[GSL] "Just Desserts" Super Tournament Rankings Text by Antoine Graphics by HawaiianPig



GSL Super Tournament on Liquipedia



“Just Desserts”

GSL Super Tournament Preview

By GTR and Antoine



Think about the GSL as a nice dinner. If the Open Seasons were the appetizer, and the League Seasons were the main course, with the World Championships as the cheese course and the Team Leagues as the wines, then the Super Tournament is dessert. The perfect dessert goes well with everything else, makes you reminiscent of the earlier courses, and ties the whole meal together. The Super Tournament brings the huge format and even bigger prize of the Open Seasons and the better players identified through the League Seasons into 1 huge tournament with all the best qualities. To that end, we’ve categorized the players into different groups of desserts, ranking them along the way.







Fat free or sugar free pretty much goes against the whole idea of dessert. It’s not supposed to be healthy – you’re allowed to let go a little. That’s not to say that frozen yogurt or sugar-free chocolate chip cookies are outright bad, but they don’t compare to the real thing. The players in this category would beat almost everybody outside the GSL, but they can’t stand up to this competition. Disregard the fact that HawaiianPig used a picture of a sugar cookies for this graphic.



+ Show Spoiler [64th to 62nd] +

64. LegalMind

Not much to say about Legalmind. He reached his zenith back in season 1 (guess which clan he was in at the time), making it to the round of 16 before falling victim to a makarax from the man himself. Since then, he doesn’t have anything to hang his hat on besides maybe the fact that he took a game (but not the match) off Losira. He doesn’t even have any standout matchups, with a 33.33% win rate in each. Tastosis have often referred to him as the worst code S player ever, and it’s hard to disagree.



63. ButterflyEffect

Sometimes known as ChaosTheory, his record isn’t significantly better than Legalmind’s. However, he does have a way cooler ID.



62. JookTo

JookTo doesn’t have any match victories over strong players (although he did take a game off Losira recently in the SK Champion’s trophy). However, he did beat LegalMind in the wild-card tournament between January and March GSLs. Not much to say about Legalmind. He reached his zenith back in season 1 (guess which clan he was in at the time), making it to the round of 16 before falling victim to a makarax from the man himself. Since then, he doesn’t have anything to hang his hat on besides maybe the fact that he took a game (but not the match) off Losira. He doesn’t even have any standout matchups, with a 33.33% win rate in each. Tastosis have often referred to him as the worst code S player ever, and it’s hard to disagree.Sometimes known as ChaosTheory, his record isn’t significantly better than Legalmind’s. However, he does have a way cooler ID.JookTo doesn’t have any match victories over strong players (although he did take a game off Losira recently in the SK Champion’s trophy). However, he did beat LegalMind in the wild-card tournament between January and March GSLs.





In this tier, we start getting into the real desserts. This includes donuts, cookies, cupcakes, or anything along those lines. These confectionary delights tickle the tastebuds, and might surprise you with how good they taste, but they don’t really leave you filled up. The competitors in this tier will definitely show some good play, and might well cause an upset, but it’s doubtful they’ll go all the way.



+ Show Spoiler [61st to 43rd] +

61. Creator

Creator’s big achievement is knocking out fan favorite Leenock from code A this past season. He also showed some promise in the next round against Ryung, but he has yet to show he can perform well consistently, which is what is needed to move up.



60. Banbanssu

I don’t have anything to say about his play. His ID, on the other hand… when I first saw it, I thought it referred to Bon Bons, you know, the candy. However, in his



59. Line

Line doesn’t have any outstanding in-season results, with his only series win being over flash-in-the-pan FreeDSL all the way back in season 2. He does deserve some credit for beating GSTL hero Taeja in the final round of the GSL May code A qualifiers, though.



58. Moon

At the beginning of this year, the question was: Who of the legends is going to recreate their Warcraft 3 success first, Moon or Grubby? At this point, the answer is neither. Grubby accomplished the previously unthinkable task of losing to Artosis in the NASL this past week (and 0-2 at that), and Moon’s most memorable moments have been failed baneling bombs.



57. Rain

We run into our first Code S player, and first former Code S finalist. With those results, in seems impossible to be so low, but the fact remains that when you’ve watched a Rain game, you never come away feeling like he played really well. Even his wins are dissatisfactory, often seemingly more losses on his opponent’s part.



56. Jjun

Jjun’s results aren’t that horrible when you look closely at them. He had a good run in the first GSTL, and most of his losses come against good players like Bomber or MMA. On the other hand, he doesn’t have any really outstanding wins.



55. August

Like so many players in this range, August has some decent wins, but no really outstanding ones. He just can’t seem to get over the hump. He’ll always hold a place in my heart for that awesome battlecruiser rush in season 1.



54. Check

Check has been perhaps the most consistently average player in the GSL. Until only his opponent was left alive in the up-down matches this season, Check was 1 of 2 players to be in the top 32 every open season and code S every league season of the GSL, and the other won’t be showing up on this list until almost the top 25.



53. Cezanne

Cezanne, to me, gets a little bit lost in the oGs house. He’s overshadowed by Zenio, who has better results and did the Idra backhand ceremony, and TheWind, who has better results and is the coach. Cezanne’s results aren’t bad though. In fact, he’s the last one to beat Bomber in a BoX series.



52. Junwi

Ah, Junwi, the man so eager to practice that he misspelled his clan name when using his fre rename on battle.net. Unfortunately, his results haven’t paid off for him. He has extremely poor results in vP and vT. His vZ has actually shown promise, beating teammates Horror and Losira in the Clash of the Houses. If Junwi wants to win the super tournament, he has to somehow get by Virus then hope for a CoCa -> Kyrix -> Zenio -> Losira -> FruitdDealer route.



51. Noblesse

Noblesse used to be known as Cute, so it’s understandable why he changed nicknames. His new ID is probably Moletrap’s favorite, judging by the number of times he’s explained what it means and how eager he is to do so. For two seasons in a row, Noblesse has defeated his first round opponent but flamed out in the 2nd round. It’s time for him to step up his game.



50. RevivaL

Revival’s old ID was Pretty, so we’ve got two guys in a row with previous IDs that are better used to describe one of the Kpop intro girls than SC2 players. Revival lost in the ro16 of March code A, and the ro32 this past GSL, but neither Ryung nor Huk is embarrassing to lose to.



49. Hyperdub

In recent GSLs, Hyperdub has been done in by a poor TvT. This does not bode well for his chances in the super tournament. His first-round opponent is sC, and although Hyperdub beat sC in their last meeting, that was 4 months ago and sC is 18-9 overall in TvT.



48. BoxeR

Oh, Boxer… I think we’d all like nothing more than to see you at the top of the list. But while you founder in the lower reaches of code A, it’s hard to put you any higher. Then there’s the fact that both possible 2nd round opponents are Zerg, by far your worst matchup. Finally, although you deserve credit for assembling the most successful SC2 team to date, you can’t get any playing time in the team league. Maybe in a non-winner-stays-on format you’d have a better chance.



