| Rank |
Player |
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High |
Description |
| 1. |
Jangbi
(P) (stats) |
- |
1 |
There has never been a moment in the entirety of my Brood War-watching career where I have been as happy as I was to see JangBi take the fifth set of the Jin Air OSL final over Fantasy. Quite literally, that deciding game was the best comeback I have ever seen, and ostensibly ever will see. As I wrote in the live report thread, if you do not watch that game, you are actually hurting ESPORTS.
Despite not unleashing a single psionic storm throughout the entirety of the series, JangBi winning this OSL is important for a platitude of reasons. First and foremost, JangBi, for two years now one of the most unlikeliest candidates, has proven to us that the Legend of the Fall still lives on. This OSL gold marks the first time since ClubDay MSL in late 2008 that a Protoss has won a Starleague. JangBi's victory shows that the power of intense preparation and the power of teamwork cannot be beaten. I feel like the plot writer for Pokemon or Yu-Gi-Oh right now when I say this, but this final has shown us that when one's friends band together to truly help oneself, he or she can achieve greatness--with the help of his teammates, JangBi took down the best TvPer in the world, a solid ZvP sniper, and then the second-best TvPer in the world in highly convincing fashion. And with this non-silver medal, JangBi finally breaks free of the Kong line, leaving... actually, just YellOw.
I don't know how long Brood War has left as a professional ESPORT. I don't know if this OSL final will spur large corporations into sponsoring teams. With the history books slamming shut on three progaming teams, I don't know how many players are going to be forcibly retired in the coming months. I don't know if the MSL will continue. I do know this though: by winning the 2011 Jin Air OSL, JangBi has not only won a victory for himself, but for all of Brood War.
And not even considering any of the factors listed above, that alone is enough to slot JangBi in at this Power Rank's top spot. From Dragon to paewang and back again--JangBi's catastrohic slump and amazing recovery is one of the most powerful narratives in StarCraft, and will go down in the annals of Brood War history no matter what becomes of our beloved game.
To Heo Yeong Moo. |
| 2. |
Flash
(T) (stats) |
-1 |
1 |
In light of JangBi's amazing dash to the gold, I've totally forgotten about everything and everybody else in the Brood War universe relevant to the Power Rank. Actually, this is due to the lack of games played since the beginning of August. In the last six weeks, only OSL matches, a few Survivor groups, STX Masters' Cup games, and the Proleague Grand Final sets have been played. All in all, this is going to make the rest of the ranking, for the most part, very hard to do. Because of the paucity of hard data, I will take some liberties in the rankings based on extrapolating previous "power levels" of various players that I would normally not take. And since this is kind of a season recap, I will take into account a player's growth [or lack thereof] relative to his start at the beginning of the 2010-2011 season.
So onto Flash. In a statistically-driven world, Flash would still be #1 in the charts--who's going to argue that he's still the undisputed best in the world? Yes, he lost to JangBi after winning the first set in a best of three. However, had he won I definitely think that regardless of his hand injury, Flash would have taken yet another OSL. But that's all conjectural. What Flash did do in the past month in a half was trump BeSt twice in the Proleague Grand Finals, thus sealing KT's victory two years running--and let's not forget the part he played throughout KT's entire post-season run.
Be you a fan, a hater, or anything in between, let's all take the time to wish Flash a successful surgery. Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing him back for the start of the next season. |
| 3. |
Fantasy
(T) (stats) |
- |
1 |
There was almost no way Fantasy was going to be ranked first for this Power Rank, unless he had won the OSL final against JangBi in dominating fashion through close, epic games that showcased the best of both players' abilities. Basically, what I'm saying is that Fantasy winning the OSL would not be nearly as impressive as JangBi winning [for reasons stated above]. Even had Fantasy won the back-to-back following the conditions listed above, I wouldn't place him above Flash, though it would admittedly be pretty close. After all, Fantasy has almost nothing going against him. He won his match in the Grand Final, he wiped the floor with Hydra using some amazing bionic control [who knew he had it in him?], and he stretched JangBi to his absolute limit in the final.
