Ratings Guide
Every rated match nudges your number. Beat stronger opponents to climb faster. Lose to weaker ones and you tumble. Sweep your bracket, ride a hot streak, or stay idle for too long — it all changes the math.
The Basics
Every player begins at the same number — 1200, a solid mid-pack starting point. From there, the ladder is yours to climb.
Beating a stronger opponent is worth more than steamrolling a weaker one. Playing twice as much doesn't make you climb twice as fast — playing better does.
From Iron to Champion, every threshold is a milestone. Once you reach a higher tier, a rating floor protects your hard-earned progress.
The Ladder
Each tier covers a 300-point band. Your tier badge appears next to your name everywhere — brackets, leaderboards, and your profile.
Champion
The void crown.
Platinum
Elite contender.
Gold
A name to fear.
Silver
Sharpening your edge.
Bronze
Building the foundation.
Iron
The first step.
Once you reach a milestone (1400, 1600, 1800, 2000), you can never drop more than 200 points below it. A bad weekend won't erase months of climbing — your ceiling stays where you earned it.
The Math
Don't worry — you don't need to do this in your head. The system runs it for you instantly.
In plain words: the system predicts how likely you were to win. If you over-perform that prediction, you climb. If you under-perform, you drop. The bigger the surprise — and the more dominant the result — the bigger the swing.
You're rated 1400. You beat someone rated 1700.
Beating a much stronger player rewards a big chunk.
You're rated 1700. You beat someone rated 1400.
Stomping a weaker opponent barely moves the needle.
The Speed Dial
The K-factor decides how dramatically each match swings your rating. New players move fast so they reach their true level quickly. Established players move slower to keep things stable.
| Player State | K | Why |
|---|---|---|
| New (under 15 matches) | 75 | Find your true level fast. |
| Established, below 1200 | 60 | Still learning the ropes. |
| Established, 1200–1599 | 45 | Solid mid-tier movement. |
| Established, 1600–1999 | 36 | Competitive tier — earned, not given. |
| Established, 2000+ | 30 | Elite. Every point matters. |
Dominance Bonus
Best-of series produce one rating update — not one per game — but how decisive the result was shifts the size of the swing. Sweepers gain more. Grinders gain less. Applied to both the winner's gain and the loser's loss.
×1.30
Clean Sweep
3-0 or 4-0. You dropped zero games — and the rating math knows it.
×1.15
Strong Win
3-1 in Bo5, 4-1 in Bo7. Comfortable, never in doubt.
×1.00
Close Series
3-2, 4-3. Could have gone either way. Standard math applies.
Bo1 matches always use ×1.00 — there's no series to dominate.
Momentum
Consecutive results in the same direction stack a multiplier on top of the standard math. It cuts both ways — winners on a run gain more; losers on a slide lose more. A reversal resets the streak to zero.
| Streak Length | Multiplier | Feel |
|---|---|---|
| 3 in a row | ×1.10 | You're cooking. Or you're tilting. |
| 5 in a row | ×1.20 | Rising fast. Or freefalling. |
| 7+ in a row | ×1.30 | Cap reached. Every result echoes loud. |
Example — Hot Streak
You win your 5th match in a row. Streak multiplier is ×1.20. If the base K-factor is 45, your effective K becomes 54. Bigger swing, bigger climb.
Example — Cold Streak
Three losses in a row. Streak multiplier is ×1.10 on the loss side. A fourth loss costs you 10% more than it normally would. A single win snaps the streak — back to zero.
Use It Or Lose It
Ratings are a measure of current skill — not a trophy on a shelf. Stop playing and the number drifts back toward the mean.
Grace Period
21 days
After your last rated match. Nothing happens during this window — life gets in the way of tournaments sometimes.
Decay Rate
−15 /week
Once past the grace period, your rating ticks down each elapsed week. Catch up with a single tournament and the timer resets.
Floor Protection
∞
Decay can never push you below your tier floor. The ceiling you earned stays earned, even if you take an off-season.
Provisional players (under 15 matches) are exempt — their rating is still finding its level, no point clawing it back yet.
What Counts
First 15 Matches
Until you've played 15 rated matches, your number is still finding its true level. We mark you as Provisional and use a bigger K-factor (75 instead of 30-60), so each match swings you faster.
Once you cross 15 matches, the tag clears automatically and your rating settles into normal movement. You stay visible on the leaderboard the whole time — beginners aren't hidden, just tagged.
Provisional players are also exempt from inactivity decay — your number won't drift while you're still finding your level.
Fair Play
Throwing matches to drop into easier brackets is detected by rating floors and admin flags.
The same two players facing off repeatedly gets flagged automatically — collusion is hard to hide here.
New accounts have a fast K-factor — a smurf hits their true rating in 10 matches, well before they can dominate.
When players disagree on a result, an admin steps in and the match is rated based on their decision — not the disagreement.
Every match is a chance to move up. Find a tournament, sign up, and put your number on the line.
