Inspired by syntox's lack of kiwis in his rankings; this is where I feel that the current New Zealand standings are; with the current rate of improvement of our players I can see some big changes in this line-up during the coming months.
Petraeus is currently playing at a phenomenally high level; he's grown into a really strong, well rounded player. I can see him achieving more success in 2013 as he continues to take down big names in SEA, and hope he can go to more foreign tournaments and show some upsets!
Crimson has been practicing consistently this year, showing some strong results at LANs in Wellington, taking home two first place finishes. He's currently looking like he could be a strong contender for the number 1 spot in a short time; I see him having a big online tournament win sometime in the first half of this year.
JazBas is a really strong player for New Zealand, and has been for a long time, he's consistent and has taken a heavily macro-aggressive style and really made it his own. It's been a little while since I've seen him come out on top in a tournament, but I feel like it's only a matter of time before he shows off his brilliance yet again and takes down some prestigious SEA tournament.
Tilea, despite not being seen in an SEA tournament for a long time, is still a very strong player. I think he's recently run into some trouble with his motivation to play (from what I've seen from his twitter)? Can someone confirm/deny this? I'm interested to see how he's doing, and I'm sure lots of other SEA players are as well.
AgUy is currently someone I would rank as the biggest up and comer in the New Zealand scene (and probably all of SEA tbh). His multitasking and precise control is excellent, and his play is consistently high-level. I see it as only a matter of time before he starts really contending with the players in the top 3. Big things to come from AgUy.
Another, one of the few non-zergs in my top 10, has been one of the strongest players in New Zealand for a long time. He's currently been having one or two troubles with his gameplay in certain matchups, but I'm sure that once he figures out where he's going wrong he'll be winning series vs the best SEA has to offer.
Stallion was one of the strongest players in New Zealand by far up until a few months ago, when he fell out of practice and started playing games like LoL too much. I feel like he'll be making a come back in HOTS and showing us what he's made of. Time will tell what will come from Stally.
MK is another player who's due a breakout tournament performance. Some people have said that his play is very "all-in", but he has shown recently in practice that he has no trouble playing the macro game. I can see him really rounding out sometime over the next couple of months and stepping up to the plate, and taking down some big SEA names. I, personally, feel like his lack of consistency is his biggest downfall atm, we'll see if he can fix that in his play. Another big up and comer, watch this space.
TheGoonSquad hasn't been seen in tournament play for quite some time now, but has always come out of the woodwork and been able to pull off an upset. I feel like if another online tournament for New Zealanders comes up, he'll put on a good show for everyone. A consistently strong player.
Savior is a consistently high level NZ player; however with the big wave of Iris Academy members coming up, he's going to have to practice harder than ever to keep his place in the top 10. I feel harsh placing him 10th, and he could probably be placed as high as 6th in other people's lists. I look forward to seeing where his placing in a few months will be; my current feeling is he could be anywhere from 3rd to 15th.
I also want to mention that these are all my own personal opinions, and do not represent the views of anyone besides myself. I attempted to be as unbiased as possible.
IrisCabracan feels, to me, like a player who's on the rise. Very impressive during practice, hardworking and motivated. Yet again, another member of Iris who is due some big results. We will see how he performs in the coming months; with consistent practice and training, I can see him doing very well.
Re: FLuX's 2013 New Zealand Top 10 Power Ranking Predictions
this is pointless. lets just wait for the next NZ cup or a national barcraft or a WCS, i dont see any benefit from arguing about this other than getting angry at people (as seems to have happened)
if youre feeling hurt or insulted by peoples rankings, train hard and prove them wrong
Re: FLuX's 2013 New Zealand Top 10 Power Ranking Predictions
Well, that was a beautiful shit storm that got started. It seems everyone's out to prove something, hopefully it fuels you all to train harder than before. I understand that there was some outcry mostly about my decision to place Crimson above JazBas, and while I can see where everyone is coming from, this is my opinion (as stated in the OP) and is not fact. I'm glad to see other people are posting their own lists, and I'm glad lots of discussion took place (even if a fair amount of it was in a less than friendly tone).
Like I said, these are all my own personal thoughts and feelings. I have nothing but respect for every player on that list, and I feel like every single one could be the best in New Zealand by the end of 2013.
JazBas, I didn't mean to offend you with my placing of you in 3rd place, and I'm sincerely sorry if that came across as improper. I have upmost respect for you and your skills, and my top 3 players were all very difficult to choose in terms of how I would rank them. In the end I settled for Crimson above you simply because of what I'd seen recently and the strides I've seen Crimson take lately. Obviously, I have significantly less access to you and your training, so what I picked makes sense to me. Like I said, I you and you're an amazing player. Please don't take the ranking as 100% serious, I merely wanted to stir discussion between SEA players and provide a bit more exposure for NZ players who seem a bit more neglected in terms of exposure; with the exception of yourself and Petraeus.
Re: FLuX's 2013 New Zealand Top 10 Power Ranking Predictions
I could've sworn this is a prediction so therefore any past results should not mean anything at all just what flux thinks will happen. It was an enjoyable read flux and I'm sorry this had to decay the way it has but these kinda things are always really interesting to read, so again, thank you.
Everyone just needs to calm down, CAN WE ALL JUST GET ALONG
Re: FLuX's 2013 New Zealand Top 10 Power Ranking Predictions
Why people get so worked up over these things is beyond me...
The power Rankings that count:
1) Koreans
2) Euro and NA tip top Pro's
3) everyone else.
Train hard and get better - just because you may or may not be the biggest fish in a tiny fish bowl means nothing. Work hard, enjoy yourself and represent and play your game with pride. SEA needs to get out there and make a splash this year around the world - lets work hard and do it!
Re: FLuX's 2013 New Zealand Top 10 Power Ranking Predictions
Quote:
Originally Posted by fray`ChadMann
Why people get so worked up over these things is beyond me...
The power Rankings that count:
1) Koreans
2) Euro and NA tip top Pro's
3) everyone else.
Train hard and get better - just because you may or may not be the biggest fish in a tiny fish bowl means nothing. Work hard, enjoy yourself and represent and play your game with pride. SEA needs to get out there and make a splash this year around the world - lets work hard and do it!
1. Koreans
2. Top Europeans/GLaDe/other Zergs
3. Good Europeans/Top NA
4. The rest
___________________________________
Previously known as iAmBiGbiRd
Re: FLuX's 2013 New Zealand Top 10 Power Ranking Predictions
An opinion based piece by default is going to clash with other peoples opinions. One person posts up their opinion, the next person disagrees, argument ensues.
This is a competitive community where at the top level, your level of skill and results mean everything (okay, it doesn't mean absolutely everything, but there is a lot of pride involved especially if you are putting in a lot of effort). When someone comes out and puts your skill level below where you think it is, or where you'd LIKE it to be, it's always going to hit hard (whether that opinion paints a truthful picture or not).
Our players do need to thicken their skin, but in such a small community it's so hard to avoid things and when people say things it generally means more than when some troll from NA says something. However if you want to create a fair & balanced discussion, provide hard data and facts - otherwise expect a multitude of other opinions to bombard your thread and expect people to be upset/angry/disagree you.
On a secondary note, I wish people wouldn't toss things aside and say it doesn't matter because we are SEA. How can we take ourselves seriously (let along other people taking us seriously) if we can't indulge in the simple things such as rankings.
JazBas, I think you were the #1 NZ player in 2012. Your successes in WCS, NZ Barcraft and all the rest are enough to convince me (and the numbers in my ranking table show it). We've yet to see what 2013 holds for you, so it's up to you mate! [JazBas Waiting!1!!]
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