EPTBy: monk
After a short delay to see a few more results (notably ASUS ROG Summer), it's time to roll out the power rank for this month. Last month's Power Rank saw INnoVation top the chart, and to no one's surprise, he's up at #1 again. But the players at #2 to #10? They might surprise you.
Before we continue, here is an overly simplified version of our criteria as always.
So, onto this month's ranking!
ST_Life: Life gets a special mention for winning a tournament.
Samsung_JangBi: The KHAN ace continues to have one the best winrates in HotS but manages to lose just enough games so that he never actually manages to accomplish anything substantial.
AX.Alicia & Azubu.San: Had statistically great months no one will care about because they didn't top it with a championship. Oh, to be Korean.
KT_Flash: Being the only player to perform in the Proleague playoffs for KT wasn't enough to get Flash on the Power Rank this month. His disappointing exit from the OSL put a huge damper on his image and his past laurels and achievements were just not enough to put him through.
MVP.Dream: The youngster from MVP was their only player who significantly contributed for them in the GSTL finals against LG-IM. He also had a great run through the Challenger League, qualifying for Code S by showing impressive games against RorO and Fantasy. Dream finished the period with a 13 - 3 record, though a part of it is padded by a four-kill against ROOT in the ATC.
EG.Revival: Revival almost made it on the list, but our decision to wait a day saw him get knocked out of the WCS AM Ro16. Even though he has the case for possibly the best player on EG(?) by winning IEM Shanghai, following it up with such an immediate disappointment pushes him out of the PR.
IM_YongHwa: Yonghwa all-killed Axiom-Acer in GSTL, showing dominant play in each game. Throughout the entire series, it never looked as if Yonghwa was in any significant danger of ever losing a game. Yonghwa also defeated three of the strongest Protoss in the world (Trap, Super, Stats) on his way to qualifying for Premier League again. In total, Yonghwa is 11-2 this month. While he's just barely edged out this month, we'll be sure to remember him in next month's ranking should he continue this success.
After a short delay to see a few more results (notably ASUS ROG Summer), it's time to roll out the power rank for this month. Last month's Power Rank saw INnoVation top the chart, and to no one's surprise, he's up at #1 again. But the players at #2 to #10? They might surprise you.
Before we continue, here is an overly simplified version of our criteria as always.
- Results: Obviously, this will be the basis of any power rank. And since this is a monthly power rank, we'll be mainly focusing on results from the last month, that is the month of July. Previous HotS results will also be taken into account as well, but with less weight.
- Difficulty of opponents: Let's put it this way: if the PR existed last year, we probably wouldn't have given PartinG the #1 spot for his BWC run.
- Quality of play: How impressed were we with this player's performance, especially over the last month?
- Summary, not a predictor: The PR is a rating based on previous results, not a scouting report for who will do well in the future. We can't believe this is not completely obvious.
So, onto this month's ranking!
Special Mentions
ST_Life: Life gets a special mention for winning a tournament.Samsung_JangBi: The KHAN ace continues to have one the best winrates in HotS but manages to lose just enough games so that he never actually manages to accomplish anything substantial.AX.Alicia & Azubu.San: Had statistically great months no one will care about because they didn't top it with a championship. Oh, to be Korean.Close But No Cigar
KT_Flash: Being the only player to perform in the Proleague playoffs for KT wasn't enough to get Flash on the Power Rank this month. His disappointing exit from the OSL put a huge damper on his image and his past laurels and achievements were just not enough to put him through. MVP.Dream: The youngster from MVP was their only player who significantly contributed for them in the GSTL finals against LG-IM. He also had a great run through the Challenger League, qualifying for Code S by showing impressive games against RorO and Fantasy. Dream finished the period with a 13 - 3 record, though a part of it is padded by a four-kill against ROOT in the ATC.EG.Revival: Revival almost made it on the list, but our decision to wait a day saw him get knocked out of the WCS AM Ro16. Even though he has the case for possibly the best player on EG(?) by winning IEM Shanghai, following it up with such an immediate disappointment pushes him out of the PR.IM_YongHwa: Yonghwa all-killed Axiom-Acer in GSTL, showing dominant play in each game. Throughout the entire series, it never looked as if Yonghwa was in any significant danger of ever losing a game. Yonghwa also defeated three of the strongest Protoss in the world (Trap, Super, Stats) on his way to qualifying for Premier League again. In total, Yonghwa is 11-2 this month. While he's just barely edged out this month, we'll be sure to remember him in next month's ranking should he continue this success.The August 2013 Power Rank
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/1101.jpg)
sOs won gold over Flash in the Asian Indoor Games, re-qualified for Code S, and won his game in the Proleague playoffs.
