Rank |
Player |
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High |
Description |
1. |
Flash (T) (stats) |
0 |
1 |
One of the most memorable Savior moments for me was the Superfight Ace Match Tournament. For those of you too young to remember it, it was simply an event where each team sent out their Ace to do battle and the winner progressed into the next round. Before the tournament, everyone expected Savior to destroy it. Indeed, CJ sent out Savior in all three rounds and won with relative ease. It was not just the expectation that Savior would win, it was the Savior did actually win, and he won no matter what anyone threw at him.
Jump back into 2010, and that's what happened last night. The WL Finals was the perfect venue for Flash to demonstrate that he is a cut above everyone else at the moment and indeed the expectation was that Flash would deliver. MBC threw everything they could at him - Sea, DT cheese, Carrier cheese - it all failed. Flash was indestructible and now KT finally have a gold medal for the Team Leagues.
The domination Flash is showcasing at the moment is surreal. It really is. Not since Savior have I felt the same way I do about Flash now. Flash just will not stop winning and even when he is at a huge disadvantage he somehow finds a way back into the game and wins. It's down right sickening.
Flash is accomplishing what Jaedong could not - he is removing any doubt what so ever that he is the best. Flash stands alone at the top of a very tall mountain with no other Progamer in sight. The future of Brood War is being dictated by Flash's every move and where he goes, we go with him. |
2. |
Light[aLive] (T) (stats) |
+5 |
2 |
To be brutally honest, no one deserves 2nd place this month. They've all had their faults and their weaknesses. Ranks 2-4 are all very close at the moment and really Jaedong should be here, not Light. I'll explain why Jaedong fell in Jaedong's box so please be thoughtful and don't dismiss this as Plexa being a rabid MBC fan. Light has had an impressive run as MBC's front man. Indeed, with a record of 15-5 you'd be hard pressed to argue otherwise.
That is, until you watch his games against Protoss recently. If Light had performed I had expected him to in the WL finals I would feel more confident in placing him here, however, the WL finals highlighted that Light does in fact have a weakness to Protoss. While the game against Violet did have virtually everything go wrong for Light (free 12 Nex, pushing out too early and losing lots of forces, SCVs not being able to kill Protoss buildings fast enough), the next time he comes up against a Protoss I can't be sure that he's going to win. Indeed we won't be seeing Light in the OSL because he lost to Perfectman of all players (who also went Carriers in one of the games incidentally).
Just because Light is here this month doesn't mean he's going to be here next month. To stay put at #2, which really should be reserved for players who can at least compete with #1, Light's going to have to demonstrate that him losing in the OSL was a fluke by ripping up the MSL. If he slips up, expect him to drop back down to the lower half of the ranking. |
3. |
Sea[Shield] (T) (stats) |
- |
1 |
Okay, putting Sea here is completely unexpected for most of you. And yes, Sea didn't even feature in last months ranking. But a funny thing happened last month, Sea retook the ace position in MBC. Let's be realistic here, if Light was not on MBC, Sea would have had a lot more game time in March and, based off his most recent games, he would have won those just like Light did. Indeed, Sea's TvT is still really really good, and his TvP shows no signs of weakness unlike Light.
So why is Sea above Jaedong? Well, again, I'll talk about that in Jaedong's box. As it stands though, Sea has been shafted this WL by Light's form picking up. Where (most) other team Aces got their fair share of pick-up-the-pieces wins, Sea was rarely ever needed. But when he was - he delivered. Just see MBC vs Stars from the WL playoffs for instance. Just see how Sea went 3-0 against KT in the regular season (before Flash) and then went 2-0 in the finals before putting up another good fight against Flash.
However, as with Light, Sea needs to post results in the MSL for him to retain this ranking. The fact he isn't in the OSL should hurt him, but since no one else has been able to convincingly demonstrate skill while making both leagues he gets lucky this month. All in all this is an undeserved third place, but that's what happens when everyone else drops the ball. |
4. |
Jaedong (Z) (stats) |
-2 |
1 |
Jaedong had an uncharacteristically bad month. Unfortunately, his February wasn't too bright either. Jaedong's game is simply developing more and more holes, particularly in his ZvT. While he was able to just scrape through his MSL group, he failed to make the OSL for the first time since I dont know when. Additionally, he lost to Darkelf, Light and Baby (x3). 11-6 over the course of the month is still a respectable result, but not the result of a #2.