47. Lyn

Surprisingly Lyn, not Moon or Grubby, is the most successful to date of the prominent WC3 players. He had seemingly been on a constant rise every time he showed up. His recent plummet out of code S halted that rise, so we’ll have to see if he can bounce back.



46. Kyrix





45. TheBest

TheBest has been more like TheWorst since the turn of the new year, going 3-16 since January 3rd. Before that he looked really solid, maybe even living up to his name as TheBestfOu. Also, he was about | | that close to winning the 3rd and deciding game against Min.



44. Choya

43. TheWinD

I’ve grouped these two together. Both of them are players and head coaches of their team. Both of them have had middling success. TheWind gets the edge due to his slightly better results as well as the fact that he’s more willing to step into the background and let the solely players go to the fore. Creator’s big achievement is knocking out fan favorite Leenock from code A this past season. He also showed some promise in the next round against Ryung, but he has yet to show he can perform well consistently, which is what is needed to move up.I don’t have anything to say about his play. His ID, on the other hand… when I first saw it, I thought it referred to Bon Bons, you know, the candy. However, in his Artosis interview , he said that it stands for his preferred everyday apparel: shorts, t-shirt, and slippers. I’m an aficionado of those myself (have some badass wolf slippers), so I can dig that. But what’s up with anglicizing it VanVanth? That’s not how it sounds! Come on, man.Line doesn’t have any outstanding in-season results, with his only series win being over flash-in-the-pan FreeDSL all the way back in season 2. He does deserve some credit for beating GSTL hero Taeja in the final round of the GSL May code A qualifiers, though.At the beginning of this year, the question was: Who of the legends is going to recreate their Warcraft 3 success first, Moon or Grubby? At this point, the answer is neither. Grubby accomplished the previously unthinkable task of losing to Artosis in the NASL this past week (and 0-2 at that), and Moon’s most memorable moments have been failed baneling bombs.We run into our first Code S player, and first former Code S finalist. With those results, in seems impossible to be so low, but the fact remains that when you’ve watched a Rain game, you never come away feeling like he played really well. Even his wins are dissatisfactory, often seemingly more losses on his opponent’s part.Jjun’s results aren’t that horrible when you look closely at them. He had a good run in the first GSTL, and most of his losses come against good players like Bomber or MMA. On the other hand, he doesn’t have any really outstanding wins.Like so many players in this range, August has some decent wins, but no really outstanding ones. He just can’t seem to get over the hump. He’ll always hold a place in my heart for that awesome battlecruiser rush in season 1.Check has been perhaps the most consistently average player in the GSL. Until only his opponent was left alive in the up-down matches this season, Check was 1 of 2 players to be in the top 32 every open season and code S every league season of the GSL, and the other won’t be showing up on this list until almost the top 25.Cezanne, to me, gets a little bit lost in the oGs house. He’s overshadowed by Zenio, who has better results and did the Idra backhand ceremony, and TheWind, who has better results and is the coach. Cezanne’s results aren’t bad though. In fact, he’s the last one to beat Bomber in a BoX series.Ah, Junwi, the man so eager to practice that he misspelled his clan name when using his fre rename on battle.net. Unfortunately, his results haven’t paid off for him. He has extremely poor results in vP and vT. His vZ has actually shown promise, beating teammates Horror and Losira in the Clash of the Houses. If Junwi wants to win the super tournament, he has to somehow get by Virus then hope for a CoCa -> Kyrix -> Zenio -> Losira -> FruitdDealer route.Noblesse used to be known as Cute, so it’s understandable why he changed nicknames. His new ID is probably Moletrap’s favorite, judging by the number of times he’s explained what it means and how eager he is to do so. For two seasons in a row, Noblesse has defeated his first round opponent but flamed out in the 2nd round. It’s time for him to step up his game.Revival’s old ID was Pretty, so we’ve got two guys in a row with previous IDs that are better used to describe one of the Kpop intro girls than SC2 players. Revival lost in the ro16 of March code A, and the ro32 this past GSL, but neither Ryung nor Huk is embarrassing to lose to.In recent GSLs, Hyperdub has been done in by a poor TvT. This does not bode well for his chances in the super tournament. His first-round opponent is sC, and although Hyperdub beat sC in their last meeting, that was 4 months ago and sC is 18-9 overall in TvT.Oh, Boxer… I think we’d all like nothing more than to see you at the top of the list. But while you founder in the lower reaches of code A, it’s hard to put you any higher. Then there’s the fact that both possible 2nd round opponents are Zerg, by far your worst matchup. Finally, although you deserve credit for assembling the most successful SC2 team to date, you can’t get any playing time in the team league. Maybe in a non-winner-stays-on format you’d have a better chance.Surprisingly Lyn, not Moon or Grubby, is the most successful to date of the prominent WC3 players. He had seemingly been on a constant rise every time he showed up. His recent plummet out of code S halted that rise, so we’ll have to see if he can bounce back.TheBest has been more like TheWorst since the turn of the new year, going 3-16 since January 3rd. Before that he looked really solid, maybe even living up to his name as TheBestfOu. Also, he was about | | that close to winning the 3rd and deciding game against Min.I’ve grouped these two together. Both of them are players and head coaches of their team. Both of them have had middling success. TheWind gets the edge due to his slightly better results as well as the fact that he’s more willing to step into the background and let the solely players go to the fore.





Now we’re getting somewhere. Ice cream has a lot of the best qualities. You know what you’re getting with ice cream, whether it’s picking an old reliable flavor or taking the free sample. The best ice creams (Half Baked, anyone?) can blow your socks off. If you go for the 3 scoops, you can eat your fill. For some reason, though, eating a lot of ice cream isn’t entirely satisfying. These upcoming players have a lot of great qualities. They’re dependable, or have shown flashes of brilliance if they’ve only been around for a short time. One of them could surprise and take the whole thing. But all of them are missing that ineffable something.



+ Show Spoiler [42nd to 14th] + 42. Ensnare

Ensnare was one of the scariest terrans all the way back in the beta. Since then, many others have caught up and passed him by. Still, it’s hard to criticize him too much. After losing to Lyn 0-2 in March Code S, he turned around and beat him 2-0 in May Up/Down matches. Maybe that’s a sign of Ensnare resurgence rather than Lyn falling back to earth.



41. viOlet

I often think of up-and-coming zergs as a group, and viOlet is one of them. These are people like Losira or DongRaeGu who didn’t show much of anything in the open seasons, but are starting to come on strong now. viOlet was pretty good at Warcraft III, and his confidence gained there helps him not shrink from any big matches. Although he disappointed in the GSTL, he is one to watch in the Super Tournament and then upcoming code S.



40. RainBOw

Now we start to get into the players that have had real success in the past. RainbOw did really well in Open S1 until the finals, and was on a roll in S2 as well until he ran into a young kid using the ID BoxeR in the round of 4. That sent him into a long slump that lasted all the way to March. RainbOw then experienced a brief renaissance, with 5 consecutive wins, but since then he has 6 straight losses. Can he get back into a hot streak?



