If you‘re a fan of the hugely popular rhythm game osu!, you‘ve probably wondered who the best players in the world are. With an active global player base in the millions, competition is fierce at the highest levels of this deceptively simple yet extremely challenging game. In this article, we‘ll take a deep dive into what makes these players the cream of the crop.
How osu! Ranks Players
First, let‘s quickly review how osu! ranks players. Your level of skill and performance in the game is measured by your performance points (pp). The formula for calculating pp is complex, but in simple terms, it‘s based on your highest scores on the hardest beatmaps. Factors like map difficulty, accuracy, combo (number of objects hit in a row) and mods used all contribute to your pp. The global pp leaderboard ranks all players from highest to lowest pp.
The Current Top 10
As of June 2023, here are the current top 10 osu! players in the world based on pp:
| Rank | Player | Country | pp | Playstyle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mrekk | Australia | 23,687 | Tablet |
| 2 | Maliszewski | Poland | 22,100 | Mouse |
| 3 | Shimon | Japan | 21,682 | Tablet |
| 4 | Varvalian | Japan | 21,445 | Tablet |
| 5 | Risiing | Germany | 21,234 | Tablet/DT |
| 6 | sakamata1 | Japan | 20,869 | Tablet |
| 7 | aetrna | Sweden | 20,755 | Tablet/DT |
| 8 | Lifeline | Russia | 20,588 | Tablet |
| 9 | NyanPotato | Canada | 20,461 | Tablet |
| 10 | Intercambing | Japan | 20,423 | Tablet |
Source: osu! rankings (June 1, 2023)
Let‘s take a closer look at some of these players:
#1 – Mrekk
Mrekk is widely regarded as the most dominant osu! player of all time. The 17-year-old from Australia has achieved numerous world firsts and records, including being the first to reach 23,000 pp. He‘s known for his blazing speed, stamina, and consistency across all mapping styles. Mrekk uses a Wacom CTL-472 tablet and Logitech G304 mouse with a hovering playstyle. He recently unveiled his own signature line of tablet covers designed for osu! on his merch store.
#2 – Maliszewski
Maliszewski, also 17, is Mrekk‘s biggest rival for the #1 spot and has briefly claimed it earlier this year – the first mouse-only player to do so. The Polish prodigy is known for his incredible aim and cursor control on tech maps using an unusual mouse grip. He livestreams his gameplay regularly on Twitch to over 50,000 followers. Maliszewski uses a Logitech G703 mouse at 1600 DPI with a 1920×1080 resolution.
#7 – aetrna
aetrna is a rising star from Sweden known for his unrivaled speed and finger control, especially on DT maps. The 18-year-old set several of the highest rated DT scores of all time within weeks of switching from mouse to tablet in 2022. He‘s also one of the most prolific osu! streamers, broadcasting daily 10+ hour practice sessions to his 100,000+ Twitch followers. aetrna uses a Wacom One tablet and previously used a Razer Viper Mini mouse.
What Makes the Best Players So Good?
So what separates the top 0.001% of osu! players from the merely great? The very best players possess an uncanny combination of raw mechanical skill, rhythm sense, consistency, and the mental fortitude to perform under pressure.
Top players can maintain 99%+ accuracy on even the most complex patterns using mods like Double Time (1.5x speed) and Hardrock (more difficult patterns). Hundreds of hours of focused practice is required to build up the necessary stamina, finger control, and muscle memory. Many top players use special low latency monitors, gaming mice, and tablets to get an edge. Some even employ special hand stretches and physical exercises to avoid injury.
But there‘s more to it than just physical skill. osu! is as much a mental game as it is a physical one, especially at the highest levels. Because pp is heavily weighted towards a player‘s highest individual scores, so the pressure is always on. The most elite players are obsessed with self-improvement and train with the discipline and determination of elite athletes.
Reaching the Top in 2024
The osu! meta and mapping styles have shifted significantly over the game‘s 16-year history. In the early days, the emphasis was on short, gimmicky maps with simple patterns that rewarded raw mechanical skill above all else (aim, speed, singletapping). Players would "farm pp" by spamming retries on a handful of these maps with easy, high-pp jumps.
Today, the meta heavily favors high-skill, high-consistency gameplay across all skillsets on longer, more complex maps. "Farm maps" still exist but are much less dominant. The best players must excel at a variety of technical skills like finger/aim control, speed, reading, and stamina. This is reflected in the more diverse mapping styles and sheer difficulty of modern top-ranked beatmaps.
To reach the top, most pro players now employ a variety of cutting-edge tools and training techniques:
- Custom practice maps designed to isolate and drill specific skills
- Replay analysis and aim trainers to find weaknesses
- Tablet/mouse optimizations like drag distance and polling rate
- Specialized keyboards and keypads with faster switches
- Beatmap mods that remove distracting elements to focus on rhythm and reading
- Hand stretches and exercises to avoid repetitive strain injuries
- Dietary changes and sleep optimizations to enhance focus and recovery
- Hiring coaches for gameplay advice and emotional support
All of this has elevated the level of play to heights once thought impossible. It‘s not uncommon now to see 1200+pp plays on 10-star maps that last under 30 seconds. Players are breaking the limits of human reaction time and coordination. And they‘re doing it live on stream for thousands of viewers.
The Future of Pro osu!
As osu! has grown into a global esport, the lines between amateur and professional play have blurred. The best players are also some of the most popular streamers and content creators, making a living off sponsorships, donations, and ad revenue. Tournament prize pools have grown, as have the number of competitions.
This rapid commercialization of the top levels of play have many wondering – how much better can humans really get? Are we approaching the peak of what‘s physically possible? Or will players continue to innovate and push the boundaries even further?
Regardless of what the future holds, one thing is for certain – the incredible feats of today‘s top osu! players have inspired a new generation of talented, ambitious youngsters eager to make their mark. With the right combination of natural talent, hard work, and opportunity, perhaps they‘ll be the ones breaking the osu! leaderboards tomorrow.
