Okay, so that 'great post' went much better than I thought it would. And now that the first of April (in Korea, at least) has passed us by, let's get down to the real Power Rank.
And rest assured, Romaniansnetizens of teamliquid, Power Rank will not be abandoning Brood War for as long as I write it.
Oh yes--shout out to tree.hugger for his advice on how to write the "great post" PR.
Now then, down to business. With so much happening, this has turned out to be yet another interesting month to be writing PR.
Flash has been overtaken by Fantasy in KeSPA ranking for the month of April, and he's lost more this month than in previous months. So what? He's still the best player in the world. While I think he could have had better decision-making, especially in his matches against BaBy and Calm, there's nothing in his play that would indicate weakness. I'd still pick Flash over anybody in a BoX, where X is any odd positive integer.
Honestly, the precedent Flash has set for the Brood War proscene in the past year and a half has been so strong that it will take something completely monumental (such as getting knocked out of both MSL and OSL) to drop him. And while I don't think that's very likely, the individual leagues are coming back again now. Perhaps this season somebody will finally beat Flash in a series. Who knows?
Ladies and gentlemen, you're looking at KeSPA's new #1, and no, it is not a joke cooked up by KeSPA, despite the date of the thread. Fantasy has been playing some great Starcraft. I'm still not as impressed with his play compared to that of Flash's, but I guess that's why Flash is still #1 (de facto).
For these past two months since his OSL victory over Stork, Fantasy has been quietly showing us that it wasn't just a fluke. Did you know he was 12-4 for March? I sure didn't. We were all eager to jump on him for his random loss to Horang2 at the beginning of February, but in the following weeks Fantasy became something else. After the February 1st match where Hydra cleaned up SKT, Bisu started playing worse...
And Fantasy picked up the slack. For the past two months, he's been not his usually wacky self. Fantasy has become a very solid player again, reminiscent of the Ace that led SKT to Proleague gold in the 08-09 season.
Of course, "solid" doesn't always mean the same thing as "damn good". I'm not saying there's anything missing in his play: his vulture micro is as good as ever, and it does seem like his MnM control is improving. But, similar to Bisu in Proleague this season, Fantasy's had some trouble against better players--and this is something he'll have to get over if he wants to help his team take out OZ and KT on the way to WL gold. Truth be told, I don't think anybody this month played Starcraft on a phenomenal level (the top four come close), and Fantasy's case is the same. This second spot position is partly earned, partly given because Jaedong and Stats couldn't hold it up at the end.
Then again, had Fantasy won those crucial games against, say, Jaedong and Stats, he'd easily take the top spot this month. WL isn't over yet though, and he'll have his chance to get his revenge.
Finally beat an S-class player this month! And not just one, but two (interestingly enough, this month marked the first time Jaedong beat Stork in a PL game and is only the second time he's beaten Bisu in PL). Well, three, if you count Fantasy as an S-class player. So 2.5, maybe?
Either way, Jaedong has finally, finally started to play some better Starcraft. Yes, I'd like to see some more Hive-oriented macro play, but if you're Jaedong playing against Bisu and Bisu only makes one cannon, of course you're going to take the opportunity. It's the same deal as his game with Stork: the hydra bust certainly wasn't meant to be all-in as he was expanding; it just happened to work so well it won the game.
However, watch Jaedong's games versus TurN and Fantasy. Then tell me with a straight face that Jaedong's macro game is lacking. And if you can do that, I'll slap you and tell you that you're lying, since it is not. After months and months of worrying (from me and the rest of you Dong lovers out there), it seems that Jaedong's started to pull himself back up. It's depressing that he didn't finish the reverse-AK against SKT (at the end, s2 asked Jaedong if he was mad, y'know?), but Jaedong did pick up the AK on KHAN.
The aura is back. I feel it in the air. Jaedong's opponents feel it in the booth. Starleagues have returned, and I do hope for some Jaedong vs Flash in the finals.