My main question is: why was your macro so bad Fantasy? Watching the OSL resource counter told all: Fantasy floated so much money in multiple games during the final. Had he spent it more efficiently, I'd have no doubt he would have been the victor.
It's really hard to judge Fantasy's play though. I look at him as kind of the anti-Bisu. Because of the nature of Starleague matches, Fantasy is amazingly prepared for his games... and thus looks like an absolute champion. And then in Proleague, he'll randomly fluke out and lose. Personally, I've always thought that Fantasy was always just trolling everybody, but it's hard to say. We'll have to wait for the next season to start to be able to get a better angle on the Crown Prince. |
| 4. |
Hydra
(Z) (stats) |
0 |
2 |
I didn't expect Hydra to beat Fantasy, though I did think it was going to be close. Well, at least the Hydra-Fantasy series wasn't a completely one-sided mauling. Hydra and Fantasy both brought awesome play [mixed with some random failures] to their OSL semifinals match, though Fantasy proved the sharper. Still, look at Hydra this season. He went from being a relatively unknown player to dominant team Ace, ZvZ monster, indvidual league threat, and MSL champion. If I had to give an award for "most improved", it would go to Hydra. His growth and consistency throughout the year has impressed [though kind of bored] me to now end, and I think with a bit of toning-up on his ZvT, he'll be an even stronger threat for the year to come. |
| 5. |
ZerO
(Z) (stats) |
-3 |
2 |
ZerO only played two games in the past six weeks, and both of them were for the STX Masters' Cup. This makes it extremely, extremely hard to place him--especially since ZerO is still, by precedence, a very shaky and streaky player, one capable of wickedly wild highs and baffling bad lows. Because of this, he gets slotted into the Power Rank below Hydra. Still though, as I am recapping ZerO's play accomplishments in the 2010-2011 season as a whole, I see improvement. From pulling his ZvZ up by a notch, to earning his first silver medal, to performing better in Ace matches, ZerO has shown growth in both technical and mental prowess. The trend is positive, the correlation to the imaginary regression line is low, but I do expect ZerO to continue to grow as a player and leader of Stars in the upcoming season.
Of course, if there's one player that is most heavily extrapolated for this Power Rank, it's ZerO. I may be completely wrong about how ZerO is going to play in the upcoming season, but I'm going to stand by my words. Also, I just can't resist that cute face. |
| 6. |
Bisu
(P) (stats) |
-3 |
1 |
The only game Bisu has played in the past month was in the Proleague Grand Final, against Crazy-Hydra [where Bisu won in typical BvZ fashion]. As usual, this makes it insanely hard to place him on the Power Rank. This time though, I'm not giving Bisu the benefit of the doubt. I placed him under Hydra and ZerO though because I flipped a cointhought long and hard about it. ELO isn't a tell-all, but you can't ignore Bisu's ELO. It's monstrously high, and if he wins a few more games in a row he'll come close to breaking his all-time peak. However, Bisu's ELO is artificially inflated because he hasn't encountered "serious" competition that one would find in the later rounds of Starleagues. Bisu has shown consistency above consistency in the 2010-2011 season of Proleague, but so have other players [to varying lesser degrees than Bisu], such as Hydra and ZerO, that have juggled both the responsibilities of being their team's stable Ace player as well as the task of practicing for preparation-heavy matches in Starleages. However, a very critical factor in placing Bisu below both Hydra and ZerO lies in the fact that Coach Park did not send him to play Ace against Flash. Was this because they had specifically trained BeSt to take Flash down on Circuit Breaker? Was it because SKT believed that Flash would have prepared for the Ace match expecting Bisu? Or was it because Park didn't have confidence in Bisu? Regardless of the reason, there is something definite I can draw from SKT's choice in sending BeSt instead of Bisu. When it comes down to the wire, a sniper in the Ace slot will work once in a while. But we come back over and over to the stable carry Ace player, the one that will be expected to play, and will play, and will still win despite whatever the opposing team throws at him. For the 2010-2011 Shinhan Bank Proleague Grand Final, Bisu was not that player, and the important, Power Rank-delaying question of "Flash or Bisu?" has been left unanswered. |
| 7. |
Stats
(P) (stats) |
- |
2 |
Jaedong should be here. But through the last six weeks, I can't find a reason to place Jaedong here when somebody else deserves a slot. Stats hasn't won any major tournament [or even gotten far] recently, nor has he gone on some incredible streak--wait, I take that back. After going on a relatively bad losing streak during Round 6 of Proleague [Stats would also fail to qualify for both OSL and MSL as well], Stats pulled his game way, way up for the postseason. After losing all of his games in KT's first round match against STX, Stats rallied and went on to win every other game he was sent out in, taking out Zero, Hydra, and n.Die_soO [in a very important game] in highly convincing fashion. By no stretch is Stats the inimitable action hero of a good action movie. Instead, he is that sick sidekick, the one who sloughs on through with the hero, the one who has all the cool gadgets, the one who saves the main characters from perishing against overwhelming odds.