The final nail in the coffin for Jaedong was his deteriorating health. Enteritis sucks, and it can't be having a good effect on his play. However, Jaedong is so good that the lack of practice hasn't caught up with him yet. But it will. I don't expect good things from Jaedong over the course of April as he gets treated, and I will try to stay sympathetic to him because of it, but that does mean he can't retain a #2 placing.
Let me make this very clear. If Jaedong had not run into health problems returning him to #2 would not have been an issue for me this month given how poor everyone else performed. However, that is not the case. I beleive both Sea and Light would be able to take on Jaedong in his current form and win convincingly. When Jaedong recovers, I expect him to rise back to #2 and bring the challenge back to Flash (because he sure needs one). |
5. |
BaBy (T) (stats) |
- |
4 |
In a month full of players not meeting expectations and showing more weaknesses than I would like, Baby is the lone exception. I placed him in the CBNC last month because I wasn't sure whether he was the real deal or not (he trashed both of his prelim groups and made the MSL). March confirmed that yes, Baby has finally matured into a player which poses a threat to the top tier of gamers. Baby has demonstrated very impressive play against Jaedong (x3) and Stork which earns him this spot. The only thing stopping him from placing high is a lack of presence in the WL. Expect big things from this kid in the future.
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6. |
Stork[gm] (P) (stats) |
-3 |
1 |
Stork is much like Sea in that as the Ace for his team he is just picking up the pieces rather than scoring multiple wins. With that said, it's difficult to be confident that Stork still has the same skill as we think he does. After all, he went a dismal 3-3 in March (but is in both the OSL and MSL). There really isn't much to say about Stork, other than he's just very lucky that he did make both leagues (even though he lost to Baby) and that along has managed to secure him a spot on the ranking. Yes, it really has been a poor month. |
7. |
Kal (P) (stats) |
-3 |
3 |
Kal would have placed higher on this ranking if he had been able to deliver for STX against Woonjgin. Given that Kal is in both leagues by virtue of having an MSL seed, he really needed to demonstrate in the WL that he was a force to contend with. Kal somewhat accomplished that, but there is still sufficient doubt lingering.
For Kal fans, there is hope! Kal is placed in one of the toughest OSL groups and if he manages to advance then he certainly is going to rise in the rankings. Furthermore, he also has a relatively easy MSL group (for him) and thus he should go far in the MSL as well. I would love to place Kal higher, but as it stands he just doesn't deserve it. He's going to have to do a lot better than 6-5 to break into the top 5 in April! |
8. |
Kwanro[saM] (Z) (stats) |
+2 |
7 |
As the core powerhouse of Woonjgin over the past month and a dual leaguer, Kwanro sticks around for another month. Until he drops the ball somewhere, you really can't fault him. (Plus he almost beat Flash, cmon, that game was sick even if Kwanro failed) |
9. |
free[gm] (P) (stats) |
- |
3 |
free barely scrapes into the PR through a convincing performance in the WL playoffs coupled with the fact that he is in the MSL. While Kwanro was the wrecking ball for Woonjgin, free was the demo guy with tons of explosives ready to go to task on the building should Kwanro fail. Okay, crap metaphor. Point is, free played well in March and I hope it continues in April (although I suspect it won't). |
10. |
Leta (T) (stats) |
-1 |
1 |
Leta gets the last spot on this rank for one reason. He is the reason KT went 10-1 and not 11-0 in the regular season of WL. Yup, Leta managed to beat Flash in a tense encounter. The most impressive thing about the game was that Leta managed to win, since so many players had gotten to the point where they had the advantage over Flash but then failed to turn the advantage into a win. With all the goodness from WL aside, the score card looks pretty bleak for Leta. He's not in either major league this season and thus he's going to be hanging around the bottom of the ranking for the next few months (if that). |
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Aotearoa39261 Posts
CBNC (more like players who have shown promise, but are still losing way too much):
ForGG/Jangbi. Both did respectably in WL and have made it into the OSL/MSL respectively. They have the potential to do well this season since both of them are starting to return to form after a long slump. Time will tell if that actually transpires.
