Honestly, a pretty surprising number of players play Ranked. For example, in 2018 around 70% of level 30+ players placed in at least one queue. Not only that, but on a monthly basis around 65% of active players play one or more Ranked games. That’s pretty high participation—we think one reason for this might be because one of the core reasons players try League is for the intense, competitive aspects of the game, meaning they’re more likely to opt into ladder systems.

Since the vast majority of players engage in Ranked, we have to make sure the system works well for you no matter who you are. For example, elite players in Master and Challenger have substantially different needs and motivations from players who are lower on the ladder since many of them actually know each other and they tend to specialize more often than lower ranked players. We have to take those kinds of differences into account when making changes.