2, 3, and 4 were very hard to rank, even with Stats losing 0-2 in the MST--each candidate had his own salient points and drawbacks. In actuality, if Stats hadn't been knocked out of the MSL he'd easily be sitting in the #2 spot, though ending the month on a less-than-awesome note does hurt, so that's why Stats is 4. Though I don't want to delve into it too far, let's take a look at his hit list for the month. Three-kill. All-kill. Consecutive All-kill. In his two all-kills, Stats demonstrated some damn good Starcraft in all three matchups. If Jangbi is known for his storms, I'd say that Stats is known for his baller stasises (what a plural! Should it be stases?) in PvT. If you don't agree with me, watch his games against Fantasy and Light--both are intense till the very end (sans Fantasy bad GG timing), featuring high-level play from both sides. In PvZ, one needn't look further than Stats' spectacular defense against ZerO's hydra bust--especially since Stats went for a goon rush, of all things. And in PvP, his army control (especially those reavers) and general baller status (assisted by Darchons) allowed him to score the back-to-back AKs.
In hindsight, I feel dumb for not having Stats on PR the month before... But I've made so many "off the list to #4" jumps already that one more can't hurt. I absolutely cannot wait to see Stats in action against either SKT or OZ in the WL Grand Finals.
Last time an ACE player made the PR was when Anytime was ballin' it up back in February of 2009.
And dear lord, FBH is killing it right now. He's 13-3 for March and qualified for MSL with a clean 2-0, and even though his list isn't that impressive that doesn't mean anything.
Before we continue on talking about FBH, I want to explain why he's 5 and BaBy is 6, and not the other way around. For one, Lee Sung Eun has brought his team back from the brink of despair, helping to clinch the final set against Hite and reverse-3killing (and nearly reverse-AKing) FOX. While this traditionally wouldn't mean too much for another team, the fact that FBH is an ACE player (and it's hard practicing on ACE without practice partners) and maintaining such a good record means quite a bit to me. Sure, he's not on the level of Flash or Fantasy, but his play has been impressive in its own right. Especially his TvP, once considered to be among the worst for progamers. And damn, is his MnM play sexy. Still, I think the pressure on FBH to perform is heavier than it is on BaBy--and this step up by FBH is much better than Baby, since we've seen that BaBy can step his game up when needed (but doesn't seem to do so all too often). Furthermore, this month shows that FBH isn't gone yet--he's definitely broken out of that terrible losing streak that had been plaguing him all till March. Being qualified for MSL while BaBy is knocked out in the prelims is a big factor in FBH's favor as well.
FBH if definitely nowhere as scary as the players above him, but scare isn't the only thing factored into this. Results matter, and, in this case, respect. I've always joked about FBH's play, and I've kind of ragged on him a bit in the past. But watching his games this past month, I've had nothing but respect for the man.
So welcome FBH back to the Power Rank, everybody. I want to say that he'll be here for a while, and I do hope that he will be. Let's see if he can bring the heat in the MSL and the upcoming OSL-remake.
BaBy is such a frustrating person to keep track of, in more than one sense of the phrase. On some days, he absolutely kills his opponents, going on random streaks of ownage. And on others, he gets wiped by random players. Consistency matters, but in a month where I don't really consider many people to be playing that well (really only the top five in this PR plus BaBy) BaBy's had a really good time. I'm not sure he'll be able to maintain this in the long run or Starleagues (especially since he got eliminated in the preliminaries of the MST by Dear), but BaBy provides a really good example of how scary fast hands and excellent multitasking can be when utilized properly.
I want to bring his game vs ZerO into question. While BaBy didn't win that game, he showcased such amazing lategame drop play. And I agree with swanized--had it been anybody but ZerO (and ZerO was playing quite a good game) BaBy's multitasking would have completely trashed his opponent. As it ended up, ZerO won that game, but it was a very close, very tense match until the very end.
