My rankings for the top 5 players from the first three seasons would be
Spoiler:
1. Sangmin
[decent sized gap]
2. Dongmin
3. Hyunmin
[huge gap]
4. Jinho
[huge gap]
5. Sunggyu
Spoiler:
I think these top 5 are likely correct, though I'd change the order to...
Spoiler:
1. Sangmin
[monster gap]
2. Hyunmin
[decent-sized gap]
3. Dongmin
4. Sunggyu
[smallest gap]
5. Jinho
During my re-watch, I'll see if I stick with Jinho at #5. I really think there's a good chance that a few other players are better than him, and his success stems mostly from binking a bunch of DMs and figuring out a couple quirks in the MMs where he was on his own (Open/Pass being the clear example). While DM success is a valuable skill to have, it's certainly far less important than MM skill and social ability. I think Jinho is ultimately just too honest, trusting, and introverted to be truly elite.
My love for Sunggyu continues, as I think he's super underrated. He reminds me of Parvati: their strategic games are mediocre at best, but people like them so much that they can overcome it. They're just slightly intelligent and game-savvy enough to figure out how to exploit their social abilities while not being smart enough to be seen as actual threats. There are definitely games where Sunggyu struggles (particularly early on), but things like Yutnori skill and saving one Kong make me think he's brighter than most people assume. Considering some DMs have a lot of luck and/or social sway involved, I feel pretty confident ranking Sunggyu ahead of Jinho.
Dongmin-Hyunmin was a great alliance, and maybe it says something about the way I evaluate The Genius that I have the two strongest alliances of all time as my clear 1-4. Dongmin is great, though I do think he is a less-talented version of Sangmin who can occasionally turn people off with his unique style. Hyunmin, on the other hand, is Jinho with social abilities, and at only 20, it's pretty incredible what he was able to accomplish. As others have said, Hyunmin at 27-28 could be absolutely unstoppable.
I think these top 5 are likely correct, though I'd change the order to...
Spoiler:
1. Sangmin
[monster gap]
2. Hyunmin
[decent-sized gap]
3. Dongmin
4. Sunggyu
[smallest gap]
5. Jinho
During my re-watch, I'll see if I stick with Jinho at #5. I really think there's a good chance that a few other players are better than him, and his success stems mostly from binking a bunch of DMs and figuring out a couple quirks in the MMs where he was on his own (Open/Pass being the clear example). While DM success is a valuable skill to have, it's certainly far less important than MM skill and social ability. I think Jinho is ultimately just too honest, trusting, and introverted to be truly elite.
My love for Sunggyu continues, as I think he's super underrated. He reminds me of Parvati: their strategic games are mediocre at best, but people like them so much that they can overcome it. They're just slightly intelligent and game-savvy enough to figure out how to exploit their social abilities while not being smart enough to be seen as actual threats. There are definitely games where Sunggyu struggles (particularly early on), but things like Yutnori skill and saving one Kong make me think he's brighter than most people assume. Considering some DMs have a lot of luck and/or social sway involved, I feel pretty confident ranking Sunggyu ahead of Jinho.
Dongmin-Hyunmin was a great alliance, and maybe it says something about the way I evaluate The Genius that I have the two strongest alliances of all time as my clear 1-4. Dongmin is great, though I do think he is a less-talented version of Sangmin who can occasionally turn people off with his unique style. Hyunmin, on the other hand, is Jinho with social abilities, and at only 20, it's pretty incredible what he was able to accomplish. As others have said, Hyunmin at 27-28 could be absolutely unstoppable.
After rewatching a bit, reading this thread, and having a slight change in philosophy towards overall TG approach, my rankings have definitely changed a bit.
Spoiler:
1a.
Spoiler:
28-year old Hyunmin
[small gap]
1. Sangmin
[gap]
2. Hyunmin today
[gap]
3. Dongmin
[huge gap]
There are a lot of people I'd be willing to entertain at number four. I think ~90% of people who just binged all three seasons for the first time would rank Jinho here (if they hadn't already ranked him higher) but Dom made a great point that he virtually always presents himself as the leader of whatever his group is for the week but converts so few wins that he's going to find himself in a ton of Death Matches. He'll definitely have an edge in a random DM but, as we saw in S2, regardless of how big his edge is, variance can be a bitch.
