| Rank |
Player |
Prev |
High |
Description |
| 1. |
Flash
(T) (stats) |
0 |
1 |
Being the champ is tough. Lose focus for a second and some guy will be clipping at your heels trying to take your crown. That's what happened to Flash in the OSL Final, and that's why he walked away with only one gold this month - and not two. Nevertheless, his resolve and determination to demolish Jaedong shone through strongly and the MSL Final was a ridiculous beat down.
Anyone calling the Bonjwa debate over at this point is sorely mistaken. It is still too early to tell whether Flash will exert completely and utter dominance like Oov, Nada and Boxer did - but I will say we're getting close. This upcoming season will be the one where the debate is settled once and for all. Oh and Effort beating Flash doesn't disprove the Bonjwa theory one bit - iloveoov lost to July twice, both in the Gillette semis and the iTv Final - and he's still remembered as a bonjwa.
Flash had another amazing May, despite dropping more games than we have become accustomed to. He's still the firm favorite to take out anyone on this ranking and that means he's still #1 in the world. |
| 2. |
Effort
(Z) (stats) |
- |
1 |
If you read my blog, just forget it. Nothing written in there is factual in the least - except perhaps the comparison between Effort and July. Indeed, Effort is walking a path very similar to July at this point. Coming out of nowhere, defeating the best Terran in the world with smart aggressive play and winning his first Starleague in the process. Even though it is difficult to say Flash didn't make huge mistakes in the Final, Effort's style is such that any mistake like that will be punished.
What I love most about Effort's games this month, particularly against Terran, is that his style is an annoying style. You try to move out and Effort goes in to harass with Mutalisks. You shut down one of Efforts expansion (That's in a corner somewhere) and he rushes in with masses of Zerglings. I would hate to be playing against this guy right now because he will just drive you insane. But as a spectator, its just such good viewing!
So what did Effort do this month to be better than Jaedong? Lose to no one but Flash and win his games in better style (just watch his game against Fantasy for crying out loud). And for the record, if Flash had won Game 3 in a similar manner to the first two, Effort would still be getting #2 this month - he completely deserves it. |
| 3. |
Jaedong
(Z) (stats) |
-1 |
1 |
Jaedong is still playing well, very well in fact, but some of the magic spark is missing. In Effort you can see a spark of a revived player bursting for action whereas in Jaedong all I see is a battle worn veteran desperate for a break. After being so dominant for so long it is difficult to stay at the top and look as good, Jaedong has done an incredible job to last this long. But honestly I think Jaedong's at the point where he needs to take a trip to Thailand or something and recharge - that will probably be best for his long term career.
Nevertheless, he's still scary as all hell to come up against. No Protoss would willingly take him on in Bo5 for their tournament life, no Zerg would revel at that either. Flash and Baby may like to take a crack at him, but still, 99.7% of all players still fear him and worship the ground he walks on. That is beyond sufficient for #3 - and it is nice to have three really really good players in the top three slots for a change. |
| 4. |
BaBy
(T) (stats) |
+2 |
4 |
Despite stumbling against MVP, Baby still looks really scary. Indeed after a mini-slump (by which I mean losing to MVP, Flash and Guemchi) he hasn't lost a game and completely dominated Kal in ruthless fashion. I mean, this kid is a monster. If you had these four players in the semifinals of a league how excited would you be right now?