39. Genius

Genius had a lot of hype going into the first season of GSL. He was widely accepted as one of the best protoss, and maybe even the best sc2 player in Korea. Then he got double-cheesed by DAVIT, he of the



38. Maka

Maka has a lot in common with Genius. He had a ton of hype in season 1, he went to Blizzcon, and he has struggled in 2011. Maka actually dropped out of Code A after season 2 and didn’t make it back for s3, but outside of GSL he has shown good enough performance in the SK Champions Trophy and FXO KotH to edge him past Genius.



37. YuGiOh

YuGiOh (or as I still call him, NewDawn) is pretty good vP and vT, with positive winrates in both. He struggles somewhat vZ, but it’s not like he can’t win any. He beats lesser players like Line and his opponent in the last round of Code A, but against more recognizable players like Leenock , July, and viOlet, he can’t get it done. Fortunately for him, the brackets are set up such that he won’t face a zerg in either of the first 2 rounds.



36. Ryung

Ryung actually had some pretty good results in non-broadcasted tournaments before he burst onto the scene with his performance in GSTL March. He carried that GSTL momentum into Code A qualifiers before eventually losing to Bomber (no shame in that), but since then he’s had an undeniable falling off. He was never really close to getting through up-down matches, and he couldn’t match Genius’s army diversity in the GSTL finals. If Ryung can get back on track, though, he can make some noise.



35. SangHo

SangHo, like Genius and Maka, was really hyped for a long time. Popular opinion is that the hype was more the result of his personal friendship with Tastosis than his actual play. It’s possible that in the rush to call him overrated due to that hype, SangHo/Killer actually became underhyped. SangHo paid his dues and fought his way through code A, then was on a roll in this past code S until he ran into Inca’s stellar PvP.



34. Min

Nobody will forget Min’s debut in the GSTL. His mass expand build was perfectly tailored for Tal’Darim Altar, and caught Inca completely off guard. That performance, along with a strong showing against TheBest in the first round of Code A, tantalizes enough that this ranking is justifiable despite only being 9-10 overall. He also took a game off of MVP, but it was a really quick one. Min will have to show his ability to consistently win in a long, closely contested game against a strong opponent to rise further.



33. aLive

aLive has a very real claim to being the top terran on TSL, but I don’t really want to talk about that. Instead, I want to know about how TSL coach [Oops]Lee decides on the team league lineups. Is it by player request, or does he just choose? Because aLive transferred from fOu to TSL shortly before the GSTLs started, and since then he’s been a force against his former team. In February he had a 3-kill in the first round against fOu, and lost in his first game in the 2nd round. In March, he was sent out first and had a 2-kill. So does he request to get sent against his friends because he thinks he knows their strategies, or does coach Lee send him due to a mix of sadistic pleasure in seeing him against his former comrades and confidence in his performance against them?



32. HuK

A lot has been made of the fact that HuK once said he had “top 3 control in the world.” Whenever he loses, somebody inevitably brings it up. When HuK was seeded into Code A in the 2nd season, he didn’t always show off that control, playing sloppily at times. Despite that, he managed to get through to Code S that same season, only losing series to the excellent vPs of Losira and Inca. In season 3 of Code S, HuK went 0-2 in his group and the clamors of the haters were at their loudest. Even his fans found it hard to deny that HuK seemed to let his nerves get to him, since he didn’t perform on TV nearly as well as he had been on his stream. When his up/down group of MarineKing and MMA was revealed, he was clearly the underdog. But by easily 2-0ing the vaunted MMA, HuK showed off that top 3 control, and gave everyone hope that he’s conquered his nerves.



31. Keen

Keen’s TvT is undeniably weaker than his other matchups. Besides the series loss to a rampaging MVP last code A, he also lost in the ZOTAC team invitational to 2 weaker players, Virus and Hyperdub. Not many people are favored against MVP in a TvT, but if Keen wants to be a well-rounded player, he needs to be able to get past the 2nd tier of players and below. We’ll get to see just how much he’s improved there in his first-round matchup against Rain.



30. Leenock

Everybody loves Leenock. This cherubic zerg held the throne as the youngest GSL player for a long time, from Season 2 (when maru was no longer present) until he lost in the first round of last Code A. He’s in a really nasty slump right now, going 2-12 since March 9th. Leenock has shown in the past that he’s capable of bouncing back from slumps before, stomping through Code A after being unceremoniously dumped from Code S the previous season. Plus, how low can you really rank the guy who gave us the first “best GSL game EVER” (vs Clide on Shakuras, but I shouldn’t have to tell you that).



29. Virus

Virus has managed to escape being under the microscope so far. Maybe it’s because he’s done the minimum to get where he is right now. In code A, he only got to the round of 8 – fortunately that’s all you need to get to the up/down matches. In those bouts, he lost the first set before getting through against Ace. This past code S, he did all you need to stay in, getting through his group but being immediately 0-2’d in the knockout rounds. Let’s see if he can have a more infectious showing in the Super Tournament.



28. Squirtle

Squirtle’s true skill is hard to tackle. He whipped some tail in the 3rd open season, the first season of code A, and the first GSTL, but that bubble popped when he lost in the first round of season 2 Code A. After a water break, he gunned his way through IEM, taking 3rd behind his compatriots. Squirtle showed some bite in going straight back through the qualifiers, but was forced to withdraw again after being 0-2’d in the first round of Code A for the second season in a row. His coach showed faith in him by sending him out first against oGs in the most recent team league, where he won a game before Zenio bashed his skull in in the Bel’Shir Beach debut game. Overall, he’s been pretty up and down in Korean competition, but if he can bring his performance in international competition, where he’s been Hydro Pumping kids left and right, he’ll go deep.



27. Ace

Of course, with how much they’ve competed in the same international competitions, it’s only natural that Ace is right next to Squirtle in the rankings too. Ace has been just a little bit better than Squirtle over the long haul. He took first compared to Squirtle’s 3rd at IEM. He beat Squirtle twice in StarTale in-house competitions. Both are 4-1 in NASL, but Ace has a 6 to 4 edge in tiebreaker points. Both went 1-1 against oGs in the recent team league, but Ace took out the guy that beat Squirtle. Ace has to be ahead of Squirtle, but his overall lack of success in the GSL to date makes it impossible to rank him higher.



26. FruitDealer

FruitDealer will always be an iconic figure in SC2. After he made his



25. Clide

Cliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide. Often hailed by Tastosis as the best player not to win (or even get close to a win, really) , Clide has definitely shown some impressive games in the past. What slips under the radar while people are so quick to criticize the Tastosis mancrush is the fact that Clide has actually won his Ro32 group in all 3 code S seasons. His groupmates were no slouches either, including such players as MarineKing and Nestea. He can’t get it done in the Round of 16 for some reason, but if he can get over that hill who knows how far he’ll get.



