> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.uniocean.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.uniocean.io/forecast-platform/rewards/rankers.md).

# Rankers

Rankers are the highest-ranked forecasters in a market — the most accurate predictors who earn the largest individual rewards.

## How Many Rankers?

The number of Rankers scales dynamically with market size:

| Market Size         |     Rankers | Example                                        |
| ------------------- | ----------: | ---------------------------------------------- |
| 15–99 predictions   |           1 | In a 50-person market, only #1 is a Ranker     |
| 100–499 predictions |           3 | In a 200-person market, #1, #2, #3 are Rankers |
| 500+ predictions    | 1% of total | In a 1,000-person market, top 10 are Rankers   |

## Power-Law Reward Curve

Rankers share a major portion of the reward pool using a **power-law distribution**. This creates a steep reward curve where higher accuracy is rewarded exponentially more:

```mermaid
flowchart LR
    A["Rank #1<br/>Largest Reward"] --> B["Rank #2<br/>Significantly Less"]
    B --> C["Rank #3<br/>Less Again"]
    C --> D["...<br/>Decreasing"]
```

### Why Power-Law?

The power-law curve incentivizes precision. Coming in first place is dramatically more rewarding than second, which motivates users to refine their forecasting skill rather than just "getting close enough."

## Minimum Guarantee

The lowest Ranker always earns **at least as much** as the best Bucket Winner. This ensures that being a Ranker is always more rewarding than being in the bucket tier.

## Example

In a market with 100 forecasts at 10 USDT/USDC entry fee:

|                       | Value                   |
| --------------------- | ----------------------- |
| Reward pool           | 900 USDT/USDC           |
| Rewarded participants | Top 51 (positions 1–51) |
| Rankers               | Positions 1–3           |
| Bucket Winners        | Positions 4–51          |

The 3 Rankers share a significant portion of the 900 USDT/USDC pool, with Rank #1 receiving the most.

***

## Related Pages

* [Reward Overview](/forecast-platform/rewards/overview.md)
* [Reward Distribution](/forecast-platform/rewards/reward-distribution.md)
* [Bucket Winners](/forecast-platform/rewards/bucket-winners.md)
* [Reward Examples](/forecast-platform/rewards/reward-examples.md)