EPTPower Rank: June 2018
by TeamLiquid.net writersWelcome to another edition of the TeamLiquid.net Power Rank! Much has transpired since the previous power rank, with GSL reaching the single-elimination round while another WCS Circuit event concluded in Austin. Results up to WCS Austin were taken into consideration in this ranking (the first day of GSL quarterfinal matches were not included). Anyway, here are the power rank criteria:
- 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, quality of play.
- Recent results are weighted more heavily, but players may receive benefit of the doubt for consistent performances in the past.
Previous Power Rank: Power Rank: May 2018
Close, But No Cigar
INnoVation: The GSL RO16 players showed their deference to INnoVation during the Group Nominations by drafting him last. Unfortunately, INnoVation got some of the worst possible RO16 group luck ever, and was eliminated after facing Rogue (the best ZvT player in the world) twice in one day. INnoVation might very well be top-ten worthy, but he just didn't have the chances to show it.Stats: Perhaps its a bit unfair for Stats to fall out of the ranking entirely. He's baffled us all year. He's been doing poorly in online events, and suffered one of the biggest upsets of the IEM Katowice open bracket when he was eliminated by souL. During his finals run in Code S Season 1, we predicted him to lose in almost every single round. And still, even as we quibbled that his gameplay wasn't all that impressive, he's been posting results in the tournaments that really matter. Well, until now. After an unimpressive RO32 performance and 1-4 elimination to ByuN in the RO16, we're comfortable banishing Stats temporarily to the shadow realm.soO: We stopped giving INnoVation the benefit of the doubt last month, and this month soO joins him in the cigar-less club. His ZvT remains a glaring weakness, and he was also unable to take advantage of his strong ZvP when facing Dear in the RO16. soO has recovered from minor slumps in the past, and we don't doubt that he might bounce back to play in more grand finals. But for now, he's just not a top ten player.ByuN: ByuN's quarterfinal run seems more a fairy tale than a true return to form. He barely squeezed by in the RO32 with a 4-3 map record, and his tears upon advancing revealed that even he knew he was far from being a shoo-in for the RO16. While his upset victories against Stats in the RO16 were certainly impressive, they spoke more to Stats' general shakiness than ByuN's heightened abilities.sOs: The version of sOs we've seen since Code S Season 3 in 2017 is different from the sOs of the past. He's still THE most dangerous wild card playing StarCraft II, and capable of defeating any player in the game. However, he just doesn't seem to have as solid a foundation as he did before, and he's more prone to losing to lesser opponents when his tricks don't pan out. When's he's not running hot, he can be ice cold, as he was in the GSL RO16.![[image loading]](/tlpd/images/players/977.jpg)
He's been gone a while, but Zest returns to the top ten of the Power Rank for the first time since IEM Katowice. He’s done so largely on the back of his GSL Round 16 group performance, in which he outlasted Solar and Patience to sneak out in second place. It wasn’t the most convincing performance from Zest, who actually accomplished a similar feat in Season 1 where escaped from his RO16 group in second place, only to be summarily dismissed by Dark in the quarters.
Zest, for all his success online, hasn’t looked capable of winning a prestigious offline tournament in a very long time. He has a 61.29% win rate in matches since the start of 2018, a number which craters to 58.26% when you include 2017. Now, that was many moons ago and hardly relevant, but the point remains that we no longer associate Zest with championships. Still, for making the quarterfinals twice in a row, and being consistently 'pretty-good,' we award him this #10 spot.
Zest returns to the top ten of the Power Rank for the first time since IEM Katowice. He’s done so largely on the back of his GSL Round 16 group performance, in which he outlasted Solar and Patience to sneak out in second place. It wasn’t the most convincing performance from Zest, who actually accomplished a similar feat in Season 1 where escaped from his RO16 group in second place, only to be summarily dismissed by Dark in the quarters. Zest, for all his success online, hasn’t looked capable of winning a prestigious offline tournament in a very long time. He has a 61.29% win rate in matches since the start of 2018, a number which craters to 58.26% when you include 2017. Now, that was many moons ago and hardly relevant, but the point remains that we no longer associate Zest with championships. Still, for making the quarterfinals twice in a row, and being consistently 'pretty-good,' we award him this #10 spot.
![[image loading]](/tlpd/images/players/618.jpg)
This is the third consecutive month in which Trap has been ranked ninth in our power rankings. In some ways it’s amazing, in other ways it’s thoroughly unsurprising. Trap has done just enough as of late to remind us of how very talented he is. At the same time, it's no surprise that hasn't been in the championship picture in years. For the second season in a row, he left the GSL RO16 with a 1-2 record after playing a few impressive games.
