Ugh, modern writers don't understand words

The problem with writing Wuxia is too many are copying tropes without actually checking if the word usage is correct, and then the incorrect usage proliferates like bacteria.

So, one of the most annoying mistakes I see (which is not helped by dumb sports broadcasters doing the same thing) is the misuse of 三甲, specifically in the context of 名列三甲.

三甲 comes from the imperial exam, which has multiple rounds. The last round is called 殿试. During the last round, the emperor personally supervises the exam and grades the result. The result is then split into three tiers, which is called 三甲.

So 名列三甲 (name appearing in the three tiers) is equivalent to successfully passing the exam and thus will be capable of getting a governmental position in the system.

What it doesn't mean is "top 3". (Sidenote: actual phrase for "top 3" is 名列一甲, because only three people get selected into tier one during 殿试, who are known, respectively from one to three, as 状元，榜眼，探花. The three are also collectively known as 三鼎甲).

The reason this confusion started is because sports broadcasters borrow expressions from Wuxia novels to describe competitions, thus they borrowed 名列三甲. Initially, this is metaphorical, meaning "get to stand on the podium". Unfortunately, because sports podium has three medals (gold, silver, bronze), the expression was misunderstood by poorly educated sports academy washouts to mean "top 3". This resulted in the phrase being used even during phases of competition that don't determine medal order (such as group stage competition or round robins selection stage). This is a misuse and will lose you points during Chinese exams.

Sadly, modern Wuxia authors seemed to have failed their Chinese grammar tests and reintroduced this mistaken usage back into their ye olde time stories. So now there's piles and piles of shitty stories that keep misusing the phrase 名列三甲 as a substitute for "top 3" rather than meaning "qualified to be a government official".

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Adjacent concept, 金榜题名 is a metaphor. There's no actual 金榜. The phrase comes from some guy who had a dream where the names of people who got their names on 金榜 became high ranked (such as becoming the prime minister). So wishing someone 金榜题名 is to wish they score high on the exam and have a good career (because the two concepts are tightly linked in Chinese culture, even in modern times).

Meanwhile, 榜上有名 is an associated concept, which merely refers to passing the exam and is not limited to a specific stage of the exam. (Remember, the imperial exams have multiple stages, and each stage selects only a handful of examinees to pass.)

名列三甲，金榜题名，榜上有名 are three different concepts and are used during different situations. Too many shitty writers treat the three as if these are interchangeable phrases.