24. Byun

There was a time not very long ago when Byun was the next thing. He started off as just another protoss back in open seasons 1 and 2, and sort of disappeared for a while. Then, 3 months later, like a butterfly bursting out from its cocoon, he emerged as a rising terran star. Close observers saw his storming through the Gainward Torunament, but nobody predicted he’d crush through to the Code A finals like he did. Since he to to code S, though, he hasn’t impressed. He scraped through his group in season 2 thanks to Idra’s departure, and lost in the group stages of season 3. He’s still in code S, but right now he has to be hoping he can recapture that magic he had in January.



23. Jinro

Ah, Jinro. The Gorilla Terran, once the only hope of the foreigners. One of the select few to reach the round of 4 two seasons in a row, there’s no denying that he fell into a slump. With the structure of tournaments in Korea, there haven’t been a ton of opportunities to see his play since, but what we have seen shows signs of a turnaround. In the FXO KotH he won resoundingly in his only game. In Stars War he took out his first round opponent before falling to MC. And in the Sagacity Invitational, he took out Stalife before falling to TOP. He still has a weirdly tough time with oGs members, but if he can sustain his recent momentum he’ll do well in the Super Tournament.



A special thanks to Jinro for being a special consultant on these rankings. We mostly ignored his advice. Including his suggestion that he be last place.



22. CoCa

CoCa is another one of the up and coming Zergs, but he doesn’t have the same fanfare some others do. That’s probably just because he doesn’t have the same volume of games they do. When he has played, it’s been solid. Overall he’s just 50%, but when you remove team leagues from the equation, his win rate goes up to 62.5%. He’s 5-2 in Bo3 series. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly how good he is with so few games, but so far the signs are good for him in the individual games. He’s weak in team competitions, but that’s a problem for all of ZeNEX since the ZOTAC Invitational.



21. Polt

For a long time, Polt didn’t get much acclaim, and for good reason. Although he qualified for all 3 Open seasons, he never made a deep run. He qualified for the first Code S on the strength of those open seasons, but fell in the up-down matches and had to fight his way through the Wild Card matches to stay in Code S. Since then, he’s come on stronger. His real success hasn’t been in GSL, but in the SK Champions Trophy series. Go check out his TLPD page and ogle all the stellar players he’s defeated on his way to 2 tournament wins. There’s also the fact that, like NaDa, he is studying at university while playing StarCraft. And for Polt, it’s not just any university, but Seoul National University, the best in Korea.



20. GanZi

I have to admit, when I saw GanZi this high I was initially surprised. He’s never made a huge impression on me. He’s had a few Code A runs, but never even made it to the up/down matches. Where he gets his distinction is in the GSTL. Cella is not afraid to go to Ganzi in important situations, sending him out instead of players like BoxeR or Ryung. Ganzi has justified Cella’s confidence by returning good results. His record is 3-3, but the players he lost to are MVP, DongRaeGu, and a streaking GuMiho. If he can transfer his GSTL success to the super tournament, he will be a force to be reckoned with.



19. Zenio

It’s hard to deny that Zenio is a top 5 zerg in Korea, but he never gets the acclaim that normally goes with such status. His ZvZ is stellar (as Idra might reluctantly admit). His ZvT is pretty good – he has a decidedly losing record in the matchup, but all of his losses in the past 6 months have been to good players. He needs to work on his ZvP, where he has no signature wins. Hopefully he can shore up those weaker matchups, because Zenio’s not afraid to show personality (as evidenced by his ceremonies and dyeing his hair metallic red).



18. San

I probably like San more than most people. Back when he was being ridiculed by Tastosis as the original “worst Code S player ever” for manner pyloning himself , I didn’t think he deserved all that. When he made his season 2 run, I wasn’t all that surprised (although the victory over NesTea certainly was an upset. On the other hand, it’s undeniable that he has his weaknesses. His PvP is flat-out bad. If he can get past HuK in the first round, though, he won’t face another protoss until the round of 8.



17. TesteR

I remember when TesteR was the most feared player in the world. Back in the beta, when most of our Korean server info came from Artosis, and he was hyping him up like none other. In the King of the Beta tournament, he was the heavy favorite. When Idra edged him out in the finals 3-2, it was a big surprise. Since then, TesteR hasn’t been able to recapture his aura. He went fairly deep in Open Season 1, but shockingly didn’t even qualify for the next 2 seasons. He’s maintained his code S status through all 3 seasons so far, but hasn’t gone deep in any of them. His main problem recently is PvT. Notwithstanding a victory over MVP in the 2nd GSTL, he’s been absolutely dismal of late: he’s 4-11 since January 15th. Luckily his first round matchup is against a zerg, YugiOh.



16. HongUn

HongUn often gets lumped in with the group of similar protosses who are ranked near him. They’ve maybe made a sort of deep run in a GSL, but haven’t been a huge threat to win. Personally, for the longest time I had a difficult time remembering which games were his and which were played by his teammate anypro. I guess the easy way to tell the difference is that HongUn is absolutely horrible at PvP. He’s never won a single game! Come on dude, step it up. That’s just embarrassing.



15. anypro

Speaking of anypro, here he is: the SimpsonToss himself. anypro wasn’t that great in the open seasons; like I just said I always got him mixed up with HongUn because neither was that great. He went on a huge slump, losing 10 in a row starting at his elimination from the first open season and ending when he won in the first up/down matches. Since then, he’s had a major turnaround. anypro has had deep runs in the last 2 seasons of Code S, both times losing to a finalist zerg. Overall he’s still lost more than he won, but that’s because of the aforementioned slump. Things are definitely looking up for anypro.



