September 2, 2020 by Christopher Wiklund in Rankings with 0 comments
Can we take a minute to acknowledge that the Power Rankings are a bit wonky this year thanks to the coronavirus outbreak? Because our objective metric compares strength of field and purse, among other statistical measures, the European women—currently unable to travel to the United States—are most impacted. Real talk. The big three, Eveliina Salonen, Henna Blomroos, and Kristin Tattar, are top 5 players, and many of the 900+ rated crowd would easily make the top 25. Per Aaron Howard, “We didn’t think our metric would require a worldwide pandemic variable.” Leave us a comment: who would make our top 25 if the European swing had come to pass?
Methodology: We combine an algorithmic objective ranking with subjective ballots submitted by UWDG staff and subscribers. The algorithm uses a standardized scoring model to compare elite events, awards competition and cash bonuses, and features a decay function that gradually phases out past results. Staff and subscribers consider results from the past two months, prioritizing elite events in the U.S. and Europe. The most recent month receives priority over the previous month. Voters may consider other PDGA sanctioned events but observe the following hierarchy: Elite > A-tiers > B-tiers > C-tiers. For this edition of the Power Rankings, we prioritized the following tournaments:
| US Tournament | Dates | Euro Tournament | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ledgestone Insurance Open | Aug. 13-16 | ||
| Idlewild Open | Aug. 7-9 | ||
| Prodigy Disc Pro Tour - Kuopio | Jul. 31-Aug. 2 | ||
| Great Lakes Open | Jul. 24-25 | BDGC Alutaguse Open | Jul. 24-25 |
| Prodigy Disc Pro Tour - Tampere | Jul. 25-26 | ||
| Prodigy Disc Pro Tour - Turku | Jul. 10-12 | ||
| The Preserve Championship | Jul. 3-5 | ||
| Dynamic Discs Open | Jun. 26-28 | Prodigy Disc Pro Tour - Helsinki | Jun. 26-28 |
Let’s get to the results!
Power Rankings Top 10 are available to all Ultiworld Disc Golf readers. Want the entire top 25? You’ll have to be a subscriber.
MPO Power Rankings:
| Rank | Player | Change | Prior |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eagle McMahon | +1 | 2 |
| 2 | Ricky Wysocki | +2 | 4 |
| 3 | Chris Dickerson | +7 | 10 |
| 4 | Paul McBeth | -1 | 3 |
| 5 | Calvin Heimburg | -4 | 1 |
| 6 | Kevin Jones | +2 | 8 |
| 7 | Nikko Locastro | -1 | 6 |
| 8 | Adam Hammes | +1 | 9 |
| 9 | Andrew Marwede | - | |
| 10 | Drew Gibson | +2 | 12 |
1. Eagle McMahon
Rating: 1054
Last Month: 1st Place- Sparkman Monster (B Tier), Idlewild Open (DGPT)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: 1st place – Discraft Great Lakes Open, Idlewild Open
McMahon takes our top spot thanks to his win at Idlewild. McMahon is the only player to win two DGPT events this season, and is looking like he is the best player in the game right now. McMahon’s previous Elite Event wins all came on courses that were either wide open (The Memorial, GBO etc…) or more park style courses with some wooded elements (Konopiste, Beaver State). Idlewild is McMahon’s first Elite Event win at an undeniably WOODED course and should silence any lingering questions about if he could take down a W in the trees.
2. Richard Wysocki
Rating: 1047
Last Month: 4th Place- Idlewild Open, 1st Place- Ledgestone
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: 1st Place – Ledgestone
Making another leap for the second rankings in a row, Wysocki is our no. 2 player at the moment. Wysocki has been looking progressively stronger and more healthy all season, and his win at Ledgestone would certainly suggest he is back to feeling himself. Wysocki’s win at Ledgestone is especially impressive given the challenges both courses presented, the mid-western heat, and that Ledgestone was our first four round tournament of the season.
3. Chris Dickerson
Rating: 1046
Last Month: 1st Place- Where World’s Woulda Been (B Tier), 2nd Place- River City Open (A Tier), Idlewild Open (DGPT), 3rd Place- Ledgestone
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: 2nd Place- DGLO, Idlewild Open
Much of the discourse around Chris Dickerson over the past few weeks has been related to his slow starts at Elite Events, and his hard charges on Sunday. Some have suggested that he isn’t preparing well, or that there is some psychological factor at play here. I would suggest folks take a step back and consider that of the six A-tiers, including four elite events, that Dickerson has played this year he has only missed the podium once–an eighth place finish at DDO. Start putting some respect on the man’s name.
4. Paul McBeth
Rating: 1056
Last Month: 5th Place- Idlewild Open, 2nd Place- Ledgestone
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: 1st place – Dynamic Discs Open (DGPT)
McBeth continues his slide down our rankings. McBeth played well at Ledgestone, but was well out of contention when the final round started, and did not do well at Idlewild. McBeth hasn’t been in contention for the win since DDO, and one has to wonder how his ankle is holding up.
5. Calvin Heimburg
Rating: 1047
Last Month: 11th Place- Idlewild Open (DGPT), 6th Place- Ledgestone (DGPT)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: 1st place – The Memorial
Heimburg drops a couple spots to sixth after missing the top 10 at Idlewild, and a solo sixth place finish at Ledgestone. It’s hard to maintain the high level of play Heimburg showed at the start and middle of the season, and a fall back to earth was almost inevitable. The poor showing at Idlewild may be a source for concern as we head into the more woods course dominated portion of the season.
6. Kevin Jones
Rating: 1037
Last Month: 1st Place- Mid America Open, 14th Place- Idlewild Open, 5th Place- Ledgestone Open
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: 4th Place- DGLO
Jones is still in search of his first Elite series win this season. Jones has had his shots for sure, having been in or tied for the lead at several events, including Ledgestone where he was the leader after the first round.
7. Nikko Locastro
Rating: 1030
Last Month: 3rd Place- Mid America Open (DGPT Silver Series), 18th Place- Idlewild Open, 4th Place- Ledgestone
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: 1st Place- The Preserve Championship
Since his win at The Preserve, Locastro has been a bit up and down, but mostly up. Locastro has only missed the top 10 twice since the season re-start. Idlewild ate him up a bit, but his showing at Ledgestone is nothing to sneeze at.
8. Adam Hammes
Rating: 1039
Last Month: 2nd Place- Mid America Open (DGPT Silver Series), 5th Place- Idlewild Open (DGPT), 47th Place- Ledgestone
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: 5th Place- Idlewild Open
Hammes’s second place at Mid America is definitely worth nothing, and more in keeping with his pre-Covid shut down play in 2020. Hammes had a rough outing at Ledgestone, but if you look at his career, he usually bounces back strong from showings like those.
9. Andrew Marwede
Rating: 1027
Last Month: 1st Place- River City Open (A Tier), 3rd Place- Idlewild Open (DGPT), 2nd Place- Ledgestone Flex (C Tier), 11th Place- Ledgestone (DGPT)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: 3rd Place- Idlewild Open
Marwede makes his 2020 Power Rankings debut thanks to three straight podium finishes post-DGLO. He is the lowest rated player in our top 10, but as Charlie would say, it’s all about how you finish, and Marwede has strung together some impressive finishes this season and especially over the past month.
10. Drew Gibson
Rating: 1029
Last Month: 51st Place- Idlewild Open (DGPT), 7th Place- Ledgestone (DGPT)
2020 Best Elite Series Finish: 4th place – The Memorial
Glass Cannon Gibson couldn’t keep things under control at Idlewild, but a top 10 Ledgestone finish will do a lot of good for you.
Top 25 continues below.
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