There isn't much else to say about Baby, other than that he's playing phenomenally. But perhaps this is an appropriate moment to talk about how with the rise of SC2 and decline of Taek-Bang we're seeing a new era ushered in. New players are coming forth and this is the season where they're going to leave their mark. Both Baby and the #5 for this month both show incredible promise and look to be some of the scariest gamers in this new era - if they keep performing to their potential of course! |
| 5. |
Snow
(P) (stats) |
- |
5 |
Perhaps #5 is a bit too high for someone who could very well turn out to be a 'flavor of the month', but the quality of Snow's games this month pushed him here. Firstly, Snow's PvT is sublime (one of the few things SuperArc is correct about) and you just immediately watch all of his recent PvT's to verify this for yourself (particularly his game against Flash). However, as with all Protoss at the moment, Zergs seem to be getting the better of him. His game against Hyuk wasn't all that impressive for instance. Nevertheless, with a super strong PvT and PvP I can overlook some shortcomings in the PvZ department for the time being. Snow, welcome to the PR - please enjoy your stay. |
| 6. |
Kal
(P) (stats) |
-3 |
3 |
Kal... what can I say... Kal is playing some of the best Starcraft of his career yet he's just not delivering when it counts. For instance, his game against Shine epitomizes everything wrong with Kal at the moment. He worked so so so hard in that game to win, but just couldn't come up with the goods. Kal is still playing good games, even though he's losing, which makes be believe he's in a bit of a rut at the moment (perhaps I'm jumping to conclusions after a few too many frustrating games this month). Nevertheless, Kal looks good and I would still favor him over everyone below him. I hope that Kal stops choking at the last moment and can finally realize his potential in both the individual leagues and the proleague. |
| 7. |
Fantasy
(T) (stats) |
- |
1 |
Fantasy returns the PR and well, he earned it. Jung-laden's hit list this month included a win over Flash as well as a hard fought loss against Effort. His only other losses have come at the hands of the PR elite - so who can really blame him? Despite SKT fielding all Zerg lineups lately, Fantasy has recovered enough of his former skill to make me believe again (after being heartbroken in the KAIR OSL tiebreaker night). I sincerely hope his form doesn't decline since Fantasy's games are always amazing to watch. |
| 8. |
YoonJoong
(P) (stats) |
- |
8 |
The tail end of this PR aren't your most solid candidates, but May was a harsh month for the PR veterans. Shuttle makes it onto the PR this month for some of the scariest macro in PvP and PvT (but again, can't PvZ). With everyone else struggling, two really solid matchups speak volumes. Players don't just fluke 80% PvP winrates after all. So shuttle, prove me wrong - earn your keep in June so you can stay on this ranking. |
| 9. |
Midas
(T) (stats) |
-5 |
2 |
Midas played very few games last month, and most of them were losses. Nevertheless, I'm not quite prepared to give up on him just yet. Again, with everyone else struggling, his MSL quarterfinal appearance with such a strong performance in PL backing that up (before his recent loss streak) earns him enough leeway to stay on the rank. Here's hoping that Midas will be kicking ass once again in June (because we know where he's headed if he doesn't). |
| 10. |
Shine[Kal]
(Z) (stats) |
- |
4 |
If there was a "lucky streak" of the month, it certainly wasn't Effort. Shine had a really good May sporting a 5-1 record. Indeed, he's become a Judgement Day specialist and his performance against Kal should be commended. Yes his play wasn't perfect, but he was under continual harass and under those circumstances it is easy to lose focus and miss and round of production. Shine has been difficult to fault otherwise, and given how other players have really struggled this month, 5-1 really doesn't look that bad. |
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Aotearoa39261 Posts
CBNC:
free - I really wanted to put you in this ranking, I really did. But unfortunately those losses to Flash were REALLY brutal and it clearly had an impact on your psychological game. Here's hoping you pick up your play in June
Calm - I was tempted to put you in ahead of Shine, but you just kinda fizzled out towards the end of the month. Why is it that the moment I start thinking you've regained your form you just crumble 
Hyuk - you've been playing well, I want to see more before you get to the ranking though
Stats - as with Hyuk, you've been playing well, but I want to see more before you get to the ranking.
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earliest powerrank i can remember 
I like how flash get's a negative remark in him loosing more than usual. When he goes 18-6 for 75% winning. Just goes to show how dominating he has been.
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It's 5 minutes early*!
*in Australia
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9070 Posts
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#5 is reeeeeeally reaching for someone who's never qualified for a starleague before.
Also lol at saying Effort would have been #2 if game three of that series looked the same as the first two. He'd be lucky to even be in the top 5.
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Super-fast PR! Good job, Plexa.
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I love this months power ranking. Good job getting it up so fast.
