Dallas 2025 - Info & Preview RankedFTW - Site With Ladder Rankings Over Time
Tourneys
DreamHack Dallas 2025 SOOPer7s Showmatches 2025 StarCraft Evolution League (SC Evo Biweekly) Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament EWC 2025 Regional Qualifiers (May 28-June 1)
Strategy
Simple Questions Simple Answers [G] PvT Cheese: 13 Gate Proxy Robo
Custom Maps
[UMS] Zillion Zerglings
External Content
Mutation # 475 Hard Target Mutation # 474 Futile Resistance Mutation # 473 Cold is the Void Mutation # 472 Dead Heat
Brood War
General
Will foreigners ever be able to challenge Koreans? GG Lan Party Bulgaria (Live in about 3 hours) BW General Discussion BGH auto balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/ Recent recommended BW games
Tourneys
[ASL19] Grand Finals [Megathread] Daily Proleagues [ASL19] Ro8 Day 4 [BSL20] RO20 Group Stage
Strategy
I am doing this better than progamers do. [G] How to get started on ladder as a new Z player
Other Games
General Games
Nintendo Switch Thread Battle Aces/David Kim RTS Megathread Path of Exile Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Beyond All Reason
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
LiquidLegends to reintegrate into TL.net
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers
Hearthstone
Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
Vanilla Mini Mafia TL Mafia Community Thread TL Mafia Plays: Diplomacy TL Mafia: Generative Agents Showdown Survivor II: The Amazon
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine Russo-Ukrainian War Thread European Politico-economics QA Mega-thread Trading/Investing Thread
Fan Clubs
Serral Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
[Manga] One Piece Movie Discussion!
Sports
2024 - 2025 Football Thread NHL Playoffs 2024 Formula 1 Discussion NBA General Discussion
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread Cleaning My Mechanical Keyboard How to clean a TTe Thermaltake keyboard?
TL Community
The Automated Ban List TL.net Ten Commandments
Blogs
Need Your Help/Advice
Glider
Trip to the Zoo
micronesia
Yes Sir! How Commanding Impr…
TrAiDoS
Poker
Nebuchad
Info SLEgma_12
SLEgma_12
SECOND COMMING
XenOsky
WombaT’s Old BW Terran Theme …
WombaT
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 10486 users

Greatest SC2 Protoss player of all-time? - Page 2

Forum Index > SC2 General
Post a Reply
Prev 1 2 3 Next All
WombaT
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
Northern Ireland24598 Posts
June 22 2021 11:19 GMT
#21
More so than the other two races this is more a case of being amongst the greatest as there’s both not one outstanding candidate but rather a lot of good ones.

Rain maybe if he’d stayed and stayed in shape could have been the one, possibly. Legacy as a game really neutered sOs’ particular strengths so he dropped off a fair bit.

If not already then certainly if he continues in anything like his form of the last two years then Trap has earned his spot amongst the pantheon.
'You'll always be the cuddly marsupial of my heart, despite the inherent flaws of your ancestry' - Squat
MarianoSC2
Profile Joined June 2015
Slovakia1855 Posts
June 22 2021 11:24 GMT
#22
1. Zest
2. sOs
3. Stats
4. Rain
5. MC
6. Classic
7. Trap
8. Parting
9. herO
10. Dear

Rain would have been the best by quite a big margin if he played LOTV I am pretty sure about that. He was the one who defined the macro play of Protoss and his defense, strategy and control was second to none.
Top 11: Rogue, Maru, Inno, Zest, Life, sOs, Stats, Dark, soO, Mvp, Classic/Trap/MC/Rain
Aeceus
Profile Joined September 2011
United Kingdom1278 Posts
June 22 2021 11:42 GMT
#23
Its Stats with sOs and Zest a close 2nd I think.
ejozl
Profile Joined October 2010
Denmark3340 Posts
June 22 2021 11:44 GMT
#24
Stats>Zest>MC>rest, I wanna say.
SC2 Archon needs "Terrible, terrible damage" as one of it's quotes.
Solio
Profile Joined June 2016
France145 Posts
June 22 2021 12:20 GMT
#25
Depends on the criteria, the strongest protoss we've ever had in terms of skill is Trap but he is not the most accomplished one (Zest is).
FuRong
Profile Joined April 2010
New Zealand3089 Posts
Last Edited: 2021-07-02 09:10:13
June 22 2021 15:16 GMT
#26
For what it's worth, these are the stats from the Premier finals/victories thread. I'm just posting to add to the discussion, not to prove any point.

