Finnerdt

<div>We are incredibly excited to announce the annual Shift Top 20 Players ranking will make its return for 2023! This tradition, inspired by <a href="https://www.hltv.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">HLTV.org</a>’s annual Counter-Strike <a href="https://www.hltv.org/news/35306/top-20-players-of-2022-introduction" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Top 20</a>, was started in <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/articles/announcing-the-octanegg-top-20-players-of-2021-ranking" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">2021</a> under <strong>Octane.gg</strong> and continued under Shift in <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/articles/announcing-the-shift-top-20-players-of-2022" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">2022</a>. This year, we have made some adjustments to the formula based on feedback, and will also be a lot more transparent with the methodology behind the ranking, which you can see in the section below the schedule.</div><div><br></div><div>The article schedule for this year is as follows. Please note that these dates are subject to change based on certain unannounced event schedules. This list will be updated as each player is revealed, so be sure to revisit this page so you don’t miss anything!</div><div><br></div><ol><li>🇫🇷 Axel "<a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/articles/top-20-players-of-2023-vatira-1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Vatira</a>" Touret</li><li>🇫🇷 Yanis "<a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/articles/top-20-players-of-2023-alpha54-2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Alpha54</a>" Champenois</li><li>🇫🇷 Alexis "<a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/articles/top-20-players-of-2023-zen-3" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">zen</a>" Bernier</li><li>🇫🇷 Brice "<a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/articles/top-20-players-of-2023-exotiik-4" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ExoTiiK</a>" Bigeard</li><li>🇫🇷 Andrea "<a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/articles/top-20-players-of-2023-radosin-5" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Radosin</a>" Radovanović</li><li>🇲🇦 Amine "<a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/articles/top-20-players-of-2023-itachi-6" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">itachi</a>" Benayachi</li><li>🇵🇱 Oskar "<a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/articles/top-20-players-of-2023-oski-7" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Oski</a>" Gozdowski</li><li>🇧🇪 Tristan "<a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/articles/top-20-players-of-2023-atow-8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Atow.</a>" Soyez</li><li>🇬🇧 Finlay "<a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/articles/top-20-players-of-2023-rise-9" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">rise.</a>" Ferguson</li><li>🇫🇷 Evan "<a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/articles/top-20-players-of-2023-m0nkey-m00n-10" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">M0nkey M00n</a>" Rogez</li><li>🇨🇱 Victor "<a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/articles/top-20-players-of-2023-reysbull-11" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Reysbull</a>" Duran Parra</li><li>🇫🇷 Enzo "<a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/articles/top-20-players-of-2023-seikoo-12" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Seikoo</a>" Grondein</li><li>🇬🇧 Jack "<a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/articles/top-20-players-of-2023-apparentlyjack-13" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ApparentlyJack</a>" Benton</li><li>🇪🇸 Cristian "<a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/articles/top-20-players-of-2023-crr-14" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">crr</a>" Fernandez</li><li>🇺🇸 Nick "<a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/articles/top-20-players-of-2023-chronic-15" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Chronic</a>" Iwanski</li><li>🇵🇹 Bruno Alexandre "<a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/articles/top-20-players-of-2023-acronik-16" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">AcroniK.</a>" dos Santos Lopes</li><li>🇺🇸 Massimo "<a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/articles/top-20-players-of-2023-atomic-17" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Atomic</a>" Franceschi</li><li>🇸🇦 Yazid Abdullah "<a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/articles/top-20-players-of-2023-kiileerrz-18" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Kiileerrz</a>" Bakhashwin</li><li>🇺🇸 Jason "<a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/articles/top-20-players-of-2023-firstkiller-19" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Firstkiller</a>" Corral</li><li>🇺🇸 Logan "<a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/articles/top-20-players-of-2023-lj-20" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Lj</a>" Wilt</li></ol><div><br></div><h2>Methodology</h2><div>A key point of criticism of last year’s ranking was the lack of clarity on how the list is determined. To address this issue, we have decided to increase our transparency on the methodology so it is easier to understand why some placements may not match your expectations. It should also be noted that the list only considers 3v3 tournaments, so competitions like <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/events/f5ed-gamers8-2023" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Gamers8</a> and <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/events/b665-the-salt-mine-3-europe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Salt Mine 3</a> are not included.