CS:GO Ranks And How They Work

One of the issues in Counter-Strike games is finding similarly skilled teammates and opponents or those with the same level of play, and the developers created the CS:GO ranking system to address this problem. We'll show you, how this ranking system works. We also have a look at the e-sport rankings of CS:GO.

CSGO Operation Broken Fang Operators
We'll show you how the Ranking system in CS:GO works. | © Valve, Hidden Path Entertainment

Not everyone understands how the rank system in CS:GO works. And that isn't bad at all, because it isn't easy to understand. We took a closer look and summarized it for you. We show you how the Rank system in CS:Go works, how many wins you need to rank up how to effectively rank up and what the average CS:GO rank ist.

How Does the Rank System Work In CS:GO?

Before your CS:GO profile is assigned a rank, you’ll have to accumulate ten competitive victories. Depending on how you did personally and how long it took you to get these ten wins, you will be allocated one of the 18 ranks within CS:GO.

  1. Reach profile level 2
  2. Win 10 games (two wins per day max.)
  3. Get your CS:GO rank

According to Valve, the CS:GO ranking system follows a modified Glicko-2 system. This algorithm evaluates a player’s skill pool based on their round influence and whether their team wins the round. This part is very important! It means you need should always play for the round win, not for kills. Deaths, MVPs, assists, damage given, and bomb plants all play into a hidden number that determines your place within your rank. You can boast an insane 30 kill game, if your team lost, you won’t rank up.

How Many Wins Do You Need to Rank Up In CS:GO?

There is no certain number of wins that will grant you an up-rank, but if the average rank across both teams is higher than your current rank, you are close to a rank-up. Sometimes you will de-rank one loss after you have acquired a new rank and sometimes after de-ranking you will regain your former rank after just one win. On average, you will have to post a win streak of 4-5 games to attain a higher rank.

How Do You Rank Up in CS:GO?

In CS:GO you go through the ranks Silver 1-4 Silver Elite, Silver Elite Master, Gold Nova 1-3, Gold Nova Master, Gold Nova Master Elite, Master Guardian 1-2, Master Guardian Elite, Distinguished Master Guardian, Legendary Eagle, Legendary Eagle Master, Supreme Master First Class and The Global Elite. That's 18 ranks in total that you have to make your way through.

The single most efficient way of ranking up consistently in CS:GO is winning as a team. Trounce your opposition on a regular basis, and you’re going to move up the ladder sooner than later. Lose and you’ll be stuck in Silver forever.

Most beginners, unfamiliar with the ranking system, assume that simply getting kills will get you promoted through the ranks. Such an assumption would be wrong.

Personal stats like number of kills, kill-to-death ratio, round MVP titles etc. do matter, but will not get you any higher in the ranks. Stats’ main role is to contain your current rank, as the game algorithm takes into account that you might be playing well on a bad team and tries not to punish you for that.

What Is The Average CS:GO Rank in 2022?

CS Go Average Rank
The average CS:GO Rank in 2022 | © Valve, Hidden Path Entertainment / EarlyGame

The most players are racked in the Gold Nova ranks. Moving up from these ranks is also the most difficult. And huge respect for the 0. 75% who play in Global Elite.

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Who Is the Best CS:GO Player?

Coldzera Blast Premier
Here are the best players and teams in CS:GO in 2022 | ©Premier

Of course, we can argue who the best player in CS:Go is. Many will say that must be S1mple. There are also plenty of arguments for this, such as the award for Player of the Decade at the IEM Rio Major 2022. And actually, we agree with you, but if you just look at the numbers, there's actually a better one.

In 2022 the best players were:

  1. Zyw0o
  2. S1mple
  3. Device
  4. NiKo
  5. Electronic

How Are CS:GO Pros Ranked

How are these standings determined you might ask? Well, for players there is the CS:GO database HLTV.org. They analyze each player's stats and weigh them according to importance. Just like Google can’t talk their algorithm HLTV doesn’t just publish their way of calculating player-ratings. But from how they argued in their Top 20 players of 2020 we can deduce a few things:

  1. MVPs und EVPs are extremely important. The bigger the event the player got the award, the better.
  2. Big tournament finishes are just as important as individual awards.
  3. Context is key. If you dominate against weak opponents it doesn’t really amount to much. If, on the other hand, you prove yourself against the best of the best, then we’re talking.
  4. Consistency matters. If you only have two or three great showings, but let your team down otherwise, your ranking will suffer.

What Is the Best CS:GO Team

As in most other sports, there is a world ranking for the teams. Teams earn points throughout the year, and more points means a higher position. So far, so easy. However, the ESL differentiates between the events and that also makes sense. Once in size and once in quality rating.

  • Size: XXL (22+ teams), XL (14+ teams), L (10+ teams), M (6+ teams), S (4+ teams). A minimum of top-ranked teams for each category is also determined in our rules.
  • Quality Rating: AAA, AA, A, B, C, D. These are all determined based on the number and ranks of top 12 teams participating.

If you win more big, high-quality tournaments, it is better for your position. These top 5 teams have done this best in 2022:

  1. Astralis
  2. Vitality
  3. BIG
  4. Navi
  5. Heroic / Virtus Pro

The points gained at events will slowly decay and thus decrease. Additionally, if a player leaves the team and is replaced, the team will lose 20% of their points.