I updated it with Trap's recent wins.

Premier gold medals:

7 = (P)Trap, (P)Neeb (4 if you don't count NA only events)
6 = (P)MC, (P)Zest
5 = (P)herO, (P)LiquidHerO, (P)Classic, (P)Stats, (P)Rain, (P)sOs, (P)PartinG

It's interesting that there are so many on exactly five.

Premier finals:

16 = (P)MC
13 = (P)Trap, (P)Stats
12 = (P)PartinG (notably, none since his comeback)
11 = (P)Zest
10 = (P)herO, (P)sOs, (P)Neeb (6 if you don't count NA only events)
9 = (P)LiquidHerO
7 = (P)Rain
6 = (P)Classic

I think it all comes down to how you value golds/silvers, deep runs, performance in the biggest events, consistency, length of period at/near the top, contribution to teams and 'aura of formidability.'

Given the current status of players on this list, Trap seems the most likely to add to his legacy, especially with the number of wins he has racked up over the past half year.
Don't hate the player, hate the game
PipeR.42
Profile Joined October 2015
United States4 Posts
June 22 2021 16:28 GMT
#27
I mean, if you want to use a (somewhat flawed) objective measure like earnings, the top 5 would be:

1. sOs
2. Stats
3. Zest
4. Neeb
5. MC
There is no balance, only war.
Vindicare605
Profile Blog Joined August 2011
United States16056 Posts
June 22 2021 16:30 GMT
#28
Going by my eye test, I'd say Rain was the best Protoss that has ever played, in terms of raw skill and mechanics. He was always dangerous, and could play both aggressive and defensive styles very well. Problem is, his SC2 career was too short and he didnt play in LoTV which is in my opinion the best designed version of the game (well after the update that removed the MSC anyway) so it's hard to really give him the best of all time honor.


So going by results, eye test, and someone who's had success in LoTV. I'm going to have to go with Zest. He's been the most innovative Protoss player for years, always pushing the meta. He's also tied for having the most Code S titles of any Protoss player with MC who I don't count because he won all of his in early WoL, so Zest's titles are a lot more impressive.
aka: KTVindicare the Geeky Bartender
lorestarcraft
Profile Joined April 2011
United States1049 Posts
June 22 2021 16:34 GMT
#29
Min Chul, the Boss Toss.
SC2 Mapmaker
Howard_Kao
Profile Joined September 2018
China261 Posts
June 22 2021 17:37 GMT
#30
I'd say there ain't a best protoss, but probably the best pair of protoss: stats and zest. Ever since kespa teams disbanded, zest invented so many openers and stats refined them to details so much. Almost 80% of the common protoss openers in past 5 years are crafts of their hand.
"You don't need a gsl champion, you don't need a esl champion. I feel like I'm just a normal man. I just practice very hard this time, like 15hrs everyday" Oliveira 2023
esReveR
Profile Joined February 2010
United States567 Posts
June 22 2021 20:42 GMT
#31
+ Show Spoiler +
On June 22 2021 07:04 AzAlexZ wrote:
It's hard to pick, the style of Protoss makes it so that they have a lot of great players, compared to the few candidates for Zerg and Terran (who admittedly have higher ceilings).

For me at least, I have to split them into 3 types: Definers, Jack of All Trades, and Polishers.
Definers: defined a style of Protoss that went on for as long as the game has;
Jack of All Trades: good at everything, but never the best at any point in time;
Polishers: took the mantle or improved upon the groundwork laid by the Definers.

The Definers:
MC: the one who defined the aggressive style of Protoss;
Rain: the one who defined the defensive style of Protoss;
sOs: the one who defined the strategical adaptability of Protoss.

