The default "Top 20 (Elo)" ranking is powered by a custom Elo rating system built specifically for 1v1 matchups. Here's exactly how it works.
Every player starts at a rating of 1200 Elo. After each recorded match, the winner takes points from the loser — how many points depends on how "surprising" the result was. Beating a much higher-rated opponent earns a big swing; beating someone far below you barely moves the needle.
Every match starts from a base K-factor (the maximum points on the table) of 24. Several modifiers then adjust that swing up or down for a given match, described below.
Beating a higher-rated opponent gives extra credit on top of the standard Elo math; losing to a lower-rated opponent costs extra. This is currently weighted heavily, so upsets move the leaderboard a lot.
Bigger score margins produce bigger Elo swings. A blowout win is worth a bit more than a buzzer-beater.
Pay-per-view matches carry more weight — wins are boosted and losses are cushioned, since PPV games tend to feature the best competition.
Matches older than a year already count for half as much; this setting discounts them further the older they get, so a player's rating reflects recent form more than ancient history.
Players tagged NBA, G-League, or Pro (overseas or Big 3) don't get any inherent rating boost themselves — they still have to earn their record like everyone else. But beating one of them gives the winner a flat bonus on top of the normal Elo swing, based on the highest tier that player holds:
A player needs at least 5 recorded matches to appear in the Top 20 (Elo) leaderboard, so a single lucky or unlucky result can't put someone at the top (or bottom) of the rankings. Their Elo is still tracked behind the scenes as soon as their first match is recorded.
Every other tab on the Players page is a straightforward stat sort — no Elo math involved:
Every modifier above is a tunable slider. If you don't agree with how the official ranking is weighted, you can build and save your own version with the same formula.