I think Kyungran and Yohwan both should at least be considered just given how rarely they'll go to Death Matches and how good they are once it hits F4 and everything is individual the rest of the way. With a gun to my head though I think I'd pick Yoohyun to excel in a main match or win a season over both of them, though it's really hard to say with much confidence because 75% of S3 was The Dongmin Show.
Sunggyu has some amazing moments and is easily the most hilarious person in Korea but the only time he ever really excelled without Sangmin's help was Catch the Burglar where drawing the burglar is essentially a free token of life in this context. Although shout-out to him for getting the 11-cube in that auction game for only 7 garnets when it's basically worth two tokens of life. In general though I think he's a total hoobae without Sangmin on the season.
So I just watched the first ep of s2 of Crime Scene where Dongmin is part of the cast. It's very apparent in this ep that Dongmin legit has a photographic / perfect visual memory. He remembers everything he sees even when he isn't aware that he's supposed to be remembering it. He was always winning that second game in the Genius finale.
(Not to take anything away from him, I just thought others would be interested in knowing that he's a superhuman in this regard :P)
It was great seeing the contrast between Jinho and Dongmin in that episode. Dongmin found much every meaningful clue but still scored lower than Jinho on the write-up. I think Jinho probably had a big advantage from being on the show before, while this was Dongmin's first experience.
This is kind of a spoiler about S3 finale, not just about "S3 finale contestants". I read it after watching the penultimate episode, thinking it was just discussing the merits of the contestants going into the finale. Not bothered about it at all, but wanted to point that out in case others are.
BTW thanks again for linking me to the show. I have finished all 3 and very sad there is no more. I will try crime scene next. My wife and I don't watch many shows together, I tried to watch this one with her (she is korean) but she wasn't really into this. She thought it wasn't a popular show in Korea and had never heard of it, but I talked to her sister who says its very popular. My wife is just out of date.
I really hope season 4 has strong females joining the field. There was a female "guest" contestant in S3 that immediately seemed to have a stronger understanding and character right away which would be great. Korean girls acting cute and dumb doesn't really do it for me, but super common over there.
For those of you who haven't watched Crime Scene, I'd recommend it. It isn't as good as The Genius but the evidence finding and deductions can be pretty interesting. s2e04 (the most recent episode as of this post) was my favorite episode so far, although there are still a few s1 episodes I haven't seen yet.
Genius players in Crime Scene:
Jinho (every episode)
Dongmin (every episode of season 2)
Sunggyu (s1e07)
Kang Yongsuk (s1e07-s1e10)
Finally finished s3, some thoughts on both the show overall and s3
Spoiler:
Yeonjoo was extremely annoying to watch, didn't really contribute anything.
Hyonmin > Jinho.
3rd season was the best season so far.
Garnets should do more.
Doubting Yutnori bit too random for final game.
I think the gamerunners need to device some games where teaming up just doesn't work, since atm alliances can crush pretty much every single main match.
The items in finals are so unbalanced. Some of them are flat out useless (choose the first game in previous seasons) or just awful (Mulligan in 12 Janggi) while some are pretty much winning a game on their own (the +2 in Indian Poker)
Bumdidlyumptious @Bumdidlyump · 14 t. 14 timer siden
Looks like it might be an all-star season.
Bumdidlyumptious @Bumdidlyump · 14 t. 14 timer siden
No casting call has gone out yet. Korean phrase for "all-star" is "king of kings" hence the throne. And Bandage Man means business!
Bumdidlyumptious @Bumdidlyump · 13 t. 13 timer siden
Realistically speaking though, the all-star level players seem too busy to get enough of them for a new season.
I'm sad that there's no Sunggyu or Hongchul but otherwise the cast is pretty solid. Gura would've been fun again as well but he seemed to not care as much towards the end of his run in season 1. I'm a bit surprised at the fact that there are only three women but they obviously don't care about gender disparity too much. I'm super hyped.