It wasn't much to go by, but there really wasn't anything negative to say about sOs last month. It's a bit of a safe choice to go with an established player who has done nothing wrong than try and slot in a recently hot player, but we think it's the right choice given the CNBC candidates this month. sOs is obviously a great player and will probably retake his spot higher in the ranks once he gets more chances to show off what he can do in the coming months.
It wasn't much to go by, but there really wasn't anything negative to say about sOs last month. It's a bit of a safe choice to go with an established player who has done nothing wrong than try and slot in a recently hot player, but we think it's the right choice given the CNBC candidates this month. sOs is obviously a great player and will probably retake his spot higher in the ranks once he gets more chances to show off what he can do in the coming months.
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/26.jpg)
So close.
Supernova played his heart out this season and was just barely stopped from qualifying for the WCS Season 2 finals. In the quarter-final match against Rain, and then the fifth place match against First, Supernova lost 2 - 3 to two of the best PvT players in the world.
It was a fun ride for all of us though, as Supernova's consistently aggressive style made for very exciting games. He was also consistent and persistent in making hellbats post-hellbat nerf, a testament to his ability to invent and refine builds suitable to his style. He defeated Parting, Squirtle, Trap, and Soulkey during his OSL 6th place run, with his 2 - 1 victory over Soulkey being one of the most entertaining series of the season.
Though we probably won't see him for a while, we look forward to seeing more great results from Supernova once Code S starts up again.
Supernova played his heart out this season and was just barely stopped from qualifying for the WCS Season 2 finals. In the quarter-final match against Rain, and then the fifth place match against First, Supernova lost 2 - 3 to two of the best PvT players in the world.
It was a fun ride for all of us though, as Supernova's consistently aggressive style made for very exciting games. He was also consistent and persistent in making hellbats post-hellbat nerf, a testament to his ability to invent and refine builds suitable to his style. He defeated Parting, Squirtle, Trap, and Soulkey during his OSL 6th place run, with his 2 - 1 victory over Soulkey being one of the most entertaining series of the season.
Though we probably won't see him for a while, we look forward to seeing more great results from Supernova once Code S starts up again.
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/120.jpg)
As far as travel goes, Hyun is the MC of 2013. Having participated in last seven premier international tournaments of the year, Hyun certainly has had a lot of opportunities to prove himself. In June, Hyun earned a second place placing at MLG Spring, losing in a close 2-3 to Polt. In July, Hyun out ZvZed Jaedong to earn his first championship.
But attending so many tournaments comes at a price, at least in terms of Power Rank placement. Hyun has certainly won a lot more tournament games of SC2 than anyone in the world in the past few months, but he's also LOST quite few games in that time. The breadth of games does a good job to highlight his strengths, but it also serves to highlight his glaring weaknesses.
Hyun's current Kryptonite? Protoss. Hyun's path to win Dreamhack Valencia this month was clear of any notable Protoss players. Meanwhile, in each of the other tournament's he's participated in, he's completely fallen apart against almost every Protoss thrust upon him. Hyun was knocked out of IEM Shanghai with a 0-3 loss to HerO, ASUS ROG Summer with a 0-3 loss to San, and WCS AM Challenger League with a 1-2 to Puck. Hyun even struggled to defeat viPro and Welmu at ASUS ROG, barely defeating them by 3 - 2 mapscores largely thanks to his opponents' mistakes.