Trap impressed at IEM Katowice a while back and remains one of the few players who can reliably beat Dark in PvZ (2-4 against Trap, Dark is 15-6 against everyone else during 2018). Trap boasts a 64 percent win rate since May first, but his 2-4 mark against players ranked higher than himself in this article (not named Dark) perfectly demonstrates how he has a way to go before securing a place in the upper echelons of StarCraft II. Another middling exit from GSL means Trap has precious few opportunities going forward, however. He sits just outside the top eight in WCS Korea points. He’ll have to make a real leap if he wants to earn a spot at BlizzCon, and a spot higher than #9 on the power rank.
Trap has been ranked ninth in our power rankings. In some ways it’s amazing, in other ways it’s thoroughly unsurprising. Trap has done just enough as of late to remind us of how very talented he is. At the same time, it's no surprise that hasn't been in the championship picture in years. For the second season in a row, he left the GSL RO16 with a 1-2 record after playing a few impressive games. Trap impressed at IEM Katowice a while back and remains one of the few players who can reliably beat Dark in PvZ (2-4 against Trap, Dark is 15-6 against everyone else during 2018). Trap boasts a 64 percent win rate since May first, but his 2-4 mark against players ranked higher than himself in this article (not named Dark) perfectly demonstrates how he has a way to go before securing a place in the upper echelons of StarCraft II. Another middling exit from GSL means Trap has precious few opportunities going forward, however. He sits just outside the top eight in WCS Korea points. He’ll have to make a real leap if he wants to earn a spot at BlizzCon, and a spot higher than #9 on the power rank.
![[image loading]](/tlpd/images/players/4729.jpg)
After walking the silver road not once, but twice this year, Dark started another Sisyphian quest in GSL Code S. Everything got off to a good start in the RO32 (where Dark defeated INnoVation and Ryung), but Dark's hubris got the better of him in the RO16 group nominations. Not only did Dark select Classic—one of the strong Protoss players in the world—as his first opponent, but it set off a chain reaction where Classic selected Dark's personal Kryptonite in Trap. As a result, Dark's GSL ambitions were ended uncharacteristically early, and he fell out in the RO16 without a single series win. It's our considerable respect for the kind of play we know Dark is capable of that keeps him from falling out of the top ten altogether.
![[image loading]](/tlpd/images/players/4567.jpg)
This month, Serral basically did what he was supposed to do: Win WCS Austin and cement himself as the best player on the WCS Circuit. Unfortunately, he doesn't have much room for upward mobility until he faces Korean opponents again, and we're going to have to wait until August's GSL vs World for that. With WCS Valencia coming up in July, the only thing that might help him climb even further in the power rank is if he won with a 100% perfect, undefeated record. We don't see that happening, given the strong resistance put up by Lambo and MaNa in Austin, but never say never...
![[image loading]](/tlpd/images/players/575.jpg)
TY is back! The Splyce Terran’s exclusion from last month’s power ranking caused some minor outrage, which may have been justified. TY made a strong run to the GSL quarterfinals, returning him to the power rank after a one-month break. One could argue that last month’s snub was heretical given TY’s absurd 11-1 record in matches the PREVIOUS month, and that it's silly for him to reenter THIS month's power rank off a 9-5 record since then. It all highlights an interesting discussion regarding how we interpret and value the visibility, prominence and prestige of tournaments (especially the later rounds) in how they determine a player's "power." TL;DR: we're inconsistent, even though we try our best not to be.
In any case, TY fans can rest easy knowing that their favorite player is on everyone's radar once more. Another series win in GSL would make this season his deepest tournament run of the year. It would also bring him a step closer to the GSL title he failed to claim a little more than two years ago.
In any case, TY fans can rest easy knowing that their favorite player is on everyone's radar once more. Another series win in GSL would make this season his deepest tournament run of the year. It would also bring him a step closer to the GSL title he failed to claim a little more than two years ago.
![[image loading]](/tlpd/images/players/2106.jpg)
GuMiho is one of this month’s biggest movers, having jumped all the way up to fifth after slotting in at tenth back in May. It’s been a busy month for GuMiho who, as usual, has decided to play in every event under the sun. All in all he played 149 games since May first, while posting a 77.19% match win rate. And yet, while online glory pads the wallet, it’s the offline tournaments that buy the barbecue. GuMiho finds himself in the GSL quarterfinals for the first time since winning the Season 2 championship last year. His run wasn’t any kind of historically hard back then, and the road to the finals doesn’t look so hard this time either as GuMiho holds a 77% win rate against Terran and Protoss since the end of April.