I wonder how he will fare after losing Bonjaw status? |
| 8. |
Jaedong
(Z) (stats) |
-3 |
1 |
More and more, I find myself comparing Jaedong to Roger Federer, especially after the most recent OSL and US Open. For those of you that don't follow tennis, I can summarize it as such: Federer was the champion, and holds the most number of titles in Men's professional tennis. For the longest period of time, there wasn't a final that you wouldn't see Federer in. But since early 2010, he is no longer there in the deciding match. He's making it to the semifinals and quarterfinals, but is getting knocked out there. As a Federer fan, it's absolutely heartbreaking to watch--especially after his most recent US Open semifinal match against Novak Djokovic, where Federer threw away the match after being up two sets to zero and having multiple match points. In short, there's nothing wrong with Federer's play... it's just that he's no longer winning at the rate that the tennis world has grown used to him winning at. He's still #3 in the world after Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, but it seems increasingly so that his best days are behind him.
I'm sure you can draw the parallel between Jaedong and Federer now. Jaedong is in a similar position: because of his ZvZ [the parallel is Federer's "weakness" to Djokovic and Nadal] he has failed to make it to the finals of a Starleague for quite some time now. Similarly, it's hard to find something positively trending about either Federer or Jaedong. For Federer, it's that he still beats mostly everybody else. For Jaedong, it's that his ZvT is impregnable right now...
So? Being merely "way above average" isn't enough in either professional tennis or Brood War anymore. With new superstars arising in both sports, the captains of the old guard have to be on their toes, or risk being swept aside and relegated to the history books.
Unfortunately, one big difference between Lee Jaedong and Roger Federer is that Federer has already attained his goal of having the most golds, of being the best. Sadly, just like how Flash denies Zerg's thirds, other players have denied Jaedong so many chances at tying [and surpassing] NaDa's medal count. And even more sadly, like Federer, I think Jaedong's best days are behind him, and that he'll be incredibly hard-pressed to make it to the final of another Starleague [especially with MBC shutting down], let alone win one.
I want so badly to be wrong. |
| 9. |
Killer
(Z) (stats) |
-3 |
6 |
It's interesting. Imagine if Killer hadn't been disqualified in his match against n.Die_soO. Presumably, he would have made it through to face JangBi, and in the form he is in Killer would have had a much better chance against JangBi than soO... Imagine Killer in a final? Of course, this is all conjectural [thank you, KeSPA]. However, Killer has shown tremendous growth throughout the 2010-2011 season, and is finally starting to look like a suitable second Ace for OZ.
Oh wait.
... |
| 10. |
HoeJJa[S.G]
(Z) (stats) |
- |
9 |
I wrote in the last Power Rank that KT's chance at gold would depend heavily upon whether or not HoeJJa won his match in the Grand Final. And man, did HoeJJa's win matter. With SKT up 2-0, HoeJJa puts KT on the scoreboard by winning over s2. Yes, s2 isn't the best opponent, but that provided KT the boost it needed to start the proverbial rear-kicking engine.
And if HoeJJa hadn't won, I think By.Sun would have just wrapped up the final at 4-0. And that would be boring.
