Guide
Points & Handicap Explained
Everything you need to know about how points move and how the handicap system evens up the game.
How Points Work
- Every player has a numerical rating. New players start at 1500.
- Beating a stronger player earns you more points; losing to one costs fewer.
- Beating a weaker player earns you fewer points; losing to one costs more.
- Practice and exhibition matches never change your rating.
- New players are marked Provisional until they play enough rated matches.
- Tournament ratings only become official once the admin finalizes the tournament.
Tournament Winner Points
Winners earn points based on the tournament bracket size and how many players actually checked in.
WinnerPoints = BasePoints × (ActualPlayers / BracketSize)
8 players: 50 base pts
16 players: 100 base pts
32 players: 200 base pts
64 players: 400 base pts
128 players: 800 base pts
256 players: 1600 base pts
Winner receives
100 points
- A full bracket awards 100% of the base points.
- A partially filled bracket awards points proportional to participation.
- Larger tournaments remain more valuable than smaller ones.
Example
Tony (rating 1700) plays James (rating 1650). The rating gap is small, so points move a little:
- If Tony wins (the favorite): Tony +9, James -9.
- If James wins (the underdog): James +11, Tony -11.
The bigger the rating gap, the bigger the swing when the underdog wins.
Handicap Bands
The rating difference between two players is converted into a fair playing condition using the bands below.
| Level | Rating diff | Race | Rule |
|---|