He's back on top of the KeSPA ranking, back in the final of another individual league, and back on top of the Power Rank. Ladies and gentlemen, it's 2010 all over again. From watching his games, Flash seems just the slightest tad sloppy--but obviously that isn't enough to stop him. One question remains: will Young Ho be able to stave off this supposed curse I place on people who top the PRs, or will he fall against the Prince of Queens in their upcoming showdown?
Something that I said last month (and that has always been said about ZerO) is that he needs to show consistency. As one of the best ZvP- and ZvT-ers on the scene right now, obviously he has the potential--he just hasn't shown it. Until now. Besides Realpenguin (where are you these days?), bearbuddy, and swanized who believed that ZerO would make it to the finals of this MSL? And here's the crucial thing--he did it almost entirely off his ZvZ. Despite Calm and Jaedong not playing their best games in those series, ZerO's advancement to the finals is definitely more a testament to his solid play rather than the mistakes of his opponents. And in the finals, his oft-touted ZvT will be put to the ultimate test against, well, the Ultimate Weapon. Regardless of who wins, I assure you now that it will definitely be the match to watch.
As a final note for this entry, check out ZerO's ZvZ statistics in standard games. As many people have pointed out in the past, his ZvZ unerringly hovers right at the 50% mark. In fact, if you removed the two ZvZ series he played against Calm and Jaedong... he'd be right at the midway point. Of course, winning those two series means he's now above the line. Is this the start of something?
As I see it, there's absolutely nothing wrong with Bisu's play recently. However, I can't place him above ZerO for this month. Since May was a month deprived of professional Brood War matches, Bisu hasn't been able to showcase his skill. And there's the kicker--individual leagues matter, whether you like it or not. Yes, Bisu was placed above Flash last month even though Flash was still in the MSL while Bisu wasn't (Flash was even the direct cause of Bisu's elimination), but they still played a similar number of games. With the lack of Proleague this month though, Bisu has played far less games than both Flash and ZerO, and as such I can't place him any higher than 3. Still though, him being this high is indicative of his remarkably consistent play over this year--and perhaps come next MSL, he'll be a bit... luckier in his group placement.
The easy rankings are done. The remainder of this Power Rank is filled with those who have played well but aren't in individual leagues and those who are (were) in individual leagues but haven't played well. The hardest decision for me this month is ranking Neo.G_Soulkey above Jaedong. On one hand, the most salient point for Jaedong occupying the fourth slot is that he made it to the semifinals, while Soulkey was eliminated in the octafinals. Yes, that is important--but I think that comparing Soulkey's and Jaedong's proleague records gives a better story. Soulkey was undefeated in Round 5 until Stars' last match, where he lost to Bogus in the Ace match after defeating him in the set beforehand. As for Jaedong... well, I'll talk about it below. As of right now, I would say that Soulkey is performing better than Jaedong is. Does that mean I think he's better than Jaedong? Of course not. He's simply playing the better game of Starcraft right now. It's a shame Soulkey didn't go further in the MSL, though there will be another one (as well as OSL) starting soon.
This hasn't been a good month for Jaedong, and I feel slightly guilty about it. Of course, immediately upon feeling guilt I tell myself that curses don't exist unless your name is Kim Carrier. Then I go eat until my pants don't fit anymore (Dilbert reference). No, but really--after an amazing April, Jaedong seems to have slipped during May. Despite making it to the semifinals of the ABCMart MSL, I haven't been impressed with Jaedong's play as a whole. Yes, he 2-0ed the Group of Death in stunning fashion, and managed to hold off Reality's wacky tactics. Still though, I think with better execution Reality could have won the series, and Jaedong's play against Grape did not impress me. As a Jaedong fan, this month has been slightly sad.
On a more positive note though, I can draw some happiness from the parallels of professional tennis. While Federer has been stymied in his attempts to win his 17th grand slam by Nadal and Djokovic over and over recently, one can never discount him or shove him aside, as he will always be a major threat. Such is the same with Jaedong--he's down for the count right now, but he's not truly out.
I hope the Tyrant will back up that last statement in the next set of individual leagues.
Credit will be given where credit is due. Hydra's sweeping of Mind after losing the first set was nothing short of spectacular, and because of that he did make the semifinals. In fact, part of the hype for the now-concluded semifinals match between Hydra and Flash was built off Hydra's series versus Mind. "Weak ZvT? Oh no you didn't!"
And Hydra failed to deliver. I don't care who you're against, for getting swept 3-0 is not redeemable. Set 2 was good, and the first set may be more attributed to Flash's marine split, but I was not impressed with Hydra's decision-making and micromanagement throughout the relatively short series. Apart from his series against Mind, the rest of Hydra's month has been nothing too impressive either.
