European eSports players can still improve their peak Elo in the FC Pro Open Ladder until 14 October in order to enter the Regionals. But how does the number come about that decides whether a player dreams of a World Cup or is eliminated from the season?
No knockout system, no table according to points or wins – the Peak-Elo determines in FC-24-eSport who advances from the FC Pro Open Ladder to the Regionals. In most regions, this decision has already been made. Only the players in Europe West and Europe East still have until 14 October to get hold of one of the 256 places. By increasing the said peak Elo, they can climb up the rankings. But how is this magic number determined?
That’s probably what many fans are asking themselves when they look at the top in Europe East. German pro Kamal ‘FCSP_Kamal’ Kamboj of FC St. Pauli has a much higher win rate (32 in 40 games) than his compatriot Denis ‘xDenis20’ Müller (50 in 83). Nevertheless, the latter is currently two places above him. This is because it is not the overall Elo that is used, but the peak Elo. The rating at the level of the creative power is used for the ranking.
“No special advantage” for frequent players
When asked by eSport,
EA SPORTS explained that the “relative skill level of the players is calculated”. All participants started the FC Pro Open Ladder with the same Elo. This would then be recalculated after each match. Decisive for this is not only the outcome of the match, but also the Elo that both opponents had at kick-off. Consequently, the skill of the respective opponent also plays a role.
The publisher states that there is “no special advantage” in playing more games than necessary. According to the rules, at least 20 games must be played per seven days. However, the Peak-Elo would not change if the eSports players stopped playing. And that is exactly why EA SPORTS introduced the system: “To encourage players to continue playing matches throughout the duration of the Ladder, ensuring a fluid matchmaking pool. “
Expectation scores against results
By the way, the publisher has not revealed any more precise insights into the algorithms used to create the Peak-Elo. In chess, where this evaluation method originally comes from, expected values and results are compared with each other from a mathematical point of view. The players’ expected values result from their previous elo’s in the matchup.
For example, if player A has an Elo of 1,120 and player B has an Elo of 1,130, the expected value reflects a narrow victory for player B. If the latter actually wins the game. If player B actually wins the game, his Elo will increase less than it would have if player A had won. Since he started the match as the favourite, so to speak.
The developer and his partner Battlefy, on whose site the FC Pro Open Ladder is organised, are also responsible for ensuring sporting integrity. This was particularly shaky at the beginning because the lack of stability of the site made matchmaking difficult. According to EA SPORTS, Battlefy has “implemented various fixes” since the launch of the ladder. Work is being done “around the clock” to improve stability, it added.
