Reminder of the ELO soft cap
For me right now, it's one win into Silver 4, then I get at least 2 tilted fucks on my team (according to their match history) every game until I am knocked to silver 5. This yo yo effect is as predictable as the sunrise at this point.
I was bronze 3-5 for almost a year, without buying RP. Then I spent maybe $50 and rose to bronze 1-2. Another $50 or so and I rose to silver. This climb took less than a month of over a year of playing. I promise you I did not improve that much.
What about smurfs? .. They buy RP to get started.
Anyone who doesn't spend much on RP is probably aware of this.