But attending so many tournaments comes at a price, at least in terms of Power Rank placement. Hyun has certainly won a lot more tournament games of SC2 than anyone in the world in the past few months, but he's also LOST quite few games in that time. The breadth of games does a good job to highlight his strengths, but it also serves to highlight his glaring weaknesses.
Hyun's current Kryptonite? Protoss. Hyun's path to win Dreamhack Valencia this month was clear of any notable Protoss players. Meanwhile, in each of the other tournament's he's participated in, he's completely fallen apart against almost every Protoss thrust upon him. Hyun was knocked out of IEM Shanghai with a 0-3 loss to HerO, ASUS ROG Summer with a 0-3 loss to San, and WCS AM Challenger League with a 1-2 to Puck. Hyun even struggled to defeat viPro and Welmu at ASUS ROG, barely defeating them by 3 - 2 mapscores largely thanks to his opponents' mistakes.
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/1087.jpg)
If power ranks were released near the middle of July, First would have placed much higher. He was the bandwagon king at that time, impressing everyone with his PvT against Fantasy in the OSL (Game 1, Game 2). Fantasy looked completely lost as he was played like a mandolin around the map. Days later, First showed equal skill at PvP against the supposed King of Protoss, Rain. He then proceeded to be an MVP for his team in the GSTL finals, starting his team off with a 2 map advantage, all the while playing the most entertaining TvP of the year.
If only the month had ended there.
Going into the OSL Ro8, First was looking to be a somewhat even match against Bomber. However, the result was anything but close. We gave First a lot of points for quality of play in his Ro16 matches, but we had to take almost as many away from him for his performance in the Ro8. Not only was the result a clean-cut 3-0, Bomber bullied him like the short kid on the playground in three straight games. This thrashing looked even more damning when fellow Protoss Rain soundly defeated Bomber in turn, showing that a top class player could brush off Bomber's shenanigans.
Though he's certainly redeemed himself with his qualification to the WCS Season Finals (especially that series against Supernova), those three Bomber games will leave the biggest impression for the foreseeable future.
If only the month had ended there.
Going into the OSL Ro8, First was looking to be a somewhat even match against Bomber. However, the result was anything but close. We gave First a lot of points for quality of play in his Ro16 matches, but we had to take almost as many away from him for his performance in the Ro8. Not only was the result a clean-cut 3-0, Bomber bullied him like the short kid on the playground in three straight games. This thrashing looked even more damning when fellow Protoss Rain soundly defeated Bomber in turn, showing that a top class player could brush off Bomber's shenanigans.
Though he's certainly redeemed himself with his qualification to the WCS Season Finals (especially that series against Supernova), those three Bomber games will leave the biggest impression for the foreseeable future.
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/1849.jpg)
Just as HerO gains strength in the winter and Protosses begin their reigns in the fall, TaeJa will most certainly win tournaments in the summer. TaeJa is the first player in the world to win two Premier HotS tournaments and he's looking to go for his third in WCS AM. His list of wins the past month spans over a page on TLPD and very few players have been able to take him down. Though he hasn't had the most difficult opponents, TaeJa is looking more and more like his old 2012 self once again.
TaeJa's style has also noticeably changed ever so slightly. In an interview, TaeJa admitted that he was getting too hard-countered because of his tendency for macro builds. But now that he's beginning to opt for more aggressive options, his win-rates have shot up and he's feeling more confident than ever. An even stronger TaeJa? We shudder at the thought.
TaeJa's style has also noticeably changed ever so slightly. In an interview, TaeJa admitted that he was getting too hard-countered because of his tendency for macro builds. But now that he's beginning to opt for more aggressive options, his win-rates have shot up and he's feeling more confident than ever. An even stronger TaeJa? We shudder at the thought.
