How rankings work

Everyone starts at 1000. After every match, the winner takes points from the loser. How many depends on how surprising the result was: beating a higher-rated player earns more than beating a lower-rated one, and losing to a lower-rated player costs more.

Before each match your expected score is worked out from the gap between the two ratings. After the match your rating moves by K × (result − expected), where a win counts as 1, a draw as ½ and a loss as 0.

Examples for players past placement (K = 24).

Your first 3 matches of a season are placement. Ratings move faster during placement (K = 64 instead of 24) so new players reach their level quickly. For example, a first win against an equal opponent is worth +32.

While in placement you're Unranked: you don't get a tier or position and are hidden from the leaderboard unless "Show players still in placement" is ticked. After 3 matches you join the ranked ladder.

• Constructed 1v1 events at GGs (Nexus Nights 1v1, Summoner Skirmish and other tournaments), from October 9, 2026.
• Every round counts, including top cut.
• Not counted: sealed events (e.g. Pre-Rift), multiplayer pods, Learn to Play, and byes.

Results come from each event on playriftbound.com and are added every night at 11 PM, so the leaderboard updates the night after an event.

Your tier comes from your Elo once you're past placement. Everyone starts at 1000 (Gold), and each tier is 50 Elo wide. The #1 ranked player is the Challenger.

• Challenger#1 on the ladder
• Grandmaster1250+
• Master1200–1249
• Diamond1150–1199
• Emerald1100–1149
• Platinum1050–1099
• Gold1000–1049
• Silver950–999
• Bronze900–949
• Ironbelow 900

Tiers don't depend on how many players there are: anyone can reach Diamond or higher by winning, and your tier only changes when your own rating does.

Won the last event? You have a bounty on your head (🎯 on the leaderboard). Anyone who beats you in the next rated event earns +5 extra Elo on top of the normal result.

Winning an event also earns +5 Elo. The champion doesn't lose anything extra, so winning is never punished. The bounty moves to whoever wins the next event.

Badges you earn from your results, across every season. Each shows how many players have it, so you can see how rare it is. Find them on your player page.

• First WinWin your first rated match.
• RankedFinish placement (3 matches in a season).
• ChampionWin an event.
• FlawlessWin every match of an event (3+ rounds).
• ComebackLose round 1 of an event, then win every round after (3+ rounds).
• Giant SlayerBeat a player rated 100+ above you.
• On FireWin 5 rated matches in a row.
• Rising StarReach 1100 Elo.
• EliteReach 1200 Elo.
• RegularPlay 10 rated events.
• VeteranPlay 100 rated matches.
• King of the HillBe #1 on the ladder.
• Bounty HunterBeat the champion of the previous event.

Seasons follow Riftbound set releases. When a new season starts, every rating moves halfway back toward 1000 and everyone plays placement again, so returning players keep part of their standing without locking newcomers out.

Earlier seasons stay viewable from the season picker. The Vendetta season is shown as it was under the previous LP-based ranking.