🏓 Canadian Tornado Ranking System

🎯 Rating Scale (0-5000)

Ratings range from 0 to 5000+ with no upper cap for elite players.

⚡ How Ratings Change

After each match, the winner gains points and the loser loses points. The amount depends on:

• Rating difference: Beating a higher-rated player = more points
• Event tier: Open events have higher stakes than Amateur events
• K-factor: Base volatility of 32 points per match

🏆 Tournament Bonuses

Top 5 finishers in each event receive bonus points from a pool:

• Open events: 320 point pool
• Expert events: 160 point pool
• Amateur events: 80 point pool

🌱 CSV Seed Ratings

This system uses manually curated seed ratings from a CSV file as starting points:

• Masters: Seeded at 4000
• Top players: Seeded at 3000-3999 (Pro)
• Strong players: Seeded at 2000-2999 (Expert)
• Average players: Seeded at 1500-1999 (Amateur)
• New players: Default to 1500 (Amateur)

📋 View the full seed ratings CSV →

🎾 Separate Singles & Doubles

Players have independent ratings for singles and doubles:

• A player can be Amateur in singles but Expert in doubles
• Each category tracks its own win rate and match count
• Tournament bonuses apply to the relevant category

👑 Grand Master Flair

The Grand Master flair is an unofficial recognition (like chess Super GM) for players who demonstrate exceptional dominance:

• Rating gap: 500+ points above average Master
• Win rate: 75%+ overall win rate
• Titles: 3+ tournament wins
• Experience: 30+ matches played

🏅 Grand Masters are still in the Master tier - the flair is purely honorary recognition of elite status.

📊 Why This Algorithm?

After testing 6 different approaches, CSV-Seeded was chosen because:

• ✅ Players start at their known skill level
• ✅ Uses human judgment for initial placement
• ✅ Rewards proven track records
• ✅ Creates meaningful tier separation
• ✅ Stable and predictable ratings
• ✅ Zero-sum transfers prevent inflation