| Rank |
Player |
Prev |
High |
Description |
| 1. |
Flash
(T) (stats) |
0 |
1 |
If this were a monthly statistics ranking then Flash probably wouldn't even make the top 10 (and Bisu would probably be ranked 3rd or 2nd). Thankfully, this isn't a comparison of winrates over a period of 30 days but instead is an attempt to gauge the strength of the top players of Brood War today. Placing Flash first after a month where he has gone exactly 50/50 is surely to be a controversial decision but hopefully by the end of this you will agree that it is the right decision.
I have a strong belief that the games a player loses tells you a lot more about his skill level than the games where he wins. Flash's losses indicate that he has no single weakness in his game - with one or two exceptions, every single one of Flash's losses has been a hard fought battle into the late game. Why the game was hard fought typically was due to a build order disadvantage or the other player played exceptionally well. Indeed, it is almost impossible to determine what Flash's weakness is, or explain why he has been losing more often lately since Flash's play is still as beautiful as ever. I suspect that with the immanent release of SC2 all Progamers are giving this season their all in hopes to get as much money as possible out this (potentially) last season of Brood War and hence the overall skill level of the proscene has risen, thus making Flash's games closer.
Another factor which must be taken into account is who Flash is losing to. Every single one of Flash's losses has come to a player who excels at the vT matchup. Further, Flash's ace match losses are to teams who have excellent Zerg aces who weren't sent for the ace match. The jist of it is, Flash has been playing really good opponents - a good winrate against these guys would make any player happy with their results.
The last thing which is important is Flash's force at the moment. Let's not forget too hastily that Flash made consecutive double finals for the first time in history just last month. Sure, this is the monthly ranking, but you do not simply forget outstanding achievements like this (or a Golden Mouse) over night. Flash is still very much the player to beat at the moment and it shows in how the other teams are responding to the threat of Flash in proleague.
I'll admit that Flash is getting the easy treatment after a average month, and if Flash wants to maintain #1 next month he's going to have to step up since by then my memory of his back to back dual finals will have faded. I think the only way to properly conclude this is what Flash thinks about his recent performance:
-Your recent results has been inconsistent.
▲ I don't mind, I can take it. I have been searching for my form in my recent matches, and now I've already regained the feel I had last season. |
| 2. |
Jaedong
(Z) (stats) |
+1 |
1 |
Jaedong had a good month, but it's not quite as good as people are trying to make out. He went 8-1 this month, one of which was foru's retirement match (i.e. essentially a free win). So in reality, Jaedong went 7-1 against opponents of varying skill level. It is true that Jaedong passed his OSL prelim group without losing a game, but then again Rush and Juni you'd expect as much. In the OSL seeding tournament, Jaedong was not the winner, and instead lost out to great in a rather one sided ZvZ.
It's still not a bad record by any means, so please do not interpret what I'm saying that way. Jaedong performed well this month and has been rewarded accordingly, but did he perform well enough to overcome Flash's monumental dual final which included him losing to Flash 0-3? I don't think a 7-1 (or 7-2) record really justifies that, especially given his set of opponents. Some of you may want to cite that Jaedong recently went on a 14-0 Proleague streak. That's all very well and good, but if you want to consider that then you have to extrapolate Flash back an equivalent amount of time and Flash resoundingly has Jaedong beat on that time frame.
With all that said and done, the last thing to consider is Jaedong's force. And I think you will all agree with me when I say Jaedong has looked untouchable lately. His games have been dominant and his one major loss has become a generation defining ZvZ. But it is important to remember that it is easy to look untouchable against A-level players but still not be unbeatable. I simply need to cite Bisu's recent games here as proof of this claim. Thus I think it is important to keep in mind that Jaedong really hasn't run many any major opponents this month and how that might have affected the appearance of his gameplay.
