Ratings
How Rocket Draft Rates RLCS Players
This is the transparent breakdown of how every player overall is built — the two layers behind the number, what the calculation weighs, and why some special cards rate above their base versions. If you have ever asked why a player carries the overall they do, this is the answer.
How overalls are built: base plus manual review
Every player overall is built in two layers. First, a calculated base derived from results and context. Then a hand manual review — led by GWR, who balances the player ratings — because esports data misleads on its own. Some players overperform statistically due to context; others are historically elite despite worse team results. The manual adjustment is typically small — around ±3, with exceptional cases reaching ±5. The goal is a number that respects both the spreadsheet and the history.
What the calculation considers
The calculated base weighs a wide spread of historical signal: team placement, tournament tier, season strength, win rate, titles, Major and Worlds appearances, Top 4 and Top 8 finishes, individual stats where available, region strength and context, and consistency across events. No single stat line decides an overall — the base reads the whole career arc across RLCS history from 2016 to today.
The six stats behind every card
Six internal stats feed the match simulation and give cards their depth. Offense covers scoring and pressure. Defense is stability and avoiding bad losses. Mechanics is ceiling — the explosive, high-roll games. Consistency reduces collapse and variance. Experience rewards longer series and playoff runs. Clutch shows up in Game 5 and Game 7, overtime, and close series. Together they shape how a roster actually plays out.
Why special cards can beat base cards
Special cards are rare versions tied to iconic Rocket League esports moments — Worlds and Major MVP runs, legends, signature plays. Because they capture a peak, a special card can rate above its base version. "Pinch God" (kuxir97, Season 2 World Champion and Worlds MVP) or "Four Times World Champion" (Turbopolsa) are not just reskins — the effect ramps with the moment. There are 84 special cards to unlock by finishing a run with one drafted.
How team rating works: overall stays dominant
A team rating is driven mostly by player overalls. Chemistry, org buffs, coach effects and special-card boosts add the edge — they never replace overall as the main factor. That said, a coherent, high-chemistry roster can beat a higher-rated all-star mix, so the top overall is not always the smart pick. On Hard and Legacy, chemistry is asymmetric: it helps your team while AI opponents bank no bonus.
How SAM and region players are rated
Region-Locked Draft narrows the pool to one scene's full depth. South America (SAM) is live now, hand-researched from Liquipedia, covering Brazilian and South American teams — its World Championship rosters plus the regional Top 8 that never reached Worlds. Those players carry the same two-layer treatment, with region strength and context already folded into the base. A confirmed SAM name in the pool: yanxnz.
How often ratings are reviewed
Ratings are not frozen. They are reviewed and updated over time as the methodology is refined and as history is re-read with fresh eyes. The community can push back on any overall — this page exists so those conversations start from a shared, honest baseline rather than a black box.