SC2 Power Ranks 5/18/11

1. NesTea
It would be hard to put anyone else here with his recent domination of the most prestigious tournament in the world. His matches against sC gave a glimmer of light to a true superstar in SC2. His obliteration of InCa in the finals was a true homage to this most recent GSL run. After a failed double expand risk against Alicia and a sloppy game against Clide's hellions NesTea went on a roll. Defeating Jinro, FruitDealer and anypro in very convincing fashion. His ZvP is probably the best in the world as is his ZvZ. His ZvT is questionable (especially when heavily harassed) but still remains at a world-class level.


2. MC
After a disappointing GSL Code S season, MC has come back with a fury. He 2-0'd Ace in Stars War then 3 killed StarTales Ace, Bomber and July back to back to back. His PvP is obviously top 2 or 3 in the world his PvZ is still seemingly unstoppable and his PvT has not been tested recently. Argue that he is risky but with control like he has, he can overcome almost any obstacle.


3. MVP
I love the fact that I can rank all 3 races in the top 3 and feel safe about doing so. I believe that the 3, 4 and 5 spots are more of a 3a, 3b and 3c. MVP went on his expected rampage through Code A losing only in the finals to a looking like the monster we all came to know and fear during his Code S Season 1 run. It is disappointing that we did not get to see him perform in Stars War and GSTL but being that this is a power ranking I would feel uncomfortable picking anyone to beat him right now. His TvZ is probably the best in the world, his TvT is also among the best and his TvP has remained untested but I feel we are about to see the re-emergence of the champion MVP of Season 1.


4. sC
If you haven't watched his series against NesTea I don't know what you are doing with your life. sC took the number 1 player in the world to the brink and was literally a unit or two from being in the GSL Code S finals. I feel as if being on Fou has somehow hindered how the community sees this absolute monster of a terran. He made LosirA look like he belonged back in Code A when they met in the Quarterfinals of GSL. He is only ranked behind MVP because his other matches (Byun, Polt, RainBOw) were unimpressive victories over equally unimpressive opponents. His TvZ is unreal, inspirational, and any other positive adjectives you want to throw in here. His TvT still resides towards the top of the terran class and his TvP (like MVP) is untested.


5. Bomber
Bomber beat MVP, MMA, Ryung, and Lyn. I am going to repeat that sentence, Bomber beat MVP, MMA, Ryung, and Lyn. His TvT is the best in the world hands down and it is hard to argue otherwise. Bomber's reason for being 5th instead of third or fourth is his lack of results in any non-mirror matchup. His cheese rush fail vs. MC in GSTL was a tell-tale sign he is uncomfortable with the matchup and his TvZ is not on the level of MVP or sC.


6. anypro
Once again I feel like the next 2 could be 6a and 6b. I'm going with the more recent victor anypro over July but only by a hair. anypro has been on fire in the past two Code S tournaments. Losing to NesTea in Season 3 and July in Season 2 and then beating him season 3 is nothing to be upset about. He is constantly improving and showing the competition that he is here to stay. He is not cheesy or nearly as risky as MC which makes him one of the more well liked Toss players. His PvZ is fantastic, his PvT might be even better and his PvP is coin-flippy but for sure above average.


7. July
The God Of War golden mouse winner would have been so much higher if not for losses to MC in the recent GSTL and anypro in the recent GSL. His ZvP is still fantastic despite all this. He has wins over incredibly talented housemates Ace, Squirtle and Virus. He also beat HuK (ok I am a TL fan) and hasn’t lost to a terran not named MMA is seemingly forever. The only thing untested is July's ZvZ which doesn't worry me much considering the lack of zergs in general in tournaments. He is second to NesTea in ZvP and has arguably the best ZvT in the world earning him a SOLID 7 spot on this top 10.