In summary, Jaedong had a really good month and another month like this (with Flash performing as he did this month) will surely be enough to vault him into #1, but at this stage it is too early for Jaedong to reclaim #1 from Flash. |
| 3. |
Fantasy
(T) (stats) |
+4 |
1 |
The next 4 or so players are all about the same level. You could almost jumble them around in any old order and get a respectable rank. Fantasy, however, deserves this spot moreso than the others. After a solid month last month, he built upon those successes and went 10-2, qualifying for both the OSL and MSL in the process. It is a fair point that Fantasy's match list isn't as impressive as others, but there are two reasons why Fantasy still gets #3 despite this. Firstly, his performance in those games was sublime (see his complete destruct of Brave to see what I'm talking about) and secondly his strong games against S-Class opponents from the past 2 months is a clear indication that Fantasy does have the skills to do business at the moment. Sure, he's a long way away from Jaedong at the moment - but so is everyone else at the moment. Further, his performance this month was pivotal to SKT's rapid rise in PL and has given them a legitimate chance to take the title (again...). All of this means Fantasy gets #3 and looks to be on the way to making a splash in the individual leagues this season. |
| 4. |
Effort
(Z) (stats) |
-2 |
1 |
I'm hesitant to drop Effort any further than this for a few reasons. Effort is playing like the neo-JulyZerg in style as well as 'historically'. As I mentioned last month, Flash is much like Oov in many ways at the moment and Effort is much like July. Oov was never able to beat July in a bo5 series (or at all for that matter) until well after his prime - we can see the same pattern emerging here as well. Further, Effort's freestyle coupled with aggression and tactics fits July's style so well. July was also quite inconsistent around the time he wont his first Starleague, and we can also see that around Effort. The important thing about both July and Effort is that they were able to turn on the skill when it mattered - and that's what Effort is still able to do. I am completely confident that Effort will do well in both individual leagues and remain a potent threat in the CJ lineup. I wouldn't be counting him out just yet. |
| 5. |
BaBy
(T) (stats) |
-1 |
4 |
Baby had a rough end of the month, which includes going 0-3 against Protoss recently. Outside of his vP loss streak, Baby has looked just as sharp as he did last month. In particular, his win over Flash showcased impressive multitasking which few would be able to replicate. I would put his recent string of losses (and his subsequent elimination in the MSL) down to inexperience as opposed to lack of skill. As far as skill level goes he still is one of the most fearsome opponents on the planet and for that he retains a respectable rank on the PR. |
| 6. |
Stats
(P) (stats) |
- |
2 |
Stats has looked very good for a while now, but it is this month when he finally breaks into the PR. Stats has good in all three matchups - maybe not 'excellent' in all of them - but solid across the board. When all other Protoss are struggling against Zerg Stats has been able to post some wins (i.e. against Effort) and his ability to be good across the board outshines other Protoss being excellent at 2/3 and terrible at 1/3. Together with Flash, Stats was integral in KT attaining 1st place in PL this season. His consistency has been appreciated, although I do wish he would win more often, and he has been rewarded with #6 this month. |
| 7. |
free[gm]
(P) (stats) |
- |
3 |
free really stepped up this month and dominated the limited number of games that he played. Sure, he took a loss to Pusan (who's been playing pretty well lately) but on the whole free has been playing outstandingly. Firstly, he's seeded into the MSL so you can't count that against him. Secondly, he blitzed his OSL group 4-0 including dismantling Calm in impressive fashion. Lastly, he defeated Flash in a very impressive performance on Match Point. Free has checked all the boxes this month and in on track to have another good season in the individual leagues. Thus, free earns #7 this month. |
| 8. |
Sea[Shield]
(T) (stats) |
- |
1 |
Once again, Sea is performing really well. Of course, we haven't reached the Ro8 yet so this is nothing new to Sea fans. But really, Sea has done everything you could ask of someone; he won his OSL seed group, he won his OSL group, he made it into the MSL and he's put up a decent record in Proleague. Impressive across the board, but I'm hesitant to place Sea any higher because there has been a hint of inconsistency in his play and well, I would love to see Sea actually get a seed in the individual leagues for a change. We'll see how things go though... |
| 9. |
by.great
(Z) (stats) |
- |
8 |
