SC2 Power Rank: April 2019 Text by TL.net ESPORTS Power Rank: April 2019 by TeamLiquid.net writers



While March was a spectacular month for fans of top-tier StarCraft II, the Power Rank committee spent much of it thinking 'Oh god, the next power rank is going to be a bloodbath' as the upsets continued to roll in. Anyway, here are the rules, and please don't hurt each other too much in the comments section.



The Power Rank is an aggregate, average ranking of separate lists submitted by individual members of the TeamLiquid.net writing staff.



Criteria considered include, but are not limited to: Tournament placements, overall record, quality of opponents faced, and quality of play.



Recent results are weighted more heavily, but players receive benefit of the doubt for consistent performance over time.



Close, But No Cigar Reynor: After a poor IEM Katowice, Reynor resumed his rise on the WCS Circuit by defeating Serral and winning the top seed in the WCS Europe playoffs.



Neeb: Another member of the 'beat Serral in 2019' club, Neeb finished top eight at WESG and claimed the #2 playoff seed in WCS Americas.



Scarlett: Scarlett was dominant against foreigner opponents as she cut a path to a top four finish at WESG and won the #1 seed in the WCS Americas playoffs.



herO: The black magic that saw herO reach the top four of IEM Katowice did not avail him in Code S as he fell out in the RO16.



Rogue: Rogue ended soO's Code S run with two 2-0 victories in the RO16, but could not overcome his own playoff jinx when he lost to Classic in the Code S quarterfinals.



Bunny: The feelgood story of 2019 came to an end when Dark welcomed Bunny to the Code S playoffs by handing him a painful 0-3 defeat.



#10

TY

-3 After suffering a crushing 0-3 loss to Solar in the IEM Katowice playoffs, TY roared back with a vengeance in his Code S RO16 group by defeating both GuMiho and Rogue in decisive 2-0 series. However, his RO8 match against Trap ended in a stinging 2-3 loss, where he nearly earned a reverse-sweep before his SCV-pull rush was thwarted in the final game.



It's somewhat odd that TY hasn't shown us any masterclass late-game performances in major tournaments lately, at least compared to the other two top Terrans in TY and INnoVation (especially considering TY was one of the original late-game masters). Early and mid-game shenanigans seem to be the key to TY's recent success, and maybe this is an aspect of his game to keep an eye on.



#9

Dear

-1 Oh, Dear. After going on an impressive PvT hot-streak in March, Dear falls one position in the power rank after his heat was abruptly cut off by Maru. Following his RO8 elimination at IEM Katowice, Dear breezed past Dark and Cure in Code S with a perfect 4-0 record to earn yet another quarterfinal berth. Going into his quarterfinal match against Maru, some fans actually felt that Dear was favored, given his absurd 20-game winning streak in PvT and Maru's less-than-convincing showings throughout the year.



Despite all that momentum behind him, Dear got a reality check in the form of a 3-1 stomp. Dear seemed to have a good game plan for the series, but just didn’t seem to have the reaction speed or micro necessary to defend against Maru and his incisive offense.



#8

Trap

+2 Trap was the real deal in GSL Code S, exceeding all previous expectations. First, he broke his years-long RO16 jinx by advancing from his group with victories against newly crowned WESG champion INnoVation and teammate sOs (though he did drop a series to Classic). Then, he reached his first ever Code S semifinals by defeating TY in the round of 8. Trap showed the full power of his PvT in his series against TY, defending against deadly-timing attacks and prevailing in a hard-fought full-set series. With recent wins over GuMiho, INnoVation, and TY in offline matches, Trap has surely proved he one of the most deadly PvT players in the world, which bodes well for his semifinal match against Maru.



#7

Classic

New It was disappointing to see Classic denied a travel permit to IEM Katowice (due to military service related restrictions), but at least being forced to focus solely on Code S has paid off for him. Classic first managed to get past the RO16 by flexing his PvP muscles, clipping the wings of the two Jin Air players in Trap and sOs.