8. Alicia
Here is where the rankings go from debatable to all hell breaking loose, how can you rank them there kind of discussion. I have Alicia at 8 because this chick dude is an absolute baller with a flurry of huge victories under his belt. Beating Zenio, NaDa and MarineKing in his Code S group following his beating of NesTea, LosirA, Yoda and winning a BO3 against MVP. I don't think there is anyone in the world with as impressive a list of victims over the recent tournaments in Korea. I don’t think that anyone wants to play a BO1 against Alicia making him a force to be reckoned with in any tournament or team match. PvT and PvZ are some of the best out there and his PvP remains untested and a question mark.


9. LosirA
LosirA gained so many fans with the original GSTL with a win and ceremony over July before dancing his way to a loss against Bomber in what is still one of my favorite team battles to date. LosirA is a beast, I love watching him play, his game against the 8th ranked Alicia was unbelievable, his all kill in the GSTL was EZPZ and LosirA went through Kryix twice to advance in Code S. That being said LosirA doesnt have the on paper results that match his actual skill level. He could easily crack the top 5 of this list if he could just take that next step especially in ZvT and there would be nothing I would like to see more. His ZvZ and ZvP are both fantastic and he will continue to be a contender in any tournament he enters.


10. InCa
This feels so strange considering he just came in second at the worlds largest tournament. His run to get there was not easy either. Taking down NaDa, Rain, Virus, and now multiple victories against HuK his PvT is extremely high level and his PvP is unstoppable. To be specific his PvP is on par with MC as the two best PvP players in the world. His PvT has been proven time and time again. Why is he at the 10 spot then? Because of DT's If InCa could just learn how to PvZ he would be an absolute threat to win multiple titles his other matchups are so good, however until he learns that spore crawlers can detect cloaked units he will probably face a problem at some point in any tournament.

1. NaNiwa
I don't care he lost to ThorZaIN in the TSL finals this guy has to be the #1 player outside of Korea. His record in boX is close to immaculate against some of the toughest competition the world has to offer. Since April he has beaten ViBE, Machine, Tyler, Drewbie, KiWiKaKi, SeleCT, Socke, GoOdy, CrunCher, KawaiiRice, dde, SLush and HasuObs. His runs through the TSL and MLG were both magnificent playing almost flawlessly up until both finals. His PvP is the best in the world outside Korea, his PvT might also be the best, and his PvZ includes past wins over Idra, Ret and MorroW and a 2-3 loss to Sen. Watch him pick apart GoOdy or HasuObs in the TSL if you need further proof to how good of a player we are all privileged to watch.


2. KiWiKaKi
Yes I realize that I have 2 protoss at the head of these rankings, and that they met in the Finals of MLG. But its extremely hard to argue against KiWiKaKi when he puts up unbelievable results in every tournament he enters. He's beaten SeleCT, Stalife, MorroW, Axslav, ViBE and Sheth all within the past 25 or so days. The creativity that he plays with is almost unheard of in a very build order dependant race. He doesn't enter a ton of tournaments making him a little bit underrated but when he does his results are consistent. His PvP is second to NaNiwa's and his PvT seems flawless. His PvZ struggles against Idra but with recent wins against Sheth and MorroW we can call that a wash.


3. SeleCT
No one in the foreign scene has been as consistent as SeleCT. He is an absolute monster with his multi-task and his refined builds and play style makes him almost a guarantee in the early rounds of any tournament. I don't think I have ever heard the phrase SeleCT knocked out by an unknown player early in (insert Tournament Name here). There is almost no comparable Terran other than Kas and ThorZaIN in the Foreign scene today which also makes what he does that much more impressive. What is almost definitive of SeleCT is that he is consistent not only in results but in matchups as well. He is probably top 3 (shoutout HuK) in the foreign scene in all 3 matchups not just specializing in one in specific. This type of consistency leaves him as a scary opponent for anyone to face.