I'm really happy Baby's been doing so well, his play is just so fun to watch.
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Snow is way way way way way way way way to high. Theres just something about a Protoss who can only (ONLY) PvT and nothing else that annoys me. Kinda like watching a TvZ only Terran (COUGH RUBY MASSIVE BELOW 30% TVP COUGH). If you watch Snow's games against zerg, their horrible. Look at the list of shitty zergs hes lost to. Of course its too late to determine if hes going to end up being a 1 matchup player but right now it sure as hell looks like it and until he doesn't suck massively vs zerg I don't think he deserves to be that high. Losing games to Hyuk (twice) and Roro but beating players like Really and Flash convincingly indicates a massive skill difference between PvZ and PvT
Also, I'd still put Jaedong in front of effort simply cause Jaedong has been on fire this month and Effort really hasn't beaten great people (other than flash but I refuse to count a failed BBS and a failed 14CC as wins displaying skill).
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Look, look! I was mentioned of being right about something. 
And we really have a very strong top4 this month. This makes me happy as a SC fan.
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On May 31 2010 23:17 SuperArc wrote:Look, look! I was mentioned of being right about something. And we really have a very strong top4 this month. This makes me happy as a SC fan.
Congratulations
You must be happy about top 5 too.
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On May 31 2010 23:17 SuperArc wrote:Look, look! I was mentioned of being right about something.
First time in your life? Congratulations then.
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I found this the best PR in a long time (even though as a JD fan it makes me want to cry to see him as #3!!). You have to admire that Plexa did this so dispasionnatly after all (effort doesn't suck lol). I still think that Effort could be #1 this month because of his 4-2 record against Flash (it is after all a monthly ranking), but I'm fine with Flash to ofc. Sadly I too think JD really have to take a break or go on a vacation or something and come back when protoss can beat terran again...
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Though I'm fine with Effort as #2, I'm not so sure about the assessment that Jaedong "needs to take a trip to Thailand". Apart from one bad day, Jaedong has been destroying left and right. For the most part, his games have been amazing. Take the Bo5 against Calm for example -- no one expected Calm to reach the final, and it was the most natural thing in the world when Jaedong delivered.
What Jaedong needs is a team that doesn't consistently make his efforts in Proleague meaningless.
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Disagree about Jaedong needing a break, he lost ONCE the entire month other than the MSL final.
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Philadelphia, PA10406 Posts
On May 31 2010 23:17 SuperArc wrote:Look, look! I was mentioned of being right about something. And we really have a very strong top4 this month. This makes me happy as a SC fan. \
I'm a fan of the whole top 7. Some veterans, players on the rise, and a total newcomer to make it interesting,
This'll be a fun month. But also,  Princess on the CNBC, imo.
+ Show Spoiler +Kidding, kidding. But I have high hopes for this kid.
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Well, even though jaedong has been destroying, his uninspired play in the msl and physical demeanor tells me something's wrong; yesterday i was showing the msl finals vods to a friend, and the first thing he realized was "jaedong looks starved". Seriously, I think he needs a break.
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What the fuck is Fantasy doing on the PR?
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On May 31 2010 23:17 SuperArc wrote:Look, look! I was mentioned of being right about something. And we really have a very strong top4 this month. This makes me happy as a SC fan.
Congratulations, you must be so proud of yourself.
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On May 31 2010 23:57 Elroi wrote:
I found this the best PR in a long time (even though as a JD fan it makes me want to cry to see him as #3!!). You have to admire that Plexa did this so dispasionnatly after all (effort doesn't suck lol). I still think that Effort could be #1 this month because of his 4-2 record against Flash (it is after all a monthly ranking), but I'm fine with Flash to ofc. Sadly I too think JD really have to take a break or go on a vacation or something and come back when protoss can beat terran again...
It's not a "monthly ranking", it's a Power Rank that's released monthly. That difference is what keeps Flash #1. He is, as most people would agree, the more powerful player this month.
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I saw the power rank and immediately thought Hot Bid did it.
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EPT