14. InCa

The last of this cohort of protoss is InCa. While he was a finalist last season, it’s impossible to rank him any higher. Now, a lot of the readers might not be Brood War fans, but the comparison is too good to ignore. InCa is the of StarCraft 2. For those of you who don’t know Horang2, he is one of the best around at PvP, regularly taking out all of the top protoss. On the flip side, he often can’t beat a Terran or Zerg to save his life. A lot of the time, he decides to cheese, perhaps giving up on beating his opponent in a straight-up game. Sound familiar? InCa is no doubt one of the best in the world at PvP. His PvT isn’t bad, but his PvZ is abominable. TheWind said the “Inca Rule” referred to “innovative strategies”, but we all know what that really means. Horang2 is a dangerous player, but he’s no real threat to win a StarLeague, and the same goes for InCa. Ensnare was one of the scariest terrans all the way back in the beta. Since then, many others have caught up and passed him by. Still, it’s hard to criticize him too much. After losing to Lyn 0-2 in March Code S, he turned around and beat him 2-0 in May Up/Down matches. Maybe that’s a sign of Ensnare resurgence rather than Lyn falling back to earth.I often think of up-and-coming zergs as a group, and viOlet is one of them. These are people like Losira or DongRaeGu who didn’t show much of anything in the open seasons, but are starting to come on strong now. viOlet was pretty good at Warcraft III, and his confidence gained there helps him not shrink from any big matches. Although he disappointed in the GSTL, he is one to watch in the Super Tournament and then upcoming code S.Now we start to get into the players that have had real success in the past. RainbOw did really well in Open S1 until the finals, and was on a roll in S2 as well until he ran into a young kid using the ID BoxeR in the round of 4. That sent him into a long slump that lasted all the way to March. RainbOw then experienced a brief renaissance, with 5 consecutive wins, but since then he has 6 straight losses. Can he get back into a hot streak?Genius had a lot of hype going into the first season of GSL. He was widely accepted as one of the best protoss, and maybe even the best sc2 player in Korea. Then he got double-cheesed by DAVIT, he of the spectacular interview. Less than a week later he bounced back by winning the BlizzCon qualifier, but since then it’s been a struggle to stay consistent for Genius, just barely staying in code S each season. Now on team MvP with his good friend DongRaeGu, maybe he’ll be able to sustain some good play.Maka has a lot in common with Genius. He had a ton of hype in season 1, he went to Blizzcon, and he has struggled in 2011. Maka actually dropped out of Code A after season 2 and didn’t make it back for s3, but outside of GSL he has shown good enough performance in the SK Champions Trophy and FXO KotH to edge him past Genius.YuGiOh (or as I still call him, NewDawn) is pretty good vP and vT, with positive winrates in both. He struggles somewhat vZ, but it’s not like he can’t win any. He beats lesser players like Line and his opponent in the last round of Code A, but against more recognizable players like Leenock , July, and viOlet, he can’t get it done. Fortunately for him, the brackets are set up such that he won’t face a zerg in either of the first 2 rounds.Ryung actually had some pretty good results in non-broadcasted tournaments before he burst onto the scene with his performance in GSTL March. He carried that GSTL momentum into Code A qualifiers before eventually losing to Bomber (no shame in that), but since then he’s had an undeniable falling off. He was never really close to getting through up-down matches, and he couldn’t match Genius’s army diversity in the GSTL finals. If Ryung can get back on track, though, he can make some noise.SangHo, like Genius and Maka, was really hyped for a long time. Popular opinion is that the hype was more the result of his personal friendship with Tastosis than his actual play. It’s possible that in the rush to call him overrated due to that hype, SangHo/Killer actually became underhyped. SangHo paid his dues and fought his way through code A, then was on a roll in this past code S until he ran into Inca’s stellar PvP.Nobody will forget Min’s debut in the GSTL. His mass expand build was perfectly tailored for Tal’Darim Altar, and caught Inca completely off guard. That performance, along with a strong showing against TheBest in the first round of Code A, tantalizes enough that this ranking is justifiable despite only being 9-10 overall. He also took a game off of MVP, but it was a really quick one. Min will have to show his ability to consistently win in a long, closely contested game against a strong opponent to rise further.aLive has a very real claim to being the top terran on TSL, but I don’t really want to talk about that. Instead, I want to know about how TSL coach [Oops]Lee decides on the team league lineups. Is it by player request, or does he just choose? Because aLive transferred from fOu to TSL shortly before the GSTLs started, and since then he’s been a force against his former team. In February he had a 3-kill in the first round against fOu, and lost in his first game in the 2nd round. In March, he was sent out first and had a 2-kill. So does he request to get sent against his friends because he thinks he knows their strategies, or does coach Lee send him due to a mix of sadistic pleasure in seeing him against his former comrades and confidence in his performance against them?A lot has been made of the fact that HuK once said he had “top 3 control in the world.” Whenever he loses, somebody inevitably brings it up. When HuK was seeded into Code A in the 2nd season, he didn’t always show off that control, playing sloppily at times. Despite that, he managed to get through to Code S that same season, only losing series to the excellent vPs of Losira and Inca. In season 3 of Code S, HuK went 0-2 in his group and the clamors of the haters were at their loudest. Even his fans found it hard to deny that HuK seemed to let his nerves get to him, since he didn’t perform on TV nearly as well as he had been on his stream. When his up/down group of MarineKing and MMA was revealed, he was clearly the underdog. But by easily 2-0ing the vaunted MMA, HuK showed off that top 3 control, and gave everyone hope that he’s conquered his nerves.Keen’s TvT is undeniably weaker than his other matchups. Besides the series loss to a rampaging MVP last code A, he also lost in the ZOTAC team invitational to 2 weaker players, Virus and Hyperdub. Not many people are favored against MVP in a TvT, but if Keen wants to be a well-rounded player, he needs to be able to get past the 2nd tier of players and below. We’ll get to see just how much he’s improved there in his first-round matchup against Rain.Everybody loves Leenock. This cherubic zerg held the throne as the youngest GSL player for a long time, from Season 2 (when maru was no longer present) until he lost in the first round of last Code A. He’s in a really nasty slump right now, going 2-12 since March 9th. Leenock has shown in the past that he’s capable of bouncing back from slumps before, stomping through Code A after being unceremoniously dumped from Code S the previous season. Plus, how low can you really rank the guy who gave us the first “best GSL game EVER” (vs Clide on Shakuras, but I shouldn’t have to tell you that).Virus has managed to escape being under the microscope so far. Maybe it’s because he’s done the minimum to get where he is right now. In code A, he only got to the round of 8 – fortunately that’s all you need to get to the up/down matches. In those bouts, he lost the first set before getting through against Ace. This past code S, he did all you need to stay in, getting through his group but being immediately 0-2’d in the knockout rounds. Let’s see if he can have a more infectious showing in the Super Tournament.Squirtle’s true skill is hard to tackle. He whipped some tail in the 3rd open season, the first season of code A, and the first GSTL, but that bubble popped when he lost in the first round of season 2 Code A. After a water break, he gunned his way through IEM, taking 3rd behind his compatriots. Squirtle showed some bite in going straight back through the qualifiers, but was forced to withdraw again after being 0-2’d in the first round of Code A for the second season in a row. His coach showed faith in him by sending him out first against oGs in the most recent team league, where he won a game before Zenio bashed his skull in in the Bel’Shir Beach debut game. Overall, he’s been pretty up and down in Korean competition, but if he can bring his performance in international competition, where he’s been Hydro Pumping kids left and right, he’ll go deep.Of course, with how much they’ve competed in the same