</div><div><br></div><div>Ranking player performances over the course of an entire year means taking every single (relevant) event into account. To limit the influence of recency bias, we split up the year into four ‘quarters’. Initially, the four quarters for 2023 were planned to be as follows:</div><div><br></div><div><strong>Q1</strong>: RLCS 22-23 Winter Split (including preceding offseason events from January 1st onwards, e.g. <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/events/1f44-g1-invitational" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">G1 Invitational</a>)</div><div><strong>Q2</strong>: RLCS 22-23 Spring Split (including all events between the <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/events/c02f-rlcs-2022-23-winter-major" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Winter Major</a> and the <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/events/467d-rlcs-2022-23-world-championship" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">World Championship</a>)</div><div><strong>Q3</strong>: <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/events/467d-rlcs-2022-23-world-championship" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">RLCS 22-23 World Championship</a></div><div><strong>Q4</strong>: Offseason and RLCS 23-24 Fall Split</div><div><br></div><div>Of course, with the change in the RLCS scheduling and the extended offseason, we have had to make a suboptimal adjustment where Q4 only consists of the offseason. Since Q4 does not contain any premier 3v3 competitions, other than perhaps <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/events/37a0-flip-and-spin" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Flip &amp; Spin</a>, we have also decided to lower the weight of Q4 in the formula relative to the other three quarters for 2023. Normally, each quarter would hold the same weight in the formula. Finally, it should be noted that the ranking is not yet finalised and will cover all tournaments up to and including the <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/events/b899-oxg-holiday-invitational" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">OXG Holiday Invitational</a> on December 19-20.</div><div><br></div><div>Within each quarter, four different categories factor into the formula: Online Rating, LAN Rating, Tournament Placements, and Committee. The first two factors are fairly self-explanatory; a player’s online rating and offline rating (the latter can be 0 for players who did not compete at a LAN in the marked timeframe). We are more than aware that the current rating formula is flawed and often not as accurate a metric as we would like it to be, but it can still go some way to quantifying a player’s impact on the pitch, especially over a large sample size such as an entire RLCS Split worth of data. These two factors also serve to increase the degree of objectivity in the formula. Ranking Rocket League players’ performances only using objective criteria is a near-impossible task due to the ambiguity many currently existing metrics possess. An easy example is demolitions: without a way to assign a value to each individual demo, a high Demos per Game can either connotate a player’s worth in creating space for their teammates or indicate they are frequently out of position with no influence on direct play.</div><div><br></div><div>Either way, these two factors have only a minor effect on the overall ranking relative to the other two. The next factor, Tournament Placements, highlights the importance of achieving high placements in events, reflecting a player’s team’s collective performance. Event placements are assigned points based on prominence; a deep run at a Major is worth much more than an identical result in a Regional. Only S, A, and B-Tier events are taken into account to determine the ranking. This factor makes up a significant chunk of the formula, although not as much as the final component.</div><div><br></div><div>Finally, we put together a committee of experts to help improve the accuracy of the rankings. Committee members submitted subjective rankings for each quarter, consisting of the 30 best players of that timeframe based on individual performance and team results. Another quirk of the unconventional 2023 event schedule was the large disparity in prominence and number of tournaments between regions during Q4. For example, South America had four B-Tier events or above, while North America has had more than ten. Additionally, some players, especially those that are vying for a spot in the Top 20, barely competed in offseason events since almost all tournaments were B-Tier or below. <a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/players/3eb6-firstkiller" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Firstkiller</a>, for example, has no 3v3 results so far this offseason.</div><div><br></div><div>It should also be noted that Q4 uses a different formula than the other parts of the year. Due to the aforementioned differences in tournament frequency and relevance, creating a subjective player ranking over this period is not feasible. Additionally, there was only one high-profile LAN event. As such, Q4 only consisted of player rating and tournament results. This is another reason why we decided to lower this quarter’s weight.</div><div><br></div><div>This approach is what eventually produces the Top 20 list. Consistency is rewarded; sitting out or missing an RLCS Split will severely harm your chances of appearing towards the top of the rankings, while steady if unspectacular results can award you a spot on the outer edges.</div><div><br></div><div>Links to the hub articles of past years can be found below:</div><ul><li><a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/articles/announcing-the-shift-top-20-players-of-2022" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">2022</a></li><li><a href="https://www.shiftrle.gg/articles/announcing-the-octanegg-top-20-players-of-2021-ranking" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">2021</a></li></ul><div><br></div><div><strong>Writer</strong>: Finnerdt</div><div><strong>Editors</strong>: Jens Koornstra &amp; Elliot McSheen</div><div><strong>Thumbnail</strong>: Martin Faltus</div>

We are incredibly excited to announce the annual Shift Top 20 Players ranking will make its return for 2023!

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