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Here's my (slightly early) February Power Rank. I'm optimistic to see
how it compare with the official TL Power Rank for February.
1. Flash (Lee Young Ho) (9-1, 90% Winrate in January)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/424.jpg)
Back to this again? I know this might rattle some people, but Flash had
a bad month back in January. It was bad enough that Flamewheel put
Flash into the #5 Position, the lowest he'd been since October 2009.
Guess what? The beast is back. He went 9-1 in Proleague in January,
and while that is a relatively small number of games, he showed
dominating performance in every game he won. Honestly, he would not
deserve this position if not for his exceptional performances against
great players. Spectacular games like the epic Ace match against Bisu
and sick play against Bogus, SoulKey and Snow make it clear that Flash
is the number one player on Earth. By showing uncompromisingly great
play and holding KT Rolster together, Flash gets the #1 position.
2. Jaedong (Lee Jae Dong) (12-4, 75% Winrate in January)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/211.jpg)
Jaedong is still in the MSL. Not Bisu, not Stork, not Fantasy, and not
Flash. Of the game's absolute, top greats, only the Tyrant remains
standing. And on top of that, the MSL has devolved into a brood war
(see what I did there?). Since the MSL is now all Zerg, and if
Jaedong's notoriously good ZvZ (JvZ?) holds up, we may see a third MSL
win for the dong in sight. After losing to Stork and Violet early in
the season, Jaedong seemed to push his ZvP to new levels in the
spectacular series against Snow. Right now the Zerg player I'd least
like to be playing agains in the world is without a doubt Lee Jae Dong.
3. Bisu (Kim Taek Young) (15-4, 79% Winrate in January)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/125.jpg)
Bisu is having a great month and I know Bisu has a lot of fans so a lot of people are probably wondering why Bisu is below Jaedong and Flash.
Well, put simply, Bisu is not in the MSL, and Bisu seems to be having a
problem getting over his Kryptonite, Stork. In their last three meetings, Bisu has not won one game, and while his decision making is excellent, PvP is an intense psychological matchup where one mistake can
mean instant death. Bisu also gets major points in helping Fantasy reach the next level of TvP micro. If a teammate's win can possibly rub off on someone else, I think Bisu deserves some credit. Being in the top 3 is pretty awesome, and all those All-kills don't hurt either. A great record and excellent Proleague makes Bisu the #3 player on Earth.
4. Fantasy (Jung Myung Hoon) (13-7, 65% Winrate in January)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/6.jpg)
Have people forgotten how big of a deal it is to win a Starleague? I've had people tell me that Fantasy's loss to Stork in Proleague 'made up for' the series. Did you even see the OSL finals? Fantasy didn't just beat Stork, Fantasy utterly dismantled the poor guy. I have not seen dropship harassment on that level since the days of Boxer. Oh and while you're arguing the importance of proleague, let's talk about Proleague. Fantasy's been doing very well, starting with a near All-Kill of KT (obviously stopped by Flash), and excellent play against Woongjin (go watch his game vs. SoulKey; that's some excellent 2-port Wraith micro!) helped push his team to victory. His series against Calm was also quite impressive. But seriously, the reality is that something like an OSL finals is an opportunity for a player to show off their preparation skills and ability to play under pressure. Fantasy did both, and for me thats enough to put him above...
5. Stork (Song Byong Gu) (16-8, 67% Winrate in January)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/59.jpg)
I wish I had the .gif of the white Song Byong Goo fan. This kid kicked some ass this month. Admittedly, everyone's favorite Dino looked a little unprepared Friday night. His Proleague win over Fantasy was a chance for him to prove himself and prove himself he did. It doesn't mean he's better than Fantasy, but it makes a strong case. Either way, Stork didn't win when it mattered. Some Zerg named ZerO really has it out for the guy too. Other than Fantasy and ZerO, Stork only lost to renowned PvP Sniper horang2 and the always-unpredictable HiyA. Making it to an MSL finals and cleaning up for Samsung are still pretty important though. This is a spot for the fifth best Starcraft player alive. Birdtoss, you've earned it.
6. ZerO (Kim Myung Woon ) (8-6, 57% Winrate in January)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/174.jpg)
Who is this guy? I'd heard of him before but only took notice when 'some Woongjin Zerg' eliminated Stork Looking back at the names of those this guy has had to play this month is pretty intimidating. A lot of progamers probably would cower in fear. But ZerO has held up. Only one person this month has beaten Flash. Add to that the fact that ZerO is still in the MSL (by 3-0'ing Stork nonetheless!) and that he's beaten Fantasy, Sea, and the very, very good Neo.G_Soulkey and you have the recipe for a rising star. If he can push his ZvZ to new levels and win the MSL, he he may very well be on his way.
7. Hydra (Shin Dong Won) (13-5, 72% Winrate in January)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/610.jpg)
Is it just me or does this guy look almost as manly as Reach? He's still in the MSL and has more or less only been losing to very big names. I think I'll give him seven just for his manly jawline. :3
8. Bogus (Lee Shin Hyung) (7-3, 70% Winrate in January)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/663.jpg)
Bogus is the real deal (as opposed to, you know, being bogus). Guess who defeated him this month? Flash, Bisu, and Jaedong. Considering how many awesome players he's beaten (Snow, Stats, Violet) I think he deserves a spot on the PR.