international competitions, it’s only natural that Ace is right next to Squirtle in the rankings too. Ace has been just a little bit better than Squirtle over the long haul. He took first compared to Squirtle’s 3rd at IEM. He beat Squirtle twice in StarTale in-house competitions. Both are 4-1 in NASL, but Ace has a 6 to 4 edge in tiebreaker points. Both went 1-1 against oGs in the recent team league, but Ace took out the guy that beat Squirtle. Ace has to be ahead of Squirtle, but his overall lack of success in the GSL to date makes it impossible to rank him higher.FruitDealer will always be an iconic figure in SC2. After he made his against-all-odds run to take the first GSL championship, he inspired players worldwide, even getting his own Blizzard art. He’s also been the most consistent SC2 player: as teased way above, he’s the only player to be in the top 32 at the conclusion of every GSL season. Recently he hasn’t been showing the same kind of fervor-inducing games that he did early on though. It’s hard to say what he’s missing, but whatever it is, everyone’s hoping he gets it back. The question is, will he? Well, there’s one good sign for him: counting the World Championship, everyone who’s won a GSL has won two, except FruitDealer.Cliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide. Often hailed by Tastosis as the best player not to win (or even get close to a win, really) , Clide has definitely shown some impressive games in the past. What slips under the radar while people are so quick to criticize the Tastosis mancrush is the fact that Clide has actually won his Ro32 group in all 3 code S seasons. His groupmates were no slouches either, including such players as MarineKing and Nestea. He can’t get it done in the Round of 16 for some reason, but if he can get over that hill who knows how far he’ll get.There was a time not very long ago when Byun was the next thing. He started off as just another protoss back in open seasons 1 and 2, and sort of disappeared for a while. Then, 3 months later, like a butterfly bursting out from its cocoon, he emerged as a rising terran star. Close observers saw his storming through the Gainward Torunament, but nobody predicted he’d crush through to the Code A finals like he did. Since he to to code S, though, he hasn’t impressed. He scraped through his group in season 2 thanks to Idra’s departure, and lost in the group stages of season 3. He’s still in code S, but right now he has to be hoping he can recapture that magic he had in January.Ah, Jinro. The Gorilla Terran, once the only hope of the foreigners. One of the select few to reach the round of 4 two seasons in a row, there’s no denying that he fell into a slump. With the structure of tournaments in Korea, there haven’t been a ton of opportunities to see his play since, but what we have seen shows signs of a turnaround. In the FXO KotH he won resoundingly in his only game. In Stars War he took out his first round opponent before falling to MC. And in the Sagacity Invitational, he took out Stalife before falling to TOP. He still has a weirdly tough time with oGs members, but if he can sustain his recent momentum he’ll do well in the Super Tournament.CoCa is another one of the up and coming Zergs, but he doesn’t have the same fanfare some others do. That’s probably just because he doesn’t have the same volume of games they do. When he has played, it’s been solid. Overall he’s just 50%, but when you remove team leagues from the equation, his win rate goes up to 62.5%. He’s 5-2 in Bo3 series. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly how good he is with so few games, but so far the signs are good for him in the individual games. He’s weak in team competitions, but that’s a problem for all of ZeNEX since the ZOTAC Invitational.For a long time, Polt didn’t get much acclaim, and for good reason. Although he qualified for all 3 Open seasons, he never made a deep run. He qualified for the first Code S on the strength of those open seasons, but fell in the up-down matches and had to fight his way through the Wild Card matches to stay in Code S. Since then, he’s come on stronger. His real success hasn’t been in GSL, but in the SK Champions Trophy series. Go check out his TLPD page and ogle all the stellar players he’s defeated on his way to 2 tournament wins. There’s also the fact that, like NaDa, he is studying at university while playing StarCraft. And for Polt, it’s not just any university, but Seoul National University, the best in Korea.I have to admit, when I saw GanZi this high I was initially surprised. He’s never made a huge impression on me. He’s had a few Code A runs, but never even made it to the up/down matches. Where he gets his distinction is in the GSTL. Cella is not afraid to go to Ganzi in important situations, sending him out instead of players like BoxeR or Ryung. Ganzi has justified Cella’s confidence by returning good results. His record is 3-3, but the players he lost to are MVP, DongRaeGu, and a streaking GuMiho. If he can transfer his GSTL success to the super tournament, he will be a force to be reckoned with.It’s hard to deny that Zenio is a top 5 zerg in Korea, but he never gets the acclaim that normally goes with such status. His ZvZ is stellar (as Idra might reluctantly admit). His ZvT is pretty good – he has a decidedly losing record in the matchup, but all of his losses in the past 6 months have been to good players. He needs to work on his ZvP, where he has no signature wins. Hopefully he can shore up those weaker matchups, because Zenio’s not afraid to show personality (as evidenced by his ceremonies and dyeing his hair metallic red).I probably like San more than most people. Back when he was being ridiculed by Tastosis as the original “worst Code S player ever” for manner pyloning himself , I didn’t think he deserved all that. When he made his season 2 run, I wasn’t all that surprised (although the victory over NesTea certainly was an upset. On the other hand, it’s undeniable that he has his weaknesses. His PvP is flat-out bad. If he can get past HuK in the first round, though, he won’t face another protoss until the round of 8.I remember when TesteR was the most feared player in the world. Back in the beta, when most of our Korean server info came from Artosis, and he was hyping him up like none other. In the King of the Beta tournament, he was the heavy favorite. When Idra edged him out in the finals 3-2, it was a big surprise. Since then, TesteR hasn’t been able to recapture his aura. He went fairly deep in Open Season 1, but shockingly didn’t even qualify for the next 2 seasons. He’s maintained his code S status through all 3 seasons so far, but hasn’t gone deep in any of them. His main problem recently is PvT. Notwithstanding a victory over MVP in the 2nd GSTL, he’s been absolutely dismal of late: he’s 4-11 since January 15th. Luckily his first round matchup is against a zerg, YugiOh.HongUn often gets lumped in with the group of similar protosses who are ranked near him. They’ve maybe made a sort of deep run in a GSL, but haven’t been a huge threat to win. Personally, for the longest time I had a difficult time remembering which games were his and which were played by his teammate anypro. I guess the easy way to tell the difference is that HongUn is absolutely horrible at PvP. He’s never won a single game! Come on dude, step it up. That’s just embarrassing.Speaking of anypro, here he is: the SimpsonToss himself. anypro wasn’t that great in the open seasons; like I just said I always got him mixed up with HongUn because neither was that great. He went on a huge slump, losing 10 in a row starting at his elimination from the first open season and ending when he won in the first up/down matches. Since then, he’s had a major turnaround. anypro has had deep runs in the last 2 seasons of Code S, both times losing to a finalist zerg. Overall he’s still lost more than he won, but that’s because of the aforementioned slump. Things are definitely looking up for anypro.The last of this cohort of protoss is InCa. While he was a finalist last season, it’s impossible to rank him any higher. Now, a lot of the readers might not be Brood War fans, but the comparison is too good to ignore. InCa is the Horang2 of StarCraft 2. For those of you who don’t know Horang2, he is one of the best around at PvP, regularly taking out all of the top protoss. On the flip side, he often can’t beat a Terran or Zerg to save his life. A lot of the time, he decides to cheese, perhaps giving up on beating his opponent in a straight-up game. Sound familiar? InCa is no doubt one of the best in the world at PvP. His PvT isn’t bad, but his PvZ is abominable. TheWind said the “Inca Rule” referred to “innovative strategies”, but we all know what that really means. Horang2 is a dangerous player, but he’s no real threat to win a StarLeague, and the same goes for InCa.





