> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://darvin.gitbook.io/ctf-writeups/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://darvin.gitbook.io/ctf-writeups/some-ctf-stats.md).

# Some CTF stats

Here are some stats scrapped from CTFtime, to give a rough overview of the scene.

<figure><img src="https://1124590113-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2Fr2mPqo1utKOwtJ01omED%2Fuploads%2FoAyJHlXfNFX7BMdOmEBK%2FScreenshot%202026-07-23%20at%206.22.25%E2%80%AFPM.png?alt=media&amp;token=feb2b9cc-e89c-4f74-8e43-1aa95ccd3e59" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

In terms of player numbers, represented by the cumulative **teams** in CTFs, 2026 is inline with 2025. (2024 has an outlier CTF that skewed the data) Though, it is also the first year since 2021 that we don't see any growth. In fact, it is starting to show underperformance since June.

<figure><img src="https://1124590113-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2Fr2mPqo1utKOwtJ01omED%2Fuploads%2FxruBlKdBIZX4k2DMGCwE%2FScreenshot%202026-07-23%20at%206.09.56%E2%80%AFPM.png?alt=media&amp;token=3b22b330-f086-4e70-92d1-c1426f256306" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

On the CTF side, using weight as a filter, we see the number of CTFs with weight > 60 are roughly the same between 2025 and 2026.

<figure><img src="https://1124590113-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2Fr2mPqo1utKOwtJ01omED%2Fuploads%2F99gQay4oxZicZruSMsI1%2FScreenshot%202026-07-23%20at%206.11.14%E2%80%AFPM.png?alt=media&amp;token=c57fe204-34a6-4b34-b3aa-6fb7dd8e8010" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

However, if we change the weight to >80, then we can see a noticeable difference in Q2 YoY.

<div><figure><img src="https://1124590113-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2Fr2mPqo1utKOwtJ01omED%2Fuploads%2FNo2J1JL9FvKydLa695wB%2FScreenshot%202026-07-23%20at%206.24.28%E2%80%AFPM.png?alt=media&amp;token=3ec318a6-8f99-4267-b545-e7b59f7ec21c" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure> <figure><img src="https://1124590113-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2Fr2mPqo1utKOwtJ01omED%2Fuploads%2FHgvlrOaBG2ukS1zSYuM0%2FScreenshot%202026-07-23%20at%206.24.55%E2%80%AFPM.png?alt=media&amp;token=42d8ff6e-8cab-4bb3-8309-8a145d40bde8" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure></div>

Diving into more details, we compare the top CTFs sorted by weight. We notice that many names in the 2025 table have disappeared in 2026.

* PlaidCTF -> Defcon
* GoogleCTF, DownUnderCTF, CryptoCTF, etc canceled.

All of these probalby contribute to the dreadful feeling in the scene right now. There are as many players as before, however most of the CTFs available are "less satisfying".