Team ratings (rating fixed partnerships)

A team rating gives a fixed partnership (two players who always play together) a single Elo number that reflects how they perform together, rather than a weighted average of their individual histories. Enable Team Rating Mode and the pair becomes the rated entity.

Two parallel systems, one switch

Every game updates both individual player ratings and, if the pair has a team record, team entity ratings, kept separately for your group or division.

The Team Rating Mode setting in Group Settings → Ratings controls which one drives standings and mixing:

Mode	What it does
Individual ratings (weighted average)	Individual player ratings guide the mixer and order the standings.
Team entity ratings	The team's shared Elo is the authority for mixing, standings, and expected-score calculations. Individual ratings still update in the background as a secondary stat.

Both modes keep accumulating ratings. Switching modes changes what's used, not what's recorded. If you flip between them you won't lose history in either system.

How a team's Elo works

The math is identical to individual Elo: blowouts move ratings more than close games, and beating a stronger pair pays more than beating a weaker one. See How Elo ratings work for the full breakdown.

The rating change is then split between the two partners based on the Highest player responsibility setting. Equal-rated partners split the change evenly. As the gap grows, the lower-rated partner takes more of it, because a result tells you more about the lower-rated player, down to a floor for the stronger partner's share (30% by default). You can set that floor anywhere from 30% to 70% in Group Settings → Ratings.

Team names

Each partnership can have a custom team name stored on its record. If no name is set, the public ratings page and standings display show "Player1 & Player2" as a fallback. You can set or change a team name at any time without affecting the underlying rating or game history.

Team identity

A team is identified by its two players. If a partnership breaks up, their team record goes inactive; if they reunite, the same record reactivates with full rating and game history intact. A player who pairs with someone new gets a brand-new team record starting at the group's default rating; the old team's history stays with the old pair. A team that has never played starts at that same default with no placement advantage from individual histories.

An event partner pairing can create a team record before the pair ever plays. If it was a brand-new pairing (or one reaching into a higher division) and the partnership dissolves before the pair records a game, that fresh record is retired automatically; an unplayed pairing never occupies a division or affects either player's standing. Like any inactive record, it reactivates with its name intact if the pair re-forms or plays together later.

Decay for teams

Inactivity decay works the same for teams as for individuals: only the visible rating shown in standings decreases; the real rating is untouched and comes back the moment the pair plays again. Teams with zero games played are never decayed, since there's nothing to decay from.

See Inactivity decay for the full decay schedule and how it's restored.

In a ladder league

Team ratings are scoped per division. When a partnership promotes or relegates, a new record is created in the target division (or a prior record there is reactivated if the pair has played in it before). Histories from different divisions are kept separate and never merged.

Teams sparing in a higher division get a separate record there, starting at the default rating. The home-division record stays active; sparing doesn't change a team's official tier.

For how promotions, relegations, and spares interact with team records, see Individual vs team mode.

Managing teams from the dashboard

The Teams page at /dashboard/teams lists the team records your group has accumulated. It only appears in the sidebar when Team Rating Mode is enabled.

What you see

Each row shows the team's display name, both players' names (when a custom name is set), current rating, games played, and when the pair last played. A "U" prefix means the team is still in its placement window; updates are larger during this period while the rating settles. The Total Teams count reflects how many records are loaded with the current filter.

Searching

The search bar filters by team name, either player's name, or the "Player1 & Player2" default display name. Results update as you type.

Showing inactive teams

Inactive teams are hidden by default. Check Show inactive to include them. Their rating and game history are intact; this only filters the list.

Creating a team manually

Click + Create Team, pick two players by name, and optionally give the pair a custom team name (up to 100 characters; leave blank and it defaults to "Player1 & Player2"). You can also set a seed rating, a starting number that overrides the auto-calculated value derived from the players' individual ratings. The form includes a Link players as fixed partners checkbox, which connects them in the players list so the mixer treats them as a pair.

A team record is created automatically the first time two players play a game together while Team Rating Mode is on. Manual creation is only needed if you want to pre-set a seed rating or name before any games are recorded.

Editing a team

Click the ⋮ button on any team row to open its options menu:

Action	What it does
Edit Team Name	Set or clear the custom name. Clearing reverts to "Player1 & Player2".
Edit Seed Rating	Override the starting rating used if the pair has no game history yet. Accepts values from 0 to 9999.
View Game History	Browse the full list of games the team has played, with scores and rating changes.
Delete Team	Removes the record permanently. Only available when the team has zero games played; teams with any history cannot be deleted.

Seed ratings

The seed rating is the starting point used the first time PickleFriend calculates an expected score for that team. Leave it blank and one is derived from the two players' individual ratings. Set it manually when you're migrating from another rating system and already have a known number for the pair.

After the team's first rated game, the seed has no further effect; live Elo takes over from that point.

What's next

• How Elo ratings work: the score-based math behind individual and team Elo.
• Placement games: how early games are weighted while ratings settle.
• Individual vs team mode: choosing the right mode for a ladder league.
• Group Settings: where to enable Team Rating Mode and adjust the rating settings.