At this point, it doesn’t get much better. Whether you’re a fan of cake or pie (and let’s not get into which of those two is superior), you’re gonna be satisfied. While you’re devouring this baked good, you can taste not only the creativity of the chef but also the heart-felt labor poured into it. And when you’re done, you’re left satisfiedly licking your lips. The denizens of this tier are the same way. They show creativity, and reflect hundreds and thousands of hours of hard work. These pugilists are very real contenders for the championship.



+ Show Spoiler [13th to 4th] + 13. sC

sC has done what Lyn and Byun have failed to do. Both of them started out improving every season, but recently fell off. sC has managed to maintain that constant elevation of his game. In his first appearance, in the 3rd open season, he lost in the second round to FruitDealer. He then fought his way through the tiebreakers into code A. In the first League season, he battled to the round of 8 and advanced in the up/down matches through that same iconic zerg. In the second code S season, he was stopped in the quarterfinals by San’s improbable run. Last season, he came within 1 Artosisgasm of the finals, with a very good shot to beat Inca. Watch out, ‘cause this kid’s on the rise.



12. SuperNoVa

SuperNoVa is the 3rd of the terrans on the rise for whom anything seems possible. One of the newest to the scene to be ranked so high, he didn’t make his GSL debut until the second Code A season. He made it all the way to the finals there before losing in an epic 3-4 series to LosirA. Most recently, he won his group before falling to TOP in the 3rd Code S season. SuperNoVa has also done very well in non-GSL tournaments, particularly the 2nd FXOpen Invitational and the first FXOpen Korean King of the Hill. SuperNoVa (then known as SaiR) was a teammate of MVP’s in Brood War, and as one of the most recent to switch over, he surely hasn’t reached his full potential yet.



11. TOP

TOP is another very solid Terran, above 55% in all three matchups. In season 1, he was the closest to beating FruitDealer, inexplicably not attacking with a huge advantage. He didn’t qualify for any following open seasons, but he won the first Code A season. He fell to the up-down matchups in his first Code S season, but finished 2nd in his group in the next code S season. TOP then eliminated SuperNoVa before falling victim to NaDa in the round of 8. TOP’s overall TvT winrate is 60%, which is very good, but not quite elite. If he can find a way to get just a little bit better there, he’ll go far.



10. MarineKing

Ah, poor MarineKing. The man who brought the Kkong line to StarCraft 2. Thwarted time after time by MVP. The question remains, will he be the first true inheritor of YellOw’s legacy, never winning the gold? Or will he follow the path of Fantasy and Stork, breaking through after years of torment? He’s already won a gold in the FXOpen Invitational, but YellOw also won some random non-StarLeague events. To truly break the curse, he has to win a GSL.



9. July

Tushin! Despite being named the God of War, he doesn’t seem quite so fierce as of yet in SC2. Even when he romps through his opponents, he seems to do it joyfully, not evoking the same scary feeling he did in his glory days. There’s no doubt that he’s a scary force in the booth, though. If Kyrix pioneered the aggressive zerg style, July has taken it a step further. July’s opponents are always on their toes, never given time to breathe easy.Strong defensive play can defeat him, but those who can defend adequately are few and far between.



8. LosirA

If NesTea is the zerg king, than LosirA is the crown prince. Sharing a team and practice house with the man at the top, LosirA has the best results of any up and coming zerg. With his Code A win, great record in the GSTL, and over 70% vP and vZ, he seems unstoppable – er, that is, until you see his vT, a pitiful 12-19. He has shown signs of understanding the matchup, taking the Code A title over SuperNoVa, and if he can replicate that, he will be terrifying. By the way, if you’re at MLG Columbus, be sure to tell him “annyeong haseyo!”



7. NaDa

The Genius Terran has certainly had the most sustained success of the Brood War legends in StarCraft 2. While BoxeR has his team management to deal with, and July is doing ccasting gigs, their distractions don’t compare to NaDa’s university enrollment, which makes it even more incredible how good he’s been. NaDa is the only player besides Clide to be in Code S all three seasons and never go to the up/down matches, and unlike Clide, he’s been to at least the round of 8 every season. While at times he has games that make you wonder where his old skill went, when his schoolwork load isn’t too heavy the play he shows inspires.



6. Alicia

Alicia is the other player besides SuperNoVa to break into GSL in the second League season and have great success. Although he lost to SuperNoVa in that Code A season, he did well enough to get to the up/down matches, and since then he’s had some incredible wins. He took out MVP in the up/down matches to get to Code S, then 3-0’d his Ro32 group of Zenio, NaDa, and MarineKing the following season. Alicia also played a huge role in SlayerS’ first team league victory, taking out Losira and Nestea consecutively. His last couple matches haven’t been great, but everything he did before then makes you wonder just how good he can get.



5. MMA

Called the “Son of Boxer”, MMA has been looked to as possibly the next iloveoov – boxer’s protégé who goes on to great success. In the team leagues, he’s backed that reputation up, coming out as the closer whenever Cella needs him and inevitably winning the match for SlayerS. In the individual leagues, he’s had less success. This will be his third consecutive season in Code A. While that’s good and all, it’s nothing special. There are Brood War progamers like Sea whose team depend on them in proleague, and they do well, but they can’t seem to get it done in the StarLeagues for whatever reason. MMA has to show some real individual GSL results to be more comparable to oov than Sea.