4. Idra
Say what you want about his thoughts on other players and balance, he backs it up with some huge results. He made the legend White-Ra look childish in Stars War with his near perfect micro and decision making. His recent match vs. Sen was a little shaky making me question his ZvZ but this comes on the heels of a murdering of Sheth in their show match. Recent wins over Socke, KiWiKaKi, Fenix, Drewbie, ClouD, TLO and SeleCT all prove his value in ZvP and ZvT. When he gets past early timing pushes and cheese he is almost unstoppable with close to flawless macro and beautiful multi-task play. As he continues to finish more consistently as he has been he will shoot up these rankings.


5. ThorZaIN
He has to drop to 5 because of the complete lack of results he has posted. While his run through the TSL was absolutely not a fluke it is still not evidence enough to crack the top 4. ThorZaIN may have the best preparation of any foreigner today and has one of the most impressive runs through a tournament since SC2's release. His TvP is the best in the world outside Korea hands down with victories over MC, NaNiwa and Tyler. He also proved that his TvT to be world class beating Kas (the TvT master by most peoples regard). I cannot wait to see more of ThorZaIN so that we can truly grasp how good he really is.


6. Kas
To have Kas any lower I feel would be a sin and an insult to this fantastic player. I feel Kas represents the Korean work ethic in a foreigners play, having the most refined builds on the scene and a macro that ranks among the worlds elite. He is stellar in all matchups similar to SeleCT with his TvT setting him truly apart from the pack. He has the most results of anyone due to him participating in every tournament he can enter, and living in Europe has certainly afforded him the opportunity to play in competitive settings often. If there were an area for me to be skeptical of it would be his TvZ as it is highly untested at the highest levels and seems to be his most unstable matchup.


7. DIMAGA
God am I a Fan of DIMAGA. Even when he loses its epic and he doesnt lose often. If you don't think he deserves on this list note that he has recently beaten Socke, ToD, iNcontroL, GoOdy, Adelscot and qxc. That's a nice array of Terrans and Toss but what really drives him to this ranking was the GSL WC where he beat July and MVP back to back and then beat NesTea the best player in the world 2 out of 3. Its unfortunate he is not in the NASL but I am positive he will be next season. I look forward to the future of zerg coming from him.


8. Strelok
Recent wins over Sen, Happy, Beastyqt, mOOnGLaDe, Axslav and Socke show that this guy is playing some of the best terran in the world. Losses to BRAT_OK, Nerchio and Adelscot are holding him back in the rankings. Big wins over Squirtle, Idra, and SeleCT make me feel safe putting him at the 8 spot. He is a constant threat to take down any player anytime and proves to be a tough player in all matchups. Strelok is someone that could surprise the world winning an event like DH or NASL and has the potential and skill to top these rankings one day.


9. Sen
I feel like there are a lot of Sen fans looking for this name a lot earlier. Even I was trying (bias bias bias) to get him higher up on the list, but I find him dropping here to the 9 slot. Yes, he has beaten MKP, anypro, White-Ra, Zenio, Tyler and The Gracken , but these are all spaced out over a large amount of time and he doesn't not have the quantity yet to really shoot up this rankings. Make no mistake, Sen may be the best zerg outside of Korea, he is fluent in all matchups, his macro and micro are both world class and I liquibet him every match he is in. But with all that said I need to see more from Sen before I put him in the top 5 or higher where he probably deserves.


10. HasuObs
Oh wow, a teamliquid rankings with the top 4 of the TSL all in the top 10. I know I'm cliche and a little biased towards the home team tourney’s results, but is anyone really going to argue that these guys (NaNiwa, ThorZaIN, Kas and HasuObs) AREN'T considered around the top 10 in the world outside of Korea. HasuObs, your losses to MorroW, Stephano and ViBE sucked, sorry, but your wins against CatZ, Strelock, Machine, MorroW (TSL), BoxeR, Socke and SeleCT all keep you rounding out this top 10. His PvZ needs work without question, but his PvP is world class along with his PvT. I see nothing but more success in the future of HasuObs.