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/561.jpg)
In all seriousness, isn't Bomber's Law dead by now ([Editor's note: No])? A long time ago, Bomber, along with Mvp, was looking to be one of the best Terrans in the world. Then in GSL July 2011, Bomber hit the Ro8, matching up against Byun. The first two games were compete stomps by Bomber and he looked better than he ever had. The next three were slow, painful, and agonizing defeats, almost as if Bomber was trying to give the games away to his opponent. And so Bomber's Law was born and fans were forever destined to be disappointed. For those of you in the dark:
+ Show Spoiler [Bomber's Law] +
This narrative is all hunky dory, but it seems ill-suited when applied to Bomber in the month of July. After all, when taken to the extreme, couldn't any combination of results be said to have invoked Bomber's Law? In July, Bomber dodged his weakest matchup in TvZ and took out some impressive (though at the time all overrated) players in Innovation, Flash, and First. He then lost to the more recently accomplished Rain in the OSL and in his weak matchup to Life in the RSL.
I present to you this alternate narrative: Bomber is a fairly good, albeit inconsistent player with his personal strengths, weaknesses, and struggles. Due to variance, he will sometimes overperform and other times underperform his true skill level. A lot more boring, I know, but probably more accurate description of Bomber's current condition ([Editor's note: How about no?]).
+ Show Spoiler [Bomber's Law] +
- Bomber's Law: Bomber will always disappoint.
- Corollary to Bomber's Law: If Bomber does not disappoint, it will be in order to set up a bigger disappointment later.
This narrative is all hunky dory, but it seems ill-suited when applied to Bomber in the month of July. After all, when taken to the extreme, couldn't any combination of results be said to have invoked Bomber's Law? In July, Bomber dodged his weakest matchup in TvZ and took out some impressive (though at the time all overrated) players in Innovation, Flash, and First. He then lost to the more recently accomplished Rain in the OSL and in his weak matchup to Life in the RSL.
I present to you this alternate narrative: Bomber is a fairly good, albeit inconsistent player with his personal strengths, weaknesses, and struggles. Due to variance, he will sometimes overperform and other times underperform his true skill level. A lot more boring, I know, but probably more accurate description of Bomber's current condition ([Editor's note: How about no?]).
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/1850.jpg)
At the beginning of the month, no one expected Maru to end up in the OSL finals. As the youngest son of a weakened and withering last place GSTL team, Maru had the odds against him. Sure, he might have gotten past his relatively easy Ro16 group, but after that, it seemed like he would be hard pressed to move onwards. Few thought he could get past Symbol and even fewer would have bet on him over Innovation.
But he beat both in style. Against Symbol, Maru employed his micro and his constant repair of his own medivacs to overpower the seemingly much sloppier player. Against Innovation, Maru deployed cheese after cheese, targeting his opponent's weakened mental state. With his 4-0, Maru achieved a 3.03% likelihood event (according to Aligulac.com).
Maru goes into the finals with the opponent he desires. He claims his TvP is his strongest matchup, but his opponent has already proven himself to be the strongest PvT player there is. Should Maru win, he'll complete the legend of the young prodigies:Maru, Life, and Creator will each have won a major title. Should he lose, he may fall into that cluster of just very good Koreans yet again.
But he beat both in style. Against Symbol, Maru employed his micro and his constant repair of his own medivacs to overpower the seemingly much sloppier player. Against Innovation, Maru deployed cheese after cheese, targeting his opponent's weakened mental state. With his 4-0, Maru achieved a 3.03% likelihood event (according to Aligulac.com).
Maru goes into the finals with the opponent he desires. He claims his TvP is his strongest matchup, but his opponent has already proven himself to be the strongest PvT player there is. Should Maru win, he'll complete the legend of the young prodigies:
Maru, Life, and Creator will each have won a major title. Should he lose, he may fall into that cluster of just very good Koreans yet again.![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/647.jpg)
Soulkey's live results this month actually put him only at 7-7. But I guess that's what happens when you face INoVation's TvZ four times in a row.
Funnily enough, even though Soulkey lost six games in ZvT this month, he still looked like the best Zerg in the world while doing so, especially in this game, one that will remain a classic for a long while. Soulkey's losses make you question not his ability but whether INnoVation's brand of TvZ is actually balanced.
