SMG Player of the Year Pyramid | 5.6.26

A familiar force returns to the throne in the latest edition of our Season SMG Player Pyramid, as we revisit the rankings for the first time in a month and take stock of who really owns the map right now. This is still a season-long ladder, but with voters asked to lean into a bit of recency bias, this update reflects not just body of work, but who is hitting hardest in the current meta, rewarding the subs whose form, impact, and momentum have surged since our last check‑in.

Let us know in the comments what you'd change in the rankings & whether we should start ranking by recent form instead of a season ranking.

The Ladder (Not Left to Right, just Tiers)

Previous Rankings:

March 26th: Pre-Major II
March 5th: Mid-Major II Qualifiers
February 12th: Pre-Major II Qualifiers
January 28th: Pre-Major I
January 8th: Post Winter Break
December 4th: Preseason

BP Power Rankings are brought to you by PrizePicks. Click HERE for $50 when you make your first $5 pick

Tier 1

Chris "Simp" Lehr - FaZe Vegas

Previous Tier: Tier 1 (Up1 Tier)
Team Record: 23-12 Record (66%), 79-57 Map Count (58%), 2nd in Season Standings
Next Match: May 9th at 4:30 pm EST vs. OpTic Texas

Overall Stats (Active SMG Ranks)
KD: 1.10 (2nd)
Slayer Rating: 96.7 (3rd)
Damage Rating: 12,354 (1st)
aKD: 1.13 (2nd)
TES Rating: 59.9% (2nd)
NTK Pct: 66.2% (12th)

Tier 2

Cuyler "Huke" Garland - OpTic Texas

Previous Tier: Tier 2 (Unchanged)
Team Record: 24-7 Record (77%), 81-40 Map Count (67%), 1st in Season Standings
Next Match: May 8th at 4:30 pm EST vs. Paris Gentle Mates

Overall Stats (Active SMG Ranks)
KD: 1.03 (9th)
Slayer Rating: 89.8 (12th)
Damage Rating: 11,572 (10th)
aKD: 0.99 (12th)
TES Rating: 58.4% (8th)
NTK Pct: 65.5% (15th)

📸 Photo by @CODLeague

Joseph "JoeDeceives" Romero - Toronto KOI

Previous Tier: Tier 3 (Up 1 Tier)
Team Record: 15-16 Record (48%), 60-55 Map Count (52%), 7th in Season Standings
Next Match: May 8th at 6:00 pm EST vs. Vancouver Surge

Overall Stats (Active SMG Ranks)
KD: 1.14 (1st)
Slayer Rating: 98.0 (1st)
Damage Rating: 12,264 (3rd)
aKD: 1.14 (1st)
TES Rating: 60.5% (1st)
NTK Pct: 67.3% (2nd)

Tier 3

Travis "Neptune" McCloud - Paris Gentle Mates

Previous Tier: Tier 3 (Unchanged)
Team Record: 18-13 Record (58%), 69-60 Map Count (54%), 3rd in Season Standings
Next Match: May 8th at 4:30 pm EST vs. OpTic Texas

Overall Stats (Active SMG Ranks)
KD: 1.05 (5th)
Slayer Rating: 92.8 (7th)
Damage Rating: 11,713 (6th)
aKD: 1.03 (7th)
TES Rating: 58.9% (5th)
NTK Pct: 65.6% (14th)

Anthony "Shotzzy" Cuevas-Castro - OpTic Texas

Previous Tier: Tier 1 (Down 2 Tiers)
Team Record: 24-7 Record (77%), 81-40 Map Count (67%), 1st in Season Standings
Next Match: May 8th at 4:30 pm EST vs. Paris Gentle Mates

Overall Stats (Active SMG Ranks)
KD: 1.04 (7th)
Slayer Rating: 93.6 (6th)
Damage Rating: 11,281 (18th)
aKD: 1.06 (5th)
TES Rating: 57.5% (13th)
NTK Pct: 66.3% (11th)

📸 Photo by @CODLeague

Tyler "aBeZy" Pharris - LA Thieves

Previous Tier: Tier 4 (Up 1 Tier)
Team Record: 20-11 Record (65%), 70-49 Map Count (59%), 4th in Season Standings
Next Match: May 9th at 3:00 pm EST vs. Carolina Royal Ravens

Overall Stats (Active SMG Ranks)
KD: 1.03 (8th)
Slayer Rating: 89.2 (14th)
Damage Rating: 11,080 (22nd)
aKD: 1.02 (8th)
TES Rating: 58.8% (6th)
NTK Pct: 67.9% (3rd)

Tier 4

Paco "HyDra" Rusiewiez - LA Thieves

Previous Tier: Tier 4 (Unchanged)
Team Record: 20-11 Record (65%), 70-49 Map Count (59%), 4th in Season Standings
Next Match: May 9th at 3:00 pm EST vs. Carolina Royal Ravens

