• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 23:04
CEST 05:04
KST 12:04
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
[ASL22] Ro16 Preview: Rough Waters8[ASL22] Ro24 Preview: Siren's Call8[ASL22] Ro24 Preview: Summer's End9Serral wins HomeStory Cup 2915Serral wins Maestros of the Game 244
Community News
Weekly Cups (Aug 30-Sep 7): herO thrives amid growing schism4Official StarCraft website teases new content ahead of BlizzCon?117Stellar Fest TWO the Moon (Dec 16-20)9Weekly Cups (August 24-30): Patches' balance mod takes over3New 3v3 BGH Ladder (and more) on ShieldBattery!46
StarCraft 2
General
Weekly Cups (Aug 30-Sep 7): herO thrives amid growing schism Nexon wins bid to develop StarCraft IP content, distribute Overwatch mobile game Balance hotfix patch 5.0.16b (July 16) SC4ALL: II Winner Will Earn a Spot at HSC 30! Weekly Cups (August 24-30): Patches' balance mod takes over
Tourneys
Sea Duckling Open (Global, Bronze-Diamond) 2026 GSTL Announcement Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament Stellar Fest TWO the Moon (Dec 16-20) IntoTheTV X SOOP SC2 League : Weekly & Monthly
Strategy
[G] Having the right mentality to improve
Custom Maps
Nexus Wars 2021 GUIDE [M] (2) Industrial Park
External Content
Mutation # 542 The Ascended Mutation # 541 Binary Choice The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 540 Dodge This
Brood War
General
ASL22 General Discussion Official StarCraft website teases new content ahead of BlizzCon? Pros React To: Calm's Big Brain Play Vs Mini New 3v3 BGH Ladder (and more) on ShieldBattery! BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/
Tourneys
[ASL22] Ro16 Group B [Megathread] Daily Proleagues 2v2v2v2 Tournament [ASL22] Ro16 Group A
Strategy
Replay Review Process - What do you do? Simple Questions, Simple Answers Odyssey Mineral Stack Saturation Game Theory for Starcraft
Other Games
General Games
Nintendo Switch Thread EVE Corporation Diablo IV [Maplestory Hardcore] Let's Play~!! General RTS Discussion Thread
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
[TL LoL EUW IHs] Teemo shall perish TSM pausing esports and CLG Dead
Heroes of the Storm
Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug
TL Mafia
TL Mafia Power Rank TL Mafia Community Thread NeO.D_StephenKing vs This Guy From 1 Million Dance
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Trading/Investing Thread Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine Russo-Ukrainian War Thread UK Politics Mega-thread
Fan Clubs
MarineLorD Fan Club The Creator Fan Club The ShoWTimE Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
Movie Discussion! Anime Discussion Thread
Sports
Football (Soccer) Thread TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023 MLB/Baseball 2023
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread
TL Community
The Automated Ban List Northern Ireland Global Starcraft
Blogs
F* the Children and Get Off …
TrAiDoS
Dreaming of BW patches (mod…
c3rberUs
Regacy Esports: The Bh…
regacyesports
LOCKPICKING NOOB
LUCKY_NOOB
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 8198 users

[G] Comprehensive SC2 League and Ladder Guide - Page 14

Forum Index > SC2 General
Post a Reply
Prev 1 12 13 14 15 16 84 Next
SDream
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
Brazil896 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-04-03 05:01:42
April 03 2011 02:01 GMT
#261
On April 03 2011 10:24 Incanus wrote:
I've been following this whole ladder analysis chain of threads since beta, but something very interesting just happened which I cannot explain.

Last season I was ~35th diamond. This season, my placement match was against a diamond player who went mass void rays (yes, cannons straight into void rays), and whined about the matchup being broken when I walked into his base. As a result I got into platinum. Nothing too special so far... However, 4 games later, after accumulating 98 points total, I got into diamond, with 122 points. What's the explanation behind this?

Edit: Ah, I guess... When you get promoted, your new rating is C + bonus pool, regardless of what your previous points were?


Edit: As Lysenko said bellow, your points are reset to 73 + spent bonus pool, but your matchmaking rating won't change because of a promoting/demoting.
DarthLeader
Profile Joined May 2010
Canada123 Posts
April 03 2011 04:10 GMT
#262
Thanks a lot for posting this !
You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.
Lysenko
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
Iceland2128 Posts
April 03 2011 04:17 GMT
#263

Edit: Ah, I guess... When you get promoted, your new rating is C + bonus pool, regardless of what your previous points were?


