lol please be a joke
I've sampled a few different mousing surfaces. Each have their benefits (cheap ones = cheap ... that's about it for their benefits), but if you are a competitive gamer, I cannot recommend a cheap pad.
But playing style has a lot of impact.
FPS gamer? High DPI or Low?
Different friction levels may be better than others, and the choice of mouse may have an impact too (some surfaces don't play well with all laser mice, and some surfaces give most optical sensors a hell of a time).
Really think about how you play, and ignore suggestions for specific mats until then so your opinion is not swayed.
Do you use high-twitch, small and precise movement, or do you use large sweeping movements with lower DPI? If the latter, do you want precision as well? Do you desire a surface that plays well with on-the-fly DPI changes?
Do you have a heavy or light mouse?
Are you really even that competitive? As in, are you frequently toward the top of the scoreboards?
If you are far from the top, a mouse surface decision should be based on usage preferences (comfort, style, function). If you are near the top, it could be enough of a benefit to put you nearer to or even on top of the board. It could provide a way to higher scores regardless, but if you aren't anywhere near the top consistently, either your abilities or other hardware/interface methods are hurting your game more than the mouse surface... most times. It could be the worst pairing of mouse and mouse surface, or at least a bad pairing... but you'd likely notice that in regular usage (or you're not at all sensitive to display-related issues, otherwise you should notice cursor jumping and jarring and erratic tracking).
I'd recommend getting whatever you like and is comfortable if you don't already feel like mouse movement (and that alone) is holding you back. If you do feel so, then more information is necessary.