Ranked play
Also said as Ranked, Competitive mode, Ladder, Tiers, Seasons, Rank inflation
A separate mode in which matches count, showing your standing as a named rank, such as Gold or Diamond. Those ranks are usually lines drawn across a rating, with a few extra rules.
It gives people a goal, and a reason to get better for years. Ranks are also a reward, so there is pressure to make climbing feel good, and paying out more than it takes makes every rank mean less.
Say it
“Six tiers on hidden MMR, with the top tier at the top 1%. A win and a loss at equal rating must move you by the same amount, and we soft-reset by 20% each season.”
Where you’ve seen it
League of Legends has ten tiers from Iron to Challenger. It added Iron and Grandmaster for the 2019 season and Emerald in 2023.
Not to be confused with mmr
Rank is the badge, and MMR is the number behind it. They can drift apart, which is why you can be placed with players from a different rank.