The best of esports: May 2016
— -- Welcome to "The best of esports" series, where writers and contributors will weigh in on who they think stood out of the esports crowd for that given month. This time around, Wynton "prog" Smith, Tyler "Fionn" Erzberger, Jacob Wolf, and Timothy Lee give us their thoughts on the month of May.
POLL: Who was the best in May for you? Read the article, then vote: https://t.co/hYrGlZFUWN
- ESPN Esports (@ESPN_Esports) June 2, 2016
Wynton "prog" Smith - Smash Bros.: William "Leffen" Hjelte
That said, the breakout performance this month has to go to Red Bull and Team SoloMid's William "Leffen" Hjelte. Heading into the month, we had consistent efforts from Juan "Hungrybox" Debiedma and Adam "Armada" Lindgren, Joseph "Mango" Marquez making adjustments, and Jason "Mew2King" Zimmerman's focus split between both of the larger Smash titles. Leffen was the biggest question mark in his return to action in North America, and some were quick to bury him after a seventh place finish at Enthusiast Gaming Live Expo. A week later, he won the Battle of B.C. over SFAT. Two weeks later, after finally having the top level training partners he desired, he didn't just win Get On My Level: he won from winners side, beating Mew2King, Armada, Hungrybox and Mango. Momentum is a big thing, and we're all wondering if he can keep it up in June at CEO 2016, when he's going to do everything he can to defend last year's championship.
It doesn't end there for Leffen. When you talk about impact outside of the game, no one in Smash matches him at this point. The Free Leffen movement started as a movement to help him return to competition in the United States after being turned away from The Big House 5. Fans wanted to see him in action, players wanted to see him compete again so they could get another shot at him, and somehow, he ended up as the posterboy for recognition of international esports stars who are dealing with visa issues stateside. 116,723 signatures later, many are expecting to hear back from the White House within the next couple of months, all thanks to this guy getting turned away at the border. That's potentially an impact that might just be bigger than any check that Smash has ever seen and will see.
Jacob Wolf - Counter-Strike: Global Offensive: Marcelo "coldzera" David
It's hard to argue that any other Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player had a better month than Luminosity Gaming's rifler and secondary AWPer Marcelo "coldzera" David. Since his team's rise in the second half of 2015, coldzera has cemented himself as one of the best players in the world. The Brazilian player's strength and overall excellent play has earned him the nickname "The Phenom,"and he excels with rifles such as the AK47, M4A4/A1s, AWP, and other guns within the game.
Coldzera and Luminosity Gaming's May consisted of taking home two titles (DreamHack Austin and ESL Pro League Season 3 Finals) and a playoff seed in ELEAGUE. At week one of ELEAGUE and at DreamHack Austin, coldzera took the highest HLTV rating at the events, with a 1.91 Kill/Death/Assist ratios at DreamHack and 1.48 KDA at ELEAGUE. At ESL Pro League Season 3 Finals, coldzera took fourth on HLTV's rating list, with a 1.18 rating and a 1.30 KDA, just under legendary names such as Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz, Robin "flusha" Rönnquist, and Richard "shox" Papillon.
Coldzera's brilliance not only comes from his individual prowess, but also his team and its leader Gabriel "FalleN" Toledo allowing him to move across the map and play a fluent playstyle. Whatever the team needs in a top performer, coldzera can do it. He is more than flexible, allowing him to play different roles, capitalizing on well-positioned opportunities for a large amount of his team's kill. Rounded out with the remainder of the Luminosity Gaming roster, currently called the best team in the world by most analysts and experts of the game, coldzera's fantastic play has been a key part of his team's recent success.
Tyler "Fionn" Erzberger - League of Legends: Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok
Who else should we give the award to besides esports' Michael Jordan? Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok came off a strong month in April, where he won his fifth domestic title in South Korea, to have an even better May. In the second biggest tournament of the year in League of Legends, the Mid-Season Invitational, it was Faker's mission to win the title. The best player in the game's history, the only major title he had never won was the MSI crown. He won the spiritual predecessor of the tournament, All-Stars Paris, in 2014, yet fell short in last year's MSI finals to EDward Gaming 3-2.
It was one of the lowest points in Faker and SK Telecom T1's dynasty, and it was at a point where people were actually wondering if China was the superior region over South Korea. May was the month where Faker separated himself and his team from any other in the space. The team slumped in the middle of the group stage and entered the bracket as the four seed instead of its usual spot as the top-seeded squad. In the semifinals with a few days of practice from the group stage, Faker and company sent a message to China and its representative from Royal Never Give Up: I will not be dethroned. After losing the first game in the best-of-five series, SK Telecom T1 won the next three in commanding fashion, and it finished off the series with a perfect game -- no kills or objectives taken against them -- to break the hometown crowd of Shanghai, China.
Faker left the Chinese fans in silence, and it was back to business as usual. Over in the finals next day, SKT T1 didn't even drop a single map. It did away with the scrappy Counter Logic Gaming from North America in a sweep, and Faker was finally handed the trophy which alluded him last year. It was the second biggest tournament of the year and it was the only accolade he was missing from his mantle. The choice is clear -- Faker is April's ESPN Esports Player of the Month.
Timothy Lee - Street Fighter V: Justin Wong
In Street Fighter, month of May belonged to Justin Wong. The evil genius from Evil Geniuses dominated the entire country through three Ranking Tournaments: DreamHack Austin, Toryuken, and Combo Breaker. In all three tournaments, Wong was the top-placer by a wide margin. He became the leader of the overall points standings for the Capcom Pro Tour with 716 during the process, and looks to add on as the tour continues. Although his run of success during the month was only in North America, he remains the biggest threat against international talent.
Wong's character of choice? Karin, a character who compliments Wong's playstyle; he would rather play a simple game of space control instead of the frenetic offensive pace of many Street Fighter V players. Karin, if given the real estate, will drive the opponent into the corner with ease and trap them there with her range tools, medium kick, crouching roundhouse, and crouching medium punch.
Wong fishes for whiff punishes with standing fierce punches into continuation, knockdowns with his sweep, or anti-airs when the opponent jumps. His primary focus is the middle ground between his opponent and himself, and it's there where he breaks down the enemy defense. To beat Wong is to outwork his strongest aspect -- the neutral game. There are no confusing gimmicks, abusive frame traps, or ambiguous setups at play. Wong is simply crushing the field with fundamentals and patience.
He never fell to the loser's bracket for any of the tournaments in May, and only faced stiff opposition in the form of Panda Global's Ryan "FilipinoChamp" Ramirez and fellow teammate Ricki Ortiz. His record in the top 8 of all three Ranking Tournaments is 27-8. He never allowed an opponent to reset the grand finals or lost a winner's final set. May was all Wong, and it may continue as the calendar year moves on.
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