Overall Stats (Active SMG Ranks)
KD: 1.05 (6th)
Slayer Rating: 94.8 (5th)
Damage Rating: 11,739 (5th)
aKD: 1.09 (3rd)
TES Rating: 58.5% (7h)
NTK Pct: 64.0% (20th)

Jovan "O4" Rodriguez - FaZe Vegas

Previous Tier: Tier 5 (Up 1 Tier)
Team Record: 23-12 Record (66%), 79-57 Map Count (58%), 2nd in Season Standings
Next Match: May 9th at 4:30 pm EST vs. OpTic Texas

Overall Stats (Active SMG Ranks)
KD: 0.97 (14th)
Slayer Rating: 89.4 (13th)
Damage Rating: 11,323 (16th)
aKD: 0.97 (13th)
TES Rating: 57.6% (12th)
NTK Pct: 67.9% (4th)

📸 Photo by @CODLeague

Kyle "Kremp" Haworth - G2 Minnesota

Previous Tier: Tier 4 (Unchanged)
Team Record: 14-16 Record (47%), 55-56 Map Count (50%), 5th in Season Standings
Next Match: May 9th at 6:00 pm EST vs. Boston Breach

Overall Stats (Active SMG Ranks)
KD: 1.01 (10th)
Slayer Rating: 96.9 (2nd)
Damage Rating: 12,322 (2nd)
aKD: 1.04 (6th)
TES Rating: 57.7% (11th)
NTK Pct: 64.1% (19th)

Logan "Lurqxx" Brown - Carolina Royal Ravens

Previous Tier: Tier 4 (Unchanged)
Team Record: 12-14 Record (46%), 46-55 Map Count (46%), 9th in Season Standings
Next Match: May 9th at 3:00 pm EST vs. LA Thieves

Overall Stats (Active SMG Ranks)
KD: 1.07 (3rd)
Slayer Rating: 95.5 (4th)
Damage Rating: 11,955 (4th)
aKD: 1.01 (10th)
TES Rating: 59.0% (4th)
NTK Pct: 66.4% (10th)

Tier 5

Nicolas "Traixx" Monaco - Miami Heretics

Previous Tier: Tier 5 (Unchanged)
Team Record: 16-14 Record (53%), 62-52 Map Count (54%), 6th in Season Standings
Next Match: May 8th at 3:00 pm EST vs. Riyadh Falcons

Overall Stats (Active SMG Ranks)
KD: 1.01 (11th)
Slayer Rating: 90.3 (10th)
Damage Rating: 11,694 (7th)
aKD: 1.02 (9th)
TES Rating: 58.2% (9th)
NTK Pct: 67.2% (6th)

Amer "Pred" Zulbeari - Riyadh Falcons

Previous Tier: Tier 3 (Down 2 Tiers)
Team Record: 14-14 Record (50%), 54-54 Map Count (50%), 8th in Season Standings
Next Match: May 8th at 3:00 pm EST vs. Miami Heretics

Overall Stats (Active SMG Ranks)
KD: 1.06 (4th)
Slayer Rating: 90.8 (8th)
Damage Rating: 11,490 (11th)
aKD: 1.07 (4th)
TES Rating: 59.0% (3rd)
NTK Pct: 67.2% (5th)

📸 Photo by @CODLeague

Saud "Exnid" Alotai - Riyadh Falcons

Previous Tier: Tier 5 (Unchanged)
Team Record: 14-14 Record (50%), 54-54 Map Count (50%), 8th in Season Standings
Next Match: May 8th at 3:00 pm EST vs. Miami Heretics

Overall Stats (Active SMG Ranks)
KD: 0.99 (13th)
Slayer Rating: 88.0 (17th)
Damage Rating: 11,210 (20th)
aKD: 0.95 (15th)
TES Rating: 57.2% (15th)
NTK Pct: 65.2% (16th)

Justice "Estreal" McMillan - G2 Minnesota

Previous Tier: Tier 5 (Unchanged)
Team Record: 14-16 Record (47%), 55-56 Map Count (50%), 5th in Season Standings
Next Match: May 9th at 6:00 pm EST vs. Boston Breach

Overall Stats (Active SMG Ranks)
KD: 1.00 (12th)
Slayer Rating: 88.5 (15th)
Damage Rating: 11,342 (14th)
aKD: 1.00 (11th)
TES Rating: 58.2% (10th)
NTK Pct: 68.4% (1st)

Tobias "CleanX" Juul Jønsson - Toronto KOI

Previous Tier: Unranked (New!)
Team Record: 15-16 Record (48%), 60-55 Map Count (52%), 7th in Season Standings
Next Match: May 8th at 6:00 pm EST vs. Vancouver Surge

Overall Stats (Active AR Ranks)
KD: 0.97 (15th)
Slayer Rating: 88.3 (16th)
Damage Rating: 11,625 (8th)
aKD: 0.94 (17th)
TES Rating: 57.5% (14th)
NTK Pct: 67.0% (8th)