Ray and Cotal are the original "Original Thinkers".
End of quote
Not too diminish both players impressive achievements, but Staffa redefined the whole concept of playing maso. Sure, others were playing maso before him, but Staffa started a movement to break down and examine the maso level of then. It was kind of like a version of the recent maso guide movement, giving details on how to beat and milk maso, but the primary purpose was to bring about reforms in the level and not to merely exploit it for points. Of course, in his day, it was how to score 23K and beat maso in his sleep. That was a staggering accomplishment for roughly 5 months ago.