Rank |
Player |
Prev |
High |
Description |
1. |
Flash (T) (stats) |
0 |
1 |
It's going to take a lot more to knock Flash from his #1 spot than a couple freak losses to random Terrans. Let's face it, Flash's games are still jaw dropping. The very fact he can out play the very best gamers in the world and (virtually) stage a comeback no matter how far behind he is is really an incredibly feat. Flash might be running low on gas, but he still looks as mean as ever.
With that said, Flash's play has not been perfect. Flash's TvT is like an arm wrestle - at the start his opponent gets an advantage and pushes him down almost to the point of breaking - but then Flash's resilience causes them to tire and then Flash is able to push all the way back and take the victory. I could do a comprehensive analysis of why this is the case with Flash's TvT, but this isn't the place for that. In essence, I believe this unique facet of his gameplay stems from the fact that other players can prepare extensive early games to counter Flash while Flash just has to take whats coming to him. Then once the game progresses into midgame he is able to exploit the fact he can macro and micro better than any other progamer at the moment and overcome any initial disadvantages. One thing though, Flash just need to be a little bit more careful to avoid losing any more games.
With a TvP against Pure looming (and hopefully against Kal as well), please keep an eye out for how Flash uses his mines. Because quite frankly, his use of mines is bad. Well, bad for Flash. They're often out of position or poorly positioned causing him unnecessary losses. Of course Flash doesn't care about losing a few extra units due to his god mode macro, but these little mistake may just pile up and surprise him in the semifinals and/or finals. Anyway, another solid month from Flash overall. |
2. |
Jaedong (Z) (stats) |
+2 |
1 |
Jaedong climbs back into second place - simply put - you can't argue with results. Sure, his skill level right now is arguably worse than when he was #2 before - but overall only Flash has a legitimate shot at beating him in a Bo5.
Jaedong had a few freak losses, again, this month (hi Ruby) but overall he played solidly. Particularly, in his MSL quarter final against Midas. Despite the imbalance of the map he was able to play a really really good game with an absolutely brilliant build (3hatch -> evo -> 4th hatch) which, while subtle, was extremely effective. This game showed that he is still a potent threat to Flash and he can still prepare excellent builds for high pressure situations (just like he did in NATE MSL against Flash). Assuming he doesn't tire, chances are he'll make the final again.
Good job for bouncing back Jaedong - enjoy your #2, you earned it. |
3. |
Kal (P) (stats) |
+4 |
3 |
What? Kal?! Yes. Despite boasting a very mediocre record in April I do not believe anyone other than Flash or Jaedong has a legitimate shot at taking him out. The games Kal loses are either quite silly - like doing bizarre late DT drops against Terran, or losing to a timing push after 14nex - or hard fought amazing games - like against Flash. Indeed, the only real final we can see from the OSL now is Kal vs Flash - which should be amazing. With that said, his PvZ has gone quite untested, but with his history, I have no doubt he will step up to the plate and deliver once again. Kal's over-reliance on 14nex in PvT is a bit of a worry, but overall he has backed himself up with solid games throughout the whole month. Remember, this isn't the "who had the best record in April" rank - it's the Power rank. |
4. |
Midas (T) (stats) |
- |
2 |
Midas had a scorching April and I literally do not know where all this skill has come from. I had my eye on him in March as he was playing some great games, but in April he took things to a new level and really demonstrated a glimpse of his former glory. However, there are some pretty glaring weaknesses with his play - the most distressing is his inability to keep up anymore. Against Jaedong it was painfully clear that Midas lost the end game because he lacked the APM to control everything properly whereas Jaedong could. Hence, he lost the game (despite a really cool build - bio/vult? that's just sick!). There are other weaknesses in his game, but overall he has boasted excellent results and he looked good too. Does he have a shot at beating Jaedong? I like to think so, but realistically, if Jaedong prepares like he did in Game 1 (and factoring in the Midas Game 4 curse) I don't think he can pull it off - but I'm sure we're all hoping he does. |