9. Violet (Woo Jung Ho) (6-2, 75% Winrate in January)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/539.jpg)
Violet hasn't played many games this month, but has served as KT's best
opener (as opposed to their obvious closer). By not sending out Flash
first, KT can be sure he isn't easily sniped by a well-prepared build
order or something. Beating Jaedong is a pretty big deal (almost
instantly achieving an All-Kill against OZ except that HiyA suddenly decided to perform; and Stats finished the match out anyways). Sometimes just playing a few excellent games is enough.
10. Stats (Kim Dae Yeob) (7-4, 64% Winrate in January)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/611.jpg)
Another KT player? I must be biased. All-killing ACE and beating Hydra and BeSt is pretty good. I think you deserve a spot.
Honorable Mention: Snow (Jang Yoon Chul)
![[image loading]](http://www.teamliquid.net/tlpd/images/players/652.jpg)
Boy does the universe have it out for this kid. After playing what I believe to be one of the greatest PvTs ever (see his win over Flash on Fighting Spirit last year) he has been playing extremely well against top-level players and often losing by the smallest of margins. His series against Jaedong would have been perfect for an individual league final, and game five alone was probably one of my favorite PvZs of the last year. This is a player to watch by all accounts, and if he can bring his PvP in line with his excellent PvZ and PvT, he might well become one of the next true greats.
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Close but no cigar to follow.
Featuring: Sea, Kal, and great.
 
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Fixed the formatting. I decided not to do CBNC because everyone knows Kal and great are terrible now. I could probably beat either of them at angry birds anyways.
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By the way if any of TL's staff want to use any portion of this blog in part or whole for their official write-up, I give my full consent, just please credit me =D
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Nice writeup, but your power rank makes no sense at all. At least for the top positions.
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Baa?21242 Posts
This is a terrible ranking, more of a "who I think will win" instead of a true Jan. power rank. Not to mention you have a bunch of facts wrong (Stork in MSL finals? wat? And Zero as a "rising star?" Zero isn't exactly a newcomer and you have no idea who he is...?) Hydra being below Zero is ludicrous too if you actually look at their performances, and just auto-giving top three to Flash-Jaedong-Bisu is just dumb.
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On February 01 2011 03:29 mdb wrote:
Nice writeup, but your power rank makes no sense at all. At least for the top positions.
fix'd
I would think OP knows nothing about BW proscene, but he registered in 2006... so i dunno
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This looks like a 2008-2011 power rank for the top 5 as opposed to a February 2011 one. It's got no sense of the time, just a "well, flash has been the best, jaedong next, bisu next, fantasy over stork only because he won OSL, but other than that stork would normally be higher since he's performed better the last 3 years"
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Eh, sorry for any mistakes in the writeup. I know perfectly well who ZerO is, I've just never given him any thought whatsoever (I don't like/watch Woongjin unless they're playing Entus or KT, my teams). That he's performed as well as he has this month is impressive to me, and I was trying to imply that his game has come up a lot.
I suppose I overstated the importance of the OSL finals and overall Win-Loss game record and understated the importance of the wins Stork did achieve and the important series wins overall this month. Either way, I'd still put Fantasy over Stork. But I might reconsider, putting Stork in over Bisu and dropping Bisu down to fifth. Still, only losing games to two individuals is a powerful statement of an individual's resolve. So hopefully you can understand why I ranked it the way I did.
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You've made about as many posts in the last week as you did all of 2008. shit's crazy.
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On February 01 2011 03:32 Carnivorous Sheep wrote:Hydra being below Zero is ludicrous too if you actually look at their performances, Ehh? Yes, please DO look at their performances. It is Zero that dismantled the allegedly unbeatable late game terran mech build, and executed by Flash of all people. He also crushed Stork 3-0. What has Hydra done? Yes, good proleague performance against a level players but against the real opponents, the S class, not so much.
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Okay,
1) Flash can't be number 1 because he is out of all StarLeagues.
2) JD is unremarkable but at least in the MSL
3) BISU!?!?!?! SERIOUSLY?!?!?!? OVER THE TWO OSL FINALISTS!??!?!?!
4) How is the OSL below 3 people who have a combined 1 Starleague left in terms of non-Pro league activity?
5) Number 2. Easy. Stork is unreal right now. Sure he lost to Iloveoov's god builds. Sure he lost to Zero's streaky ZvP. Whatver, Stork has never been known for PvZ and he has been play SvT like a god.
6) Who? Zero? Really? 57% winrate gets you 6th? I don't care if you beat Flash and Stork. You lost to nublets and couldn't win any other games. Streaky like always.
7) I am okay with this pick.
8-10) Bogus? Stats? Violet? Did you miss.. I dunno... The round of 4 OSL and MSL? Did none of those names stand out as players on top of their game? I feel like the POWER RANK should be who playing the best, not who is kinda not sucking in Pro-League.
