So lately I've noticed that the Grandmaster list is empty (not yet ranked). Before that happened, I saw some unfamiliar players on the top of that list, and when I reviewed their build orders it showed that they were winning simply because the opponent was leaving when the match started.
Since this time, I've started to play way above my league. I have over 1000 points in Silver, and 2nd place is 700. I got promoted to Silver much easier than this, and I'm wondering if the recent series of disconnects (or whatever stopped the rankings of the Grandmaster league) is related to my inability to move up. Not that it matters (because mmr != league), but I'm playing exclusively Gold players now.
Bonus points for anyone who can explain what happened to halt the Grandmaster rankings. Is it possible that someone found a way to disconnect an opponent and railed their way to up GM status? Makes me reminiscence of the days of AOL punters (if you actually get this, I love you).
Best Answer
So, I don't know what you're referring to about GM rankings, but they seem to be fine on both KR and NA right now, so let's focus in on your moving up.
League promotion is concerned with two important factors: Moving Average of your MMR and ** Confidence buffer between Leagues**.
As you're probably aware your MMR is an Elo-like system designed to estimate your skill level. This means that winning games increases your rating, and losing games decreases it. Additionally, the different in your opponent's MMR from your own affects how much your MMR changes. For league promotion your MMR must stabilize in a new league. This means a significant portion of your games played must be at the MMR of your new league.
Aside: I once knew a guy who had played so many games in Bronze that he could not get promoted despite eventually getting go enough to play at a platinum level. This was remedied when the ladders reset, as his MMR level remained the same but the percentage of new games was reset.
To prevent a lot of jitter for people right on the border between leagues there is also a Confidence Buffer between leagues. Even though you may be winning games off 25th percentile gold players, the system will not advance you. This means leagues are sticky. To get into a higher league you have to play better than a good portion of the target league already plays.