I may be ragging on Hydra for the second month in a row, but I want to emphasize this: Hydra is not a fluke. You don't see Killer making it to two MSL semifinals in a row now, do you? And you don't see Killer taking out Lee and Bang either. As with many other progamers, Hydra needs consistency. TBLS didn't get to where they are quickly--it takes time, and it takes a prolonged period of dominance.
So what will become of Hydra in the future, especially with EffOrt's imminent return? I believe that Hydra will continue to become a stronger and stronger player, but only time will tell.
Amidst the more important matches and his elimination from the MSL Horang2 seems to have been largely ignored for the month. I actually didn't remember his wins over Bisu and Jaedong until I watched the games. Apart from that, he's 7-1 in Proleague for May. While his play is still a bit... quirky, there's no denying that it has been effective, and Horang2 can definitely say that he has played a pretty pivotal role for CJ in this past round.
When Calm and Kal weren't performing in the final round of last season, who stepped up to the plate? Bogus. Compare that to this past round, where Kal still wasn't performing and Calm was more focused on the MSL. Bogus stepped up again, and though he hasn't won everything, he's done a very good job of keeping some of STX's dignity. Just take a look at the players Bogus has faced for the past round, especially the most recent. Bogus is the reason Soulkey doesn't have a perfect record for the round. Bogus stopped Jaedong and Sea in Ace matches. Bogus can't do well in individual leagues to save his life (well, I can't really back up that statement since it's pretty hypothetical), but he can definitely save his team in Proleague. Obviously, he isn't playing perfect Starcraft--as his losses to Hydra, Bisu, and firebathero demonstrate. But had he won those he'd be ranked so much higher now, wouldn't he?
I love ACE players, yes I do. I love ACE players, and so do you. At least, you should. With Iris, ggaemo, and firebathero all stepping up their games, ACE has moved away from being the laughingstock of Proleague. Last month Iris stole firebathero's thunder, but this time around it is FBH's turn to shine. Seriously, he's 17-8 in the past three months. That's pretty sick.
The number ten slot always sucks to write, though it's easy this time around since there's only a few contestants, but Movie makes the strongest case (again). He hasn't had the hardest month, but 6-1 is more than most other progamers not in individual leagues could hope for this May.
Fantasy Fantasy is one of two people other than the ten listed that I would consider putting on PR. With a decently tough month, Fantasy has pulled some good wins, and his losses haven't been too bad.
Light Light is invisible. His matches haven't been very significant in the overall scheme of things, and he was eliminated from the MSL by Mind after winning the first game in a very entertaining fashion. Still, he's winning--and a win is a win, no matter how you look at it.
Shoutouts
Kwanro I know it's a month overdue, but I'd like to let Kwanro know that he will be missed.
HoeJJa Has some wins on Proleague under his belt now! And played a pretty good game against Stork as well.
also that sentence about flash "Flash seems just the slightest tad sloppy--but obviously that isn't enough to stop his opponents." seems like it would make sense "that isn't enough to stop him" not his opponents, unless i'm mis-interpreting it
Also Movie's write up is in FBH's box for some reason. I can agree with this PR, Zero making it through those ZvZ matches were great, now he needs to take out god to make it to PR spot number 1 (Poor Bisu though, no games to play, wish he's move up in the Kespa ranking as well)
I dont think I can get behind Soulkey above JD, or even above Hydra. The majority of his competition in proleague just wasn't spectacular besides like Stats and JD. I would fully bet that Soulkey woulda gotten 3-0d by Flash too, in equal fashion. Otherwise good list.
On June 02 2011 22:59 Kiante wrote: you repeated the #10 comment in the #9 box.
also zero above bisu? i'll never forgive you
also that sentence about flash "Flash seems just the slightest tad sloppy--but obviously that isn't enough to stop his opponents." seems like it would make sense "that isn't enough to stop him" not his opponents, unless i'm mis-interpreting it
I guess we are just ignoring zero's losses for the month? I don't know how you can play up his consistency while losing to jaehoon, soo and action among others.
Good and not suprising PR this month, at least the top 3. I have not expected SK this high and Horang2 this low. I like JD a lot but maybe I had put him even more lower to put Horang2 higher.
On June 02 2011 23:33 hacklebeast wrote: I guess we are just ignoring zero's losses for the month? I don't know how you can play up his consistency while losing to jaehoon, soo and action among others.
read bearbuddy's linked blog post, zero is consistently average, this season he just knows where to put his losses.
EPT
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Fantasy
Kwanro