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On February 01 2011 07:54 xarthaz wrote:Show nested quote +On February 01 2011 03:32 Carnivorous Sheep wrote:Hydra being below Zero is ludicrous too if you actually look at their performances, Ehh? Yes, please DO look at their performances. It is Zero that dismantled the allegedly unbeatable late game terran mech build, and executed by Flash of all people. He also crushed Stork 3-0. What has Hydra done? Yes, good proleague performance against a level players but against the real opponents, the S class, not so much.
Ugh, I hate hearing about how an "unbeatable mech build" is no longer viable every time someone tries and fails to use it on a map it's not suited for.
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On February 01 2011 07:54 xarthaz wrote:Show nested quote +On February 01 2011 03:32 Carnivorous Sheep wrote:Hydra being below Zero is ludicrous too if you actually look at their performances, Ehh? Yes, please DO look at their performances. It is Zero that dismantled the allegedly unbeatable late game terran mech build, and executed by Flash of all people. He also crushed Stork 3-0. What has Hydra done? Yes, good proleague performance against a level players but against the real opponents, the S class, not so much.
How about his recently UNSTOPPABLE ZvZ? I wouldn't be surprised to see him 3-2 Jaedong if JD doesn't prepare well enough. (note that Hydra is 1-1 against JD this season)
How did he fare against other good players?
He lost to Bogus on a map that is 70% winrate TvZ. Can't blame him too much there.
He 3-0d Calm in MSL
He lost to Stork in the form of his LIFE (he was 14-2 in the month pre-MSL Ro4 and OSL final)
He lost to Stats.
Splitting 3-3 vs good players is nothing to sneeze at
Edit: looking at zero's matchlist, the guy really just drew some TOUGH opponents last month.
Stork x3
Flash
Fantasy
Jaedong
Sea
Bisu
Soulkey x3
Still, he lost to the likes of FROZEN and ACTION last month. If he wins vs both those players, he definitely deserves #6. As it stands... Hydra had a better month
Also @ OP: I feel like you put too large an emphasis on proleague and not enough of an emphasis on the individual leagues. Flash does not deserve #1 until he is in an individual league again.
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At least this isn't like one of those SC2 Community Power Ranks people keep trying to start up, and every one ends in some kind of popularity poll.
I think people giving him shit about his Power Rank needs to give him a break lol, January was insane and I'm not envious of flamewheel/whoever is gonna write February's PL's job. I mean compared to January's PR (I mean HoGiL is in there lol), February's is going to be tough to call.
(Note that this isn't ranking them, just listing)
Flash - Insane PL form, undefeatable aura, but no individual leagues
Jaedong - MSL Ro4, consistent PL results, but some flaws with gameplay (too greedy)
Bisu - 3 AKs, insane PL streak, but no individual leagues, lost to a certain player sloppily
Fantasy - OSL win, but shaky in PL and made KwarK rage in OSL semis
Stork - Consistent in PL, out mind gamed in OSL final, how's that going to affect his rank? People have been arguing about this ever since the finals
Snow - Insane games vs Jaedong in MSL Ro8, decent PL as well, but still relatively up-and-coming
and so many people doing well in PL: Bogus, Hydra, Stats, Violet, ZerO beating Flash....
How do you evaluate each pro and con? How do different factors work towards "Power"? I for one do not feel qualified enough to make judgement lol.
The list seems sound to me, sorta, depends on how you look at it. We'll see how much it differs from the upcoming official one. Oh yea but I agree with most of the thread about ZerO's placement, haha.
Fun read nonetheless.
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snow needs to be so much higher.... i'd say that flamewheel will probably put him at 5 or 6, just for his bo5 series against JD. also how is zero in any way a rising star? he's been second or third best zerg behind jaedong and clam/luxury/effort (choose one) for the last two years.
i'd think the following is a ton more likely
1 fantasy - osl winner
2 jaedong - still in msl, beasting it up
3 stork - made it to osl finals, looked incredibly dominant outside of choking in that one best of 5, made it up by raping bisu and fantasy the next night
4 flash - he's flash lol (i guess it's possible he'll be moved down behind bisu for not allkilling, but it's hardly his fault that his team is too good to let him allkill?)
5 hydra - still in msl, crazy performance in wl
6 snow - bo5 with jd, one of two protosses that has ever taken jaedong to a final game in a bo5 (other guy is stork.... now the only protoss who has ever WON a bo5 against jd is _rock_)
7 zero - destroyed flash's mech, still in msl, interchangeable with snow's position i think
8 bisu - good in wl, still atrocibad in individual leagues
9 soulkey - same as bisu, but no all kills
10 great/violet/stats/turn/brave - random 10th guy
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lol at the ammount of hate here:/ I haven't read it yet but by just looking at the ranks it's not like it's completely off.
Maybe the arguementing for them are bad though I will read it shortly
putting fantasy at #1 imo would be a joke. (yeah i said it)
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EPT