For the latter part of this season, HoeJJa has shown incredible growth. I hope he can keep it up. |
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FREEAGLELAND26780 Posts
Close But No Cigar
 By.Sun
For thoroughly all-killing OZ during the STX Masters' Cup final in a month where pretty much no other games were played, Sun gets some recognition.
 n.Die_soO
On one hand, it seems unfair to lump soO down here instead of in the ranks. He made it to the OSL semifinal and played some amazing games against JangBi, and has improved his overall ability throughout the year, but he's still an SKT zerg.
I still shiver when I think of the fact that the Jin Air OSL final could have been between Fantasy and soO...
Shoutouts
JangBi
Since I don't really have any actual shoutouts for this Power Rank [if you have any potential ones, please post them!], I'll just write one out to JangBi. I don't think there has been any time in Power Rank [besides when FakeSteve randomly put Sea at #1] that a progamer has just waltzed from off the list into the top slot. Okay, so let's just say that there was no meritable case where the "Prev[ious]" heading for Power Rank has had a "-" for change.
Well, that's it for this Power Rank. For those dedicated readers, Power Rank still exists, and will persist until professional Brood War is declared dead by a highly acclaimed team of professionals. And for those of you who thought that Power Rank had been completely removed [and just randomly found this]... have fun reading.
Since there will be most likely be no games until the start of the next season, I will hopefully see you guys at the end of October.
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I would have put Flash and Fantasy above Jangbi... I'd hope you'd take a few days before doing it and that you had realized how not-that-good Jangbi's (and Fanta's) play was (even though it gave epic games, for instance game 4 was a strong case of bad decision making, and yeah high pressure situation blablabla but still...). I was in fact more impressed with the beating Fantasy gave to Hydra, even if it not that well-played either, because he proved better in his worst match-up, and not against lolsoO (another case of epic games not that well played...).
What Flash did in the finals was as impressive imho, and I wonder what you would have done if PL finals was yesterday and OSL finals one week ago...
I would also have put Bisu higher, and Sun instead of HoeJJa (and I'm a SKT antifan).
Also why is Killer's photo Zero's ?
Happy to read it of course :D
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What a hidden gem.lol. It's nice to see that Flash isn't in first place anymore
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I can't agree with this PR completely, for example Zero#5 Bisu and Stats #6,7 and I would give Sun at least the #10, because Zero did not play many matches this month either he played 2 in STX cups and lost one of them. Bisu and Stats played one game in SPL finals and won them and if the STX cup is really important for your writing, why sun who won the STX cup for SKT in a pretty convincing manner is not even in the top10? But besides of the fact I would rotate Zero,Bisu and Stats a bit and Sun is not in the top10, the write up is ok.
(Change the picture for Zero)
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Jangbi's comeback in game 1 was amazing but I'd still rank it well behind Flash vs Firebathero on Medusa in terms of epic comebacks. Nice rank.
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Great rank! With the TL BW userscripts, Power Rank will never die!
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ALLEYCAT BLUES49484 Posts
On September 18 2011 19:14 writer22816 wrote:
Great rank! With the TL BW userscripts, Power Rank will never die!
exactly!
I only found it because of the script.
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51282 Posts
is it just me or killer's picture is of zero
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Love the top 6, not entirely convinced by Stats over Jaedong but fair enough.
Agreed that soo misses the top 10, he floundered when it mattered most.
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On September 18 2011 19:59 GTR wrote:
is it just me or killer's picture is of zero
The wrong TLPD number seems to have been linked.
This ranking was a surprise to me, I didn't know it was even out until I decided to check on the old one. I thought TL was going to feature it in the News section?
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haha, can't believe that I had to click THREE times to find power rank... Team Liquid really is letting BW go. Flamewheel, you've been a TL pillar of SC since the first days I started watching, some four years ago. This was an awesome power rank, and I just wanted to thank you for spending ur time to continue...
As for Jangbi, as much as I hated his last win, raging hard over how rediculous pathfinder is for carriers, he truly deserved his win. From his very early comeback signs by storming 100% of zeros drones, I've always had hope that he would recover. GG
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I think JangBi makes a good #1. We've just witnessed one of the most amazing stories in BW history, at a time when the game desperately needs a good story... something to get the fans excited, watching, and feeling hopeful. JangBi delivered this, perfectly.
