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Collegiate Competitor
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: San Jose, California, United States
Age: 23
Stats: 5'9", 195 lbs
Posts: 15
BodyBlog Entries: 0
BodyPoints: 297
Rep Power: 0 
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1 Darrem Charles – This man is essentially the definition of consistency. He always brings a top package, and has placed higher than any of the other competitors lately. Johnnie Jackson may have the advantage being the returning champ, but has added the right amount of mass in all the right places since last years show, so as long as he brings the superior condition he is known for, he will most likely have enough to overthrow Jackson.
2 Johnnie Jackson - If Darrem Charles misses his peak ever so slightly, and Johnnie brings the same or better package he brought last year, he will retain his crown. Johnnie is known for packing a lot of dense muscle on a small frame, but has only won one show in his career, so he is still learning how to dial in his physique at the right time. Proportionally, he is huge for how much muscle he has given his height, but standing next to the other actual big guys in the lineup, he could easily drop a few places if his conditioning is way off.
3 Chris Cormier - It is hard to place Chris as he has been out of the game since the 2005 Olympia, but he is still a threat to the top contenders. In fact, if he comes in looking like he did at the San Francisco pro of 2005, the show is his. However, most pros who try to make a comeback (especially the ones lately; no names will be mentioned), usually fall short and have people saying “he should have quit while he was ahead.” Chris may not fall into this category as he has had much greater success in the past than anyone else in the lineup, but he is getting older, and he is most likely nearing retirement.
4 Troy Alves - Troy hasn’t done much lately, but looking at his guest posing pics from the 1st Annual Flex Wheeler Classic, he looks like he was in good shape for the coming contest. An expert once commented on how Troy often stresses out around the time of a contest, and in turn, ironically holds water because of the stress of not losing water fast enough. With his great balance and symmetry, if he can come in stress free (i.e. holding little water) he could place as high as third against this tough lineup.
5 Quincy Taylor - “The biggest man on the stage” as he always claims, may not be the biggest on this night with Joel Stubbs in the lineup. Luckily for QT, he’s got a much better balance than Joel, and usually much better conditioning. It is worrisome that he may not even place 5th since he thought it was a for sure win at Europa, but that definitely wasn’t close. Hopefully, he swallows his pride and doesn’t think that it was the judges fault (like he often does), and gets his act together. If he’s humble, he will place as high as 2nd, if hes stubborn, he could be as low as 8th.
6 King Kamali - King is definitely not blessed with the best physique, but he works with what hes got. In the past he has been like Quincy Taylor in that he thinks the world is against him, but thankfully, in recent he has taken responsibility for his poor placings, and it has brought him up through the ranks. His placing depends on his condition more than most since he doesn’t have much symmetry working in his favor, and he isn’t the biggest guy in the line up.
7 Joel Stubbs - The biggest back in the world needs to definitely bring his legs up. It wouldn’t be surprising if he hasn’t done it in the past year since he had such a long way to go since the last time he competed, so unless a miracle occurred, it’s safe to say he will break top 10, but not top 5.
8 Matt Duvall - I consider Matt to be similar to Will Harris: They both won the show that turned them pro, but ever since entering the pro ranks, they haven’t done much, even though they are definitely equipped with the right tools. But at Europa, Big Will made his breakthrough, and I believe it is Matt’s turn soon. He is a dark horse who could easily upset the top 5 balance, but if he continues as he has done in the past, we won’t be seeing him in the final posedown.
9 Mike Asiedu - Placing 6th last year at the same show was pretty impressive, but the line up seems much better this year than last. He could be the next Silvio Samuel or Eddie Abbew – a no name competitor who turned pro in another country and one day shows up with a package the judges cannot deny. If anyone in the lineup can cause a big surprise, Mike Asiedu is the one to do it.
10 Henderson Thorne - Another competitor from last year. Out of all the other competitors listed at this time of writing this, he placed the highest. I generously placed him 10th, but realistically, I don’t think he can achieve this high a ranking.
2nd question:
As I mentioned before, I believe Mike Asiedu could be the guy who has made the most improvements since last year in order to move up the ranks and is probably the most underrated guy in the line up (relative to what he deserves).
Bonus Question: I have been to Montreal, but I have never been there when the contest was held. In fact, according to records, it seems like the Montreal Pro is just a replacement for the Toronto Pro which was held until 2005, and then stopped. The solution: the Montreal Pro to help out all the Canadian Pros who wanted to compete.
Last edited by aznrapsta; 08-28-2007 at 07:29 PM.
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