All CS:GO Ranks and How the System Works

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is one of the most competitive games in the world, as the first-person multiplayer shooter relies on fast reflexes and solid team tactics in order to win. Players have continued to improve their skills in competitive matches as the game has supported ranked matches for a decade.

Players who would like to participate in the Competitive playlist in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive will first have to play unranked matches of Arms Race, Casual, Deathmatch, or Demolition until reaching level two. Then, they will be placed in one of several ranks to climb the competitive ladder. This guide will help players identify how many ranks there are in total and how the ranking system works in CS: GO.

All CS:GO Ranks

There are 18 ranks split among six tiers: Silver, Gold Nova, Guardian, Eagle, Supreme Master First Class, and Global Elite. Players receiving a rank for the first time after the introductory period can only be placed in the first four tiers, while Supreme Master First Class and Global Elite have to be earned after the initial placement. Here is the full list of all 18 ranks in order of lowest to highest rank:

Silver I (S1)
Silver II (S2)
Silver III (S3)
Silver IV (S4)
Silver Elite (SE)
Silver Elite Master (SEM)
Gold Nova I (GN1)
Gold Nova II (GN2)
Gold Nova III (GN3)
Gold Nova Master (GNM)
Master Guardian I (MG1)
Master Guardian II (MG2)
Master Guardian Elite (MGE)
Distinguished Master Guardian (DMG)
Legendary Eagle (LE)
Legendary Eagle Master (LEM)
Supreme Master First Class (SMFC)
Global Elite (GE)

How The CS:GO Ranking System Works

New players to the Competitive playlist will first have to win 10 games before they get ranked. This will place them in one of the ranks listed above, and many will most likely skip the first couple of low ranks.

According to Valve, the game uses a modified Glicko-2 ranking system that gives players a hidden matchmaking rating (MMR) depending on their performance during a match. A string of bad performances will bring players to a lower rank while winning matches and becoming MVP of the match multiple times will increase the chance of going up a rank.

Players will not be able to know how many competitive matches it will take before seeing a rank change, and it is possible to continue staying within a rank if performance is steady and does not change. However, players who take an extended break from playing ranked matches will have their rank suspended until they win a specific number of matches to be placed again.