One thing BaBy really has going for him is the high note he ended on, with pretty sick wins over Stork and Flash. Actually, against Stork he pulled something that I normally expect of D+ ICCup players: turrets under Ebays, anybody? His game against Flash also featured a pretty innovative (slightly silly, but still pretty original) contain strategy, but I feel that game was as much BaBy's win as it was Flash's loss--I don't understand why Flash would try to bust out so early when he had the higher production capability.
Overall though, still a good month for BaBy, especially compared to the rest of this season and the play of other progamers this month, but there are also quite a few random failures (the crushing in the MST by Dear and the absolute steamrolling by Leta in SWL come to mind). In the end, I'll say the same thing that everybody has been saying about Ty for the past year or so: high skill level, no consistency. If BaBy wants to break into the higher echelons of the PR, he'll have to step his game up another notch, both in PL and the upcoming "MyStarleague".
The next four slots killed me in writing them, since I honestly don't think people other than the six listed above played well in the month of March. Really, I'd be happy if this Power Rank was only six slots total...
Indeed, after not typing a line here for an hour almost, I'd say that this has become more difficult than trying to rank those five #1 candidates two months ago or so. Out of Stork, ZerO, Bisu, and Horang2 three of the four seem to be running on fumes with sporadic bursts of energy, and one has the results.
When nobody remaining to be talked about on the PR has much momentum (besides Horang2?), it's hard to decide, but after much pondering and VOD viewing, I have to give it to Stork. 5-6 is a terrible record, but everybody he's lost to is pretty notorious for being a vP killer, and his play against KT very much impressed me, what with the impressive comeback against Action's hive tech and the insane (yet ultimately useless) defense against Flash. Still, I think Stork is overall scarier right now than ZerO or Bisu (why can't you PvP these days?), and I'd still take him as the favorite over most people. Pick it up please, Stork--I wouldn't say that KHAN needs you to win in order to win matches (as evidenced by earlier rounds...), but as the Ace player, you've got to perform.
His PvZ is still perfect, his PvT is still good, and his PvP is seeming shaky. The same can be said about Bisu for this month as can be said about ZerO and Stork: none of them have really accomplished something, all are kind of letting the team down (Bisu more than the other two, but Fantasy's there), and they all seem slightly shaky in one aspect or another. It's been fanatically hard organizing these three. Luckily, in the upcoming months there will be more games to play...
ZerO is still ZerO. Fantastic ZvT (go watch his game against BaBy if you haven't yet--ZerO's defense is absolutely insane), great ZvP (now complete with five straight kills against Stork), and bad ZvZ. ELO-wise, ZerO is still second in the ZvT and ZvP category, though I suppose that speaks more of his consistency (which still matters here on the PR). Still, ZerO seems to be sputtering along, not really producing results. His frenetic highs are balanced out with a few defining lows, such as not pressing a Hydra bust home, and being unable to muta-micro against s2. With the MSL coming up, I hope that he decides to kick his game up a notch.
I think Oystein said it best. If I were going more off of results, I'd put Horang2 at 7 and shift Stork, ZerO, and Bisu down...
But Horang2's play doesn't impress me. When I watch him play I don't go "wow, Horang2!". It's just that in a month where even the star players aren't performing that well, you've got to fill the end of the PR with something, and I suppose a 2-0 in the MST over Afrotoss and Shine (as well as going 4-1 in SWL this month with a 3-kill against KHAN) counts for something.
Close but no Cigar Crazy-Hydra - Out of nowhere CH comes in gets an AK against MBC, culminating in a tense game against Sea. If Horang2 weren't randomly producing results, I'd say CH would be a good contender for #10, but not nearly as good, considering this is completely out of the blue.
RorO - Solid play, as expected from RorO. He's qualified for the MSL, and has done well enough in nearly AKing KT (why can't RorO ever finish against Flash?). Still, RorO is as always: solid, uninspiring, and nothing more.
free - Off the B-team, back on the bench. Free's definitely looking better, though his MST game against Canata almost put me to sleep. Still, I'd like to see a bit more out of him before he makes it back on the PR.
