There is a big difference between someone's actual level and their raw talent. You can be relatively untalented but get to a super high level in this game through sheer hard work, grinding and determination. Milo (aka Blank) is probably the best example of this. He wasn't a top level player the first several years he played. However much like with his weight lifting exploits, he put in the hard time grinding in the practice lab and helped his game to become an elite level.
I myself am not actually all that talented. I got to a decent level by playing a lot. I have faced many players who ascended at a far faster rate than myself and are clearly more talented in the game. There are many players like myself who got to a high pro level by grinding the 2v2 or 1v1 scene game after game. However you clearly notice when a special talent comes along.
I think what separates the absolute top players from the rest is that they have both. Raw talent and hard work/practice. You need both if you want to succeed at the very top of the game.
Some of the most talented players I have faced include Jacob and Mclovin. They learned the game at a rapid rate within a couple of years. They were already top 10 level players after 2 years of playing. Mclovin was clearly exceptionally talented from the early beginning. Within his first couple of months playing on Liquid I already thought he was extremely strong. I didn't play for about 2 years before the pandemic and I remember once I returned I found out that the new [Mclovin-TA] was one of the absolute best players in the game on the 1v1 scene. I wasn't at all surprised. McLovin had gone from that raw talented liquid player and grown into an absolute machine with aggressive early Q.
Similarly, Jacob is clearly extremely talented in terms of raw speed and play. I would say even to this day he is more of a "rough diamond" than Mclovin. Mclovin was definitely the stronger player at peak. I think this is because Jacob is somewhat stubborn and refuses to adapt his game to "standard" or "conventional" build orders. Often he will make plays and deploys which are baffling to other players. Plays that could be said to be "bad meta". Somehow he makes it work but I think it is fair to say he has got to where he is today based on raw speed and talent. He has room for improvement which is quite scary actually.
Faust is another extremely talented player. The guy basically played part time and was still one of the top tier top 3 players in our game when he was active. He would literally disappear for months playing other games, then show up and win tournaments. The guy is freakishly talented and I think if he put in the hardcore milo-esque training he would possibly be the best player in the game. Faust's loss to Beast in their 1v1 match is well documented. I think it highlighted the importance of having both talent/hard work. Beast was putting in the practice and constructed an expert gameplan to dismantle Faust, whereas Faust just basically showed up, played, and got his ass kicked.
Speaking of Beast. This player and his oft compared friend and rival, Mr Ford, are 2 other extremely talented players. Beast makes lots of high level split-group and sneak attack plays which are beyond the skills and capabilities of regular pro players. He thinks on a different level to the regular pro which is what separates him from most of the rest. Ford, too, has an exceptional talent for grasping the mechanics and maths of the game. He is able to create off-beat tactics and make them work. We can thank Ford for revolutionising the GQ aspect of the game in the mid 2010s. These 2 are a great example of how high the level can reach if you have both raw talent and hard work.
Another player to note is the Finnish Grandmaster, At0m1. The zippo master was well known for his rapid ascension to the top of the game. He was already a top 5 level talent tanker within 6 months of playing. However it is true that he did play in a relatively "dead" era of the game. Still it cannot be denied that At0m1's raw grasp of the game is very noticeable, this is evidenced in his videos, which still demonstrate a very high level of play, even by today's standards At0m1 - YouTube . Still, due to the fact that he didn't really play actively in a competitive era, you could say that we never really got to see the best of At0m1.
Gravediga was also a very talented player. This guy (due in part to my trash-talk and training), rapidly ascended in the game during his peak 2017 era. He had an exceptional grasp of game awareness and was very strong in terms of knowing when to adapt or read the game. The problem the standard pro has is that they will often just play mechanically and hope for something to change (robskate and sputnik are good examples of this). The extremely talented players are able to switch things up on the fly.
I would say even players such as Ehy and NastyNate fall into the more "hard work" than "talented" category. They both reached an extremely high level but it is true that they did play thousands and thousands of games. I think in terms of raw talent there are others out there.
What about players such as RC1985? I would say RC was a bit more like myself. He had a good grasp of the game, but he did pile in the hours and practice hard to reach a high level. There have definitely been players with more raw talent than RC, and I am sure he would agree with this sentiment. Yuzgen is a very talented player but he is limited by raw mechanical speed. It's true that you can see from watching his streams that his brain for the game is exceptional. However his execution falls a little short of the top level because he isn't as fast in terms of production and mouse speed.
Blitz was a very talented player. He had zen level tanking skill. He was also very lazy and refused to properly learn some aspects of the game. I think if he had the same attitude and approach as say a Milo or an RC1985, he would have reached the very top of the game. Dynamic is a hard one to assess because yes he rapidly ascended in the game, however he did play 1000s of games for 6 months, 12 hours per day. He also brought experience in other RTS games to the table. However it was very obvious from very early on that Dynamic's ability in terms of micro play in the game was extremely high.
A final special mention before I reveal the ultimate winner must be given to the Chinese player known as Pinky323. He played very briefly during the early 2010s and I never saw him lose a single game. Even on 2v2 with At0m1 he won with all teams. He was, I believe, some friend or relative of ORA-SAM-wk and was some sort of starcraft2 pro. He was said by the Chinese to be superior to even Yaunger on Chinese Gaming Arcade so you know this guy was the real deal. Still, this was a very long time ago so I can't give him the primary spot.
All of the players I just mentioned pale in comparison to the talent of the "most talented" player I am about to reveal. Myself, RC and Ford have discussed this in the past and there was one player who stood out above all others. A player who basically never played or even enjoyed Red Alert for any substantial period of time whatsoever but who can show up and destroy platinum medal on the first attempt which every other pro thought was impossible at the time. A player whose micro play is second to none and who would easily be the strongest player in the game if he put in any amount of effort. This man/monster/machine is the Danish Tiberian Dawn legend, Lovehandles. Yes, Lovehandles is without a doubt the most talented player I have faced in my time playing competitive online Red Alert. I have not seen any other player compete in games after 3 years of not playing and be able to perform at as high a level as Lovehandles does (he was even able to win some 1v1s against peak Ehy despite not playing for 2 years). Every single other player needs at least a few games to "shake off rust" but Lovehandles just shows up and it's like he never was away. The below video is a great example. Tanja is a top 10-20 level very strong player who was very active a couple of years ago. Lovehandles just shows up after several years of not playing and demonstrates his titanic tanking skills.
To conclude. The answer to this question was actually straightforward. You will probably never get the chance to play with Lovehandles because he doesn't even like Red Alert. That's the scary and sad part. You will struggle to find a more humble and nicer player as well which is even more important.
Thanks for reading.