5. |
Sea[Shield] (T) (stats) |
-2 |
1 |
Okay, Sea lost to free. Big deal. Free simply played really well and Sea made some uncharacteristic mistakes. Other than losing to Free and Flash, his only other loss was to Chavi - other than that he's demolished everyone he's fought. And the games that he is losing are really damn close. Sea has terrible luck when it comes to the individual leagues, but with the way he's been playing recently I still think he is a force to be reckoned with. |
6. |
BaBy (T) (stats) |
-1 |
4 |
Baby had a hard end of the month and suffered a number of losses - but in TvT and TvP. I'm worried that his confidence has been shaken, if it has then well, it might be a while before we see Baby again. If he can pull himself back together, then he's going to become a real force. Despite losing two really dumb games to MVP, he has looked very very good in April and looks to become one of the deadliest forces in progaming. That is why Baby gets a #6 this month. |
7. |
free[gm] (P) (stats) |
+2 |
3 |
The tail end of this ranking are somewhat annoying in that they are quite inconsistent. Nevertheless, free has shown some great games over April - notably his win over Sea. And then free has shown some not so great games, like imploding against Hiya. Free is a better player than Hiya, and on less forgiving turtle maps I'm sure this fact will ring through. Otherwise he's had a very solid month! |
8. |
by.great (Z) (stats) |
- |
8 |
Great makes his debut in the Power Rank and well, he deserves it. In April great went 7-3, with his only real losses coming from Calm and Leta. Otherwise he has destroyed a number of good gamers this month (like Kal and Hiya). Whether or not his ZvZ is up to par or not is another question, but with the way great has been playing recently I'm sure he will raise his game and give Calm everything he's got - and I'm confident he will come out the victor. Good job great, you really earned this spot this month. |
9. |
MVP[Name] (T) (stats) |
- |
9 |
It pains me to put MVP this high on the ranking because he really does not deserve it. I don't think MVP is that good, he has been getting quite lucky with his wins but he has had an impressive hit list this month. He took out Stork and Flash amongst others, and that does deserve some credit. But honestly, I don't think MVP will be hanging around for very long next season. Enjoy it while it lasts. |
10. |
HiyA[fOu] (T) (stats) |
- |
6 |
Hiya makes the rank not because he's playing well, rather because he is playing like a robot. Indeed, it appears as if Hiya only has one TvP mode - just compare and contrast his style against Violet and Free to verify this. With a 7-4 record in April, Hiya has done very well for himself - but to rise up in the rankings he's going to need to show some personality, some flare, or just something different... Until then, he will be confined to the bottom three ranks. |
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Aotearoa39261 Posts
CNBC:
Stork, Light, Leta - what on earth happened guys? You all simultaneously dropped the ball.
Zero - if you had beaten effort you would have been on this list - however you didn't, and you've only really beaten scrubs. Start beating some top tier players and we'll talk.
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Uhm... first? :>
Edit: The message I received from the TL bot was worth it!
Edit2: Good PR as far as I can tell. #1 was crystal clear, #2 is ok I guess, I wouldn't know anyone better suited at the very least. #3 - #10 are very very hard to call this month, but I think you did a good job.
User was warned for this post
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Hiya is one of the greatest TvP timing attackers we have atm and you call him robot? o.O Otherwise great PR! Nothing to disagree.
and did you count any of May's games in this PR?
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I can't believe you didn't mention that Flash has a 70% win percentage against ALL races!
Very good power rank overall, I'm glad to see Midas back again.
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Aotearoa39261 Posts
On May 03 2010 21:20 SuperArc wrote: Hiya is one of the greatest TvP timing attackers we have atm and you call him robot? o.O Otherwise great PR! Nothing to disagree.
and did you count any of May's games in this PR? I don't think they carried that much weight in the grand scheme of things, but I did consider them.