great has also had an amazing month. He finished runner up to sea in the OSL seed matches and then lost to sea in his OSL group in a ridiculously tight series. It's pretty hard to hold that against him when really it's not his fault the OSL bracket makers suck. Great is the highest scorer in FPL at the moment AND he defeated Jaedong this month as well. He's playing well across the board and it's a real shame that he's up against Sea in the MSL as well. It's honestly quite ridiculous. Anyway, I hope he does well because he really does deserve to do well again this season. |
| 10. |
Bisu
(P) (stats) |
- |
1 |
Bisu resurges into the PR by having an excellent month. But more importantly, he dominated all his opponents this month - except for Pusan and Stats. Bisu seems to have lost a bit of his spark for PvP at the moment, but with the way he's recovering I doubt that will be an issue for much longer. His complete and utter destruction of both hyvaa and mind was very reassuring to see and while it may be a tad premature, Bisu's force is certainly returning to him. |
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Aotearoa39261 Posts
CBNC
Snow - I really wanted to give you a spot in the PR but losing to Really pretty much knocked you off. That's unfortunate as you have such promise as a developing player. I have every faith that you will perform in the PL and give me good reasons to put you back in the PR.
Leta - I don't know if it's just sympathy, but you've been playing pretty well lately despite your illness. Yes you had terrible macro in your OSL games but I'm willing to overlook that since you were ill. I hope that you continue to perform in the OSL since not being in the MSL hurts a lot.
Hyuk, S2 - I don't know what to think of you two. You play well some times, and other times you play like trash. At the moment I feel that you are both better suited for CBNC rather than PR until I feel that you've fully justified your PL results with individual league results.
Kal - not really CBNC, but just wanted to say how disappointing it has been to watch you recently. You're a good player, we all know it, so start acting like it.
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I are really happy that bisu is back. I thought he would fade into obscurity or something.
EDIT: Damn, I miss the old days with Jaedong being 1st, Flash/Calm being 2nd, and Bisu being 3rd. Or the older days when Bisu was 2nd. Or the olderer days when Bisu was 1st.
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Everyone knows that Jaedong deserved to be #1 over Flash. Losing 1 ZvZ is not as bad as losing 1 TvT if you consider the nature of the matchup. Flash deserved to be #3 on PR for this month. Please bring FS or even JWD back to PR....
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1.BISUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!! 'Bout time you came back, protoss needs a leader to lead them back. Now just get back to your glory.
2. Less than 5 minutes before heated discussion over #1. Calling it.
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Another month, another glorious Power Rank.
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Aotearoa39261 Posts
On July 02 2010 00:12 Pandain wrote:
1.BISUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!! 'Bout time you came back, protoss needs a leader to lead them back. Now just get back to your glory.
2. Less than 5 minutes before heated discussion over #1. Calling it.
started 1 minute before you posted
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Plexa's last effort to pull a bonjwa out of Flash by force.
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On July 02 2010 00:08 Plexa wrote:
Every single one of Flash's losses has come to a player who excels at the vT matchup
Ruby is at 30% TvT and Really is at 47% TvT.
Yes Jaedong beat ForU. But ForU played an amazing game, standing on his own against JD and you downplay it as a "free win" to Jaedong.
Let's also take away all 7 other wins by Jaedong because he didn't deserve it as much as Flash.
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I don't think Jaedong is given enough credit, and it reads like he's being penalized for something he couldn't really control in June: the quality of opponents he faced. Oh well.
I'm very pleased with the rest of the power ranking, especially fantasy and bisu.
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France2061 Posts
lol
I'm not really surprised tbh, after reading your eye-opening anti-Effort screed that became a generalized anti-Zerg rant I knew what to expect in the future. The fact that there needs to be so many paragraphs to justify that choice is pretty telling.
I also like how the exact definition of the Power Rank changes in accordance with what's good for Flash. When Jaedong was having a bad Winners League, he dropped behind even Sea in the PR (in retrospect, another case of blatant favoritism), with arguments along the lines of, "this is the MONTHLY power rank, records matter." Now it's all about remembering how Flash dominated in the past months.
