What binds MMR, Rank, and Points? What is worth knowing about this system?
MMR – Matchmaking Rating or the matchmaking system is a very important element of ranked games. It allows you to match players of a similar level to create fair games.
The MMR is secret because Riot thinks giving it out of context would be of little use to players as a hard skill indicator. The ranks are intended to be a more readable representation of the implicit MMR.
How does MMR work?
MMR can be viewed as an overall skill level, while rank is a fluid estimate of the player’s current situation.
Rank helps show where you are in the ladder compared to other players and shows your progress in the form of tiers and divisions.
Although the relationship between rank and MMR is hidden, players can observe it in another well-known system, league points.
If you score roughly the same LP for wins as you lose for defeats, your MMR and rank are roughly equal. In other words, the system considers your current rank to be a fair reflection of your skill level.
Riot also explains how the implicit MMR indicator affects the number of league points you receive when you get or lose.
When your MMR is significantly higher than the rank, the system will try to put you in the correct position on the bracket, giving you more LP after each victory and take away less LP after defeat.
While we are trying to give teams around a 50% chance of winning each game, the number of wins may not reflect this. And that’s how it is supposed to be! You can fail for any number of reasons.
Regardless of the cause, a few consecutive failures are a signal to our system that your rank and MMR are no longer compatible. To close this gap, you will lose more LP with each defeat until your win ratio is even.
The system also provides points for people whose allies left the game. To receive compensation, players will need to meet the following conditions:
- They are on the losing team.
- They lose PL (if someone has 0 PL in the 4th division of the circle, they will not receive PL consolation).
- They were playing on the same team as the player leaving.
- They do NOT belong to the pre-arranged group of players caught leaving.
- They do not play promotion series (no LP is gained or lost in the promotion series).
If all these conditions are met, you can take a look at the PL animation after the game is over and you will probably see a small injection of PL – this is consolation PL! Keep in mind, however, that the PL pool of consolation you can get during the week is limited, so if you have an exceptionally bad streak of weakening, consider taking a short break.
Each player has a separate MMR for normal, solo/duo, and flexible queue. This way, you don’t have to worry about a defeat streak in the flex queue impacting your solo/duo MMR.