Your rating (MMR) does not change, but your point total does.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysenkoism
Gulzt
Profile Joined August 2009
Netherlands275 Posts
April 04 2011 20:21 GMT
#264
@Excalibur_Z
I was wondering about something. I saw on the EU forums that someone noticed that he is facing a lot of Mirror Matches. I've kept the stats of every ladder match I played in a spreadsheet and I conclude this is actually the case for me too: (btw I play zerg, EU, Platinum)
Season 1: (EU server): 88x ZvZ, 66x ZvT & 77x ZvP (note the funny coincidence it's all a multitude of 11)

Now in Season 2: (EU server), (I realize it's less matches): 13x ZvZ, 6x ZvT & 9x ZvP

Eventhough Zerg isn't the most played race (in platinum, EU) Over the course of 259 games I've faced 39% mirrors (ZvZ), 28% vs Terran, and 33% vs Protoss.

Now is this coincidence? Or is there an explanation in the system? I have at least a small hint that this could be on purpose. I win more than 50% of my ZvZ games, while I win less than 50% in my ZvT & ZvP.. since the system tries to keep my W/L-ratio at 50%, could it be it searches for more ZvZ matches, helping me out in keeping my W/L-ratio to 50%? What do you think?
Excalibur_Z
Profile Joined October 2002
United States12252 Posts
April 04 2011 21:29 GMT
#265
On April 05 2011 05:21 Gulzt wrote:
@Excalibur_Z
I was wondering about something. I saw on the EU forums that someone noticed that he is facing a lot of Mirror Matches. I've kept the stats of every ladder match I played in a spreadsheet and I conclude this is actually the case for me too: (btw I play zerg, EU, Platinum)
Season 1: (EU server): 88x ZvZ, 66x ZvT & 77x ZvP (note the funny coincidence it's all a multitude of 11)

Now in Season 2: (EU server), (I realize it's less matches): 13x ZvZ, 6x ZvT & 9x ZvP

Eventhough Zerg isn't the most played race (in platinum, EU) Over the course of 259 games I've faced 39% mirrors (ZvZ), 28% vs Terran, and 33% vs Protoss.

Now is this coincidence? Or is there an explanation in the system? I have at least a small hint that this could be on purpose. I win more than 50% of my ZvZ games, while I win less than 50% in my ZvT & ZvP.. since the system tries to keep my W/L-ratio at 50%, could it be it searches for more ZvZ matches, helping me out in keeping my W/L-ratio to 50%? What do you think?


I really really doubt it. There's not enough evidence for or against to say for sure, but a truly unbiased system would want to ignore such and instead match players solely by MMR. If anything you're getting more mirrors because the maps you vetoed aren't good for your race in general, and the other people who play your race feel the same way.
Moderator
aristarchus
Profile Blog Joined September 2010
United States652 Posts
April 04 2011 21:32 GMT
#266
On April 05 2011 06:29 Excalibur_Z wrote:
Show nested quote +
On April 05 2011 05:21 Gulzt wrote:
@Excalibur_Z
I was wondering about something. I saw on the EU forums that someone noticed that he is facing a lot of Mirror Matches. I've kept the stats of every ladder match I played in a spreadsheet and I conclude this is actually the case for me too: (btw I play zerg, EU, Platinum)
Season 1: (EU server): 88x ZvZ, 66x ZvT & 77x ZvP (note the funny coincidence it's all a multitude of 11)

Now in Season 2: (EU server), (I realize it's less matches): 13x ZvZ, 6x ZvT & 9x ZvP

Eventhough Zerg isn't the most played race (in platinum, EU) Over the course of 259 games I've faced 39% mirrors (ZvZ), 28% vs Terran, and 33% vs Protoss.

Now is this coincidence? Or is there an explanation in the system? I have at least a small hint that this could be on purpose. I win more than 50% of my ZvZ games, while I win less than 50% in my ZvT & ZvP.. since the system tries to keep my W/L-ratio at 50%, could it be it searches for more ZvZ matches, helping me out in keeping my W/L-ratio to 50%? What do you think?


I really really doubt it. There's not enough evidence for or against to say for sure, but a truly unbiased system would want to ignore such and instead match players solely by MMR. If anything you're getting more mirrors because the maps you vetoed aren't good for your race in general, and the other people who play your race feel the same way.