Headed into his RO8 match against Rogue, Classic's PvZ ability was rightfully questioned due to his lack of significant matches in the match-up. And while Rogue did give him a run for his money, Classic showed us the power of preparation by winning via well-executed cheeses followed by strong mid-game pushes.



Classic's performance was far from flawless—he dropped an ugly game to Rogue where he lost an entire army after attacking into a turtled-up Zerg position. But as long as Classic has enough time to bring that vaunted 'GSL preparation,' he'll have a decent shot in any upcoming match.



#6

soO

-5



In time, we'll find out if soO's IEM Katowice or GSL Code S results represented the bigger surprise. That is to say, soO could be gearing up for one more sustained run as an elite player, or he may have just have pulled off a one-time, lightning-in-a-bottle run at IEM Katowice. soO is the first player on this month's Power Rank who was afflicted by the dreaded championship hangover, suffering Code S RO16 elimination (two losses to Rogue) just four days after winning a career-affirming championship at IEM Katowice. In situations like this, we often go to online results to give us a hint about where a player stands: in soO's case, his 10-9 overall map record since IEM Katowice leaves us shrugging our shoulders.In time, we'll find out if soO's IEM Katowice or GSL Code S results represented the bigger surprise. That is to say, soO could be gearing up for one more sustained run as an elite player, or he may have just have pulled off a one-time, lightning-in-a-bottle run at IEM Katowice.



#5

INnoVation

New INnoVation’s lackluster performance at IEM Katowice was a major reason for his exclusion from the previous months' power rank, alongside his 2018 dry spell that saw him strain his past credit. However, Katowice turned out to be INnoVation's rock bottom before his amazing rebound at WESG.



As one of the three Korean representatives competing at WESG 2018, INnoVation plowed through the competition all the way up to the finals, only dropping two maps along the way (even Maru lay among the fallen foes). In the finals, INnoVation finally met someone who could give him a fair challenge in Serral (who he had already defeated 2-0 during the IEM Katowice group stage in lengthy games). INnoVation's TvZ prowess ended up shining through in a 4-3 victory, allowing him to win $150,000 and the 10th major StarCraft II title of his career.



Though the result left us celebrating the return of the real INnoVation, 2018 INnoVation showed up in his GSL RO16 group and was eliminated in two rather one-sided matches against Jin Air boys Trap and sOs. Nonetheless, a championship won with victories against Maru and Serral—regardless of their regression from 2018—is an impressive accomplishment.



#4

Stats

-1 Stats is a player who has earned considerable benefit of the doubt in both the long term (the most consistent player in all of LotV) and short term (2nd place at BlizzCon and IEM Katowice), and thus stays around the same rank despite not having played a single match since the last power rank.



It's been a chaotic 2019: Plenty of other players have experienced wild fluxes in their form, suffering or causing upsets at every turn (Bunny making it to the round of eight, Trap beating TY, Maru beating Dear after looking off for most of the year). Stats has avoided being hammered for his inactivity, even as his peers fly up and down around him in the rankings. Overall, while it's difficult to pinpoint exactly where Stats is, the mystery surrounding his form lets him maintain his top-five position for another month, and it will be interesting to see what direction Stats takes going into the middle part of the year.



#3

Serral

-1 March was an uncharacteristically poor month for Serral. Fresh off a surprising round of 8 exit at IEM Katowice, Serral participated at another lucrative 'weekender' tournament in WESG less than two weeks later. And, while he defeated Harstem, Mana, ShoWtimE, Dark and Scarlett, Serral’s weekend was bookended by disappointment: A 0-2 loss to Neeb in the tournament’s first match, and a 3-4 loss to INnoVation in the finals. It marked Serral's second consecutive major tournament loss after he won seven in 2018.



Serral suffered an additional two losses later in the month, posting a 5-2 record in the 8-player, round robin portion of WCS Winter Europe. Serral notched wins over Elazer, Lambo and PtitDrogo, Rail, and ShoWTimE, but his pair of 0-2 losses to HeRoMaRinE and Reynor were far more prominent.