Glad to see Killer here, really felt he had a chance at the OSL. Definitely wouldn't have been the favorite vs JangBi or Fantasy, but I felt he could have had a chance. I just hope someone steps up and sponsors Oz, and keeps the lineup together. Jaedong, Killer, HiyA and the kinda almost maybe better than last year Protoss line would have a much better season than the last two.
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So if a power rank falls into the TL abyss where no one can read it, does it still exist? 
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I'm a little iffy about putting Jangbi at #1, considering how he basically jumped from CBNC to #1 based on an OSL run along where the only player he demolished is SoO, and the other games are really close.
Otherwise, not too much activity. Off season sucks.
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JangBi! You are now the king of Broodwar for a month, enjoy it! And win all your SPL games and do it again next OSL!
Sun also won in the SPL Grand Finals, don't forget that. But since SKT1 lost, I guess he sits out. Basically, if Best beat Flash in the ace match then Sun would have #10 and Hoejja would be CBNC. Gotta give props to the winning team.
As for ZerO-Bisu-Stats... it's hard to judge. I am glad that you put Hydra above ZerO. Hydra earned a Ro4 appearance while those 3 all lost in the prelims. But as for the order... I'm not sure that's the wisest choice considering the non-ZerOs each won on the grandest stage of professional Broodwar, Stats with a much, much needed victory for KTF. While it's not ZerO's fault that Woongjin exited the playoffs before the finals, sometimes you gotta give props to the winners. ZerO didn't make any wakes this month, and a #7 would be a severe drop but considering the accomplishments of the 6 above him (while simultaneously considering that ZerO sat on his hands), it would be quite justified. I'd rather have #5 Stats, #6 Bisu, #7 ZerO, but we can't all get what we want.
Very nice PR overall.
Flamewheel, I hope you are fighting for the cause! Messaging admins and moderators to get this in news and get the comments thread moved from Polls & Liquibet to Broodwar General. We will fight for you too.
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Nice PR, it's good to have it now, I was expecting it only on October. I was going to pester you about Jangbi above Flash, because I think Flash is overall the better player, but I completely agree with your reasoning for Jangbi on #1: his win had style, and that was really important for Broodar. It's about time a protoss won a final again.
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Zero didn't sit on his hands because he chose to or because of bad play. Stats and Bisu were playing when Zero was because Woongjin failed, not because Zero failed. Bisu got off the hook with an easy opponent (so talking up his win is more than a little silly) and while Stats did deliver big, I strongly disagree with weighting 3 meaningful wins since SWL over what Zero has done. If you're looking that short term then there's no consideration being given to the big picture AT ALL. A Bisu over Zero choice could be argued on the grounds that Bisu has been mopping up (against scrubs, mind you) for month after month. In the case of Stats, he's really just been a faithful sidekick, not qualifying to individual league since 2010, having a weak performance for months leading up to the playoffs (10-15 in his last 25 games before the playoffs), and wasn't really stronger than Zero in the playoffs. Also, he's not even qualified for MSL next season... if there is a next season. Moreover, no matter which race you are, Zero is the more scary opponent. Ergo, Zero is more powerful.
PR looks good on the whole. I'd have tossed Bogus and Light into CBNC as both of them are fearsome right now and poised to do good things in MSL... if there ever is an MSL. Also I thought Jaedong's ranking seemed to me more like a giant description of the tennis scene than progaming, with a connection that to me feels weak. All that really needed to be said is the fact that ZvZ has been what's knocked JD out of his last 4 Starleagues.
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As a Flash fan I'm pretty okay with this ranking. Jangbi just wouldn't be denied during his run so I can't deny him either. WP Jangbi, I hope to see you keep up the same caliber of play next season.
Here's hoping Flash's wrist surgery goes okay! I would like Flash to win just one more tournament.
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TBH Jangbi's win against fantasy was really far from "convincing fashion". Actually, Fantasy should win this series. Thus, Flash at #1 should be fair as well. But yeah, his back from slump has much "power" if you ask me
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EPT