We gave Soulkey a lot of benefit of the doubt this month for his stunning overall quality of his play and because he is still technically the defending Korean champion. But next month, a new WCS KR champion will be crowned and with Proleague finished for the year, Soulkey will have to impress us a lot more to keep from falling even further.
Funnily enough, even though Soulkey lost six games in ZvT this month, he still looked like the best Zerg in the world while doing so, especially in this game, one that will remain a classic for a long while. Soulkey's losses make you question not his ability but whether INnoVation's brand of TvZ is actually balanced.
We gave Soulkey a lot of benefit of the doubt this month for his stunning overall quality of his play and because he is still technically the defending Korean champion. But next month, a new WCS KR champion will be crowned and with Proleague finished for the year, Soulkey will have to impress us a lot more to keep from falling even further.
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/697.jpg)
At the beginning of the month, we would have never dreamed that Rain would be this high on the power rank. He completely failed his team when they needed him most during the Proleague playoffs, going 0 - 3 including a loss in a crucial ace match. Rain also showed weakness in the OSL, having a particularly hard time getting out of his group. Eventually, he forced his group into tiebreakers, giving us this rather bizarre ending to an already bizarre situation.
Yet Rain was able to swallow to disappointment of his Proleague losses and return to his winning ways. He defeated Supernova in the OSL Ro8 and then proceeded to crush an on-fire Bomber in the semifinals. He even made it to the Ro8 in the WCG KR qualifiers, defeating sOs and a seemingly reformed Creator along the way.
But perhaps the biggest story is not that Rain won these games but the in manner in which he won them. In total, Rain played thirteen important PvT matches in the month of July, leaving him rather exposed in the matchup. So finally Rain was forced to mix it up, adapting his usually safe play for a more varied style. This month, we got to see Rain show off his creativity, and while it wasn't awe inspiring by any means, we liked what we saw.
No, it was not standard Rain, but his calculated plays certainly had a Rain-ish feel to them. This month, Rain showed his willingness to adapt to changing circumstances, a trait usually found in champions.
Yet Rain was able to swallow to disappointment of his Proleague losses and return to his winning ways. He defeated Supernova in the OSL Ro8 and then proceeded to crush an on-fire Bomber in the semifinals. He even made it to the Ro8 in the WCG KR qualifiers, defeating sOs and a seemingly reformed Creator along the way.
But perhaps the biggest story is not that Rain won these games but the in manner in which he won them. In total, Rain played thirteen important PvT matches in the month of July, leaving him rather exposed in the matchup. So finally Rain was forced to mix it up, adapting his usually safe play for a more varied style. This month, we got to see Rain show off his creativity, and while it wasn't awe inspiring by any means, we liked what we saw.
No, it was not standard Rain, but his calculated plays certainly had a Rain-ish feel to them. This month, Rain showed his willingness to adapt to changing circumstances, a trait usually found in champions.
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/663.jpg)
Yes, he lost 0-4 to Maru. But besides that hiccup, Innovation probably had one of the most dominant months we've ever seen from a single player since the TaeJa of Summer '12. He led his team to a Proleague championship and 4-0'd his Zerg rival, Soulkey, considered by most to be Korea's best Zerg at the moment.
But did you also know that Innovation qualified for IEM Shanghai (which he declined so he could go win Proleague instead) and also advanced to the Ro8 in the WCG KR qualifiers?
Not only does Innovation TvZ continue to look mostly unstoppable, he actually has not lost an offline macro TvP in four months. Going into the WCS Season 2 Finals, Innovation will be the strong favorite, and he'll have a chance to avenge himself against Maru and Bomber to prove that you only get lucky once.
But did you also know that Innovation qualified for IEM Shanghai (which he declined so he could go win Proleague instead) and also advanced to the Ro8 in the WCG KR qualifiers?
Not only does Innovation TvZ continue to look mostly unstoppable, he actually has not lost an offline macro TvP in four months. Going into the WCS Season 2 Finals, Innovation will be the strong favorite, and he'll have a chance to avenge himself against Maru and Bomber to prove that you only get lucky once.
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