My preferred cast for an all-star season made up of people from first 3 seasons (don't read this if you haven't seen all seasons):
Spoiler:
Season 1 had 5 females and Season 2 and 3 had 4, so I'll go with 4 females. This isn't my list of the 13 best people, but merely the people I think would make for the greatest season. In no particular order:
I was close to picking Gura or Jimmy Cha. But I think having Gura in there with certain other people would mess up the dynamic too much in an ungood way. Jimmy Cha would be good, but ultimately I went with Junghyun for the "older man" spot because 1) he was 3rd, so my season would have all top 3 finishers, 2) he seems fluid wrt who he can ally with which is good for the game and 3) there's something to be said for the fact that he and Jinho are the only people to survive 3 deathmatches (if I'm not mistaken).
Hongchul and Ahyoung in particular are picked based on their personalities / entertainment value. Yooyoung picked based on hotness / being last female standing in her season. Lawyer lady and Park Eunji are both better players than Ahyoung and Yooyoung, but meh.
Compared to this list:
Spoiler:
Assuming Sunggyu/Hongchul/Gura either didn't want to play again or had other commitments, they have all of the guys but only Kyungran for the women. Yeonseung is there so that all three F3s are fully represented afaict, so if you cut him and Junseok/Kyunghoon for Yooyoung/Doohee/X you have about the perfect cast. Doohee is probably the biggest snub from the actual list but, as cstone points out, they don't want all of the Jinho/Yohwan/Doohee bloc
My winner rankings for Genius 4, spoilers of course for the first three seasons:
Spoiler:
1. Hyunmin
He was insanely clever in finding solutions to almost every game in his season, but I don't know if he will be a huge threat since he didn't win and wasn't an overt schemer/backstabber. He seemed to have a good relationship with Jinho from the chain auction episode, which could open his options up in terms of alliances. He also seemed to be on good terms with the players from his season, although I don't know if his relationship with Kyunghoon broke down during Doubting Yutnori.
DCK Auction Comment: He went to Dom for $64 out of the $100 cap, which is a huge amount for one player, but he may be worth it. I think he is that good.
2. Jinho
I don't think Jinho was better than all of the players below him, but I think his honest reputation and relationships with most of the cast members will aid him greatly this season. He is known to never betray his allies, (although Junseok may have something to say about that), which gives people a greater incentive to align with him. Additionally, due to being on seasons 1 and 2, guesting on season 3, and being on Crime Scene with Dongmin, I think he will have a lot of different options in terms of allies. He is good enough at the games that with these tools, he could be dangerous. I think he is close to Hyunmin in terms of equity in this cast, but I think the fact that he won previously may put a target on his back.
DCK Auction Comment: Kos got him for $12, which is an absolute steal in my opinion. If Hyunmin is worth $64, Jinho should at least be in the $40-50 range.
3. Dongmin
I think he was very good in his season. I think a lot of people give too much credit to Hyunmin for their alliance's success, but Dongmin's leadership and ability to get people to work with them was key for their alliance. Dongmin will probably work with Hyunmin again, which would be a huge help for his chances. I think he is good enough at the games to be a threat late, the whole f4 round seemed to be pretty fluky to me.
DCK Auction Comment: He went for $27 to Colin. I think this is a pretty fair price, maybe go to around the mid 30s on him.
4. Sangmin
The last of the big 4, I think he had the GOAT performance but is hurt in an all stars setup. He was a big schemer in both of his seasons, which could hurt his ability to get in a good alliance. Even Kyungran, who was a good ally in season 1, has a much more reliable ally in Jinho. However, Sangmin was insanely clever through most of his two seasons and was good at building relationships, so he still has a good bit of equity. I think the best scenario for Sangmin is that he gets caught in the middle of two alliances that feel like they have to limit each other's numbers before taking out Sangmin.
DCK Auction Comment: Kos got him for $42. I think that is a bit high due to all of the metagaming aspects of an all stars season, but Sangmin at his best has the potential to be worth it.
5. Yohwan
He was completely terrible as a team player last time, but he should theoretically do better with someone like Jinho, Sangmin, or Dongmin leading him to the end. I think he has the killer instinct and game ability to potentially do well if he can make it to the endgame. He and Youhyun are close friends, so he could have a bit more alliance options than it first seems.