#2

Maru

+3 When our power ranking was last released in the days following IEM Katowice, Maru’s stock was lower than it had been in quite some time after his tournament came to a disappointing end in the group stage.



It’s been an up and down thirty-odd days since then. Maru wasn’t the dominating force we expected him to be in the round of 16 of Code S, limping into the bracket stage in second place from his group. But he made up for it with an authoritative display against Dear two weeks later which saw him advance through to the semifinals for the fourth consecutive season.



Sandwiched between those domestic appearance was a less-than-stellar showing at WESG 2018 where Maru finished third, losing to INnoVation in the semifinals and even dropping a series to MeomaikA (gulp) in the group stage.



At the end of the day, Maru is still alive in GSL as its reigning, back-to-back-to-back champion, and he has a very good shot at winning an incredible fourth title. It's too early to say 2018 Maru is back, but there's reason to be optimistic again.



#1

Dark

+3 This month's Power Rank was one of the most confusing and difficult ones ever, with several players having a legitimate claim to the #1 spot. When we added the votes up, it ended up being the steady Dark who was rewarded over players who had more spectacular moments.



In the period between power ranks, Dark put up strong, but not exactly superlative results. He finished top eight at WESG, where he lost 1-3 to Serral in the RO8 after taking down six foreigner opponents in the lower rounds. He had a minor stumble in the Code S RO16 where he lost to Dear in the group winners match, but he advanced to the playoffs with two wins over herO. In the quarterfinals, he brought a brutal end to Bunny's underdog run in a 3-0 rout.



Still, when you add up everything Dark has done in 2019, he's put together an impressive body of work. He finished top four at IEM Katowice, top eight at WESG (even qualifying as one of Korea's three representatives is a real achievement), and is currently in the top four in GSL Code S. No other player has enjoyed the same degree of all-around success.



In Dark's most comprehensive victories, he's looked like every bit the championship-class player. At the same time, he's rarely played a complete dud of a game. Unlike other elite players, Dark hasn't suffered a single 'bad' or embarrassing major tournament loss in 2019. soO and INnoVation were eliminated in the Code S RO16 immediately after winning championships, Stats was upset in the Code S RO32 months ago, and Maru was eliminated in the IEM Katowice RO24 group stage. Even Serral stumbled recently, finishing 3rd place in the WCS Europe round robin where he was expected to destroy the competition. Dark? The only 'WTF' result he has this year is a 3-8 loss to a retiring ByuN in an online showmatch—other than that, he's consistently climbed his way up in tournaments before losing to a finalist.



In a period where all of our recent champions have shown us flaws, Dark's hallmark consistency carries him to the #1 spot.





While March was a spectacular month for fans of top-tier StarCraft II, the Power Rank committee spent much of it thinkingas the upsets continued to roll in. Anyway, here are the rules, and please don't hurt each other too much in the comments section.After a poor IEM Katowice, Reynor resumed his rise on the WCS Circuit by defeating Serral and winning the top seed in the WCS Europe playoffs.Another member of the 'beat Serral in 2019' club, Neeb finished top eight at WESG and claimed the #2 playoff seed in WCS Americas.Scarlett was dominant against foreigner opponents as she cut a path to a top four finish at WESG and won the #1 seed in the WCS Americas playoffs.The black magic that saw herO reach the top four of IEM Katowice did not avail him in Code S as he fell out in the RO16.Rogue ended soO's Code S run with two 2-0 victories in the RO16, but could not overcome his own playoff jinx when he lost to Classic in the Code S quarterfinals.The feelgood story of 2019 came to an end when Dark welcomed Bunny to the Code S playoffs by handing him a painful 0-3 defeat. Credits and acknowledgements



Ranking contributors: TeamLiquid.net writing staff

Writers: Wax, Ziggy

Editor:

Photo Credit:

Ranking contributors: TeamLiquid.net writing staffWriters: Destructicon Mizenhauer , Orlok, TheOneAboveU Editor: Wax Photo Credit: hexhaven