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On May 03 2010 21:25 Plexa wrote:Show nested quote +On May 03 2010 21:20 SuperArc wrote: Hiya is one of the greatest TvP timing attackers we have atm and you call him robot? o.O Otherwise great PR! Nothing to disagree.
and did you count any of May's games in this PR? I don't think they carried that much weight in the grand scheme of things, but I did consider them.
I only asked because Snow would have deserved a CBNC imo. Results and play has been very nice.
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On May 03 2010 21:27 SuperArc wrote:Show nested quote +On May 03 2010 21:25 Plexa wrote:On May 03 2010 21:20 SuperArc wrote: Hiya is one of the greatest TvP timing attackers we have atm and you call him robot? o.O Otherwise great PR! Nothing to disagree.
and did you count any of May's games in this PR? I don't think they carried that much weight in the grand scheme of things, but I did consider them. I only asked because Snow would have deserved a CBNC imo. Results and play has been very nice. I agree with SuperArc that Snow would deserve CNBC. He has looked incredibly solid.
Nice PR overall, pretty much agree with all of it.
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United States11390 Posts
Is your play style changing because of your desire to win in the individual leagues? It's actually more because I had a lot of time. With lots of opportunity to practice, I was able to invest lots of time and master this kind of play. I want to become more unpredictable and to do that I need to have a variety of play styles. For sure it's a lot harder than focusing on one strategy, but I'll work hard from now on to improve that. Plexa, most Hiya TvP's end in timing pushes.
He realized that he needed to vary his tvp up more so he starts throwing in more managment/late game tvp's and then gets called a robot?
Hiya definitely has his own aggressive flare in tvp. Plus, Protoss can't just mindlessly 12nex against him like they do every Terran after he bbs'd Shuttle on Triathlon.
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Movie made top 8 and top 16 in the Star leagues. Give him some credit? Ever? Midas wishes he could do that well in both.
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United States10328 Posts
pretty good rank, except snow should definitely be cbnc...
also I feel like sea is too high, except there's no one else to put there ><
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I like this PR, it seems quite correct at the first glance.
Would've like to see Shuttle as a CBNC though. =/
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Hahaha lots of typos this time, is it because of the situation/incident which caused the delay? (though this was quick, FS' PRs were always later)
I don't even feel that Jaedong should be in rank 2, it should be
1) Flash 2) Flash 3) Flash 4) Jaedong
Feels that way, from the way Flash has been performing and the way that Jaedong's spotlight got stolen like a lollipop. Besides, the difference in ELO ranking scores reflects that.
I just don't get the feeling that Jaedong is a major threat to Flash anymore, until he finds a way to destroy Flash's timings and builds.
I'm not a Flash fanboy (that much), and I love Fantasy far more for his playstyle, but Flash just gives this huge aura and blots everyone else in the PR out. It's like expecting to see his face in every box from 1 - 10, and a long, continuous explanation of why he's in every rank and how all other players fall short.
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51282 Posts
i dreaded the day someone as mediocre as mvp would make a power ranking
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would love to say i think baby was too low but he hasn't been showing up
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Nothing too controversial. This month will be very exciting though. I pray to the gods of Brood War for a Flash/Jaedong rematch!
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United States335 Posts
Wow, when was the last time 6 out of 10 players in the power ranking were the same race?
This ranking looks pretty good over all though, except that I do think HiyA's PvT has personality to spare, and I didn't think Really would drop out of even a CNBC mention.
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On May 03 2010 21:42 conTAgi0n wrote: Wow, when was the last time 6 out of 10 players in the power ranking were the same race?
This ranking looks pretty good over all though, except that I do think HiyA's PvT has personality to spare, and I didn't think Really would drop out of even a CNBC mention. 6/10 Protoss in November(?) 2008. However there have been a lot of recent Power Ranks with 5/10 being one race.
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Hrmm, the problem with Jaedong is that he doesn't play well if he doesn't practice, but then again, if he practices, he just doesn't have time to rest, which also fucks him.
I believe in you JD!
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looking forward to JD being #1 next month.
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