The Jack of All Trades:
herO: great mind games, superb offense, defense not so great.
Classic: decent at mind games, good defense, and great offense.
Trap: look no further than Tastosis commentary, they literally call him the Jack of All trades Protoss

The Polishers:
PartinG: the guy who built upon MC's aggression with his 'soul'
Zest: the guy who refined Rain's playstyle while adding his own risk factor.
Stats: the guy that took up Rain's Mantle after Rain retired.

Honorable mention to Neeb as the one who changed LOTV PvP


Really? Zest is 100% a definer. Who do you think started the current pvz void opener meta, which is just the most recent time Zest pushed the meta.
Skill is relative.
StuDToSs
Profile Blog Joined April 2009
116 Posts
July 02 2021 00:11 GMT
#32
On June 23 2021 05:42 esReveR wrote:
+ Show Spoiler +
On June 22 2021 07:04 AzAlexZ wrote:
It's hard to pick, the style of Protoss makes it so that they have a lot of great players, compared to the few candidates for Zerg and Terran (who admittedly have higher ceilings).

For me at least, I have to split them into 3 types: Definers, Jack of All Trades, and Polishers.
Definers: defined a style of Protoss that went on for as long as the game has;
Jack of All Trades: good at everything, but never the best at any point in time;
Polishers: took the mantle or improved upon the groundwork laid by the Definers.

The Definers:
MC: the one who defined the aggressive style of Protoss;
Rain: the one who defined the defensive style of Protoss;
sOs: the one who defined the strategical adaptability of Protoss.

The Jack of All Trades:
herO: great mind games, superb offense, defense not so great.
Classic: decent at mind games, good defense, and great offense.
Trap: look no further than Tastosis commentary, they literally call him the Jack of All trades Protoss

The Polishers:
PartinG: the guy who built upon MC's aggression with his 'soul'
Zest: the guy who refined Rain's playstyle while adding his own risk factor.
Stats: the guy that took up Rain's Mantle after Rain retired.

Honorable mention to Neeb as the one who changed LOTV PvP


Really? Zest is 100% a definer. Who do you think started the current pvz void opener meta, which is just the most recent time Zest pushed the meta.


Yep seems like the consensus puts Zest as one of the pioneers.
Obamarauder
Profile Joined June 2015
697 Posts
Last Edited: 2021-07-02 00:27:11
July 02 2021 00:27 GMT
#33
If u look at the span of who's been at the top for the longest time then it has to be Stats or Zest. You can make a case for Rain or MC if they haven't retired
ReachTheSky
Profile Joined April 2010
United States3294 Posts
July 02 2021 00:27 GMT
#34
Liquid`Hero and MC were my favorite toss players.
TL+ Member
yubo56
Profile Joined May 2014
687 Posts
July 02 2021 02:56 GMT
#35
Rain towards the peak of his career (early hots) was probably one of the highest peaking P's we've seen in a while. We've seen people with good winrates, crazy strats, but nobody like Rain who could play every game the exact same for the first 5-10 minutes, take zero risks, end up behind, and still win just because he was that favored in a macro game. Blind cannons, late thirds, metronomic timings, everything that screamed to be sniped but still worked b/c he was just that good.

It was a different era, and it would be hard to be able to play like that today (2018 Serral comes to mind), but I think it's worth mentioning.
Jung Yoon Jong fighting, even after retirement! Feel better soon.
AzAlexZ
Profile Joined September 2016
Australia3303 Posts
Last Edited: 2021-07-02 03:11:16
July 02 2021 03:09 GMT
#36
On June 23 2021 05:42 esReveR wrote:
+ Show Spoiler +
On June 22 2021 07:04 AzAlexZ wrote:
It's hard to pick, the style of Protoss makes it so that they have a lot of great players, compared to the few candidates for Zerg and Terran (who admittedly have higher ceilings).

For me at least, I have to split them into 3 types: Definers, Jack of All Trades, and Polishers.
Definers: defined a style of Protoss that went on for as long as the game has;
Jack of All Trades: good at everything, but never the best at any point in time;
Polishers: took the mantle or improved upon the groundwork laid by the Definers.

The Definers:
MC: the one who defined the aggressive style of Protoss;
Rain: the one who defined the defensive style of Protoss;
sOs: the one who defined the strategical adaptability of Protoss.