![[image loading]](/tlpd/images/players/958.jpg)
While not very flashy or dominant throughout the year, Dear consistently posted good results while inching his way closer to the top. He soars up the rankings for largely two reasons: He had a 'break-out' performance in this season's Code S RO16, defeating soO and Rogue to secure a Code S quarterfinal spot for the first time in nearly two years. soO and Rogue are two of the top four ZvP players in the world, and but Dear defeated them with clever, precise play. If there we gave out round-by-round awards, Dear would have been a top candidate to win "best player of the RO16." Second, the freefall of sOs and Stats left a void open in the rankings, one which pushes up the remaining players a couple more ranks than expected. All in all, Dear's performances were worthy of respect, and #4, while surprisingly high, is a spot he has fully earned.
![[image loading]](/tlpd/images/players/1099.jpg)
Rogue administered some of the most comprehensive single-map beatdowns this Code S, making the likes of INnoVation and Maru (don't worry, we won't spoil the result) look helpless against his full-map press. Rogue’s run to the quarterfinals confirmed that his excellent results in 'weekender' format tournaments can indeed translate to Code S success, as long as he doesn't grow complacent from big international paydays. What Rogue must do next is learn to channel his considerable talent into winning a Code S championship. If he were able to do that, he could very well earn a place in the pantheon of StarCraft II legends. Some would argue he has already been enshrined due to his BlizzCon title, but others would say Code S is still the golden standard of StarCraft II skill.
In any case, Rogue is now the undisputed best Zerg in the world. Dark was a worthy rival for five months, but it turns out Maru was right after all: Rogue is better. He’s doing things other Zergs can’t, combining the late game stylings of Dark, the ceaseless macro of soO, and the wily cunning of Solar into one streamlined package.
In any case, Rogue is now the undisputed best Zerg in the world. Dark was a worthy rival for five months, but it turns out Maru was right after all: Rogue is better. He’s doing things other Zergs can’t, combining the late game stylings of Dark, the ceaseless macro of soO, and the wily cunning of Solar into one streamlined package.
![[image loading]](/tlpd/images/players/680.jpg)
After a super-active start to the year, Classic has found himself—as have most of the Koreans—with less tournaments to participate in. This shift of pace seems to have benefited the cerebral Protoss player. He dominated both his Code S RO32 and RO16 groups, and did so with verve. In the RO16, Classic he exacted sweet revenge against Dark, scouting and deflecting all forms of aggression, switching seamlessly from defense to offence, and even surprising his opponent by going back to his Phoenix-heavy roots. He looked even more impressive against TY, diligently scouting all of TY's aggression/pushes and decisively capitalizing on all opportunities. Not only did he show all of his previous strengths, but he shored up all of his weaknesses. It was the most impervious and flawless Classic has looked in months, and the remaining Code S players would be right to fear 'Classic with 1+ week preparation.'
![[image loading]](/tlpd/images/players/1850.jpg)
Here we find Maru in what seems to be his natural habitat: the top of our monthly power rankings. He’s held this position since April, where he jumped from unranked in our pre-Katowice ranking to the top of the heap after his first GSL title. He’s only played in two tournaments since winning GSL. The first, the Super Tournament, saw him suffer his only loss of the past two plus months to Classic, (Maru’s overall record during this period is 7-1). The other is Season 2 of GSL Code S, where he's rampaged to the quarterfinals with barely any trouble. He's showed no signs of slowing down, even with the Raven patch weakening his Ghost-Raven style in TvZ. There's no question about it: The road to the Code S championship goes through Maru.
Of course, there's no guarantee that Maru will retain the belt, with many dangerous opponents awaiting him in the Code S playoffs. Should a player defeat Maru on their way to a Code S championship, it would be hard NOT to award that player the #1 spot in next month's power rank—perhaps an honor more prestigious than the Code S championship itself.
We'll see you again next month!
Of course, there's no guarantee that Maru will retain the belt, with many dangerous opponents awaiting him in the Code S playoffs. Should a player defeat Maru on their way to a Code S championship, it would be hard NOT to award that player the #1 spot in next month's power rank—perhaps an honor more prestigious than the Code S championship itself.
We'll see you again next month!
Credits and acknowledgements
Ranking contributors: TeamLiquid.net writing staff
Writers: Destructicon, Mizenhauer, Wax
Editor: Wax
Photo Credit: Adela Sznajder
Ranking contributors: TeamLiquid.net writing staff
Writers: Destructicon, Mizenhauer, Wax
Editor: Wax
Photo Credit: Adela Sznajder
He's literally allergic or something. Dark has also lost a bunch of games in online cups in the last month, looking very stubborn and mortal. Agree with the "he's on the power rank solely b/c we know what he's capable of."