On July 02 2010 00:12 Pandain wrote:
2. Less than 5 minutes before heated discussion over #1. Calling it.
The funny thing is that JD #1 wouldn't have been controversial. Everyone was willing to accept it. So this isn't a "controversial no matter what" decision. Plexa chose the most questionable option.
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On July 02 2010 00:18 snowdrift86 wrote:
The funny thing is that JD #1 wouldn't have been controversial. Everyone was willing to accept it. So this isn't a "controversial no matter what" decision. Plexa chose the most questionable option.
JD wouldn't have been controversial at all. Actually, I thought Bisu #10 was going to make RAGE RAGE RAGE all over the comments section of this PR.
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On July 02 2010 00:18 snowdrift86 wrote:lol I'm not really surprised tbh, after reading your eye-opening anti-Effort screed that became a generalized anti-Zerg rant I knew what to expect in the future. The fact that there needs to be so many paragraphs to justify that choice is pretty telling. I also like how the exact definition of the Power Rank changes in accordance with what's good for Flash. When Jaedong was having a bad Winners League, he dropped behind even Sea in the PR (in retrospect, another case of blatant favoritism), with arguments along the lines of, "this is the MONTHLY power rank, records matter." Now it's all about remembering how Flash dominated in the past months. Show nested quote +On July 02 2010 00:12 Pandain wrote:
2. Less than 5 minutes before heated discussion over #1. Calling it. The funny thing is that JD #1 wouldn't have been controversial. Everyone was willing to accept it. So this isn't a "controversial no matter what" situation. Plexa chose the most questionable option.
Agreed. Even the deepest Flash fans like TwoToneTerran and Morality were willing to accept Flash as #2 if you look in the previous PR thread.
I think Plexa himself knows that he made a judgment error, but the PR is already set so what can we do.
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This just turned into a Flash fanpage im afraid 
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I like how Jaedong's 8-1 record turned into 7-1, which turned into 7-2.
Flash is 7-7, but a win against Ruby who at the time had the 3rd lowest vT ELO of any player should obviously not count. And the loss should clearly count double. So Flash is 6-8, but then again you can't really count Backho can you (is he really better than Juni?). So He's 5-8, that's only 38%! Worse than "to bad to count" Juni's career record!!! Flash is currently one of the worst players in the world!!!!
Seriously though, I can take that Flash is #1. Even though I don't agree with it I can understand it. But that just sounded silly 
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Plexa unveils the first every bi-monthly power rank to make up for a Flash slump.
Flash is still very much the player to beat at the moment and it shows in how the other teams are responding to the threat of Flash in proleague.
How can Flash be the player to beat when everybody and his mom is beating him?
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This is sad all you write about is defending your fan boy decision to make flash #1.
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On July 02 2010 00:35 WWJDD wrote:Plexa unveils the first every bi-monthly power rank to make up for a Flash slump. Show nested quote +Flash is still very much the player to beat at the moment and it shows in how the other teams are responding to the threat of Flash in proleague. How can Flash be the player to beat when everybody and his mom is beating him?
I'll keep that argument in mind should Jaedong start losing more than usual. It's the other players responding to his awesomeness, which actually makes him more awesome.
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"with one or two exceptions, every single one of Flash's losses has been a hard fought battle into the late game".
Because it is sooooooooooooooo rare that TvTs are hard fought battles that stretch into the late game right?
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Out to buy some popcorn for the incoming Flash antifan riot, brb.
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Agree completely with all positions except Effort. I would drop him completely from PR if I was one making it but that would move Bisu to #9 spot since there's no one who could be placed higher and that's EVEN WORSER.
I hate this couple so much, they better keep advancing in leagues to justify such a generous treatment ;P
On July 02 2010 00:44 okum wrote:
Out to buy some popcorn for the incoming Flash antifan riot, brb.
In this PR every OZ logo is like a little tear lol
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EPT
