2012: Ryan has something to prove.

Ryan. Two people come to mind at the mention of the name.

First, there’s the player who rode a 5-0 run into the inaugural CCFA Championship game and upset Seth in the Outcast Invitational. This player entered the 2011 season with enormous hype and a tournament with his name written all over it. This Ryan won a hard-fought 10-9 match against the defending Champion, Jared.

Then, there’s the Ryan that we all saw stumble to a 6-5 record in 2011, dropping from the top spot in the league to third after being beaten twice by Jared, and suffering losses to the likes of Alex and Jerome. Ryan lost thousands from a once electrified fan base. What happened?

“I think I had some emotional problems that interfered with my game,” Ryan told reporters. “But that’s all over now. I think this season is going to be a whole other ballgame.” This explanation makes a lot of sense. A very low morale cost him the Campbell Classic, forfeiting the first game of the tournament. A similar attitude was apparent in a midseason loss to Alex, the last game that Ryan agreed to play in the 2011 season.

Ryan needs to make a move that will restore confidence in his fans, and one that will rocket him to the top of the new rankings. It sounds a lot like he’s put last season’s disappointment behind him, but he needs to prove that. In short, he needs to challenge the player who started it all to kick off his season. If Ryan is serious about reworking his image, he needs to play Jared.