DCK Auction Comment: He went to Dom for $21. Dom also left $15 on the table. In his situation, I'd have rather had a player like Dongmin for $36, but in a vacuum, $21 is a reasonable price.
6. Youhyun
7. Yeonseong
These two are too similar to me, so I will discuss them in one comment. I think they both have good game ability, nothing exceptional, as well as good social games. I think they are ranked a bit above Kyungran because I think they have the killer instinct to convert the endgame.
DCK Auction Comments: Yeonseung went to Kos for $15, which I think is a pretty good value. Youhyun went to Colin for $26, which I think is about even value, maybe a bit too high.
8. Kyungran
I think she is another player hurt by the all stars metagame. In her first season, she was always ranked in the middle of her alliance, so the opposing alliances would target someone easier to beat or a bigger threat, leaving her unharmed until the end. Here, there are a lot more threats so she may rank lower in her alliance. Still, her social game is very good and she also has an honest reputation. I think she lacks the killer instinct needed to close out the end of the game.
DCK Auction Comment: She went to Colin for $28. I think that is a bit too high, as she went higher than everyone but Hyunmin and Sangmin. Colin did use his last $28 on her, so it may have been justifiable in the circumstances.
9. Junseok
I think he has all the tools to do well, but am worried that the lack of experience (just the 123 game and the Layoff game) may hurt him. I also wonder what his relationships are like with the rest of the cast, since we've seen so little of him.
DCK Auction Comment: Kos got him for $25, which is pretty high for me. But I liked the values Kos got for Jinho and Yeonseung, so I suppose he could afford this.
10. Yoonsun
I think she has a bit of a threatening personality, which may hurt her. I think she may have a good mind for the games, but there isn't a ton to base that off of. She's mainly in this spot because I think the bottom three are almost drawing dead.
DCK Auction Comment: Went to Colin for $11. Seems fair, if a bit too high considering the values Kos got for Jinho and Yeonseung.
11. Kyunghoon
He was seen as untrustworthy due to the fruit stand game. He doesn't seem to have any special talents for the games like Junseok or Yoonsun. I think he has more potential than the next two, however.
DCK Auction Comment: Went for a measly $1 to Colin. Fair, but I'd spend more on him than the next two.
12. Junghyun
He was mainly carried via Sangmin, luck, and not being a target for the other players. He actually did decently, surviving 3 death matches before falling, but I don't think he will be able to convert in the lategame.
DCK Auction Comments: Colin got him for $5. Seems alright.
13. Jungmoon
She seemed pretty bad, or a nonfactor, in almost every game. Additionally, some of those games were so simple (like the Election Game or Abundance and Famine) that she doesn't have great experience. I have no reason to think she will be good.
DCK Auction Comment: Went to Colin for $2. Save your money and let someone else take her for $1.
I think Yohwan and Jinho were way underrated in that auction. Death match skill is going to translate to an all star season a lot more than main match skill imo. I'll be really impressed if Dongmin or Sangmin make it to the endgame now that everyone knows how they play and how good they are at it.
You can't really compare pick #1 to pick #13 in terms of cost. We all went in blind, so the order of nominations makes a huge difference. With only 13 players available, how much money we each had in relation to each other pretty much sealed the last ~third of the draft (when Yoohyun goes for an amount low enough that still leaves me in third place, the final three picks became "you each get one person, and Colin gets to pick first because he has the most money"). I wouldn't even look at the amounts in these types of drafts, as their "value" - or lack thereof - is directly impacted by the team they're on and in what order they were nominated.
re: Jungmoon, I put her up for $0 expecting to get her. Colin's bid was a minraise, as we agreed to raise each bet by at least $2. In his spot, bidding $2 is basically the same as bidding $0, so he's correct to do so. Again, don't draw information from the amounts IMO.
I still think Jinho for $12 is an absolute steal. If you figure that Junghyun, Kyunghoon, and Jungmoon will go for very cheap, you will have almost the entire $300 for 10 players, so theoretically the average player would be around $30. Even if you figure Hyunmin and Sangmin will go well above $30, it shouldn't drop Jinho all the way to $12.
