How is normals matchup determined?
Im a gold , I earned my way there. I am still being placed in normals with lots of bronze and few silvers, even though I am contributing positively to my team repeatedly after game after game. I think Ive won around 85% of the games I play in ranked and normals?
Back when I was a bronze and duo'ed with my plat and gold friends I got matched against plats and golds.
It is just normals but it still carries a higher level of intelligence and skill than what some bronze players have. (Not all, some bronze players are very good, and will probably carry themselves out some day, but some deserve to be in a wood 5 rank)