The Jack of All Trades:
herO: great mind games, superb offense, defense not so great.
Classic: decent at mind games, good defense, and great offense.
Trap: look no further than Tastosis commentary, they literally call him the Jack of All trades Protoss

The Polishers:
PartinG: the guy who built upon MC's aggression with his 'soul'
Zest: the guy who refined Rain's playstyle while adding his own risk factor.
Stats: the guy that took up Rain's Mantle after Rain retired.

Honorable mention to Neeb as the one who changed LOTV PvP


Really? Zest is 100% a definer. Who do you think started the current pvz void opener meta, which is just the most recent time Zest pushed the meta.

You have completely misunderstood what I mean by a Definer.
Sure Zest maybe someone who devised a new meta opener, but that will go away someday with patch changes. But Rain was the first person to start a completely new (defensive) playstyle that was unseen before he came along, that is still going on to this day, across 3 different SC2 game versions.
Zest jump-started one 'slightly Innovative' meta opener in LOTV that existed in WoL well before Zest was playing SC2, whereas Rain defined an entire playstyle from head to toe by himself.
so yeah you're kinda wrong
Faker is the GOAT!
AzAlexZ
Profile Joined September 2016
Australia3303 Posts
Last Edited: 2021-07-02 03:16:05
July 02 2021 03:13 GMT
#37
On June 23 2021 00:16 FuRong wrote:
For what it's worth, these are the stats from the Premier finals/victories thread. I'm just posting to add to the discussion, not to prove any point.

I updated it with Trap's recent wins.

Premier gold medals:

7 = (P)Trap, (P)Neeb (3 if you don't count NA only events)
6 = (P)MC, (P)Zest
5 = (P)herO, (P)LiquidHerO, (P)Classic, (P)Stats, (P)Rain, (P)sOs, (P)PartinG

It's interesting that there are so many on exactly five.

Premier finals:

16 = (P)MC
13 = (P)Trap, (P)Stats
12 = (P)PartinG (notably, none since his comeback)
11 = (P)Zest
10 = (P)herO, (P)sOs, (P)Neeb (6 if you don't count NA only events)
9 = (P)LiquidHerO
7 = (P)Rain
6 = (P)Classic

I think it all comes down to how you value golds/silvers, deep runs, performance in the biggest events, consistency, length of period at/near the top, contribution to teams and 'aura of formidability.'

Given the current status of players on this list, Trap seems the most likely to add to his legacy, especially with the number of wins he has racked up over the past half year.

Neeb has 4 if you don't count NA only
KeSPA and 3 WCS titles from 2017
Faker is the GOAT!
Nebuchad
Profile Blog Joined December 2012
Switzerland12064 Posts
July 02 2021 03:24 GMT
#38
It's Parting obviously.
"It is capitalism that is incentivizing me to lazily explain this to you while at work because I am not rewarded for generating additional value."
deacon.frost
Profile Joined February 2013
Czech Republic12129 Posts
Last Edited: 2021-07-02 08:42:38
July 02 2021 08:41 GMT
#39
On July 02 2021 11:56 yubo56 wrote:
Rain towards the peak of his career (early hots) was probably one of the highest peaking P's we've seen in a while. We've seen people with good winrates, crazy strats, but nobody like Rain who could play every game the exact same for the first 5-10 minutes, take zero risks, end up behind, and still win just because he was that favored in a macro game. Blind cannons, late thirds, metronomic timings, everything that screamed to be sniped but still worked b/c he was just that good.

It was a different era, and it would be hard to be able to play like that today (2018 Serral comes to mind), but I think it's worth mentioning.

OTOH it's not like he's bad at BW either which makes you think he would a force to be reckon with. But he chose BW when he recovered.

Edit> For me he's the only player who doesn't need them results. Probably the strongest Protoss we've ever seen.
I imagine France should be able to take this unless Lilbow is busy practicing for Starcraft III. | KadaverBB is my fairy ban mother.
stilt
Profile Joined October 2012
France2747 Posts
Last Edited: 2021-07-02 09:21:58
July 02 2021 09:17 GMT
#40
For me it's Zest.
The dude did quite well in PL.
And there aren't much protoss who won 2 gsl and got to 1 final in past wol time.
None did 3 finals of katowice winning 1.
At his best in 2014 and 2016, he looked really dominating, he was seen as a fucking juggernaud especially in pvp/z while recently he is amazing, overshadowed by Trap ofc but he is still performing really well.
None has his longetivity at the top either despite high and low, he always remained a top 5 of his race able to defeat anybody. The large number of small tournaments he won shows he was a bit more regular than some could imagine.