Alright, tear me to shreds for putting Jaedong at 4.
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United States8476 Posts
There's a typo in Sea's descriptions: So why is Sea about Jaedong? should be So why is Sea above Jaedong?
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I love the way you describe it as Jaedongs box like he inhabits it and makes it his home.
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I dont think anyone should mind JD's low spot this month. His ZvT has been abysmal and quite bad this month(heck even killer showed stronger ZvT in his game vs Light). Sea and Light have been playing really strong and deserve their spots. However, these are courtesy undeserved monthly spots, and they generally drop out pretty quickly every time this was done in the PR. I appreciate that you realize this and that you even mention it.
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FREEAGLELAND26780 Posts
I really enjoyed reading this month's Power Ranking, Plexa, and I agree with you fully on that. In particular, I like the way you describe Jaedong's situation... I guess a lot of us are still hopeful for the Tyrant.
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Great PR .
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Enteritis isn't really a long-term health thing is it? I was under the impression that it was a <1 week type of thing.
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Evidence that Light should be number 2 haha:
Q: You were a big part of the win today by beating Light
Violet: Although I only took out 1 player, I believe that he is worth about 3 players. I’m trying to make myself feel better that way (laughs). Honestly, I wanted HoeJJa to beat him before coming here today. I didn’t have enough confidence and I wasn’t confident in my skills as well, but once I stepped onto the stage, I wanted to play. I want to beat a strong player. If I can just recall that moment, I think I can do well in future games as well. I’ll practice hard.
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I can tell that you wrote this pretty quickly and it's rather good. I totally agree with the rankings and I and I am very happy to see so many Terrans taking up the top spots.
You spelled Woongjin wrong in Kal, Kwanro and Free's description.
But you're totally right about Jaedong, he's been looking off form lately and I am hoping to see him regain his health soon.
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Just wondering why you didnt think Movie was good enough for cbnc?
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I beleive both Sea and Light would be able to take on Jaedong in his current form and win convincingly.
Where? a single game in proleague or a best of five in an individual league?
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I agree with all the placements pretty much. Not sure about Kwanro but on the other hand it is hard to think about anyone who could take his spot. In the second half of March there were just too few games played...
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So the decision to rank Light/Sea > Jaedong is because Jaedong is likely to have a worse April than those two?
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light really dont deserve so high rank . my god .. sea is better than light for sure and easy . kal should be higher , same for baby . jaedong spot is discutable , he played beautiful level against Roro and hyuk .
"Flash is accomplishing what Jaedong could not - he is removing any doubt what so ever that he is the best. "
THIS is very unfair to jaedong .
the accomplishements of jaedong are differents from flash , but not weaker . he manage to win 3 2 from 0 2 in a OSL final against the top terran at the time and this terran had an invincible strategy against zerg . he manage to win flash during his top form dont care of the poweroutage thing . he has the crasiest , the more unreal record in SC history . he had 80% ratio in zvz , THE match up which its the most difficult to do it . he had more titles than flash , ( more OSLs , more MSLs , WCG , seoul esport festival .. ) he has really good stats on proleague since 2006 . i dont think flash has better stats on proleague overall .
flash IS the best right now , there is no doubt about that . but saying that he has become better than jaedong could ever be is really really unfair to jaedong .
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So good to be true. but Leta... you make me cry as a KT Fan
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It's amazing that sea and light are #3/2 respectively, and even more amazing that I agree with it.
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Hungary11238 Posts
Nice PR. What I would like to see is a comment about Hwasin in CBNC or I would have loved seeing him on the rank.
Both the facts but also the "spirit" count for him. Facts are that he's a dual leaguer, having already passed his Ro32 group in the MSL: So he's Ro16 in the MSL and won against Movie in a good match in OSL Ro16. The spirit thing is that I feel Hwasin is doing something different this season - I cannot quite put my finger on it, but there seems to be more determination than usual.
So, what do you think?
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Sea way too high, sorry add Hwasin to CNBC, he is killing in individual leagues. might even replace Leta with him much as i love Leta
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