I thought all the speculation would seem to imply that map vetos don't matter, since the number is limited enough that whoever they pair you with, they can find a map that works for both of you. Is there some reason to believe map vetos effect matchmaking?
Phinix
Profile Joined October 2010
United States116 Posts
April 04 2011 21:40 GMT
#267
On April 05 2011 06:32 aristarchus wrote:
Show nested quote +
On April 05 2011 06:29 Excalibur_Z wrote:
On April 05 2011 05:21 Gulzt wrote:
@Excalibur_Z
I was wondering about something. I saw on the EU forums that someone noticed that he is facing a lot of Mirror Matches. I've kept the stats of every ladder match I played in a spreadsheet and I conclude this is actually the case for me too: (btw I play zerg, EU, Platinum)
Season 1: (EU server): 88x ZvZ, 66x ZvT & 77x ZvP (note the funny coincidence it's all a multitude of 11)

Now in Season 2: (EU server), (I realize it's less matches): 13x ZvZ, 6x ZvT & 9x ZvP

Eventhough Zerg isn't the most played race (in platinum, EU) Over the course of 259 games I've faced 39% mirrors (ZvZ), 28% vs Terran, and 33% vs Protoss.

Now is this coincidence? Or is there an explanation in the system? I have at least a small hint that this could be on purpose. I win more than 50% of my ZvZ games, while I win less than 50% in my ZvT & ZvP.. since the system tries to keep my W/L-ratio at 50%, could it be it searches for more ZvZ matches, helping me out in keeping my W/L-ratio to 50%? What do you think?


I really really doubt it. There's not enough evidence for or against to say for sure, but a truly unbiased system would want to ignore such and instead match players solely by MMR. If anything you're getting more mirrors because the maps you vetoed aren't good for your race in general, and the other people who play your race feel the same way.


I thought all the speculation would seem to imply that map vetos don't matter, since the number is limited enough that whoever they pair you with, they can find a map that works for both of you. Is there some reason to believe map vetos effect matchmaking?

I think Excalibur_Z was trying to explain there are too many factors that could be attributed to Gulzt's pattern of opponents to start making any serious claim at an intentional mechanic in the MMR system...

As an example in addition to map veto:

Perhaps Gulzt also tends to play during times where those race ratios are common,...
(ie: More Zerg playing, less Terran playing)
There were definite trends in the Myers Briggs data collection that showed a clear personality bias for the race population distribution... so why not similar trends for daily/hourly active race density?
My wife thinks day[9] is hot
Luxer
Profile Joined April 2010
Germany10 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-04-05 00:41:48
April 04 2011 21:46 GMT
#268
mhh im faceing many mirror matches too.

21 x ZvZ (63% winratio)
14 x ZvP (28% " )
14 x ZvT (57% " )

i didnt used sc2gears for season1 and dont have many replays from s1 ;|

i know thats not enough games to say anything about it, but it looks similar according to gulzt post.

Gulzt
Profile Joined August 2009
Netherlands275 Posts
April 05 2011 07:48 GMT
#269
@Excalibur_Z
I agree with that my profile alone is no proof, but it's interesting if it were to be true. How about your own stats?

I only voted down "delta quadrant", and only since season 2. I didn't vote down a single map in season 1. The time of play could play a role but that's not very likely either, since I play at varying times: morning, afternoon, evening, weekend, every day of the week, though I tend to play slightly more in the evenings during the week..

@ Luxer, in what league are you?
Phinix
Profile Joined October 2010
United States116 Posts
April 05 2011 14:42 GMT
#270
@Gulzt - In case you're interested, my sc2gears data is as follows:
ZvP - 96
ZvT - 96
ZvZ - 101

I veto'd maps I didn't like in Season 1. Trying to not do it any more.
My wife thinks day[9] is hot
TestSubject893
Profile Joined September 2009
United States774 Posts
April 05 2011 14:48 GMT
#271
People have speculated in other threads that ZvZ is the most common matchup for many Zerg players because ZvZ has the shortest average duration out of any matchup, meaning that at any time, there are more Z players searching for games than players of other races. This is purely speculation though.
Gulzt
Profile Joined August 2009
Netherlands275 Posts
April 05 2011 14:55 GMT
#272
On April 05 2011 23:48 TestSubject893 wrote:
People have speculated in other threads that ZvZ is the most common matchup for many Zerg players because ZvZ has the shortest average duration out of any matchup, meaning that at any time, there are more Z players searching for games than players of other races. This is purely speculation though.


