A player’s Match Making Rank (MMR) then becomes a range (e.g. Glicko-2 (opens in new tab) is one such alternative, assigning a Ratings Deviation (RD) around a base number. Since the adoption of Elo, many variations have been designed to combat some of the system’s flaws.

Should the player of higher rank win, he’ll take significantly fewer points than the lower player would, outcome reversed. The difference between two competitor’s numbers indicates the expected outcome of the match, with the victor claiming points from the loser. Designed for player vs player competitions such as chess, each combatant is assigned a number to represent their rank. The more games you’ve played, the harder it will be to change your rank.Ĭhances are you’ve heard of Elo ranking. But back in 2015, a Valve employee let slip (opens in new tab) that CS:GO initially based its matchmaking on the Glicko-2 ranking system, though it has since been adapted and improved, involving some heavy modifications. Unsurprisingly, Valve has kept incredibly tight-lipped when it comes to the inner workings of its games, for fear that some players might game the system itself, prioritising their own progression over the success of their team.

But what does each rank actually mean, and how does the game determine where to place you?

The site’s random sampling technique means that because higher ranked players will, in general, play the game more often, they are disproportionately likely to be sampled. In fact, you might be even higher than you think. If you’ve made it to Legendary Eagle, congrats, you’re in the top 10 percent of players. In the sample above we can see that the majority of players are found in the Gold Nova bracket, with around 34 percent of all players placing here.

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