4. Bomber

Bomber was the player who came into his first GSL match with the most fanfare. It doesn’t seem like it, but he only just played for the first time in individual GSL this past season. The accolades were deserved, as he rampaged through, not even needing the full 7 games to dispatch heavy favorite MVP. As if that wasn’t enough, we have more than just the GSL to base our information off of. In the number of other tournaments he’s participated in, he’s been stellar in every single one. His overall win rate is 75% over 58 games, and he doesn’t have a single matchup under 70%. Let me be clear: nobody in SC2 yet is even close to Flash in relative mastery of the game. But Bomber has Flash-like numbers. sC has done what Lyn and Byun have failed to do. Both of them started out improving every season, but recently fell off. sC has managed to maintain that constant elevation of his game. In his first appearance, in the 3rd open season, he lost in the second round to FruitDealer. He then fought his way through the tiebreakers into code A. In the first League season, he battled to the round of 8 and advanced in the up/down matches through that same iconic zerg. In the second code S season, he was stopped in the quarterfinals by San’s improbable run. Last season, he came within 1 Artosisgasm of the finals, with a very good shot to beat Inca. Watch out, ‘cause this kid’s on the rise.SuperNoVa is the 3rd of the terrans on the rise for whom anything seems possible. One of the newest to the scene to be ranked so high, he didn’t make his GSL debut until the second Code A season. He made it all the way to the finals there before losing in an epic 3-4 series to LosirA. Most recently, he won his group before falling to TOP in the 3rd Code S season. SuperNoVa has also done very well in non-GSL tournaments, particularly the 2nd FXOpen Invitational and the first FXOpen Korean King of the Hill. SuperNoVa (then known as SaiR) was a teammate of MVP’s in Brood War, and as one of the most recent to switch over, he surely hasn’t reached his full potential yet.TOP is another very solid Terran, above 55% in all three matchups. In season 1, he was the closest to beating FruitDealer, inexplicably not attacking with a huge advantage. He didn’t qualify for any following open seasons, but he won the first Code A season. He fell to the up-down matchups in his first Code S season, but finished 2nd in his group in the next code S season. TOP then eliminated SuperNoVa before falling victim to NaDa in the round of 8. TOP’s overall TvT winrate is 60%, which is very good, but not quite elite. If he can find a way to get just a little bit better there, he’ll go far.Ah, poor MarineKing. The man who brought the Kkong line to StarCraft 2. Thwarted time after time by MVP. The question remains, will he be the first true inheritor of YellOw’s legacy, never winning the gold? Or will he follow the path of Fantasy and Stork, breaking through after years of torment? He’s already won a gold in the FXOpen Invitational, but YellOw also won some random non-StarLeague events. To truly break the curse, he has to win a GSL.Tushin! Despite being named the God of War, he doesn’t seem quite so fierce as of yet in SC2. Even when he romps through his opponents, he seems to do it joyfully, not evoking the same scary feeling he did in his glory days. There’s no doubt that he’s a scary force in the booth, though. If Kyrix pioneered the aggressive zerg style, July has taken it a step further. July’s opponents are always on their toes, never given time to breathe easy.Strong defensive play can defeat him, but those who can defend adequately are few and far between.If NesTea is the zerg king, than LosirA is the crown prince. Sharing a team and practice house with the man at the top, LosirA has the best results of any up and coming zerg. With his Code A win, great record in the GSTL, and over 70% vP and vZ, he seems unstoppable – er, that is, until you see his vT, a pitiful 12-19. He has shown signs of understanding the matchup, taking the Code A title over SuperNoVa, and if he can replicate that, he will be terrifying. By the way, if you’re at MLG Columbus, be sure to tell him “annyeong haseyo!”The Genius Terran has certainly had the most sustained success of the Brood War legends in StarCraft 2. While BoxeR has his team management to deal with, and July is doing ccasting gigs, their distractions don’t compare to NaDa’s university enrollment, which makes it even more incredible how good he’s been. NaDa is the only player besides Clide to be in Code S all three seasons and never go to the up/down matches, and unlike Clide, he’s been to at least the round of 8 every season. While at times he has games that make you wonder where his old skill went, when his schoolwork load isn’t too heavy the play he shows inspires.Alicia is the other player besides SuperNoVa to break into GSL in the second League season and have great success. Although he lost to SuperNoVa in that Code A season, he did well enough to get to the up/down matches, and since then he’s had some incredible wins. He took out MVP in the up/down matches to get to Code S, then 3-0’d his Ro32 group of Zenio, NaDa, and MarineKing the following season. Alicia also played a huge role in SlayerS’ first team league victory, taking out Losira and Nestea consecutively. His last couple matches haven’t been great, but everything he did before then makes you wonder just how good he can get.Called the “Son of Boxer”, MMA has been looked to as possibly the next iloveoov – boxer’s protégé who goes on to great success. In the team leagues, he’s backed that reputation up, coming out as the closer whenever Cella needs him and inevitably winning the match for SlayerS. In the individual leagues, he’s had less success. This will be his third consecutive season in Code A. While that’s good and all, it’s nothing special. There are Brood War progamers like Sea whose team depend on them in proleague, and they do well, but they can’t seem to get it done in the StarLeagues for whatever reason. MMA has to show some real individual GSL results to be more comparable to oov than Sea.Bomber was the player who came into his first GSL match with the most fanfare. It doesn’t seem like it, but he only just played for the first time in individual GSL this past season. The accolades were deserved, as he rampaged through, not even needing the full 7 games to dispatch heavy favorite MVP. As if that wasn’t enough, we have more than just the GSL to base our information off of. In the number of other tournaments he’s participated in, he’s been stellar in every single one. His overall win rate is 75% over 58 games, and he doesn’t have a single matchup under 70%. Let me be clear: nobody in SC2 yet is even close to Flash in relative mastery of the game. But Bomber has Flash-like numbers.





Now you’ve got everything in front of you. Instead of picking and choosing from a limited selection, you can take what you like of each. Maybe a little angel food cake with some mint chocolate chip ice cream and strawberries on top. Perhaps the absolute best devil’s food cake you could imagine, so good that you don’t need anything else. Whatever you choose, you’re going to finish wishing your stomach had more room to take in the deliciousness. Watching these 3 players is the same way. Any discussion of the best starts with them, each at the apex of their race. They show a diversity in tactics not commanded by their lesser counterparts. They’ve come out on top the last 6 individual GSL tournaments. These are the favorites.



+ Show Spoiler [3rd to 1st] + 3. MC

We all know MC. The brash, confident guy who is secretly an



2. MVP

When people talk about the best terran in SC2, the conversation always starts with MVP. He was the first terran to win a GSL in the first League season, and when he shockingly fell to code A the next season, he bounced back by winning the World Championships. Now back in Code S and with a top seed for the Super Tournament, he’s out for blood. MVP used to have a weak matchup in TvP, but he’s now 4-1 in his last 5 games against protoss. The Game Genie terran is back.



1. NesTea

The reigning champion. The man who understands zerg far better than anyone else. The guy who has 85% ZvP and 92% ZvZ. The tactician who halted MarineKing’s seemingly unstoppable aggression in its tracks. The dominator who made his finals opponent look like a bronze league newb. The inspiration that brings Artosis to tears. The force that brings victory when it seems impossible. The favorite. We all know MC. The brash, confident guy who is secretly an excellent dancer . Some people might say he’s cocky, but it’s not cockiness if the it’s deserved. MC’s goal of 7 tournament wins in 1 year is tough, but still in reach. While his overall results vary, his game to game consistency is remarkable. Only once has he lost three consecutive games. MC’s problem might be that expectations are so high at this point. Twice, people have said his style was unsustainable. After his first win, he fell to Jinro in the first Code S season and people said his two-base timing attack had been solved. MC turned around and promptly won the next season. He fell to the up-down matches this past season, but stayed in Code S, and if he keeps up his pattern of wins every other season, he’ll win this one.When people talk about the best terran in SC2, the conversation always starts with MVP. He was the first terran to win a GSL in the first League season, and when he shockingly fell to code A the next season, he bounced back by winning the World Championships. Now back in Code S and with a top seed for the Super Tournament, he’s out for blood. MVP used to have a weak matchup in TvP, but he’s now 4-1 in his last 5 games against protoss. The Game Genie terran is back.The reigning champion. The man who understands zerg far better than anyone else. The guy who has 85% ZvP andZvZ. The tactician who halted MarineKing’s seemingly unstoppable aggression in its tracks. The dominator who made his finals opponent look like a bronze league newb. The inspiration that brings Artosis to tears. The force that brings victory when it seems impossible. The favorite.



Don't you want a bacon donut now? Think about the GSL as a nice dinner. If the Open Seasons were the appetizer, and the League Seasons were the main course, with the World Championships as the cheese course and the Team Leagues as the wines, then the Super Tournament is dessert. The perfect dessert goes well with everything else, makes you reminiscent of the earlier courses, and ties the whole meal together. The Super Tournament brings the huge format and even bigger prize of the Open Seasons and the better players identified through the League Seasons into 1 huge tournament with all the best qualities. To that end, we’ve categorized the players into different groups of desserts, ranking them along the way. Moderator Flash Sea Action Snow Midas | TheStC Ret Tyler MC | RIP 우정호