Sounds like a reasonable speculation, but aren't PvP games the shortest currently? Wouldn't I face more toss players? Especially since Protoss is the most played race in every europe league...
Phinix
Profile Joined October 2010
United States116 Posts
April 05 2011 15:47 GMT
#273
On April 05 2011 23:55 Gulzt wrote:
Show nested quote +
On April 05 2011 23:48 TestSubject893 wrote:
People have speculated in other threads that ZvZ is the most common matchup for many Zerg players because ZvZ has the shortest average duration out of any matchup, meaning that at any time, there are more Z players searching for games than players of other races. This is purely speculation though.


Sounds like a reasonable speculation, but aren't PvP games the shortest currently? Wouldn't I face more toss players? Especially since Protoss is the most played race in every europe league...


I don't know...
I've seen a lot of Zerg rage quit on me the moment they saw me block my ramp with two Queens so their Baneling all in was inevitably going to fail...

I'm not sure how fast PvP is usually over, but ZvZ seems to only go more than 10 minutes when both players push for a macro game like I do,... and many of my ZvZs last 8 minutes or less. :-(

Does a PvP often end right after that 6 minute timing push?

Otherwise, it sounds like a valid thought to me,...
My wife thinks day[9] is hot
Gulzt
Profile Joined August 2009
Netherlands275 Posts
April 05 2011 17:43 GMT
#274
@Phinix in the GSL they tend to be shorter than the ZvZ matches if I'm not mistaken. Still, given that PvP is short too (even if it's longer), and more people play toss than zerg; it seems not to be the most convincing explanation (though I can't disproof it either)
loadme
Profile Joined April 2010
171 Posts
April 05 2011 17:43 GMT
#275
thanks for summarizing this. it helped me a lot to understand some twists.



here are two cases that I found hard to understand. now I am a bit closer.

1) - instantly promoted to masters after inactivity
4 Month ago, I played around 50 games 33random (41-10) and got promoted to diamond. Until Season 2 I never played 33random again. Now I won 1 game and got instantly promoted to diamond. This is what I wasn't expecting at all.

2) - I am winning and winning in 44random, but don't get promoted.
I was on 100 games in 44random (diamond) last season and won ~75%. Not much, but not the worst thing.
Patch 1.3 was released and three days before league promotions were re-enabled, I started pumping mass 44random games. All in all, since patch1.3 I won around 40 games and only lost 3. I still don't get promoted and don't know what else I have to do. Now I am leading my division with 20% more points than next places. Winning game after game.. but I dont get any promotion.
Each game results in +4 up to +14 points.




Your post made become more patient for that whole promotion demotion thing.
Especially the activity informations enlightend me. Thanks
Yes.
phate
Profile Joined August 2010
81 Posts
April 05 2011 23:32 GMT
#276
Thanks for the great work. Your guide has been invaluable in describing the ladder system.

On March 18 2011 05:52 Excalibur_Z wrote:
- Players really are "locked" into GM league based on their MMR's moving average for the entire season until they accumulate 270 bonus pool, at which point they're dropped and a slot opens up. If they stay below 270 they won't be removed even if better players emerge.


To clarify, this means that the people promoted to grandmasters after 2 weeks will not be the same 200 at the top of sc2ranks, but the 200 with the highest MMR (assuming they meet the bonus pool requirements).
Barbiero
Profile Blog Joined September 2010
Brazil5259 Posts
April 06 2011 00:02 GMT
#277
I'll add my data about MUs too, in case anyone is interested:

Season 1(Platinum):
Total Games: 314
ZvZ: 110 - 44% Win ratio
ZvP: 109 - 56% Win ratio
ZvT: 95 - 50% Win ratio

Season 2(Platinum -> Diamond -> Platinum, 6 total games as plat):
Total Games: 52
ZvZ: 21 - 28% Win ratio
ZvP: 14 - 71% Win ratio
ZvT: 17 - 52% Win ratio

On a note, I'm below 50% on season 2(25-28, 1 disc)
♥ The world needs more hearts! ♥
Kyamo
Profile Joined March 2011
Canada129 Posts
April 06 2011 13:22 GMT
#278
Of my last 68 games:
28/68=41% PvP
26/68=38% PvT
14/68=21% PvZ

The highest % is mirror for me as well. If the theory about there being more zergs queuing due to short games were true, everyone should match up with more zergs. That isn't true in my case.