Shoutouts Rock - The last time Nal_Rock won a standard league game was in January of 09. This month, Rock took out Snow in an SWL match, breaking the losing streak. 'Grats to him!
Hmm, I completely disagree with your Stork placement, and I really feel like you copied Mortality nearly word for word on his placement. I just don't see Stork deserving a spot here, to be honest. He belongs in CBNC in my opinion.
On April 02 2011 07:32 Lightwip wrote: Hmm, I completely disagree with your Stork placement, and I really feel like you copied Mortality nearly word for word on his placement. I just don't see Stork deserving a spot here, to be honest. He belongs in CBNC in my opinion.
No you can be sure FW didn't even consider Mortality's ranking when making this lol
honestly Stork played quite well and his list of opponents was solid
On April 02 2011 07:32 Lightwip wrote: Hmm, I completely disagree with your Stork placement, and I really feel like you copied Mortality nearly word for word on his placement. I just don't see Stork deserving a spot here, to be honest. He belongs in CBNC in my opinion.
No you can be sure FW didn't even consider Mortality's ranking when making this lol
honestly Stork played quite well and his list of opponents was solid
Oh sure, he played solid opponents; he just lost to them. Everyone he's beaten I could only describe as "average." Either way, he copied Mortality nearly word-for-word. That sure sounds like not considering him at all.
thanks for leaving FlaSh up there. after the word 5 minutes of my life with my jaw to the floor, i half expected you to put flash at 2 and fantasy at 1... i almost heard nothing from 7-10... maybe with the exeption to horang2. otherwise, my dinotoss still reeks with failness.
I would have put Flash #2. But then I'm a fan of volatility and 2000 post PR threads and with Flash not really playing that much it would be hard to justify.
RorO: did you realize his "solid but unremarkable" self has gotten into top ten ELO now? I'm a fan of mediocre players (Really, Jaehoon, RorO) but I've always thought his ZvT was good and it's his ZvP that holds him back. So yeah I guess CNBC is about right but part of me wants him higher.
On April 02 2011 07:32 Lightwip wrote: Hmm, I completely disagree with your Stork placement, and I really feel like you copied Mortality nearly word for word on his placement. I just don't see Stork deserving a spot here, to be honest. He belongs in CBNC in my opinion.
No you can be sure FW didn't even consider Mortality's ranking when making this lol
honestly Stork played quite well and his list of opponents was solid
Oh sure, he played solid opponents; he just lost to them. Everyone he's beaten I could only describe as "average." Either way, he copied Mortality nearly word-for-word. That sure sounds like not considering him at all.
Are you really going to throw a hissy fit for Bisu being 8 instead of 7 (and don't even try to argue that he deserved top 6).
And contrary to popular belief, it is possible for two people to independently make the same conclusions...
On April 02 2011 08:10 VGhost wrote: RorO: did you realize his "solid but unremarkable" self has gotten into top ten ELO now? I'm a fan of mediocre players (Really, Jaehoon, RorO) but I've always thought his ZvT was good and it's his ZvP that holds him back. So yeah I guess CNBC is about right but part of me wants him higher.
Roro has been floating around 10-15 for a while now. The problem is... take a look at his head-to-head results vs Flash, Jaedong, and Bisu. I posted this in the other thread. I'll give you a hint: if you combine his scores against them he's pretty close to 1-20 as in 1 win and 20 losses. The record just kind of says what most people think of him: he's a very consistent winner over B-rank and even A-rank opponents, but he struggles mightily against the S-class.
EPT
Crazy-Hydra - Out of nowhere CH comes in gets an AK against MBC, culminating in a tense game against Sea. If Horang2 weren't randomly producing results, I'd say CH would be a good contender for #10, but not nearly as good, considering this is completely out of the blue.
free - Off the B-team, back on the bench. Free's definitely looking better, though his MST game against Canata almost put me to sleep. Still, I'd like to see a bit more out of him before he makes it back on the PR.