Considering his influence of the meta who is imo greater than any other toss in the past 5 years, he is definetely an innovator and a big one. While Trap's runs are impressive and I consider his wins as Premier tournament, they still lack a bit of prestige imo (no kato, no regular season gsl win basically).

To sum up : for the caliber of his wins, his longevity and his strong influence on the meta, Zest is the protoss goat, by a large margin imo.
Prev 1 2 3 Next All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Next event in 6h 33m
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
mouzHeroMarine 451
IndyStarCraft 136
MindelVK 32
StarCraft: Brood War
Bisu 1595
Jaedong 1288
Hyuk 798
BeSt 764
Shuttle 747
Soulkey 431
firebathero 303
Stork 245
actioN 231
Snow 174
[ Show more ]
Dewaltoss 111
BRAT_OK 62
TY 45
JulyZerg 37
sorry 35
sSak 30
Yoon 17
Dota 2
Gorgc10181
qojqva2510
Dendi1498
BabyKnight76
Counter-Strike
ScreaM6667
byalli283
Foxcn35
Heroes of the Storm
Trikslyr104
Other Games
hiko1274
ceh9674
Beastyqt602
Lowko296
RotterdaM272
TKL 107
KnowMe78
QueenE28
Organizations
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 20 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• davetesta32
• LUISG 20
• 3DClanTV 16
• IndyKCrew
• sooper7s
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• Migwel
• intothetv
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Kozan
StarCraft: Brood War
• FirePhoenix6
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
• BSLYoutube
Dota 2
• C_a_k_e 2408
• Ler79
League of Legends
• Nemesis5849
• TFBlade2140
• Shiphtur497
Other Games
• imaqtpie836
Upcoming Events
PiGosaur Monday
6h 33m
GSL Code S
16h 3m
Cure vs Zoun
Solar vs Creator
The PondCast
16h 33m
Road to EWC
16h 33m
Online Event
21h 33m
Clem vs ShoWTimE
herO vs MaxPax
HupCup
21h 33m
Road to EWC
22h 33m
Road to EWC
1d 4h
GSL Code S
1d 16h
GuMiho vs Bunny
ByuN vs SHIN
Road to EWC
1d 16h
[ Show More ]
Online Event
1d 19h
Road to EWC
1d 22h
Road to EWC
2 days
Replay Cast
2 days
Road to EWC
2 days
Road to EWC
2 days
Road to EWC
3 days
Road to EWC
3 days
CranKy Ducklings
3 days
Road to EWC
3 days
Replay Cast
4 days
Road to EWC
4 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
4 days
Replay Cast
5 days
Replay Cast
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

ASL Season 19
DreamHack Dallas 2025
Calamity Stars S2

Ongoing

JPL Season 2
YSL S1
BSL Season 20
KCM Race Survival 2025 Season 2
NPSL S3
Rose Open S1
CSL Season 17: Qualifier 1
Heroes 10 EU
ESL Impact League Season 7
IEM Dallas 2025
PGL Astana 2025
Asian Champions League '25
ECL Season 49: Europe
BLAST Rivals Spring 2025
MESA Nomadic Masters
CCT Season 2 Global Finals
IEM Melbourne 2025
YaLLa Compass Qatar 2025
PGL Bucharest 2025
BLAST Open Spring 2025
ESL Pro League S21

Upcoming

CSL Season 17: Qualifier 2
CSL 17: 2025 SUMMER
Copa Latinoamericana 4
CSLPRO Last Chance 2025
CSLAN 2025
K-Championship
SEL Season 2 Championship
Esports World Cup 2025
HSC XXVII
Championship of Russia 2025
Bellum Gens Elite Stara Zagora 2025
2025 GSL S2
BLAST Bounty Fall Qual
IEM Cologne 2025
FISSURE Playground #1
BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025
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.