Comparing to race statistics for NA plat from sc2ranks: P-33% T-25% Z-31% R-11%. The random players should draw each race equally, so the opponent race distribution should look like P-37% T-28% Z-35%. It appears that in my games, Terrans have been overrepresented, and Zergs underrepresented. 68 games is not that many, but I would have thought it was enough for a 14% difference just by chance to be unlikely. I think I have scrap station and delta quadrant vetoed.
ch33psh33p
Profile Blog Joined October 2010
7650 Posts
April 06 2011 14:36 GMT
#279
Excalibur, I have a quick question about placement into the GM league.

Its based purely on moving average MMR and not simply top 200 in points correct? So even though a player may not be currently in the top 200 in points, as long as he is only matched up against top 200 players, and appears even or favored from the top 200 player's persepctive, he should have no trouble getting in.

Yes, no?
secret - never again
Excalibur_Z
Profile Joined October 2002
United States12252 Posts
April 06 2011 15:07 GMT
#280
On April 06 2011 23:36 ch33psh33p wrote:
Excalibur, I have a quick question about placement into the GM league.

Its based purely on moving average MMR and not simply top 200 in points correct? So even though a player may not be currently in the top 200 in points, as long as he is only matched up against top 200 players, and appears even or favored from the top 200 player's persepctive, he should have no trouble getting in.

Yes, no?


That's right.
Moderator
Prev 1 12 13 14 15 16 84 Next
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
PiGosaur Cup
00:00
#98
PiGStarcraft569
davetesta29
Liquipedia
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
PiGStarcraft569
RuFF_SC2 174
StarCraft: Brood War
Rain 2345
GuemChi 1594
910 75
sSak 33
Terrorterran 17
Yoon 8
Dota 2
monkeys_forever427
LuMiX1
Counter-Strike
m0e_tv475
Other Games
summit1g9540
JimRising 414
C9.Mang0396
WinterStarcraft304
hungrybox278
Maynarde84
ViBE72
[ Show 12 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• Berry_CruncH295
• EnkiAlexander 61
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• Migwel
StarCraft: Brood War
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
Dota 2
• masondota2616
League of Legends
• Lourlo851
Upcoming Events
Kung Fu Cup
7h 56m
Replay Cast
20h 56m
The PondCast
1d 6h
KCM Race Survival
1d 6h
Escore
2 days
IntoTheTV X SOOP
2 days
CranKy Ducklings
3 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
4 days
Shopify Rebellion Sundays
4 days
Spirit vs Mixu
Clem vs TBD
RSL Revival
4 days
[ Show More ]
BlizzCon
4 days
Replay Cast
4 days
Afreeca Starleague
5 days
WardiTV Weekly
5 days
Afreeca Starleague
6 days
GSL
6 days
PiGosaur Cup
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Proleague 2026-09-08
PiG Sty Festival 8.0
Big Dog Cup 2026 Div 1

Ongoing

KCM Race Survival 2026 Season 3
K-JUNGMAN
ASL Season 22
Super Anchor Qualifying S3
CSL 2026 AUTUMN (S22)
Acropolis #5
Acropolis #5 - TRS
RSL Revival: Season 6
Calamity Invitational
FISSURE Playground #3
BLAST Open Fall 2026
Esports World Cup 2026
BLAST Bounty Summer 2026
BLAST Bounty Summer Qual
Stake Ranked Episode 3
XSE Pro League 2026

Upcoming

Escore Tournament S3: King of Kings
Acropolis #5 - GSA
Blizzard Classic Cup 2026
Acropolis #5 - GSB
Acropolis #5 - GSC
SC4ALL II: Brood War
HSC XXX
Stellar Fest 2: Lunar Cup
SC4ALL II: StarCraft II
Kung Fu Cup 2026 Grand Finals
RSL Offline Finals
Blizzard Classic Cup 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 6
BLAST Rivals Fall 2026
IEM Beijing 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 5
PGL Masters Bucharest 2026
1win Private Club #2
Thunderpick World Champ. '26
ESL Pro League Season 24
Stake Ranked Episode 4
1win Private Club #1
Logitech G Play Connect 2026
SL StarSeries Fall 2026
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.